Caligula's cohort

LMFAO... sure entertain the idea to be politically correct, but it will never happen. Seriously what crumbs come up with this nonsense?

I've been Texans fan for the past decade. They are the team of the red and the blue, so I figured I'd jump on board with them. I'll be cheering on the 49ers and hoping the Dees can emulate their success in 2020.

I spoke to Tomlinson and Baker after their rehab had finished and can confirm from previous reports that Tomlinson will be back on Friday and Baker told me he's 2 weeks away and eager to join the main group.

I've been down to a few preseason training sessions last year and i'm very confident that both Hunt and O.Mac will be in the team in round 1. Hunt hasn't missed a beat in terms of training and he even came back earlier than required which clearly shows to me anyway that he is doing everything possible for a contract extension. On O.Mac, he's got his mojo back and has bulked up in the upper body and will combine well with the likes of May and Lever. Ideally i'd have Smith take his role but we all know how injury prone Smith is which gives O.Mac the edge over anyone else fighting for his spot. On a different note, has anyone else struggled to find the 3 list spots we'll need to go into this years draft? so far I have Jones, J.Wagner and Baker. Our list is looking very strong.

From watching vision and seeing how he moves I can see a lot of Stef Martin in Jackson. They are both from basketball backgrounds, similar in height and both have great athleticism. What I think we'll get with Jackson is a slightly better version of Martin who can do a bit more up forward. • Martin was a relatively late-bloomer in AFL terms, with basketball occupying most of his sporting life in his late teens. However, a brief taste of Australian Rules had him immediately hooked, and his talent was quickly noticed by AFL scouts. https://www.lions.com.au/player-profile/stefan-martin

I think TMac came fifth... it's hard to see but there's someone just behind Jones with their elbow sticking out. My guess would be Langdon.

To me, Jordon is the least physically developed of the three. I was expecting him to put on a little size over the off season but has come back in much the same shape. Nietchske is quite strong in the legs and was running well in training on Monday. But i'd say Sparrow is the most AFL ready of the three, and he has great size. I'd say he's added another 3-4 kgs to his frame. I could see Jones handing over his position to Sparrow mid way through next season.

Did you see what West Coast gave up for Kelly? I think it was 2 first rounds and 2 second rounders... Clubs will pay overs for quality players.

Great... then we get two top ten draft picks in a few years time... happy with that.

We might draft both the WA boys in Jackson and Robertson. The Dees have been heavily linked to both, It could reduce the go home factor being drafted together... much like Anderson and Rowell.

Pruess could be our secret weapon in 2020... according to Burgess he's lost 8-10 kgs. He clearly showing the team and coaches that he wants to be in the 1sts next year and not stuck down in Casey. Same goes to Omac, he's looking much stronger in the shoulders.

He was definitely there.

Got there around 10am, it was beautiful weather out on the track. The ground surface was looking immaculate! About 26 payers in attendance today. Crossy was putting Neitschke through his paces with kicking, marking drills and then sprinting through to collect the handball receive and then kick it down the line. Later, Neitschke went on to do repeated 200 - 300 meter boundary laps at about 80% pace with about 2 - 3 mins rest between sets. He was cooked by then end of it... The main group were doing defensive drills ran by Chaplin. It was a 6 on 6 system where the players would try and move the ball out of defence by kicking laterally or along the boundary. Petracca intercepted the ball about three times so he was definitely switched on and moving like a cat. Players then switched into their runners and half did interval training around the boundary marked with cones. They would sprint 50 meters, jog 40 and walk 10 and repeat for about 10 minutes continuously. The other half would do 100 meter sprints with 30 seconds rest. They finished up around 11am and Preuss stayed back to do extra goal kicking and forward craft with Max Rooke. Preussy has lost considerable weight in the upper body and looking really fit. Salem, Hore and Jordon also stayed back and did a bit of ground ball touch skills. Special mentions go out to Hibberd and Sparrow who both looking in ripping condition. I think Sparrow may have grown a bit as i saw him running laps with Joel Smith who is 188 cms and Sparrow was just a touch smaller.

From memory I think it was JT himself who said that just after we drafted Spargo. But he was basing that on his form before he injured his shoulder. He was averaging something like 130 fantasy points a game playing as a midfielder.

Papley would of been ideal for us as a crumbing forward with occasional bursts in the midfield and better yet we all know what we will get for him if we used pick 8 on him with a second rounder in return. I'm not saying I don't like Weightman, but I think at pick 8 you have to nail those selections and not use them on a smokey. To me he is in the 15-20 range.

Jason Taylor has high regard for Cody Weightman, but he also rated Spargo as a top 10 player in his draft year and look how that's turned out. Considering Weightman is a smokey it means he is an unknown quantity. You can do much more with Kemp who can play midfield and forward then a 177cm small forward that takes the occasional hanger in Weightman.

Bid on Green at 3 which GWS will match and take Young at 4. Then take Kemp at 9. I just can't justify taking a small forward in a top 10 pick. I'd take a future Bontempelli (Kemp) over a Jamie Elliot (Weightman) any day of the week.

I think I can already guess it - "Spargo raring to go for preseason to recapture 2018 form".

Tomlinson is best mates with Dom Tyson (I think both went to Trinity Grammar). They do a mini pre season together over the off season at Camberwell Sports Ground. Dom speaks very highly of him and says that he "runs rings around him" in both time trials and sprints. I know it's not a ringing endorsement on Tyson's account, but I think he would be a very handy pick up seeing as we have lost a Utility in Kielty and could possibly lose another in T.Smith.

Good signing for the club. As other posters have mentioned, Richo and Burgess had a good working relationship at Port and is a key reason why Richo came to Melbourne. Goody and Richo have a similar coaching mantra where they embrace players as opposed to firing rockets up them, and are generally non-confrontational, so I think we will see a more cohesive coaching panel which will translate to better game day performances.

We'll make it to the Grand Final. 20 years on from our last Grand Final appearance. Let's break this damn curse!

I think T. Smith is going to give it one more year. I think he's well liked in the coaches eyes. Dec Keilty will most likely get the chop.

Do we get a few extra draft picks and first dibs on the best state league players like Carlton and Gold Coast did last year?

McCartney has brought a wealth of knowledge to the club, and helped the players and coaches immensely, but the time is right for change. I believe Macca was acting rogue in some match day games and ignoring Goody's instructions as he believed he was the 'older, wiser head'. Hence the move out of the coaches box and onto the interchange bench. If there is a fracture in the coaching group, this will trickle down into the players causing a divide. Hopefully our new assistants will all be onboard with Goody's plan moving forward and bring a united coaching and playing group for 2020 and beyond.

We have the messiah fascination because we've ultimately been starved of success for so long and continue to have subpar training facilities, subpar assistant coaches and subpar administration. Once we have all that sorted, we won't have to pin all our hopes on one guy...