The Devil Inside

HL again bit of everything, don't think Roos is sure where to use him best as yet, does appear on the wing quite a bit in match sim

Sorry, have so much info going on in my poor old hard drive, think I need to defrag it, hence the any questions, it helps me remember, Josh Mahoney said this will be first serious look at him, I did speak to him, just wants to play for Melbourne so much, hoping to impress this week.......... he is really solid already.... Talking to Josh Mahoney he mentioned all the running, I asked him whether he would still like to be playing, answer no, not when defenders and forwards are doing 12k a game....Robbo was at training as well, we both watched Cross, Mckenzie and Vandenberg be nearly the last off again, Jamar beat them, Robbo reminded me how he used to be first on and last off as well, I reminded him I had watched him train

As mentioned before Hunt has been on a modified program because of back issues last season, his kicking is really neat and tidy, and yes he is seriously fast, somebody amused me today at training by saying that Toumpas is slow, we have some serious speed now, Billy Stretch has some serious wheels on him as well, made me laugh when I said he must have put weight on by now, he said where?....reckons he is the skinniest in the club....has put on 2kg though

I forgot about Kent, seems to be troubled by something the last couple of weeks, hasn't looked a happy chappy so left it alone, did have a quad issue before Xmas, has done a bit of everything in the match sim, mainly as a forward though

Watts tends to play as a wing/forward when they have match sim, Watts is Watts, I want the ball in hand creating, not at the bottom of a pack Salem is doing a lot of work with Simon Goodwin, as are the other young guys, comment from my lady on Monday, gee Christian has grown up, he is a man now, he is really solid now, best part of training today was Goodwin taking Billy Stretch, Salem, Viney and Petracca for a bit of one on one stoppage work, not a backward step to be seen Oh and I forgot a really interesting bit, rather stocky young lad training in jumper 50 today, name of Jack Lovett

I spoke to him the other day, has not missed a session, running better and better, working on his skills, Roos has assembled a really good group of solid soldiers and role fillers, Matt said he prefers to be under the radar

@DemonpkFor all the salivators, I got a couple of good shots of Mr Petracca today, have a look at my Twitter

No, that is part of the progam, Pedersen explained that today as well, apart from the back issue, the big guys are monitored very closely, as he said when you are carting around close to 100k you need to make sure the undercarriage stays serviceable, as I said I think Jesse and the club know exactly what they are doing, to give him the best chance of a good season On a brighter note, Vandenberg is looking more and more an AFL player, was a bit dubious with him coming out of the ACT, but we may have another one right, he has attached himself to Cross and McKenzie. Also realise somebody else was missing, Mitch White, think he has a calf problem from Monday

I've had a couple of chats to him, from what I can gather, he now has a good understanding of the issue, Wednesday is always a shorter session for him, if he reports any tightness they tend to stop him training and go to the pool etc, this is has only happened once or twice, believe he had a good chat with Tom Hawkins before pre season, and this helps his and the fitness teams understanding of the issue, when he does train fully, it is at 110%, think he gets a bit sick of everybody asking about his back, he knows I post here and is happy to tell me how he is going, he had the answer today before I asked him. Personally I think he and the Club are handling it perfectly, if he is fit for Round 1 and in form, then I think Roos will look at him, same as everybody else

Howe basically did a bit of handballing, Vince ran laps, think they are not sure with Howe so are being very conservative, he said he needs to get it checked out, so there must be a slight concern, Vince has had a bit of an interrupted pre season, so they are probably making sure no sofr tissues are aggravated to make him miss chunks of the season Jesse Hogan is fine, he is on a specific program, we have whinged in the past about us stuffing up players, when he trains, he sprints, kicks, tackles, etc etc, he said at the moment the back is fine, think he has a good understanding himself now, Hunt is the same, yet he took a really good mark today, there will be a pic on Twitter Demonpk,

A bit sunnier today, but windy Absentees Neal Bullen and Trengove, spoke to Billy Stretch, said ANB is strong character handling latest setback really well Casualty ward, Howe, still checking out his hammy, said another check today, Vince hamstring soreness, Pedersen, a deload day (explained the day is just about straight line running, the bigger guys get these days regularly), Hogan, all smiles, still on his modified program, no issues at the moment, Max King rocked up, looked terrible, assume he is crook, attempted to train then left , few others on light days Spoke to Viv Michie, a man of few words, travelling really well, only missed two sessions of pre season, feeling fit and fresh (looked really good in the drills today) Spoke to the Pig Dog as well, glad to be back in full training, trying to just get up to speed, his skills were a lot better today as well, said ring rust on Monday Billy Stretch has put on 2 kilos, amusing bit today, taking on Petracca in a one on one In one drill you had to kick down the wing, a few players didn't account for the wind, was standing in gap on fence taking pictures, when Sam Frost came hurtling towards me chasing a wayward kick, whole life flashed before me, thankfully he managed to avoid me and the fence and injury, for a big guy he has good brakes Spoke to the Russian, complimented him on how he is looking at training, feeling completely rejuventated, was one of the last off today, practicing his kicking and other things with Justin Plapp (will have to get this name right before start of season) Any questions feel free

Jamar is looking good, absolutely flying on the track, beat his 3k pb, we seem also to be getting better with injury management, although you can't plan for bad luck, Spencer has been doing heaps of work with Jack Watts whilst they were in rehab, (Watts to get Spencers aggression and Spencer to get Watts' skills...a Demonland dream) If it came down to Spencer and Pedo, wouldn't be lacking in sheer effort, Roos would coach to cover On another note Gawn is looking really really good in training, clunking marks all the time, just transfer it to game time We always covet other players, bizarre, as I keep saying, clean slate again, let's whinge and dream in August if need be

I would probably have the same issue with spelling the name correctly, it is an age thing, couldn't even remember the name of the MFC tech guy the other day, shame it is Peter, same as mine....anyway onto tomorrow and more fanboying

Giles and Bellchambers, odds on who is the first to go down injured, and Daniher can't be everywhere

Haha must read what I wrote a bit better, meaning when he did original before Xmas and was on crutches and session after Xmas when he was in rehab My lady got a bit distressed to see him in obvious pain, both physically and mentally, yesterday, cheered her up by getting a photo with HL

Can you describe Stef Martin's first year at the Lions?...and his last at the Dees Essendon would be the one club I would be concerned about in the ruck division, don't know what they are doing

Speaking as somebody who has attended every session, yes Monday skill wise was a bit ordinary, it was meant to be a light session, most of the players with really good skills displayed them, some coming in from Rehab didn't, I am optimistic about this coming season, don't think we will be world beaters but Roos/Misson are getting the team to somewhere near where they would like them to be, listen to Roos every time he speaks, he is pleased where the team is at, but even he is not sure whether the mental scars are finally healed The input of new guys will obviously help, Frost is a monster who could be anything, raw but wonderfully athletic, Newton, solid soldier, Lumumba and Garlett X factor in abundance, Garlett is determined to repay the faith Roos showed in him, he told me, Vandenberg is already looking a good rookie pickup, his shoulder is fixed and then we have the new kids and JKH, Hunt, Hogan, Salem, Toumpas, King, Harmes all with a full pre season under their belts...so why not be at least a little bit optimistic We have only Trengove and unfortunately it looks like Neal Bullen under an injury cloud which is great, ANB happened right in front of myself and lady, he bounced off the bag that Miller was holding went to turn, screamed in pain and went down in a heap, the medicos popped it back in. Spoke to him during and after original injury, everything said it had healed properly and he was allowed to return to full training, obviously they will have to have a rethink...I think the original was patella, but not sure, only ever told 'knee'

Fitzpatrick is still far too skinny and awkward to play as a key forward, Dawes consistently outmuscled him (however he too struggled with his marks)....he is nearly 98K now, Fitzy tends not to involve himself in wrestling when playing, he uses his speed and agility to get free, he has not scored many goals as yet, but check out the vision of the ones he has, you don't want 3 or four guys wrestling their opponents in the forward 50 Toumpas continues to sound like a concern. No he is not, his kicking is fine, he hardly misses a target, watched every session since November Michie Has done nearly every session, never hear Roos pull him up for anything, good solid soldier Here is an interesting bit on the mindset of the players at the moment, Nev Jetta had gastro the day before the 3k, still ran it, so as not to fall behind everybody else

Oh dear, everything is going well in the midfield, forward and defence, that only leaves the rucks to wring hands about missed chances Roos gave Spencer a new 2 year contract, so he must see something in him Our ruck division consists of in my opinion, Jamar, Gawn, Spencer, Fitzpatrick, King with backups in Pedersen, Watts and Frost, all are now in full training The comments about Hannath and a missed opportunity are gold

My lovely lady attended her first session today, first comment was about how all the players looked fitter, said Spencer has grown into his body, he should not be discounted when discussing the team, but then again I am glad all four rucks Jamar, Gawn, Spencer and Fitzy did the full session todayGot her picture taken with HL which she enjoyed First time my lovely lady saw Spencer was when they still trained at Junction Oval, she watched him from the old stand in his first session, and said we had drafted a baby giraffe

@Demonpk

I changed my plans, pics are up on my Twitter, Demonpk, now

Good afternoon, fellow attendees, optimists, hair shirt wearers, lemon suckers and innocent bystanders The other posters have covered most of the drills, some was good, some was sloppy, depends on who and what you were watching, watched one run where the ball hit the deck or missed the target throughout, but it still got upfield Roos very vocal today Sad bit, near end of session Alex Neal Bullen was doing some innocuous bag work with Brad Miller and dislocated his knee again, went straight back on, but was carried off on golf cart, not a happy chap. Got 'tightness' out of Howie for his hamstring and a 'wait and see' from Dave Misson, assume they are still testing/scanning. Only others missing were King and Trengove. Spoke to a few players, all said they had been hammered at the camp in Maroochydore, today was light easy session. Hogan is still on a modified program, hates having to stop, doing the same session as Hunt today, who is also returning from back issues. Had a good chat to JKH, sadly lacking in confidence NOT, agreed Nev Jetta is constantly in his ear about improving, another one who has not missed a beat pre season. Bernie Vince seemed to be the only one in rehab, was running laps, got a big thumbs up, so don't think there is a problem there. Somebody a few topics ago asked about Jordie McKenzie and his fitness, full pre seasons etc, this is not his first full pre season, he thinks, but has never been fitter. And for a few that have been asking, asked Nev about Jeff Garlett, he is now regarded as one of the best two way runners at the club, sets the standard, absolutely carved them up in match sim at Maroochydore. Some pics will be on my Twitter Demonpk tomorrow, got other things to do today.

A green shed just as you turn onto Goschs from AAMI park, which seats or stands 4 (depending on your preference) in separate cubicles, they have been immaculately cleaned during the Asian Cup, usually they smell like a Turkish wrestlers jockstrap (please don't ask me to explain how I know), then it is a 100 metre walk to watch the training, if you haven't gone and you need to go, either walk back or use one of the large wooden things (known locally as trees) and crouch down behind itAs for food, doubt whether Edwins which is at AAMI Park will be open, if it is you can get a boiling hot coffee there (Barista only knows one way) and some overpriced food, if not, on Ozzie day there are usually a good selection of cafes open on Swan St, recommend the Blueberry or the one attached to the bookshop, can't remember the name, others are full of those crop haired, bearded, short jeaned, plimsole wearing tryhards and their blonde bimbettes in denim shorts, all trying to out-pseud each other....unless that's your thing of course The players, apart from Cross and Grimes, do not eat during training, bananas of course, if you want to please the players bring a bag of 'snakes' and hand them out at the end,

Exactly right old chap, and for OD's benefit, mine has blue handles and lady has red handles, team colours, have also badged both with MFC stickers, caused much amusement a couple of weeks ago when I watched Collingwood training for a while when I was out and about doing other things, they were out when I passed by, gave it 10 minutes, only interested in the tattoos