waynewussell

The young, vocal leaders at today's training were Chandler, Turner, Rivers and Sparrow

Smith's evasiveness is impressive!

What we can say is he's in much better shape than when he turned up this time last year. He is also in better shape than he was in the first half of last season. If he attends all organised training sessions this pre-season, he will be tip-top by round 1.

Thank you Kev! Much appreciated!

How do I arrange to get enough storage to be able to post training pics on Demonland?

Can't add much to what Demonland has already posted. Clarrie cruise through some early drills, but when they moved to the full ground activity, he showed he still has that burst speed. On one occasion he ran with the ball from the centre through to the 50-metre zone, being hotly pursued all the way by Riv, who couldn't quite catch him. Another highlight for me was seeing Tholstrup leading to a high kick, being shadowed by AMW. Tholstrup leapt high and almost grabbed the mark on the second attempt, however, AMW got a hand in to spoil in the air then mopped up the loose ball. All of this at top pace. Viney was Viney! Hard as nails, bouncing up like a rubber ball when taken to the ground. Howes continues to excite with defensive run and fine spoils in the air, much like Jud when he burst into the team. Riv looks great and seems ready to build on last year's excursion into the centre square. Marty Hore is another who looks to be at peak fitness levels already. Sestan looks comfortable in his role linking with the forwards. Another who has returned looking in better physical shape than last season. Browny gets a lot of it and has genuine pace. One rapid run on the Punt Road wing, bouncing the pill, was scintillating until the ball refused to come back up and he stuffed it. Got caught! Disco is not quite as tall as Roo or Jefferson, but he makes up for it with timing and those great hands.

I got the same impression!

I think he is a chance, not necessarily round 1, but if he shows his development in a few games at Casey then he is ready!

Jefferson is getting in good spots as deep forward

Windsor back with trainer on boundary line runs

Caleb spent some time in running exercises with a trainer. Has rejoined the main group

Clayton has already given big bear-hugs to most of the coaching staff!

Clayton looks trim!

Quite obvious that inclusion in AFLW All Australian side is a matter of supporter votes!

...and Dodoro claims the Bombers have the best culture he's seen in 40 years!

Think it was Harry Sharp.

He's 20! Just under 200cms. Well-built now! No slug on the running track! He definitely has time to improve with a little senior exposure.

One thing I noticed at today's training that I hadn't noticed to the same degree previously... Players immediately ran off-line when they took a mark and wanted to play on. In continuous play, the receiver's first steps were to either side rather than straight ahead. I understand that players who are evasive do this instinctively, but today it seemed uniform practice to get the approaching opponent off balance.

Verrall may surprise. He is mobile and seems well balanced at ground level. He dishes off well by hand and takes good options.

Does anyone who attended training know who the bloke was that Bill introduced to the whole squad early on in the session?

It was a matter of timing his run. I noted that he wasn't using his voice loudly enough to draw attention. He was definitely being coached on all of this after each forward thrust. The spread by Roo, Turner and Co was excellent. We have to feed Kossie and Fritta into this new dynamic... Exciting times ahead!

Got down to Gosch's for an hour before the rain set in. Kev has offered some excellent observations so only a few things I can add. I'm usually very positive in general about all things MFC, so excuse me if I note a few negatives on the way through. I was looking for improvement. On that scale, I was impressed with Jefferson's movement, pace and marking up forward. Roo looked good, but regularly ran to a spot on the spread (which was a focus of forward patterns) that was ignored by the incoming ball carrier. Verrall looked good in the ball movement exercises from the backline, agile and clean by hand and foot. Key backs were McDonald (who looked fit and sharp), Howes (who gathered cleanly and created change of direction), Hore (injury free and fit), Judd (Rolls Royce, who was also used further up ground), AMW (I have him in my starting 23 in 2025) & Verrall (on occasions). Woewodin looks fit and balanced with ball movement. Things that disappointed (because they were evident during 2024 season) Tholstrup occasionally gets into trouble with a fumble that allows defender to close him down and tackle. Brown sometimes holds on to it for too long, kicks under pressure and misses targets. Bowey seems in two minds with the ball, slows down flow and misses target enough to put the receiver under unnecessary pressure. Set shots, when taken, were still 50/50 proposition. Things that excited... Windsor continued on his merry way Rivers looked composed and strong (at one point he ran down Viney and tackled him to the ground in a face plant. No 7 was surprised but not impressed!). Sparrow is trim and looks to have added a little speed to his movement.

I couldn't agree more! Chris' understanding of football can be summarized by his continuous calling for Jefferson to get a game from the time we drafted him! He may get a game early in 2025, and that is an accurate appraisal of his steady progress to reach the standard required to succeed at AFL level! Chris, unfortunately, has shown no development in his quest for acceptance as a media analyst!