DeeSpencer

I wanted to see 22 very fit kents every week He plays well when we do, which might mean he's got to work on consistency but also probably means he's important to how we play - as Brendan McCartney alluded to in his review. Harmes might get the opportunity to take his place in the early rounds - he's certainly capable of doing some good things at half forward. Same with JKH who's getting positive reviews. Otherwise it was nice to see a little snippet in the Trengove video of Hannan running and moving around. I'm very keen to see more of him in full training.

There's an article about him on the clubs website. Sounds like he's the furthest back (no pun intended) and would be lucky to play in the preseason so unlikely to play round 1 as it stands.

From the Day 6 preseason diary Even the rehab group, which trained on the oval next to the main group, had its best skills session of the pre-season. Mitch King, the developing ruckman, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Casey’s opening round last year and missed the rest of the 2016 season, is set to complete some drills with the main group next week. In about two weeks’ time, King should be in full contact with the group. Dom Tyson, who hurt his knee in Melbourne’s pre-Christmas camp, is set to ramp up his contact work next week. Angus Brayshaw, Neville Jetta and Michael Hibberd are now all set for the camp’s last big training session on Tuesday, after coming through strongly in rehab.

All (or most) of the Dees players were fitted with a little device behind their right ear. It was to measure head/neck impact. Glad that we are doing something cutting edge. Also now I've calmed down a bit I really liked Lily Mithen. What a little gun at 18. She'll be a player.

Seems to be in the rain belt. Whether that's a mythical creature or creation from the bay and Dandenongs. Not much can be done about that. The wind is a real trouble maker though and it just doesn't seem to get any protection as it appears to be on a nice flat plain of land that gets truly windswept. I've suggested before that they try some heavy tree planting at either end and/or some windproof netting. Barring that I'd call in the Donald and getting Casey council to pay for it.

Welcome to the Oval Casey-fields. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face. You can check any time you like, But you can never leave.

I assume the marquee selections were done in 2 rounds. Or even in a snake draft. We had to pick Daisy first given by all reports she's the best player in the game. Then if we picked her first I presume we weren't going to get the best of the remaining Victorian players. I'm not sure how they preferenced the marquee picks but the other 3 Victorian teams went with 1 midfield (of inferior quality to Daisy) and then added 1 quality goal kicking forward. I agree we really needed a forward. The conditions were terrible and the delivery poor but I think Vescio would've found a way to kick a couple of goals today, especially running in with the breeze and outsmarting her opponents. She looks super clever.

I'm annoyed. I don't think we've got the coaching appointment right. Hiring a TAC coach who's never coached women's footy and then trying to play a zone system when the game just needs players spread out in position and to win one on ones. None of our best players are forwards and it's clear you need a gun forward to kick 2 or 3 goals to score in this game. More than that though, I'm annoyed it's at Casey. The Dogs and Blues are getting bumper crowds at their traditional suburban homes and it has to be a boost for the entire club. Plus the players can train where they play. I don't know if our girls had even been to Casey before today? The place is an absolute dump. It never has decent conditions for footy. Never. A solid enough crowd turned out but how many where Melbourne supporters and what was achieved by playing it in the middle of nowhere? Poor decisions and lack of infrastructure has seen us being unable to capitalise on all the hard work done in previous years.

Wouldn't say I'm looking forward to a losing press conference but I am interested in it. So far Goodwin seems to be a mix of Roos straight bat with a little more humour and openness. He's given the occasional clip, the occasional pump up and also dodged a few questions well. The thing that impressed me was that he realised he's speaking to fans, players and addressing the wider footy public when giving a press conference but he's comfortable doing it.

Gets the odd detail wrong. So would I if I was doing breakfast radio. But he's a fan, no doubt about it. He has the same mix of optimism and nervousness that the rest of us do!

Even I find this tedious and that's saying something. I think it's fairly relevant to say that a player has been out of footy for a year and then there's no point sugarcoating it. The bio is used as a way of commenting on the previous year and the plan for 2017. It's not an overall comment on their career.

A few things have started clearing up the questions I've had over the tall defender and tall forward spots: 1. Gawn today alluded to Frost and Oscar having a battle over a tall defender spot. So I'd be looking at only one of those two. 2. The stat presented in another thread that Oscar Mc averages about three 1v1 contests a game. If that's all our defenders have to deal with I can see why we'd rather get more skill and run in to the side and be willing to lose 1 or so extra 1v1 contest and back us preventing any more than that with the zone. 3. Pedda's body has also impressed me. If there's more run in those legs I think he'll start round one. The fitness of Kent and Tyson are probably my biggest queries now. Otherwise there looks a reasonably clear best 18 or so with a couple of spots up for grabs. Very keen for some scratch match footy and then the preseason to see if anyone jumps out of the blue.

Maybe at Etihad but at most grounds Hogan is at his best using his endurance to work over players up the ground on the lead and in one on ones in space. I think his best games have been 10+ mark games roaming around the ground.

Nope. We overrate all young players, every team does, but when comparing with each other I don't think Salem's been placed wrong. Billy Stretch is a beauty, he could and probably should play most of the next 100-150 games running a wing, I think he could slot in to most teams in the comp and do a job. Kent has talent and potential to do some really good things but is still an inconsistent prospect for the future given he has to fix up his weaknesses (yet alone his body) and consistently use his great attributes. Salem's prospects are above both and I wouldn't have many ahead of him. He's a really clever ball user and reader of the play. Sure it was dud game for the team but he racked up 27 touches after being out for 15 weeks in round 23. His tackling is really good. He's far tougher and more courageous than he looks. And he has enough pace to chase down or evade players. If he gets fit I'm convinced he'll easily adjust to being a solid contributor to the team and in time if the team improves and as he gets experience he'll be a big moment guy. We're building a very combative physical side to play a finals footy brand but class players stand up in big moments.

I find Dom the hardest player on our list to rate right now. I'd believe someone if they told me in 5 years he was a multiple AA and in the games best dozen midfielders with seriously good clearance work, excellent accumulating around the ground and a habit of kicking a goal. I'd also believe someone if they said in 5 years he's had a decent career, battled a few injuries but is more of a role player who does ok at the clearances but butchers the ball by foot and can be exploited for pace. My eyes were telling me that pre christmas he was looking like taking his best form of 2014 and the 2nd half of 2016 and going to a new level. Unfortunately then he was injured. I wouldn't be against taking a bit longer to bring him back by giving him an extra few weeks of preseason just to see him at his best instead of rushing him and having him enter another season underdone.

Probably just another midfield added to the mix but my preference for half forwards at this stage would be Vanders from Harmes, JKH, Ben Ken. I'm keen to see Hannan in full training soon to see if he can make his case but it looks unlikely.

I'd probably feel that way but then again we picked Hogan over him in the mini draft, he can probably understand that one, and then we traded the pick he was taken at to get the more experienced Tyson and avoid subjecting him to the saviour complex. In many ways we did him a favour.

I assume you mean hyperextension. I do wonder how much prehab our guys do and working on posture, gait etc. Hogan's bow legged and awkward running style is the one that makes me think of it. But with how professional the staff are surely they are all over it? Probably can't fix these things overnight, have to do a lot of core work, exercises, gait technique, taping etc to get it right.

Interesting stats. Switching to a zone defensive system does decrease the number of one on ones though. So I'm a little suspect on those contest numbers. 41 in 14 games = 3 per game so it's not a huge sample size. There were games I was critical towards Oscar and that was mostly because I wasn't impressed by his physicality and his decision making with the ball could be shaky. Frost, Oscar and Tom do have an ability to make each other look worse because none of them are cool heads with the ball nor do they full control the ball in the air - Tom's the best in that regard and hopefully is even better without a shoulder injury this year. The main benefit Oscar gave to the side was his work rate. Just by covering the ground both ways he made the side better. Unfortunately that's not an easy thing to see when watching games on TV (or even live). That's where the intercept possessions can come in and he was solid at that. Oscar's entire season to me was summarised by that run forward and tumbling kick against Hawthorn that led to a vital goal. It looked ugly. It lacked confidence and composure. But it was effective and was a base to work from.

He's looked noticeably lighter all summer which is why it was strange one of those AFL.com.au articles said he came back in bad shape. Surely they stuffed that up. Does make me wonder if he'll continue as a key forward and not rucking without the extra bulk. I like how Burgo always slides in a few extra details during his camp diaries.

Probably just depth but could be handy and get games this year and in to the future. Key forwards at AFL level are usually very good or in and out of the side, it's a hard balance to be a reliable 2nd or 3rd string option. Especially as he can't ruck and probably can't do much as a midfielder to add a second string to his bow. In the VFL he has size and athleticism over most of his opponents. In the AFL that will mostly be the opposite. So to get a lot of the ball he'll have to working really and even be taking spectacular grabs. What I do like about him though is that he'll hit the contest hard and his goal kicking seems really good. That's pretty much perfect for a back up forward.

When did we last beat them up there? We beat them in round 23 in 2015 in a game where they had about 12 out, wasn't really an AFL standard game. Then we fluked a win in round 1 this year when they ran all over us for the middle half of the game and kicked a bucket load of points. I think the formula for beating them is pretty simple - smash them at the contest, isolate defenders, cut down their outside run - but I'm not convinced we'll do it again any time soon. We'll have to show our run is dramatically improved this year and we'll have to have the skills at a high level like they were in round 1.

A destination for guys like Griffen, Mumford, Shaw, Deledio. And a spot that some young draftees enjoy more the battling QLD teams. Some guys will enjoy the club and enjoy anonymity. But I think they'll always be plenty of guys keen to come back to Victoria and play for teams down here but they won't be picking the bad (or small) Victoria teams unless it's unique circumstances like the Boyd deal. Certainly think Kelly stays given how close they are to a flag. Might be interesting to see what happens if they win a couple and players decide they want fresh challenges but I hope that doesn't happen.

He's exactly what we need, gut running and outside class. Not that we don't need Tyson and Salem just as much, but we already have them! Certainly no point having that debate again! I'm sure the club would have a list of out of contract players around the league and they'd probably have lists of the best players per positions of need. Kelly would be high up on both.