Whispering_Jack

Alan Johnson was a fantastic wingman when he first came to the club before some idiot decided to play him in a back pocket. [RL - yes, I know post 3]

That's rubbish. I eat a banana a day (not too ripe) and it hasn't caused me any problems. You need a balanced diet and exercise and all will be well in the world. On the other hand, if you want to get a job at GWS in recruiting ...

Tanking is only one of AD's worries. The AFL's drug policy is under attack, there are inequities relating to fixturing and a few clubs are under the pump financially. The AFL's pumping millions into Western Sydney but, despite monumental assistance with recruiting, the game doesn't look like attracting the support of the locals while at the same time, the Wanderers, with less time and less money is capturing the hearts of the people in the region and has been an instant success on the field. And a look at the sports pages in both the Age and the Sun tell the story. Soccer and the two rugby codes are making enormous inroads into the Melbourne market at the same time as this iniquitous 6 - 7 month investigation is disrupting and destabilising the original football club. What an absolute disgrace!

At least you got to wear the Demon colours which are infinitely better than St. Peter's red and green stripes. Otherwise, I must say they are a well run club.

I had dinner with a couple of Carlton supporters who, when they weren't bitching about Juddie's hamstring injury, told me they were very impressed with our potential forward lineup and its marking power. They were really upset that they didn't go after Dawes. I felt quite good about that.

Unlike Paul Roos before him, Buckley will not claim he was joking. He doesn't have to because the AFL won't take on a power house like Collingwood and the AFL let's Sydney clubs do as they wish.

Thanks Tim (good get) & Deevoted, I was on to St. Peter's in East Bentleigh because my sons played junior footy against them and I knew the club was in Melbourne's old Metropolitan zone. When I couldn't think of a triple premiership player who fitted the bill, I started thinking of the possibility of Under 19's, Reserves and Night Premierships and I was going to go with Bailey who I knew had a record of playing in a few different (but not senior) premierships at the club. I decided to be sporting and dropped the obvious clue. St. Peter's used to be one of the feeder clubs for our Under 19's. Luke Beveridge's parents (John & Rosa) were involved in coaching/administration and I know it produced Luke, Brett Bailey, the Fidge brothers and Paul O'Brien (so there were a few tough boys in that lot). No relation.

Seeing this is a guessing quiz, may I hazard a guess and say that the reference in Q1 to three winning grand finals might not necessarily mean three winning Senior grand finals?

I'll go further and say that, pound for pound, there's not a single player on the list who has been covered more than Dom Barry.

Richie Emselle

There's a report in today's Herald Sun (no link available) that contains an overview of every club's pre-season - Scouting Report. On Melbourne, in summary:- Track Stars: Dan Nicholson & Tom McDonald the stand outs. Cotton Wool: Mitch Clark, Jack Trengove and Max Gawn - all are being given plenty of recovery time & Mitch wants to play in Round 1 but the Demons won't rush. Remember this kid: Mature aged Matt Jones could make an instant impact as could Dean Terlich. Pass the Baton: Tom Gillies (who the Cats once were grooming to cover for Scarlo) to replace Jared Rivers. What's changed: a third of the list. Nothing earth shattering or new but something to chew on nevertheless as we close in on the start of a new season.

Anyone know when Caro's due back?

I don't really give a rat's about Gysberts either but if it were true that he suddenly changed his attitude and was training the house down (which I and a few others here doubt), it would reflect poorly on our own football department which obviously failed to achieve that. If true, it clearly is a matter of concern for Melbourne and in that respect, I don't view the issue as being irrelevant to or derailing a training thread - especially on a slow news day (before RR thankfully provided his report).

Approximately 157,000 - 160,000 supporters makes us one of the least supported clubs in the competition. That is our main danger as I see it going forward. Initiatives like the work being done in Casey will help but, as Captain Obvious would say, what we really need is sustained success on the field.

As mentioned above, the AFL PROSPECTUS has a great section on the potential 2013 Draftees. The first looks and sounds like a real beauty. James Aish (Norwood SA), midfielder, 183cm plays like Bryce Gibbs

Without wanting to steal BLWNBA's thunder, I thought I might bring up the AFL Prospectus draft prospects section while he's busy with his work etc. The 2013 AFL Prospectus has a list of the top 25 potential draftees which I will cover elsewhere and which should be a great resource for later in the year. It also looks back at last year's top 25 to determine how it fared with its predictions. The players were: * Jed Anderson * Jordan Bourke * Clay Cameron * Joe Daniher * Dayle Garlett * Brodie Grundy * Matthew Haynes * Ben Kennedy * Sam Mayes * Liam McBean * Todd McKay * Troy Menzel * Brodie Murdoch * Jonathan O'Rourke * Lachlan Plowman * Mason Shaw * Josh Simpson * Tanner Smith * James Stewart * Jake Stringer * Shannon Taylor * Jimmy Toumpas * Jack Viney * Nick Vlastuin * Lachie Whitfield Of these, three committed to AFL teams prior to the day of the draft and another 18 were drafted (12 in the first 25, 5 more by pick 40 and Bourke was rookied). The four who missed out due to form, attitude or off-field issues were Garlett, Haynes, McKay and Taylor. The Prospectus missed out on picking Jackson Macrae (who had then not yet debuted with the Chargers, having missed the final cut from pre-season), Oliver Wines (pushed down the order by a "lack of leg speed and body shape", Kristian Jaksch and Aidan Corr. I think Melbourne did well to snare two of the better credentialled of the top 25 as well as Jesse Hogan who would otherwise have been a top 25 prospect.

This will be interesting - Interchange cap set at 20

Fixed.

Hope the same applies on match days as well.

We've been told that the club's approach to Clark's rehab is conservative and Mitch himself keeps tweeting that he's on track with his progress. While he was walking laps on Monday, he was also kicking the football as well (albeit with his left foot only) and there's been no evidence of any setback to his recovery routine. I don't think he's been put on the LTI like Max Gawn so can only assume there must be some chance that by mid March, he might be taking part in some light match practice.

This is a thread about training and no doubt we're all interested in how our blokes went but unfortunately, there's a dearth of information about yesterday's session. In the circumstances, I think it is reasonable to discuss one of our recent players who reputedly was a poor performer on the track and who, from one report, seems to have undergone an amazing transformation in his attitude to his training. I think it's fair to ask whether this was due to some deficiency in the way we approached the player while he was with us, whether he's had an epiphany since leaving us, whether Brad Scott has some magic formula or whether the story's nothing more than spin?

Other than as per the rumour in the OP, it seems not and I've therefore changed the thread's title. No use giving the company any more free publicity (although that may alter if they do go ahead with a sponsorship and/or a truckload of their product turns up at my front door).

For the uninitiated and non tech savvy ones among us, I assume that we log on to the sites and we'll get directed to where we can watch the game? Am I on the right track?

Meanwhile over at the Kangaroos: Jordan Gysberts training the house down at North

Alby Rodda