RalphiusMaximus

I have a mate who's a mad bulldog fan. He tells me that they're a change for the flag this year. I haven't seen their games yet, but I'm guessing they aren't looking like it quite yet?

I think the webcast mentioned Davis in that play. It was a hell of an effort. He also outsprinted Watts to a loose ball on the boundary at 50 m late in the game. Watts put him over the line easily, but it was a hell of an effort to get the ball first.

Bate was in the midfield. He was OK, not a standout.

The trip may suck but the ground is pretty good. Could do with another grandstand but otherwise it's a very nice facility.

Magner didn't play. Coush was decent and came on really well in the last eighth. Kel Lawrence got a nice crumbing goal but I didn't notice him much.

We have a version of the Collingwood gameplan. The corridor is no mans land this year. I saw quite a few guys running into the middle and calling for it and they were ignored every time. Some quick thoughts on the match: As has been said, it was really hard to identify a lot of the new faces without numbers. There was a chunky blonde guy playing on Watts for a while who had a decent bit of speed. Could have been Davis, but I really don't know. Sellar was better than I expected from the training reports. He has some pretty decent pace and agility for a guy his size. Made a very nice play right at the start calling for the ball on the boundary, running around two players and delivering. He's got a great build too. I can see him getting some game time this year. Clark was a big presence in the forward 50. The gameplan seems to call for a long ball to around the 20-30m mark and the forward to bring the ball to ground. We saw a lot of this play where the forward was outnumbered and concentrated on getting a hand on and making the contest. Looks like we're going to need some good crumbers. We also seem to have a sert play to use the pace of Watts. A few times he pushed up to the wing and the 50 cleared behind him. They ran a quick transition out of defence and bombed the ball into the space for him to chase, burning his opponent and running into the 50. Someone has already mentioned the pinpoint left foot pass he made off one of these plays. He should have had a goal off another, but his man made an unbelievable smother after Watts had run around him from the pocket. Aside from those plays, I actually thought Watts could have been a lot better. He often ran to the wrong places, failed to shepard and ran past contests looking for the easy ball. I was expecting more from him. There was also an odd moment towards the end of the match when he seemed about to lay a tackle and then let the man go. It could have been a trick of the angle, but to me it looked like he had the guy dead to rights and then chose not to hit him. I really don't have an explaination for why. Blease will be a starter this year going on today's game. He used his pace to create space, kicked a ripping goal from the HFF and made a blistering run through the middle. He had a real impact today. While Fitzpatrick was soundly beaten in the ruck, I was surprised at how well he competed. He rucked the entire game against Jamar and managed to make a decent contest most of the time. He also took a nice contested mark in the forward line and slotted it. Morton actually gave a really good account of himself today. He didn't shy away from the contested balls andmade some very nice plays. On one occasion we saw him look for the inside pass, rememer that he's not allowed to do it anymore, overposess the ball and then dodge two tacklers to get clear and give off down the line. I also have him down for at least one contested mark right in front of my seat. All in all he was much better than I expected. I think the new coaches agree with him. Jones was devestating in combination with Jamar. He was constantly getting first use of the ball and racking up the clearances. He's another player who is going to do well with the new coaches and gameplan. Don't be surprised to see him in Sheehan's top 50 this year. Bartram continues to build his reputation for tough plays. He got absolutely nailed flying for a mark in front of Stef. I'm not entirely sure he should have been given a 50m penalty, but it all works out because he missed the goal with his usual kicking style. If he were a better kick he would be one of the best hard nuts in the league. There were a number of good plays by unfamiliar faces as well. I don't know who the strongly built blond midfielder was, but he did really well, was vocal and made some great plays, particularly towards the end of the match. Heard Josh called out quite a bit, so he was involved. I think I saw Kel Lawrence score a good crumbing goal at the far end of the ground. Not sure on that one. One player was helped from the ground with what looked like an ankle, but I have no idea who he was. Overall we saw some good signs, but of course it was against people who were all working from the same playbook, so the results are a little skewed. Still, I think it was a positive day for us. Looking forward to next week in Brisbane.

Incidentally, my big prediction for round 1 is that GWS will be smashed by at least 18 goals. Really tough one to come up with, that.

They really aren't doing themselves any favours from a PR perspective. First the brilliant idea of putting the intra-club on during normal work hours so anyone with a job is excluded, then they come out and say they're playing a bastardised half-game. I'm really not overly impressed with this approach.

I think we should have a fairly comfortable win over the Lions. Sure, they'll have a full side out there, but we seem to have had them covered lately and I think it will continue.

Some of the midfield battles should be interesting as well. Personally I think put a tag on Trengove, either Bail or Bate for me. It's something he's going to face a lot of this year and he might as well get used to it early. Jones head to head with Beamer. They can match each other physically, although you'd expect Jones to get more run. Tom McDonald on Davis, they are roughly the same age and have close to the same experience. Would be interesting to see if Davis could hold him. I would like to see Davey and Blease playing forward pocket at opposite ends of the ground. Bartram to match Davey and Bennell on Blease. Bartram would expose Davey's great weakness against tight physical pressure, while Davey would not let Bartram have any time to pick his disposals, so would likely show up his weak kicking. Bennell meanwhile has the pace to run with Blease, and the two head to head should provide some real excitement.

Running of any sort if boring as hell. I'm one of those people who is bored to tears by training for training's sake. I think anyone who can run laps for an hour or so has a level of dedication I can't even imagine, let alone aspire to.

I'm getting the impression that Scully is too inward-focussed to be considered as a captain. He seems to be totally focussed on his own training and getting the best out of himself and not at all on what's happening with the rest of his team. That is a great attitude in a footballer, but a terrible one for a leader. It may also help insulate him from the disaster that is unfolding around him in the next few years.

Agree totally. I don;t care if he doesn't kick a ball in the pre-season, as long as his fitness improves. He has speed and flare to burn, and if he can produce for an entire game he will be the one of the most formidable attacking weapons in the game.

Jack Trengove was just interviewed on Triple M. Nothing really insightful discussed. Here's a quick rundown: JB - It's a great honour etc... Ususal stuff. BB - What was the first thing you did when told? JT - Were told Thursday Night. Sworn to secrecy. Neeld allowed them to tell their families half an hour before the official announcement. Some byplay about all Melbourne captains weraing no. 3 in future (Dyer reference?) BB - What sort of captain will you be? JT - Not the loudest bloke in the changeroom. Will just go about his business and help teammates improve. Lead by actions. JB - How do you go with the older group? Brad Green? JT - No issues with them. Have told him that they will back them and have confidence in them. No discomfort or ill feeling. BB - Mitch CLark a surprise for leadership group. JT - He's been great. Got to the club at the same time as Neeld. Has really proved himself. Gives lots of confidence Special priveleges for captains? None according to JT. Aparently hasn't impacted on social activities either. BB - How's Neeld been? JT - He's been awesome so far. Lots of respect. Assistant coaches really confident in him. Hes been at a team that's been there and done that, everyone very confident in him. Token Plug for membership. Mention of Grimes. BB - Have you got together with JG? Yes, got together and had a chat about how to go about it over the weekend. JB on Grimes and his injuries. JT - He's going really well. In full training. Fit. Totally recovered. Quick note on where the first NAB cup games are. Throwaway question on who osses the coin. That's about it. Nothing earhtshattering in there, but it was interesting in places. Its good to hear such positive responses about the coaching group.

Teams would actually not try to win so they could get better picks? I'm shocked at the very notion!

I think the people who watched Jack at Casey in his first couple of years saw just how competitive he can get. It got a little lost at AFL level when he was being monstered by the big fullbacks, but he is a player who really wants the ball and can take guys on. The week before his debut for Melbourne he showed something special, in particular taking a contested mark against two opponents thorugh body work and strength and then playing on, stepping around a third and slotting the goal. Since then it's all been about getting his strength and fitness up to the level where he can attempt the same at senior level. By the looks of things he's getting up there, so I hope to see him bringing that same attacking attitude out in the coming season and really showing what he's capable of.

I keep thinking back to when Bate started with us. He played some NAB cup games where He looked really good in the middle. He had a knack for getting the ball and reading play, but tended to butcher his disposal. Since then his disposal has improved out of sight. If he can get back that ability to have the ball find him he'll be great value through the middle.

I do have one problem with the new captains. Why didn't they include Watts? Then we could have had three of a kind!

So did we ever get those updates?

Do you believe that we will finish below GWS this year? They will have the first pick and they will nominate to use it on JV. We would then have to use our first pick, whether it be 2 or 20, to take him or pass and let them have him as the no. 1. Personally I thnk we should be activating both compensation picks this year given the rumoured depth of talent available. This should give us JV, a top 20 pick and probably an early 20's pick. All should net us someone pretty good.

I feel absolutely confident that GWS will claim to be willing to use their first pick on JV simply because it will force us to use our first pick on him. He's well worth that pick, so no real problem, but there is not really a lot of trickery we could use to bring about another outcome.

I don't know if I'd call us a good team exactly. A hard working team and a tough team we certainly were. Both are things we've been lacking in the last few years. It does bring up some interesting points for me though. Neitz really was a force in our forward line. It really brings into perspective the lack we've felt since his departure. Hopefully Clark can help fill the void. Carol was a damn good hard nut defender. If only he hadn't been such an idiot off the field. Bate is a midfielder who can take a mark and kick goals. Playing him as a forward has been a waste of his talent and very nearly cost us a player. What on earth happened to Brock? You look at how good he was as a young player, and how far his game has fallen since then. Aren't they supposed to improve? Nate Jones had a hell of a first season. The kick out of defence at the start of the game, in traffic and off balance, was a gem. I wish we could see Davey chasing and harassing players that hard again.

Awesome reporting folks. It really does help those of us who can't get to the training sessions to have such detailed descriptions of what the boys are doing. Really good to see that some of our less frequesntly mentioned players are showing good signs, and that Clark is looking like a forward. One other small thing. - Watts took a nice mark over JT and was happy about it Am I the only person here who thinks Watts should be outmarking JT pretty much every time?

He will need to watch the sling tackles though. Other than that, he's got good ball-sense around the stoppages, breaks tackles and can kick goals out of traffic. Slight question for me on pace. We'll find out next month.

Am I the only one who thinks Daniher's gameplan from a decade ago would be really good against the press?