Je Roos Salem

Yes but it's hard to have confidence in our recruiting/development. I understand fans get on side with high picks because of their importance and tend to stick up for them when they play poorly over other players, but saying Toumpas will be better than Wines is really just blind optimism

Bit of a stretch saying I was judging his career over. I think he probably played too many games in 2013 considering the form he showed. Got better towards the end of the year but based on what I've seen there's nothing special in Toumpas, unlike Wines.

Wines isn't an outside player with precision skills, but he crashes into contests, wins the ball and gets a lot of possessions quickly and can seriously impact games. He looks like a star. If Toumpas is a soft outside player who we need for versatility, then he isn't a good enough soft outside player, or at least yet. He doesn't look like the devastating type, he moves around a bit awkwardly and doesn't really dictate play and win enough of the ball. You can't simply get by with skills, you need awareness, pace, hardness- all things Toump is lacking in to make an impact at AFL level

For fleeting moments, side on, Tyson can resemble Michael Newton/Cameron Bruce. Just an observation

A couple more observations from Saturday, it looked more like an under-prepared, undermanned poor team getting taught a football lesson by a premiership team rather than a bunch of guys who didn't want to be out there waving their arms around and huddling with each other after each goal. It was a more honest shellacking, we were harder at it and there were some pretty good efforts. Disposal is a clear worry too. Fitzpatrick cannot hit a target by foot to save his life unless it's on goal. Mckenzie should stick to handballing. I'm confused about Watts. He doesn't seem to have the confidence in his game properly worked out Plus, he looks thinner and it's starting to worry me. I don't think he's cut out to be a midfielder

They are also good assets to the team we needed. Byrnes had fallen completely out of favour at Geelong, played like 2 games in 2012, and had been in and out regularly in years before that, while Cross only got dropped briefly when they wanted to implement more youth, but him and Vince played more or less every game last year. Byrnes' experience/reputation hasn't done anything for us, and he doesn't really have a proper position. Cross and Vince are quality footballers, much higher class than Byrnes. I wasn't against us acquiring Byrnes when we got him because I was excited to see what he could offer, but from what i've learnt, it's next to nothing. He's nearly 30 and we've got talented youngsters knocking the door down for selection whom our supporters would rather see play. In fact i'm surprised he did the membership telethon, he might be a nice guy and a good clubman, but if you're a passionate supporter who cares about how we play you wouldn't exactly be excited taking a call from him.

I was there yesterday and was pretty upset. What we can take is it's not gonna be the last time that we're put to the slaughter by a side this year. We were alright for the first quarter in terms of possession quantity/quality, but from then we were just a lost cause. Numerous times our entire 18 were in their defensive half and since we gave up on a forward line the Hawks just toyed with us and had Luke Hodge as a singular guarding defender and put Gibson forward. I don't think it was quite as devastating as some performances last year, but it had a similar feel. The Hawks are just a masterful side who we are nowhere near in getting close to in a head to head. They just play a possession style so much better and know where to run and who to run with. Plus they have a plethora of forward options. They made our midfield look shabby again too. Not sure about stats, were stats of the game posted anywhere/counted? Vince was very quiet after quarter time as were most. Grimes and Frawley were solid in defence, which was a bit consoling. Most players had pitiful disposal. N.Jones was probably our best mid. By the way, I could do without seeing Shannon Byrnes play. I would've rather seen Evans play or JKH or Viney starting the game. I can't see what value he adds to the team and was hugely disappointing last year and regularly makes blunders

Liam Jurrah could be in AA

For God's sake, what standard of a ruckman do we need? Are you suggesting we play Fitzpatrick as no.1 ruck? If you haven't noticed any improvement from from Spencer since he first started you're a fool. He can clearly win a tap and cover the ground, and is better at ground level than he used to be. We don't need a Dean Cox, just someone with decent stamina who can provide a contest. Jamar can still win taps, but is on decline with his endurance/aerobic capacity. Spencer is our best bet ATM

I really hope Jamar, but seeing him at training and due to his past couple of years i'm just not fully convinced. I'm pretty confident Spencer will start as no.1 ruckman in Round 1. I'd say Spencer is the better tap ruckman and more reliable. I really like Gawn too and his efforts in a couple of losses were fantastic last year, but I think Spencer's done heaps to improve his game and should be rewarded. Seems to be a good weight, he may have butchered that ball in defence but his set shot goal showed a good kicking action and during the game he was really moving around well and getting to the ball. Clark in the ruck would be a dream but i'd like him in the 50 first. Add Fitzy and Max King who looks handy and that's 6 decent 200+cm blokes (well 5 Jamar is 198) that we're pretty lucky to have who are all options in the ruck

Great turnout today. I thought Michie was easily best on ground, but no mention of him in the article. Got in every contest and I would estimate he had at least 20 possessions in roughly the hour of gametime which the game went on for. I thought there was good pressure applied in the game, Blease was hitting packs quite hard and Dawes and Fitzy playing strong games as forwards was promising (2 goals each). Gawn also took a few clean marks inside 50. Salem kicked 2 (one off the ground in a contest and one snapped from the boundary) and looked completely natural. Kent was very promising and Viney got devastating as the game went on, as did Tyson. Watts was solid, but I don't think he was that amazing. I liked the look of Terlich too, seems a much freer, cleaner player than last year. Unfortunately Hogan was very quiet and I didn't see him until he kicked a point at the end. JKH seemed limited (knee was taped). Anyway, I kept score and it was Blue: 7.4 46 to White: 3.3 21. White were up 1 to 14 in the first quarter but I think blue had the better team and were destined to win. I was a little bit disappointed at all the players who sat out and were replaced with VFL players, would've been nice to see everyone there, but I can understand the thinking. The umpiring was ridiculously soft at times too, lucky the game was so improper.

Frawley does a fair bit of goalkicking at training. I think it's possible he might kick a few this year

I'll be there either tomorrow or Wednesday and maybe both. There's 26 a side (though 2 are subs)

Adelaide - Never liked them, never hated them Brisbane - Enjoyable to watch, especially a few years ago, annoying and disjointed, but not really hate-able Carlton - Never really respected or warmed to them, always been a murky spot in my mind Collingwood - Have always found them despicable especially on QB. Annoying, the thought of their supporters at games makes me ill. In 2010 I did start gaining a little respect for them and enjoyed their gameplay but the Buckley brand of football is just yuck Essendon - Hated them for a long time, although I built a small soft spot due to a friend and attending some of their games a couple of years ago. They usually play exciting footy and I like Jobe Watson (not when he's playing the Dees though) Fremantle- I like their team unit, love their young talent and dominance but they have proven to be utterly boring at times. My favourite WA team though Geelong - Got caught up in the romanticism a bit during their premiership years, not sure if it's Chris Scott's demeanour or their semi-rebuild but I find them a bit tiring to think about now Gold Coast - Definitely like them more than GWS and despite the fact I'd rather see him at Geelong, Ablett. GWS - Burnt toast. Hawthorn - Arrogant, slightly admirable and exciting but they're annoying and i've never felt close to them North Melbourne - I feel a touch of sympathy and I like the way they play. Can't tolerate their supporters at games though Port Adelaide - I think I like them more than Adelaide now, and the fact they're also the "blueprint" for Melbourne's rise. I like the variety in their midfield and they play a more traditional style of game Richmond - Up and down, I love their passion and they don't give off as nasty as impression as Carlton or Collingwood. St Kilda - Basically, yuck. I still admire Riewoldt and Hayes though Sydney - I like their culture (cliche I know) and I love their hard midfield and I was definitely glad they won in 2012. Even though he was really good, the Kurt Tippett situation made me feel iffy about them, and I'll have to reserve judgement until I see Franklin running around West Coast - I'm not exactly sure why, but I grew quite a strong passion for them in 05-06 and imagined they'd be cool to support (never did, of course). I still don't hate them, felt a little sorry they went so poorly. Western Bulldogs - I feel they're a fairly likeable club and have a good young team

He's one of the most effective awkward players of all time

I think Jetta finished the season off on a good note against the Dogs, didn't get much of the ball but it definitely stood out as a guy giving his all for the team. I'd be happy to elevate him since there's still too many in front of Georgiou in defence. I've liked the look of Georgiou in training although the question mark will definitely be his kicking

I think Jack Viney has a great body shape, seems to have fantastic core and leg strength. I always notice that Gawn's legs are particularly skinny despite him weighing 110kg or whatever. I've never really thought about players looking slimmer out of gear, but when players are up close to the fence after a victory I always notice how players look a lot more muscular than you might think (one such is jordie mckenzie)

Almost unsighted

The game itself was mostly stagnant play. A fair few turnovers, but I suppose a fair bit of this can be excused due to how hot it was

Ok I went today, and firstly, wow, awesome turnout. Great atmosphere with a good variety of Dees fans I've never seen before . Pre-game, Viney was blistering through drills and showing exquisite kicking skills, but unfortunately didn't participate in the intra-club. -Toumpas has found his spot as a forward, 4 goals was a brilliant effort, all good set shot kicks -Clark just did light running again, Tapscott also wasn't with the main group either, Trengove disappeared after drills and didn't play the main game -Spencer excited me with some speed and improved kicking -First good look at Salem, very composed, good evasive skills, can't wait to see him play. -Kennedy Harris showed fantastic foward line pressure -Pedersen has improved and seems to have his sights set on a spot in the forward line (good luck!), kicked 2 excellent goals -McDonald found a lot of the ball and made good decisions early but started missing targets -Tyson looked a bit slow and had a couple of weak efforts -Hogan didn't play the full game but he kicked a good goal from a tight angle and impressed me with his work rate. Also, I stood next to the TV interview with Jade Rawlings and he explained that Watts had a virus, Hogan being ready, Salem and Kennedy-Harris in the mix to get picked, but you'll probably see the interview anyway

Judging by what i've seen it's not all out attack or anything. We are entering the 50 a lot more central but we're definitely prepared to chip around defence, deep into the pockets. Definitely shorter kicks though, minimising risk. The best thing about closed sessions at Gosch's paddock is they aren't really, so keep your eyes peeled if you're on a train and get off to see the magician at work behind "closed doors"

Trengove was pretty quiet in the intraclub, Vince probably could've done better, started at the stoppages but I saw him fumble. I'm not sure how Michie went in the game, but he seemed really confident running and kicking during the drills, vocal too

Wow pretty hard to top that huge report. But anyway, I went today. -Clark hung around for a very short time doing light drills before heading off. -Viney, Terlich and Aiden Riley (I think) were doing running drills on their own. First time i've seen Viney in the 2 weeks i've been watching the Dees train but he was running superbly. -Garland was the only complete no show I'm 99% sure, though Dunn gave false hope by wearing no.20 during the sessions -We did some great running and pressure drills, such as running in 4s and doing a condensed game of only handballs in a coned off area -Having the intra club game at the end was fantastic, I noticed Jamar and Gawn stood on the sideline while Max King took the ruck for one team, interestingly. Watts started on the wing in the game and I think had the most possessions, ran well and looked very hard to match up on. Tactically we seem to be doing a lot of short kicks across goal in defence, but centering the ball once inside 50. -Kennedy-Harris has real potential. Competes well in all the main drills and can find the ball. Looks like his set shot kicking needs a lot of improvement though, as he was working hard on it at the end -I've been so impressed with Daniel Cross, his experience and maturity really show. He's a better kick than I thought too. From what i've seen, he is always the last to leave training. Can't wait to see him play. -Hogan and Fitzpatrick didn't completely do the full training. Towards the second half they started running the boundary. I think Dawes was in many of the main drills. It's also worth mentioning that Salem often stands out on the main drills, but others like Harmes and Hunt were in the thick of it today and quite impressive. It was a really good session

So there won't be an intra club game coming up i'm guessing. Does anyone remember the one in 2010 at Casey Fields? I really loved that and thought it was a great event for the club

I'll tell you what, I could definitely imagine a side that played better than footy than we did 2013 and being 0-22. That's what I thought of our brand of footy last year