Tough Kent

I just listened to Clayton Oliver on The Unlaced Podcast with Jake Barker-Daish. It was an excellent listen. Do yourself a favour. My takeaways: 1. Clayton is in a very good head space. He sounds like he is in a very healthy state. 2. He loves the Melbourne Football Club and all his mates there. 3. He can’t wait to get back into training, he’s going back with the 1-4 year players. He acknowledges he was not fit this year and still describes himself as being “a bit fat”. He is very confident he will get back to where he was. 4. He rubbished the claims that Melbourne’s culture is poor. “We’re all mates and love having a laugh together. We just laugh at the media because they don’t know what’s happening on the inside”. 5. He loves Gawny and all that the skipper has done for him. This was recorded last week. If Clayton is sitting down with Geelong, I can guarantee that it is not him that is pulling the strings on any potential move. Over to you, Melbourne.

Angus Bradshaw - A Tribute - Loyal. Selfless. Empathetic. He was the perfect teammate. - He was always team first. Was there a position he didn’t play? - He was our unofficial leader. You just knew how much singing that song meant to him after a game. - So brave. That mark in the 2021 Grand Final defines you. The goal you kicked straight after it was representative of your class and skill. - He united all of the age groups. Gus loved them all, and they all loved Gus. - He was the Everyman. He could dag around with the first year recruits, or he could soar with the corporate eagles on the board or in the coterie groups. - His was the voice that brought the most laughter in the change room. He always had the right words at the right time. - When Gus pulled on the jumper you never thought Melbourne was out of a game. - Melbourne never recovered from his loss. If I could change one thing about season 2024 it would be that he got to wear his beloved red and blue one more time. - His legacy looms large. We, the supporters do not worry about his future as we know that the world is his oyster. We hope that in time the club recovers from his loss and that it recaptures the ‘Angus Brayshaw spirit’. - Go well Gussy!

For the first time in a long time I’m not looking at the impact of different results on the ladder. I’m not looking at what we need to do, or who we need to beat to finish top 4, or even in the 8. I am just looking forward to watching a side with emerging players and a new appetite for the contest on a match by match basis. I must say, it’s been liberating. If you said to me at the start of the year that in round 18 we’d be taking on a top 4 side without Gawn, Petracca and Brayshaw, I’d say we’d be no chance. I’m not so sure now. This side, led by some of its young stars is showing a real intent and passion for the battle. I expect that warriors like Viney and Oliver and Lever will bounce back this week and give it everything against a despised enemy. This week is a free hit. Nobody is tipping us in the media. We’re expected to fade away with these injuries and a tough draw. Well I say write these Demons off at your own peril. If we don’t quite get up, then it’s another brick in the wall for our 2025 assault.

I'm still not ready to watch this.... :(

Maybe if he's not required as a late inclusion they'll send him home on the first available flight tomorrow night ready for Casey action on Saturday arvo.

Sorry - misread your post. Carry on the great work WCW.

A lot of angst among MFC supporters about Kynan Brown getting left out this week. I'm just surmising here, but Pup has not really played for 3 weeks. (He was carry over emergency against Collingwood. Then we had a bye. Then he was the sub against North.) Maybe Goody thought it was better for him to have a full game at Casey instead of playing as sub again tomorrow night. Pup will be back.

I would take him in a heartbeat. No way are West Coast offering him up.

Will Brodie (Freo - 25 years) and Jarryd Lyons (Bris - 31). Both have played very good football at AFL level and are now a class above at the lower levels. Both have faults, but would add significantly to our midfield depth (we have none) and would come very cheap.

He reminds of a young Jayden Hunt. He can do eye-catching things with his speed, but he also runs himself into trouble and turns it over at times. I'm not sure he's that great defensively either. He gets a lot of his possessions from kick-outs, so that pads his numbers.

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1506837/vfl-petty-makes-return

AMW providing great run and dash off half back, jagging a couple in the process. Music to my ears.

What's Marty Hore like at ground level? Teams know to get the ball to ground in our forward line and they're half a chance. May, Lever and Thomlinson all shaky below their knees.

I've got no idea what he is like defensively, but he is a great user of the footy. If he plays of half back, surely we could put the footy in his hands a lot more than he's getting it at the moment. My question mark would be on whether he has the leg speed to go with a Weightman.

This is second hand information, so could well be wrong. I thought I'd share anyway. Bowsa is reported to have a crack in the coracoid process in his shoulder blade. He will need surgery and likely to miss 8 weeks.

Probably no surprise, but Caleb Windsor will debut Round 0. His family have been told to make their way to Sydney for the occasion.

When the seniors were done and all the Casey boys were out there with Salo, Clarrie, etc. for one drill the coach yelled out "If you're not in the 18 tomorrow, put on a yellow bib." Clarrie, Salo, Marty Hore, Jed Adams, etc. didn't put on bibs.

CLAYTON IS BACK! Clarrie will play in the 2s tomorrow. From the Captain's Run: Senior squad for tomorrow: May, Roo, McVee, Trac, Windsor, Viney, Lever, Gawn, Billings, Langdon, Laurie, Bowey, Schache, Thommo, Howes, Rivers, Verrall, Nibbler, Fritta, Spaz, Kozzie, Chin. Gus and Spargo nowhere to be seen. Didn't sight Hunter, Petty, Melks, Disco Turner. Shane McAdam did very slow runthroughs on the boundary line. The rest, including Clayton, Salo, Marty Hore trained with the Casey boys when the seniors finished up. T-MAC, Browny, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Fullaton, Taj Woewodin all did stuff away and with the main group. I spoke to these boys and they all hope to play in the next week or two.

McAdam in a photo on the club website from training today. I might be clutching at straws, but he's in his footy boots as opposed to his runners. This indicates that he must have been doing some lateral movement/football type training as opposed to just interval running. I'm not sure he would be doing this if he had a pretty serious groin issue??

Fair enough, mate. Hopefully it's on the positive side of the ledger.

Thanks for the comprehensive report, Mr. Fence. You said you had more later on Clayton Oliver?

Three things that stood out about him today: 1. His elite speed. At one stage, he ran down Koltyn who was streaming towards goal and threw him to the ground. 2. His ball handling. He one-touched on a day where many balls slid through fingers. 3. His size. For an under 18 he didn't look out of his league out there today.

My highlight from training was having a quick chat to Col Garland, who was set up in a corner of Gosch's Paddock and chatting to Matty Whelan for a lot of the morning. I also couldn't help but notice Tyla Hanks out on the ground and in her full MFC kit. She looked like a drowned rat, the poor girl. Does anyone know her role with the club?

1. ?? 2. Craig Smoker 3. Nick Pesch 4. Luke Tapscott 5. ?? 6. Cameron Hunter 7. ?? 8. Tom McNamara??? 9. Troy Longmuir 10. Matty Bishop

It's his older brother. His junior coach at Lysterfield and South Belgrave said he was just as good as Caleb, but he had his under 18 year ruined by injury.