kev martin

To Dv8 My first line "Great turn out by the fan"s", why say "and the supporters!!!!". The admin and demon army put time and planning to bring "more" to todays atmosphere and I thank them for that. Without the people then of course no atmosphere. A game is played because, someone made some rules, brought some equipement and cut the grass. Purely it is about some people having fun and kicking a ball around. Those who watch is incidental to those who play. You say you are the important one and they should make it better for you. I say, you give them money and allow them to do nothing but play. Do you use the same logic for all the entertainers. (Music, art, theatre, movies). I think we are the mugs. The performers are the ones having the best time and the corporates sell that to us. A few with the glory and then the masses. Without the sponsorship, not the fans the game is just what 50 people want to do with their time off. The colleseum was built to manipulate political powers and no matter how important you think you are you remain a pawn in the big picture. Elite sport, music, art, theatre and movies all take something away from us. If we don't turn up to the game then they would change tack and sell us something else and we are always buying. We crave a tribal connection, they know it and we love it. They know what we accept how far they can go with us. The masses will never dictate to them. I think you are grassping at straws and reading something into my words that was not there. I do understand your frustration, especially since daddy told you you are the most important. I would suggest you get out and have a kick of the football in an open field and know it is bloody good fun as your mates make lots of noise.

Great turn out by the fans. Our colours are everywhere, kids calling out the names of their heroes, flags are being waved and doggy's in the red and blue. Good job by the Army and admin to create suitable finals atmosphere for the MFC players and staff. No Mitch Hannan, Jordan Lewis, Joel Smith, Jeff Garlett, Tom Bugg or Jayden Hunt. Rehab had Dom Tyson (some skill work, mainly laps), Mitch King, Corey Maynard and Oskar Baker. Test group had Aaron vandenBerg and Jack Viney, both later joined the main group. Jack getting congrats from players and fans when he joined. At the end of training he continued running laps by himself. No surprises in the forwards, backs or mids grouping. Mids were tackling and pressuring each other reasonably hard. Forwards goal kicking pract ice as was the whole squad at some times. It was an extended session of simulations. They were hard at the contest. I thought we were a bit off with our skills, though a few stood out - James Harmes, Bailey Fritsch, Neville Jetta, Tom Mcdonald, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Aaron vandenBerg and it was good to see Jack Viney get his hands on it. At one stage the playing group pulled away from the coaching staff and had a pow wow together. Looked liked it was led by Nathan Jones. Good to see them taking self responsibility for some poor play. Plenty of running work was also done. Michael Hibberd wearing number 38 on his back. Hypothetical match committee: Working on ingraining habitual behaviors, such as lowering the eyes, finding the corridors, rolling off the mark, moving the ball quickly and spreading. Reinforcing working hard and reacting quickly when it is turned over. A bit concerned about our clangers and rushing the set kicking. Go Dees, from kev Martin

Saw a link about the Casey game. No mention of TV, only said you can hear a broadcast on K-Rock FM 95.5 geelong radio.

Oops, forgot Dom broke ulna had operation, so he is being managed. VandenBerg possibly being managed as well. I remember him light duties/tested at thursday training before last game.

Thanks Earl. As a guess, those missing may play for Casey. Vanders for more game fitness, Tyson because he has cohesion with them, Joel to see if he is ready. Kent, Hannan and Viney probably being managed. Gosch's is great when all the professional teams are out there. Storm or the Reds as well next to the Victory. Usually the MFC only one's with spectators. Though Honda of late has had a few down there to watch him. I will miss this if we move our training somewhere else. Creates a good atmosphere. Vince will retire at the end of our season. Probably thinks he could get a game in the GF or prelim, if there are injuries or is needed. So will continue with his program

They will be thinking they can put a rally of 3 to 4 goals together. We have to reply to every goal they get. They will also know we will keep scoring for four quarters. They will want to keep in striking range and at sometime during the game make a break of 20 points or more. Being a finals atmosphere we will be up to it. Starting with some nervousness as we settle then we start scoring. There will be less stoppages so our clearance work is less inportant though we will dominate this stat. They will attempt to hold the ball with chipping to short leads. We will be looking for our normal fast ball movements. They will use Hawkins up the field as a link and put Danger forward for 1 on 1 contest a few times. I think Frosty should cover Danger when this happens and get Tom to cover Hawkins. When Hawkins is forward. keep Frosty on him. If Ablett goes forward get Fritsch on him and make him accountable to his rebound. Give Oscar the job on Biclavs when he is forward. Jetts on Menzel. We need to rotate Harmes on who ever is dominating the possessions. Put Viney and Jones at the stoppages when we need to lock it down. Oliver and Brayshaw when we need a goal Cause Selwood to cough it up by some pressing him with others intercepting his handballs. Crumbers to have a big day, Spargs, Milk, Trac and JKH, with Weeds, Tom and Max softly bringing the ball front and centre unless they stick the mark. Important to keep Scott guessing about us. We have lots of flexibility and should use it. Most importantly is to lower our eyes, hit the easy target, get the basics right and play some creative take it on football.

Fritsch is a no nonsense player. Keeps his mind on the game. I think it was the umpires who let him down. If they want to stop retaliation problems it should have been a 50 and a bit of a warning from them. They did nothing. The protected "super stars" get away with it again. No wonder the thugs win in our game. Rhetoric from AFL to set standards for the juniors. It is a joke. I hope we continue to play hard, fair and not turn to the nastiness of those prepared to assault others in order to intimidate. Punches and bullying is not acceptable in the real world. we don't have to encourage it in sport. Keeping the skilled out of the game because of those prepared to use violence. The young will copy what they see on the field of AFL. Standards should be high. I understand violence can influence games and brings alot of emotion to the spectators BUT it is a bad role model for a society struggling with assault.

Hibbs for me. Brings maturity to a young list. Reads the play beautifully. The backline can set up around his instincts, attack, defend, lock down or get ball. Reliable, good decision maker, makes others better players, rarely makes mistakes and can bring some "x" factor Stays calm, remains humble, leads by example.

From what I've seen he his a strong and tough player. Height means nothing, it is your heart. Flesh and bone is the same for everyone. Maybe weight has some say but he is a solid build. I have seen him take them on and not take a back step. Probably underestimated through the juniors as well. The smaller mans ego. Agility, speed and getting his shoulder into their ribs (perfect height for this). He can hurt them. Go Spargs. If they target him, I believe it will urge him on.

I've been noticing it more in general play than with the set shot. Also heard Macca encouraging them at training to do the same. Basically it's the same problem, the umps don't seem to be enforcing the creeping.

The MFC'S welcome strategy for internationals is great. All those students are wearing our colours. Saw a group of about 20-30 in the top level of the southern stand. Having a great time plenty of selfies and I assume social networking. We will have many supporters world-wide. It will suit us well when the AFL becomes the WFL (world football league). Well done our admin.

We have learnt how to win. Have matured from last year with our ability to build our game towards the end of the season. Have a good balance in our squad, all players are contributing and it appears all are playing their roles. Loved the way we closed them down and our ability to stand up in tackles and/or get the hands free. Our angles of attack confused them. Our defensive structures work well except for our ability to defend the small kicks. We seemed to give them that area inside the circle we make around 40 meters when they had a mark or free. Though the coaches adjusted this. They had problems breaking through our lines. Jordan is leading by example. Weeds brings good flexibility to the squad. They need to get used to JKH's style (lack of cohension). We can still work on our handballs (missed a few). Could see GWS lose momentum when they missed the easy goals. That used to be us. Now we just get on with it for the four quarters. Harmes, Brayshaw, Gawn, Oliver, beautiful mid fielders. Joy all round. Go Dees!

I think they are all being instructed to creep the mark. Seems the umps arn't enforcing it too often. Shaving cream will just slow the game down and make for congestion.

It is a day for our younger players. They can play a more natural game without the implied anxieties from having high consequences if we lose. Weids to get more than 5 marks and show his straight kicking style. Fritsch and Spargo to find lots of the football by getting off their opponents. I also think vanders and Kenty will set themselves up well for finals with hard tackles and contested football. Would love to see us get some good rebound goals from off the half back. Frosty to have his best game, Hibbs to read everything. Hopefully Goodwin produces structures that controls the momentum, causes them to turn it over and keeps the GWS to less then 10 goals. Would hate to see a shoot out. We need intensity and high pressure football that we can take into the final series. Hoping for no injuries and Petracca to kick goals from his set shots.

You are right Deeoldfart, very difficult to assess what you ask. The training is for a 1 1/2 to 2 hr period. So much must go on behind closed doors. Often it is the coaches inputs that give me a hint as to what the teams focus is. They influence the intensity. The trainings purpose is probably dictated by game reviews and strategies. At the moment, defense and goal kicking seems to be the focus. Last week it was getting the basics right and 20 to 30 meter kicks. It is all guess work though. The performance on training field is variable and doesn't seem associated with anything in particular. Though after a win they are more joyful and relaxed. After a loss it seems a little heavy. All as we would expect, given human nature. Sometimes I see players being tested for a role or team inclusion but again, alot is up to interpretation. The quality of training seems independent of anything. It is all a bit warm and fuzzy to say definitively what the cause and effect is, (so subjective). Though there are times when they are switched on but whether that is associated with a good performance in the next game, I am unsure. The general quality of the past 5 weeks seems to be "steady as she goes".

Also getting some physio work on his lower back which has happened regularly during the season. The niggle may be ankle related, though difficult to tell. He is good to go!

Hibbo is good to go. Moving well, plenty of voice, was matching up against some of our taller players and reliable disposals.

Just a niggle he was a bit proppy at times, but it didn't slow him down.

Jayden was doing a few laps and some ball work. A couple of times he opened up with some fast runs. Joel needed some physio work on his shoulder, so he is a still concerned about it. Doing some hard runs in timed conditions as well as ball work.

Beautiful morning for training. They appear to not be getting ahead of themselves. Quietly going about their warm-ups. Rehab had Jack Viney, Joel Smith, Jayden Hunt and Oskar Baker. Unlikely any of them are ready for the weekend. The test group included Aaron vandenBerg and Christian Salem, all joined the main group later. The players using their voices to encourage, instruct and call for the ball during drills and contests. The coaches encouraged direct football, "not sideways, go straight towards goal ". Also instructing them to create more space at stoppages, "make a larger circle" around the ball. The backs continue to have Cam Pedersen and Josh Wagner. They practiced plenty of punches and spoils, as well as defensive crumbing. The forwards working hard on goal kicking. The mids had Jay Kennedy-Harris and Charlie Spargo working hard in match ups. They had them 30 meters from throw in, so as to encourage positioning and match ups as they ran to where the contest would be. The simulations used the entire field and all the squad on at one time. Usually it was 2/3rds of the field and a 1/3rd of players rotate off. Seemed direct football was also the style of play. Unfortunately their were plenty of errors, though it was congested play with some hard tackles being made. They all wanted to win and compete. Josh Wagner (looking fit and strong), Tim Smith and Tom Bugg had steady session. A few are carrying niggles, as expected this time of year. Tom McDonald getting work on hip, Clayton Oliver foot and lower back, Christian Salem groin. They will be looking forward to a week off. I didn’t notice Pat McKenna out there. Dean Kent doing lots of goal kicking practice at the end of training. A shortish training session, they seemed serious and with purpose. Bernie Vince and Jake Lever on the track helping with drills and advice. Plenty of supporters around the track today. The staff were up and about, lots of happiness amongst them.

Are any our second tier players big game performers? Hope a few take the game on and have a big impact. Alex Neal-Bullen, Sam Frost, Aaron vandenBerg, Dom Tyson, Bailey Fritsch as possibles. It will set us well for a finals campaign (if we make it) as the A list can't do it without them. Time for them to be accountable with a minimal error count, plenty of 1 percenters, heavy defensive pressure and some take the game apart moments. We can't do it with passengers, all 22 with their footy brains turned on, plus the coaching staff proactively adapting our structures. Big test today. Go Dees!

We are getting close. When we are "on" we dominate. We drop it regularly but I hope that as our list matures we will stop that. I've been entertained this year though alot of that comes with frustration and pain. I think we worry most of the other teams. Prefer the ability of this list to compete then others from recent years. Two more games to "enjoy", with a reasonable chance, that is in our own hands to make the final series.

Apologies Deemania, the MCG size is 160 × 140 m (not 160 × 129 m). Smaller flanks to play in on optus, perth.

Thanks coach, you are right. Got the size without doing due diligence. I picked up from a thread in foxsports.

The dimensions of MCG (160 × 129 m) and the new optus stadium (165 × 130 m) are similar. The corridors we use should be the ones less defended. Or if we are closing the game down then we kick down the line to packs. So north, south or middle is irrelevant. They are probably moving to a game plan anyway. I see our main problem being the opposition getting a run on and kicking numerous unanswered goals. I think it is a mental problem and lack of hardness. They look like roos in the headlights, unable to get the ball as they become spectators. We really need to make a determined effort to answer every goal the opposition get and make our own run of unanswered goals. Kicking to targets especially if the player has space is better than bombs to packs. Errors will occur but repetition at training can help as well as knowing other players limitations (I think that is one of Hogans problems, he expects the carrier to deliver to him instead working hard to make it easy for the player to feed him). Freeing the ball movement takes creativity and lowering the eyes.