Wiseblood

Word is that he is training. No houses down yet, but he's training.

While the 3km time trial does nothing for me (we've had some absolute spuds run super times over the years), one thing it does show is that some of the players have worked hard over the off season and have come back to the club willing to do anything they can to improve. Any supporter knows that you need to do more than run a few kms to make it as a footballer, but at the very least it does show we have the players on the list who are willing to put the hard yards in. I'll reserve judgement on players surprising me until the real stuff begins. Matt Jones was best 22 according to some at the start of the year, with much of it based off his training efforts. He's now out of the AFL all together. As long as the players keep working hard then that's all we can ask I guess.

I'm not fussed in the slightest with his career choices from here. He gave 3 fantastic years to us and helped to get us back on track. He did the job he set out to do. He can do what he likes from here.

If you could let me know how Garland is going, and how he trains the house down on his first day back, that would be super.

These two strike me as players who will take time to build their tank, and it's heartening in some ways to see them still putting in as much as they can. Both are young and are still learning, albeit slower than others, what it takes to make it at this level. I have every faith in our coaching group to get them there, Cheers for the terrific info as always DS.

Seems a pretty shallow way of looking at it. The leadership group are there to set a precedent, not just for Oliver, but for the playing group as a whole. Yes, it is up to Clayton to learn from this, but if he got that this wasn't the right way to act already, then he wouldn't have done it. He needs to be told to pull his head in. The leadership group will give him a punishment that they believe not only fits the crime but sets the standard for everyone else as well.

If he is driving over the limit, which is .00 for a P plate driver, then he's an idiot. He doesn't deserve to be dragged over the coals for it or have it held against him in the future, but with everything we know he's still an idiot for doing it.

Such as? Missing the first few senior games means he can still complete a full pre-season and then play with Casey so he is ready to go.

Spot on. I'm hoping the club leaders set a really good standard with this. No need to smash him for it, but hopefully they make it very clear that this sort of behaviour at our club just won't be tolerated. If that means missing a few games at the start of the year then so be it.

Has there been confirmation from an official source, or has this been photoshopped by someone from Facebook? Edit - missed the link in the OP. I must be blind today.

I don't think you struck a nerve as such, just that it's still too premature in his career and even this pre-season to be making judgement calls on his ability to run out a game. Even last season he started the pre-season on a modified program after only being drafted in late November, so this is his first real crack at it. I agree that running out games and building his tank is something he really needs to work on, but there is plenty of time for him to do that. As I said in my earlier post, we might just need to be a little more patient than we'd like to be.

I think you've answered your own question there, fr_ap. The bolded part of your response is what we need to remember - not only is it very early days in his career, but it's early days in the second pre-season of his career. He lost quite a bit of weight in the final season of his TAC Cup career, something he worked incredibly hard to do, so getting a 'tank' is something that may take him some time. I have every confidence he will reach the levels that we all know we can, it might just take a little patience.

Thanks DS, very much appreciated.

I always smile when I read about how much Jeff Farmer still loves the club. Still my all time favourite player after all these years.

Wayne - is this an early indication that both Melksham and Hibberd will be stationed across half back, or was it just their role in the drill?

And it's a no to McKernan, both on the main list or as a rookie.

Looks like a couple of blokes in this photo have been ironing their shirts on a wok.

Roos has come out and said that he'll never coach again as he'll be spending at least 3 months of every year travelling with his wife. He won't be going to Collingwood. Sauce - The HUN.

Jesus H. Christ. Do we need a thread for every dud where the OP tries in vain to make them sound enticing while everyone else shudders at the thought?

That's not relevant as they aren't the same player.

So therefore I can't make comparisons between any player that's ever played the game because it isn't the same player? Unbelievable logic. There are clear similarities between those players that make a strong case as to why pursuing Green isn't worth our time. That's enough from me.

How are they unrelated? All supposedly had talent, all of them didn't get anywhere with it and didn't kick on when they were delisted. It's a fair comparison. Green falls in to that category as well. He isn't worth our time. For a player you are just 'throwing out there' for discussion, you seem to be defending him quite strongly.

Really? Talented? Fair suck of the ol' half forward flanker there Stuie. Look at us over the years. Lots of supposedly talented players who didn't perform in the worst culture in the league at the time. How many of these players went on to other clubs and got better? Gysberts? Blease? Tapscott? The list goes on. Green falls in to this category. He's no better than a Ben Newton, a bloke we just delisted. Our club has no need for him.

Delisted from the worst list in the comp. That should end the discussion right there.

@Vogon Poetry has been made to look like a pill. Not surprising, really.