DeeSpencer

Handball drills at one end. Kick and spread at the other. Quite breezy here. Terlich 0-3 hit targets

Hogan, who never looked all that keen on training, has gone over to kick to kick with Track. And Brayshaw who's come from who knows where has walked over as well. So buggered if I know what's happening on the main oval. Gus has given a high 5 and is taking his backpack back to Aami. Need Saty to grab him

Petracca running, jumping and playing kick to kick is football porn

Today's Lycra offender is G Lyon. Hiding under a visor and beard on the punt road side. Running was solid. But Frost, Kennedy and King have work to do

Running time. Split in to 2 groups. Hogan drops to last, 2 laps later he's near the front. He's in the a group. Kent working hard to lead the B group, super stuff. Oscar and Tyson on his trail. Vanders and Jhk take over the a group. No Tommy Mc in this. So they're the best we've got out there Kents hit the wall. Ben Kennedy is a long way back in the b group. Keilty, Frost then Max King behind him

Unless he's hiding I can't see Brayshaw. So he gets mystery injury of the week. Spring carnival time as the boys put the harnesses on and pull a team mate 10 meters

Petracca doing agility drills on the rugby pitch with 3 staff members. Ground balls, easy push off and marks, and a bit of soccer kicking for the main group divided into 3 stations. Frost is a huge unit. So is Vanders Moncrieff from Casey is a big boy. Oscar mc looks a little thicker. Ben Ken looks so similar to Viney but a touch shorter and lighter.

Garland, T mc, Tyson, Bugg, Frost here from the non expected. Hard to look for all at once but seemingly everyone from the 1-4 group is here. Tyson with precautionary taping on the left knee. Petracca tape free. Arrived a touch after the others. Jogging laps with a staff member

Expected players: Hogan, Salem, Viney, Brayshaw, Stretch, Kent, JKH, Petracca, O McDonald, Hunt, ANB, Harmes, Matt Jones, Terlich, Ben Kennedy, Vanders, White, King, Joel Smith. Casey lads - Moncrieff, Keilty Not expected: Jones, Watts, Dawes, Lumumba, Trengove, Gawn, Tyson, Dunn, Frost, Newton, Garland, Pedersen, Michie, Vince, Tom McDonald, Grimes, Garlett, Jetta, Spencer, Bugg, Melksham

I found that phantom a bit ordinary. No one would draft Weideman at all yet alone top 10 if they thought he was the next Levi Casboult. It only takes a few highlight videos to see Curnow is vastly different to Stringer. Aaron Francis doesn't remind me of Goodes at all. And not just the player comparisons but the explanations aren't spectacular either.

Thought about the Raiders, considered Philly and really tempted to go back to the wall with GB even though they let me down last week. But in the end: Atlanta NY Giants Denver

I'd stick with Kap for next year, but I've got no problems with them giving him some time off now to stop the punishment. I doubt trying to change the way he plays is the entire problem. They've lost their QB guru coach. Most of their defense to lean on, their once league leading O line and veteran RB. It's hard for any QB to get out of the pocket and run or pass when the O Line can't hold up and they don't have a running game. Obviously it's a round 1 aberration now but Kap looked fine against the Vikings in the first game of the year when they had a strong running game and the defense were making plays. I'd keep him regardless of the contract but first I'd fire the hapless coaching staff and try to bring in some talent around him.

They are used as a 2nd ruck because we don't have any better options and they are also too slow and cumbersome to play forward as 2nd rucks. It's going to have to be more than 10%. Gawn can't do 90%. Goldstein and Jacobs are the only 2 who can do 90% and even then I don't think it's ideal. With the sub going and the extra bench spot I don't think clubs will play 2 dinosaur rucks but I do think if they have 2 good rucks who can pinch hit forward they'll play them and play them longer spells on the ground before rotating. Also Curnow will be starting his career at the 191 (or apparently 193) mark. With players heights growing over time the average ruckman will get bigger and bigger.

The Hawks also had Gunston, Schoenmakers and Roughead in the grand final team as well as the 2 rucks and all 3 are listed as 193cm. Obviously Roughy played a lot of midfield and Gunston usually does a bit of time on the wing but I think Curnow and Hogan could easily play with 2 ruckman due to their mobility and endurance.

He won't be a 2nd ruck at AFL level. Much too short. But his endurance and mobility means that alongside Hogan there's room for him and a 2nd ruck. If you have 2 tall forwards who can both play inside 50 and up the ground then they can play big minutes in Time On Ground and you can rotate 2 proper rucks through the ruck, bench and 10-20% each sitting in the goal square.

Better locker between Wattsy and Dawes instead of stuck between the McDonald brothers. That would be the main benefit of the swap. I like the symbolism of numbers, but I'd put our new draft picks in the 40's and let them earn good numbers. Petracca has done sensationally in his rehab, he can have number 5. Good for him, good for the fans.

Well we all presume it will be the 2 talls to Carlton and Brisbane and then the 3 academy kids are commonly reported as going in the top 10. So after that it's a matter of what the Melb, Ess and Gold Coast do with the 5 live picks. Gold Coast just picked up Jarrad Grant, and whilst a delisted free agent shouldn't change your top 10 pick I think the reverse might be true. If they were going to grab Curnow or Weideman they might not have signed Grant. Of the live picks in the top 10 I'd probably rank them as Parish, Curnow, Weideman, Oliver, Francis, Milera, Mathieson and so obviously 2 of those have to fall out. If Gold Coast bid on Hipwood that might make 3 who fall out and our pick would be pick 11. I think we will start to learn some more over the next week or so but it depends on us and Essendon. We don't leak much and Essendon leak dodgy info so it's hard to get a line on.

We always bring out the best in Darling. West Coast beat us by ten goals+, he's too strong for Garland, too quick for McDonald and has a field day with his defensive pressure against our under pressure and poorly skilled backline. Combined with his draft position and Lucas Cook I doubt there would be a group of supporters who ranks Darling higher than we do! So whilst he's a very good footballer (despite his poor grand final) I think Curnow has a few aspects better than Darling. He looks like he has long reach in the air. His endurance could become first class given the families athletic ability and he just seems to have an x factor with the way he reads the play as a forward and in his decision making. No doubt he has more rough edges than Darling as well and I'd gladly settle for a Darling start to his career for Curnow as pick 7 (a marking forward capable of 40 goals next to Hogan would do wonders) I see enough potential for Curnow to be every bit as good as Darling if not better.

There were 4 or 5 clubs linked to this kid in the article and every club would've checked out an 18 year old playing great footy in a top line senior league. As for trade week I don't think there was a trade done in the entire period that hadn't been speculated upon. There's only so many clubs, managers, uncontracted players etc and with thousands of media personalities covering the game almost everything gets out. I'd look at the manager and Essendon before I blamed the club. Both Bugg and Kennedy were kept under wraps, although neither are likely to be big stories.

Moncrieff is a key forward I think. 7 goals in 6 senior games this year. 7 goals in 10 Development league goals. Invited to the state combine so clubs are obviously looking at him. Jordan Moncrieff Casey Scorpions VFL 24.7.1992 Height: 197cm Weight: 92kg Keilty a tall forward as well who was eligible for the 2013 draft http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/declan-keilty

I think you get as many chances to do damage from half back as you do in the midfield and you don't have to contend with all the stoppages and inside ball. I'm not in a hurry to move Salem, I think he needs a full season at half back and we need him there.

I think we should be. But we are also hoping a lot of players have better seasons than last year and we have brought in 2 ready made players in Melksham and Bugg who have the attributes required to fill the spots left by Howe and Cross. I agree it's silly to read too much in to one individual result, but at the same time we need more players capable of consistent top 15 performances and hopefully Watts can do that.

Ball use without pressure - A Ball use with pressure - C+ Uncontested ball winning - B Contested ball winning - C Contested marking - C Tackling - C/C+ Defensive work rate - D All he has to do is get his competitive efforts up to an ok baseline and then make sure he's winning enough of the footy and he'll be a valuable and consistent part of the team. Maximise his strengths and round off his weaknesses. It was close to happening for him this year and then he dropped away late.

It's interesting that it's a shallow draft AND clubs don't seem to be in to any DFA. It might not be a coincidence. In a stronger draft clubs would delist more players and have more picks. This year everyone is holding on to their players so there isn't the same quality out there. Clubs won't want to have late round rookie picks so I think a few will get picked up then.

Watched most of that video. Think it's important to realise it's seemingly lost of his disposals not just highlights. I'm still a fan. He makes things happen. His athleticism is obvious, he seemingly has go go gadget arms and has strong hands in a contest, which of course is what you need at TAC level to be any chance at AFL level. He's certainly a long way off as a midfielder, the repeat efforts around a contest are lacking and his play below his knees is poor. His kicking is interesting. He takes risks and pulls a lot of them off. Ball drop is a bit high and therefore he doesn't lace it out but he certainly makes things happen and doesn't blaze away. Yeah he's a bit of a risky prospect with plenty of development to do but at the same time I think he has a heap of potential and natural ability. We've got Brendan McCartney for a reason and if he can't sink his teeth in to this bloke and make him a footballer then no one can. Pick 3 might be too high, but if he's still there at pick 7 I'd be keen.