Whispering_Jack

Hot air balloons sighted over Malvern on my way into the city this morning. Perhaps the club has arranged for its winning SSP candidate to make a surprise entry landing in the centre of Gosch’s Paddock for the start of training?

On this day 65 years ago, the Secretary of the Melbourne Football Club, Mr. James H. Cardwell issued an invitation to a young Ronald Matthews to attend the MCG to meet fellow prospective third and fourth XVIII players ahead of the forthcoming season. I wonder whatever became of young Ronald?

The SSP ends tomorrow and we’re still none the wiser as to whether Melbourne will sign up one of the candidates. I have my doubts as to whether either has put up a convincing enough argument to warrant a list place.

Anthony Caminiti is a tall key position forward from the Northern Knights who was mentioned in despatches a couple of years ago as a likely draft pick but was overlooked in the end. He persevered and is about to be added to the rookie list at Moorabbin ahead of the SSP deadline. The Saints offered the 19-year-old key forward a contract hours after a dominant match sim display at RSEA Park on Friday.

Casey, it was. Selection of photos from the MFC Gallery:-

Now that both Josh Kennedys have announced their retirements, it’s time to revive this annual thread that starts with our farewelling of some old favourites and ends after the drafts with the introduction of some of the stars of tomorrow. ADELAIDE In: Hugh Bond (GWV Rebels) Tyler Brown ® (Collingwood) ** Billy Dowling (North Adelaide SA) Mark Keane ® (Collingwood) ** Andrew McPherson ® * Max Michalanney (Norwood SA) Izak Rankine (Gold Coast) Paul Seedsman ® * Out: Luke Brown (retired) Ben Davis (delisted) Billy Frampton (Collingwood) Fischer McAsey (retired) Andrew McPherson (delisted) James Rowe (delisted) Paul Seedsman (delisted) Brett Turner (delisted) BRISBANE In: Will Ashcroft (Sandringham Dragons) Shadeau Brain (Cat B ®) Nakia Cockatoo ® * Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs) Jaspa Fletcher (Brisbane Lions Academy) Jack Gunston (Hawthorn) Darragh Joyce ® (St Kilda) ** Ryan Lester ® * Darryl McDowell-White Junior (Cat B ®) Conor McKenna ® (Essendon) ** Out: Tom Berry (Gold Coast) Nakia Cockatoo delisted) Mitchell Cox (delisted) Ryan Lester (delisted) Connor McFadyen (delisted) Dan McStay (Collingwood) Mitch Robinson (retired) Ely Smith (delisted) Deividas Uosis (delisted) CARLTON 
In: Blake Acres (Fremantle) Jaxon Binns (Dandenong Stingrays) Lachlan Cowan (Tassie Devils) Ed Curnow ® * Oliver Hollands (Murray Bushrangers) Harry Lemmey (West Adelaide SA) Hudson O'Keeffe ® (Oakleigh Chargers) ** Out: Will Hayes (delisted) Liam Jones (Western Bulldogs) Oscar McDonald (delisted) Jack Newnes (delisted) Luke Parks (delisted) Will Setterfield (Essendon) Liam Stocker (St Kilda) Tom Williamson (retired) COLLINGWOOD In: Ed Allan (Claremont WA) Billy Frampton (Adelaide) Bobby Hill (GWS Giants) Daniel McStay (Brisbane) Oleg Markov ® (Gold Coast) ** Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) Cooper Murley ® * Joe Richards (Wangaratta) Jacob Ryan (Glenelg SA) Oscar Steene ® (West Adelaide) ** Out: Callum Brown (delisted) Tyler Brown (Adelaide) Isaac Chugg (delisted) Brodie Grundy (Melbourne) Ollie Henry (Geelong) Liam McMahon (delisted) Jack Madgen (delisted) Cooper Murley (delisted) Caleb Poulter (delisted) Jordan Roughhead (retired) ESSENDON In: Alwyn Davey (Palmerston NT) Jayden Davey (Palmerston NT) Lewis Hayes (Eastern Ranges) Rhett Montgomerie ® (Central Districts) Anthony Munkara (Cat B ®) Will Setterfield (Carlton) Elijah Tsatas (Oakleigh Chargers) Sam Weideman (Melbourne) Out: Cody Brand (delisted) Tom Cutler (delisted) Joshua Eyre (delisted) Aaron Francis (Sydney) Brayden Ham (delisted) Tom Hird (delisted) Michael Hurley (retired) Garrett McDonagh (delisted) Devon Smith (retired) Alec Waterman (delisted) FREMANTLE In: Josh Corbett (Gold Coast Suns) Hugh Davies (Claremont WA) Josh Draper (Cat B ®) Tom Emmett (Sturt SA) Luke Jackson (Melbourne) Ultan Kelm (Cat B ®) Max Knobel (Gippsland Power) Jaeger O’Meara (Hawthorn) Liam Reidy ® (Frankston) Corey Wagner (Port Melbourne) Conrad Williams (Cat B ®) Out: Blake Acres (Carlton) Connor Blakely (delisted) Mitch Crowden (delisted) Rory Lobb (Western Bulldogs) Griffin Logue (North Melbourne) Lloyd Meek (Hawthorn) David Mundy (retired) Darcy Tucker (North Melbourne) Joel Western (delisted) GEELONG In: Jack Bowes (Gold Coast) Tanner Bruhn (GWS Giants) Jhye Clark (Geelong Falcons) Ted Clohesy (Cat B ®) Phoenix Foster (Norwood SA) Ollie Henry (Collingwood) Oisin Mullin (Cat B ®) Oscar Murdoch ® (Geelong Falcons) Osca Riccardi (Cat B ®) Out: Luke Dahlhaus (retired) Francis Evans (Port Adelaide) Shaun Higgins (retired) Quinton Narkle (delisted) Joel Selwood (retired) Cooper Stephens (Hawthorn) Nick Stevens (delisted) Paul Tsapatolis (delisted) Zane Williams (delisted) GOLD COAST In: Jed Anderson ® (North Melbourne) ** Tom Berry (Brisbane) Connor Blakely ® (Fremantle) Bailey Humphrey (Gippsland Power) Lloyd Johnston (Cat B ®) Ben Long (St Kilda) Brodie McLaughlin ® (Frankston) ** Jake Stein ® (GWS Giants) Out: Jack Bowes (Geelong) Matt Conroy (delisted) Josh Corbett (Fremantle) Jez McLennan (delisted) Oleg Markov (delisted) Patrick Murtagh (delisted) Rhys Nicholls (delisted) Izak Rankine (Adelaide) Rory Thompson (retired) GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY In: Toby Bedford (Melbourne) Aaron Cadman (GWV Rebels) Phil Davis ® * Jason Gillbee (Cat B ®) Max Gruzewski (Oakleigh Chargers) Darcy Jones (Swan Districts WA) Toby McMullin (Sandringham Dragons) Nick Madden (Cat B ®) Harry Rowston (GWS Giants Academy) Out: Jarrod Brander (delisted) Tanner Bruhn (Geelong) Matt de Boer (retired) Bobby Hill (Collingwood) Jacob Hopper (Richmond) Zach Sproule (delisted) Jake Stein (delisted) Tim Taranto (Richmond) HAWTHORN In: Karl Amon (Port Adelaide) Josh Bennetts (Cat B ®) Fergus Greene (Box Hill Hawks) Henry Hustwaite (Dandenong Stingrays) Bailey McDonald (Oakleigh Chargers) Cameron Mackenzie (Sandringham Dragons) Lloyd Meek (Fremantle) Seamus Mitchell ® * Jack O'Sullivan (Oakleigh Chargers) Cooper Stephens (Geelong) Josh Weddle (Oakleigh Chargers) Out: Jackson Callow (delisted) Connor Downie (delisted) Jack Gunston (Brisbane) Kyle Hartigan (delisted) Daniel Howe (delisted) Ben McEvoy (retired) Seamus Mitchell (delisted) Tom Mitchell (Collingwood) Jaeger O’Meara (Fremantle) Tom Phillips (delisted) Jack Saunders (delisted) Liam Shiels (North Melbourne) MELBOURNE In: Jed Adams (Peel WA) Kyah Farris-White (Cat B ®) Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) Lachie Hunter (Western Bulldogs) Matthew Jefferson (Oakleigh Chargers) Josh Schache (Western Bulldogs) Oliver Sestan ® (Mansfield) Will Verrall ® (South Adelaide SA) Out: Oskar Baker (Western Bulldogs) Toby Bedford (GWS Giants) Mitch Brown (retired) Majak Daw (retired) Jayden Hunt (West Coast Eagles) Luke Jackson (Fremantle) Fraser Rosman (delisted) Sam Weideman (Essendon) NORTH MELBOURNE In: Blake Drury ® (Oakleigh Chargers) Hamish Free ® (South Fremantle WA) Brayden George (Murray Bushrangers) Cooper Harvey (Northern Knights) Daniel Howe ® (Hawthorn) Griffin Logue (Fremantle) Harry Sheezel (Sandringham Dragons) Liam Shiels ® (Hawthorn) ** Darcy Tucker (Fremantle) Kayne Turner ® * George Wardlaw (Sandringham Dragons) Out: Jed Anderson (delisted) Atu Bosenavulagi (delisted) Kyron Hayden (delisted) Jason Horne-Francis (Port Adelaide) Tom Lynch (retired) Matt McGuinness (delisted) Jared Polec (delisted) Kayne Turner (delisted) Josh Walker (delisted) Patrick Walker (delisted) PORT ADELAIDE In: Nathan Barkla (Cat B ®) Francis Evans (Geelong) Jason Horne-Francis (North Melbourne) Tom McCallum (Tassie Devils) Kyle Marshall (South Adelaide SA) Junior Rioli (West Coast) Tom Scully (West Adelaide SA) Dylan Williams ® * Out: Karl Amon (Hawthorn) Martin Frederick (delisted) Robbie Gray (retired) Sam Mayes (delisted) Steven Motlop (retired) Taj Schofield (delisted) Sam Skinner (delisted) Dylan Williams (delisted) RICHMOND In: Seth Campbell ® (Tassie Devils) Steely Green (South Fremantle WA) Jacob Hopper (GWS Giants) Kaleb Smith (East Fremantle WA) Tim Taranto (GWS Giants) Tylar Young ® (Richmond VFL) Out: Jake Aarts (delisted) Josh Caddy (retired) Riley Collier-Dawkins (delisted) Shane Edwards (retired) Kane Lambert (retired) Will Martyn (delisted) Matthew Parker (retired) Sydney Stack (delisted) ST KILDA Zaine Cordy (free agent, Western Bulldogs), Olli Hotton (Sandringham Dragons), Isaac Keeler (West Adelaide), Angus McLennan (category B rookie), Mattaes Phillipou (Woodville-WT), Liam Stocker ® (Carlton) **, James Van Es (GWV Rebels) Out: Jarryn Geary (retired) Dan Hannebery (retired) Darragh Joyce (Brisbane) Dean Kent (retired) Jarrod Lienert (delisted) Ben Long (Gold Coast) Paddy Ryder (retired) SYDNEY In: Will Edwards (Cat B ®) Aaron Francis (Essendon) Jacob Konstanty (Gippsland Power) Jaiden Magor ® (South Adelaide SA) Caleb Mitchell (Murray Bushrangers) Cameron Owen ® (Tassie Devils) Cooper Vickery (Gippsland Power) Out: James Bell (delisted) Josh Kennedy (retired) Sam Naismith (delisted) Barry O’Connor (delisted) Colin O'Riordan (retired) Ben Ronke (delisted) Callum Sinclair (retired) Lewis Taylor (delisted) WEST COAST EAGLES In: Jordyn Baker (Cat B ®) Harry Barnett (West Adelaide SA) Coby Burgiel (Gippsland Power) Tyrell Dewar (Cat B ®) Reuben Ginbey (East Perth WA) Elijah Hewett (Swan Districts WA) Jayden Hunt (Melbourne) Noah Long (Bendigo Pioneers) Zane Trew * Isiah Winder ® * Out: Hugh Dixon (delisted) Tom Joyce (delisted) Josh Kennedy (retired) Zac Langdon (delisted) Patrick Naish (delisted) Jackson Nelson (delisted) Jack Redden (retired) Junior Rioli (Port Adelaide) Zane Trew (delisted) Isiah Winder (delisted) WESTERN BULLDOGS In: Oskar Baker ® (Melbourne) ** Jedd Busslinger (East Perth WA) Charlie Clarke (Sandringham Dragons) Harvey Gallagher (Bendigo Pioneers) Liam Jones (Carlton) Rory Lobb (Fremantle) Out: Louis Butler (delisted) Zaine Cordy (St Kilda) Josh Dunkley (Brisbane) Lachie Hunter (Melbourne) Stefan Martin (retired) Charlie Parker (delisted) Josh Schache (Melbourne) Mitch Wallis (delisted) * re-listed ** SSP

Is it a closed session at Casey Fields today or an open one somewhere else?

Confirmed today that Tiernan Stynes has chosen basketball ahead of footy. Stynes has been playing well at Nunawading’s NBL1 senior team this season. He’s been working under 400-game NBL legend and former Boomer Adam Gibson.

I’m not all that excited by either of the candidates for the vacant spot, partly because neither stands out enough to me and partly because we’re not screaming out for their type - eg for K Turner, he’s going to be way out the back of the line for a key defender’s spot. I would be waiting for the mid season draft even though we’ll probably be the last pick.

I believe both of them plus one or two others.

I read somewhere that he was in the rehab group as a precaution after a headknock - standard procedure.

Just confirmed on the MFC site:- Injury Update | Christian Salem

That’s a bit of a worry because I have a feeling that Salem might have had thyroid issues early in his career.

I live nearby and can say categorically that the Caulfield Racecourse project is definitely not “pie in the sky”, nor is it something brand new. It’s been in the planning for a number of years and there has been consultation with the public and local organizations and sporting clubs with support from local politicians and councillors. The surrounding area is already undergoing a major transformation with housing and shopping developments, the expansion of Monash Caulfield and the coming redevelopment of the old stable areas. It would be remiss of the MFC not to consider the area for its new training ground - whether or not it happens, is obviously still to be determined.

Bailey Laurie sighted on the Gold Coast last night.

Well, actually … there’s an advertised open training session at YEA on Tuesday 7th February as well.

Upcoming Preseason Open Training Alert: The team is travelling up country to Yea PLEASE NOTE: Training times and locations are subject to change at late notice.

Perhaps the move was prompted by an adverse report in today’s astrological charts for the precinct around Olympic and AAMI Parks and Gosch’s Paddock to move training to Casey Fields. The moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter’s aligning with Uranus. I’m informed that Collingwood missed this vital news and, as a result, ruckman Darcy Cameron suffered a fresh hamstring setback at training this morning which could derail the start to their season. The Pies also have just realised they cleared their best ruckman during the trade period. Anyway that’s my training report for today.

And another ….

A little bit of what Demon fans who turned up a Gosch’s Paddock missed today …

And there’s a Melbourne connection with said Jamie Barham who played with both Melbourne (4 games in 1981) and Footscray (1 game in 1982). He was famous for being the first player since Vic Nankervis in the 1940s to have the misfortune of playing for two different wooden spoon teams in successive seasons.

There was some mention during the trade period last year that Henry might become part of the Luke Jackson trade but it came to nothing. You would think if the Kozzie-Henry friendship meant as much as is being implied in this “news” then the club would surely have tried a bit harder to get Henry across at the time.

Well, well, well Elwood. Your dream of luring Mitch Szybkowski over to Casey might still come to fruition. At one stage early last year, Szybkowski was considered a contender for a top 20 spot in the 2022 AFL National Draft but in the ruthless world of AFL football, he was overlooked in the end and couldn’t even win a rookie position at the Rookie Draft. Word was that while he was built like a bull, he lacked pace and the X factor to progress at AFL level. As mentioned by BangBnagBang, both he and Oakleigh ruckman O’Keefe were released today by Essendon from their SSP train on places. Being a local from the Stingrays, Mitch might find it an aid to his future development to join Casey where he might rub shoulders with some of the game’s best midfield beasts in the organization.

Eye on the future: 10 draft prospects to watch in 2023

Absolutely have no idea but Graham Molloy was no winger.