The Devil Inside

I'll knock this on the head, asked why he was missing, got three different answers from three different people, so it must be something private, let's leave it at that

Not when I am asked a direct question, I was concerned about Col Garland, but rather than bag him, I asked, and found out the reasons he looked a bit off at training, so I will put it this way, no player would dare look slack at the moment, and none of them are, even Bernie Vince is trying to up the ante when he is not supposed to

At the moment think H is keeping his head down, seems to have the respect of everybody though, is a really nice guy to speak to, Dawes is Dawes, some days he is the big angry bear, other days is all smiles, doesn't seem to have a problem with H, haven't seen them walking hand in hand though

Jack Grimes, Howie and Jack Viney have all said the same thing, hence Howie's comment about hoping to be just in the 22, one of the reasons Jack Grimes gave up the captaincy, obviously Roos has made it clear it is a new season and it doesn't matter who you are he will pick the in form players who play their role Shannon Byrnes is looking forward to playing at Casey because there might be a half decent team down there with those who are not in the 22, very impressed with the new young guys

No, that's the other good thing, have a look at some of the photos from the hill run on Twitter, nobody holding back, also the 'professional' approach to the injuries etc, Harmes who had glandular fever, which really knocks you around, did the whole session today except the hill run, back at his playing weight and feeling really fit, praised the program he was put on

Ok chaps, calm, I was there, a really good session including Andersons Hill for some, pics will be on Twitter Demonpk Lots of drills today involving ball movement Only no show was JKH Spoke to Dean Kent, rehab nearly finished, leg is fine, just needs kicking again to test it out, other rehabbers Trengove, Terlich (who is going to resume full training after the break), Stretch, Spencer, Riley, Vandenberg and Watts (who seems to be able to run without discomfort,, gave me thumbs up on one of his many laps). Gawn and McKenzie did whole session except Andersons Had a chat to Mitchell White, very laidback off the track, considers himself to be a defender who can play on tall or small, still growing, thinks his playing weight will be around 90-92k, so another 'skinny' Garland looked a lot better today, so obviously the program he is on is working Also continuing the theme about the fitness being better, watched the Andersnn runs, when they did it at the beginning of November Max King looked like was about to die at the end, today he finished strongly The run consists of a long run of 2-300 metres starting at the bottom, they then do 3 40 metres spirints about half way up the hill then repeat, the talk amongst the group whilst they are recovering is excellent

Correct, I asked him, and there are more players reaching a higher standard than ever before, you only have to read the 'training reports', with players looking fitter, Nev Jetta is looking at improving his 3k time by 20 secs And yes they are training reports, and each year the optimism rises, but I am beginning to see a Roos coached team, like I said, I thought the footy drills last week were good skill wise but Ben Mathews told me they were 'ordinary' and the players were told that

He was on a lighter day, think he gave it a 4 the end Re the Harmes running, yes he was good but HL was better

Answer from Matt Burgan G'day Peter, I'm really not sure what's happening at this stage. But we'll definitely add them here if we do mate:

One other sad thing to report, Tommy Mc who I thought would know better was wearing an horrendous pair of bright orange fluorescent boots today Another nice bit at training, James Harmes had a blood test early this morning and no sign of the glandular fever so was allowed to fully participate, at the end was told to run some laps, HL ran with him at a serious pace and hammered him, complimented H on his running was very humble, he looks very fit, when he runs he looks faster live than on the television

I asked him that, it had been checked out, it supports the whole leg, his foot sticks over the end, they had a big scooter there today, looks like his next transport had arrived, it had a big inflated front tyre and small back one

I have just asked Matt Burgan to let me know if the details are going to be on Club website

Had 37 years of being called a Pommy Bastard actually

Changed, not concentrating....accidental comedy gold

Actually Nutbean or may I call you Kernel, it is not meant to be a sleeve, it is a sailing ship and a compass, said he was getting some family added, as he comes from Clackline, has got me fascinated, other cool tattoo is the one James Harmes has across his chest..edited it read rather good originally

everyone was calling Petracca "Truck"....you must be a KIwi?...they call him "Trac' or "Tracca", Brayshaw is Gus, Oscar Mc gets 'Osc" and White gets "Whitey", haven't got the others yet Missing today Fitzpatrick, Vince and JKH (Dave Misson said he was crook) Asked Dave Misson about training and Maroochydore, training finishes a week on Friday then back on 5th Jan, week here and then 5 sessions in Maroochydore, so a week and a bit, said no specific heat training, just training in the heat and the humidity, footy will be main focus, probably good away from other prying eyes Rehab group today Watts, McKenzie, Kent (who now has a rather cool full arm tattoo), Stretch, Spencer, Riley and a triking Jack Trengove For all the Gawndog lovers, he was pumped today, did 5 out of the 6 drills, as he towers over me, was showered in the sweat that was pouring off him whilst he was talking to me Another Dunny bit, was doing marking and spoiling drills with Miller coaching and on the bag, Miller stressed that they needed to do it like they were in a game, so Dunny proceeded to put his elbow into Miller's ribs, Miller responded by giving Dunn a fearsome whack with the bag Howie was showing off his one handed skills, managed to get his thumb trapped in a jumper during a drill last Friday, didn't dislocate but has it heavily strapped Photos will be on Twitter Demonpk

Thanks Clint, just a one liner like that posted will lead to two or three pages of Watts being out for the whole season, I explained to Dave Misson that it would be better to get the truth out first, gives me a quick rundown at each training I am at, which is really cool of him

I have reported at least 3 times Watts has a problem with his groin at the moment, so they are being ultra cautious with it, surprise there was 20 out there

Re Garland, he has had (whoops) (edited) major issues with his feet and ankles, lost a lot of condition, he may finish at the back of the group, but he finishes, exactly where he should be at the moment, we asked for a more professional approach, this is what we are getting, Dawes did a lot more today, Gawn rucks yet starts in the rehab group As for Jnr Mc, Jamar disposed of him easily, but spent a bit of time showing him why, which I thought was good, Mitchell White did a spoil in the same drill and put the ball about five metres over the fence, as I said we have done ok there as well Toumpas - It doesn't matter whether he had real opposition. He was out to beat himself. He smashed them.....correct

Harmes' kicking is ok, he can hit targets, he is another with a neat kicking action, must be yet another Roos requisite

From what I have seen by attending most trainings up to now, Monday they get pounded, Wednesday is more ball work and Friday is just slightly less than Monday The amount of coaching going on throughout the session is excellent, Goodwin seems at the moment to be the 'quiet' type, took Harmes aside when they were doing a stoppage drill, a few words, then praise when subsequently Harmes obviously did what Goodwin had told him I asked Brett Allison about the times kicking drill, it is run as a competition, see who can chain the passes together the quickest if the ball goes to ground or misses the target, the eventual time even if it is quick is not counted

I agree with Pig Dog, the Toumps running action would make the purists cry, but assume after his hip problems, it has been developed to be the most effective way for him to motor which he is now doing

One interesting bit from training and I assume it is a decision made, they had Jayden Hunt training with the backs, assume they are looking at developing him coming out of the backline with speed As for Toumpas, he is just back to where he was when a junior, great burst speed but also endurance

I joked with him at end, when he was in front of the runs he looked over his shoulder as they turned for home, asked him was he tiring, answer was no he wanted to wiin!!

I asked PJ about this, was saving it, he explained that Eddie took the 'glasshouse' and turned it into what it is now from a derelict hovel, advertising during Pies time at Goschs part of the deal