Damo

87 Prelim. Having come from nowhere. Trying to keep it together afterwards waiting to get out for an hour in the car with parents in back. Robbies last game taken out by Dipper. Hawthorn.

Im so, so sick of holding my breath... Ive gotta say it, we have almost made it through pre-season without a bad new injury. This is as good as 2 wins in the bag.

Focused.

Fantastic news. Made my Monday! Congratulations!

My view is you have to be one of the best players to keep the captaincy. Jimmy MacDonalds treatment is a mountain being made out of a molehill. He couldnt run. He didnt show us what for, he had had it. Im all for Tom MacDonald, Gawn or Viney as captain or co-captain with Jones, but I wont be upset if the players and coaches decide Nathan should concentrate on his staying in the ones. If there is a view Jack V wont play most games, that's a shame as he is terrific and truly leads by example. That leaves Gawny and Tom as probably the best options as captain of the MFC since Robbie. Personally I love Toms actions and words but would be rapt if either of them ran out first.

I understand that coaches just before pre-season finishes may say that the injury is merely incidental or that player x has fully recovered. I am never surprised when the player misses 426 at sometime during or at the start of the year. Then the coach will be interviewed. That interview inevitably starts off with "You have to understand the large amount of pre-season player x was incapable of attending". So I get that you are just going on what they are saying. Im just not as trusting.

I like Hibbo but he is the worst one to ask for an interview. Very old school which probably suited Lyon and Watson more than Bob who had asked a question of greater depth. Jack V, Max, Nev, Tommy and the Weid have great vocabularies and give excellent depth and opinions without giving too much out.

I remember in the early sixties when I was with my dad, in with the TPI ex-soldiers in the forward pocket watching Tassie drop kicking the ball almost out of sight from full back.

I think that the rules committee is "overruled" by the Networks who aggresively push in these rules before a new year. Then the Rules committee have to adapt after the coaching departments react to the new laws and try to bend them to their will. The Rules committee in turn, then adapt by extremely small adjustments. This means that I too see KB blowing a gasket. It seems that the rules wont drastically change the game, but lets see what Hawthorn, Sydney and Geelong coaches come up with.

I see Tmac, Jack V and Max as outstanding candidates.

Bit surprised everyone has put Clarry, Melksham and Tracc in our round one teams. Then there is Omac and Viney who also need to join training fully.

I think Omac is a year off his best yet. His brother blossomed late. Frost has different attributes and may not be a smart footballer but his better short passes that he showed late last year and his gung ho make me choose him in big games. I havent seen training this year so Im possibly wrong!

I think we will stop more goals in 2019.

If I was going to guess who is going to have an injury just before the end of Pre-season I would pick the big Pruess. I hope they start tapering him off but keep him fresh soon. I have no inside info BTW. He just looks like he is going way too hard early daws.

I hope there are more articles coming out that have others as the team(s) to beat. Im over the constant hype. We haven't done that much yet.

It is very early to assess where we may land. We have had a couple of years of relatively minimal injuries. We brought back Vanders and Viney isnt out of the woods quite yet. We also had a pretty big pre-christmas walking wounded that although we are reassured that most if not all will be in full training next week, Im not so confidant. I hope Tom Mac is able to play most games. You only need to look at a couple of other clubs, say Carlton and Giants to be reminded of our good management and good luck with injuries lately. I feel confidant knowing that my team of the year 2019 will probably be quite different by Queens birthday but I am really impressed with the apparent struggle for every spot in the 22 coming into the year. Quality on all lines and on the bench. Hmm, Im sure I say that nearly every January.

I like Pedo and he has been good for us but Smith has capacity to have a better year. Its neither a puzzle or a reason for argument.

This is why we need to be absolutely ruthless and desperate to get what is to me is our very first flag. We have bathed in the bathwater of not-quite-right teams so much in the last 50 years. My hatred of other clubs will be uncloaked in 2019.

I cant believe he survived that fall. I hope he is ok.

Jetta, May, Salem, Lever, Hibberd, Oscar Gawn, Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, Kolodjashnij, Harmes Petracca, Weideman, Neal-Bullen, Melksham, Tom McDonald, Spargo Jones, vandenBerg, Fritsch, Lewis, Hannan This is my best 22 going on from the template above. I think, like the Swans best years we may only play 28-32. May is a no-brainer, he is in. Some are in by default: Kolo, Lewis, Oscar, Spargo and Hannan because it IMO is for them to lose their spot early rather have to earn it. Then we have few who I expect to play quite a few games this year and the reasons differ. In order of who gets most games: Preuss - The chop out. 8/10 games - Lever mid year may see changes on many lines Frost - Im a fan of him and Oscar, but I think Oscar needed to hit another level late in the year. Frosty did. Low hard passing was a revelation. 8 games - same as above but might push through J.Smith - Coaches really rate him 7 games - a swing man will find a spot Hunt- back in business - will be tried from half back to HFF - 7 games Petty - Again big things expected. 4 games JKK - keeps impressing early in the year and I always wrongly think it will click, slightly faster, slightly better disposal - 4 games Then its anybodies guess but I think Sparrow and Bakes might play. From here I have to choose who will lose games on either form, new injuries or longer than expected recovery. The obvious ones are Viney, Jordan and Jonesey. But I think we carry the No.2 most of the year but maybe niggles see him sidelined. I see only 12 games each. I dont know where to hand the black spot next, but Hib, Nev and Melks have manned up relentlessly despite injury. Will they get a chop out? Unfortunately I see Jake Lever not getting his mojo back until late in the year, but he will be carried as thats the coaches way.

Brendan McCartney believes how important pre-seasons were. Many players have still to do a full pre-season and how crucial it is to, not only fitness but interestingly, to skill. He said that it is only when the player is at their peak and have totally grown into their body, meaning height as well in Weids case, and actually undergoing a 1st preseason in Vand den and J Smths (I think) case, that the silky side of skills blossoms. I hadnt realised he was foreseeing a large percentage of our best players were going under the knife end of year. It does make you gasp to see how Jack Viney and van den Burg came in at the end of season and took the bull by the horns so to speak. In any case it seems to me the telling part of 2019 will be how we go in the 1st half dozen and the last few matches.

Ever since Melbourne took BT outback at the Alice game, he has been very biased towards the Demons. Thats my impression.

Im not sure of the point in the game against the Cats in the EF but it was in the 1st quarter I think. It was a torrid piece of play, there is a loose ball on the outer wing and Biclavs is sprinting towards it. You see him look up and he takes a couple of short steps. van den Berg came at him like Roger the kangaroo and won the ball easily going through Biclavs like he wasnt there.

I dont post much. You have incorrectly replied or taken out of context my last 2 posts. Please refrain. I dont need you to "stick up" for the club on any of my observations. I don't rate your reports and its is not that you disagree with my posts, it is that you make out I said something I didn't. For the record,i) I didn't bag Garlett although I was ignoring you, ii)I am quite sure the players I have referred to are experiencing an interrupted preseason (your inability to notice this is a giveaway to your knowledge) and iii) I made no reference at all to 1st year players. And if you are going to reply again please dont bloke me. Bloke is not a pronoun.

10 of many's best 22 with a very interrupted pre-season. Injury looms as our biggest opponent for the 1st half and maybe all, of 2019.