4jacks

I'll be there with a mate for the day, hoping to at least see a win in the VFL curtain-raiser... can't see much hope in the main event!

That came from the Herald Sun website... disregard.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuu

There was really nothing in it... low contact, medium impact, reckless possibly... that's not a week is it?

I've been to the last two open training sessions at aami and jack viney has been training with the senior side.

I spotted him in the change rooms before yesterday's game, having a chat to Jordie McKenzie... good to see.

As for where he's playing, I believe Oakleigh and Carey Grammar in the APS... and Vic Metro no doubt.

Where is the love for Bail? He did an excellent job on Kennedy, who had a minimal impact after some massive pre season hype about him taking it up a notch this year.

I think a major issue was the size of the ground. Etihad is tiny, and Essendon's zone was made to look better than it was because they didn't have to 'roll' too much. As such, switching the ball didn't work as well for us as it would have on the wider MCG.

Still, we definitely need a back-up plan out of defence. The switch was ineffective 9/10 times probably. We need a second, third and fourth option for when there is a really effective zone/press in place, or for when we're playing on a smaller ground.

One solution? Get Davey on the half back line instead of the wing.

Lolz... what rpfc said.

you missed Richmond...

I wasn't there, but let me guess .... Kelvin Lawrence?

lol... correct weight.

As for Nicholson, I saw him twice point to his back when asked why he wasn't training. Make of that what you will, not much 'maybe' about it though.

Here's my take on events: Just got back from training at Gosch's Paddock this morning, where I was amongst a decent crowd of on-lookers watching the lads train for a solid 2 hours.

Firstly, injury news: Cambell, Gawn, Fitzpatrick, Warnock, Nicholson (back complaint by the sounds of it), Tapscott and of course Frawley didn't participate at all, mostly just walking laps and doing a few reflex drills. Tappy was running laps for a while. Chip was in a sling, fresh from surgery by the looks, and looking very sorry for himself . Also on modified programs were Wonna, SME and Jonesy, who all left the main group after various amounts of time to run laps. LJ had his ankle taped about an hour in, but seemed to be at or close to 100% (in his own laid-back way).

After the obligatory skills session, the main group moved into two drills, the one I saw being an inside-50 thing down the AAMI end. The likes of Bennell, Davey, Grimes, Bail, Strauss, Garland, Joel Mac, Newton and Blease were on the defensive team, with Watts, Jurrah, the SME, Sylvia, Jetta, Lawrence, Moloney, Green and Scully playing forward (there were others on both teams). Couple of interesting placements in there, I thought... especially Juice in the back line and the SME up forward. Strauss was doing the kick-ins, I love his kicking skills. Watts was playing as a high forward mostly, and I enjoyed his work rate. He was running hard and presenting, but it still looked like he wasn't demanding the ball enough. He also seemed to get caught up in traffic a bit.

The group then moved to a full-ground match-sim drill, although interestingly the wings were cut off to encourage play through the corridor. The forwards seemed to be playing with the same game plan as last year as well - i.e. the mids would often kick over their heads, with a maximum of one match-up deep inside the 50.

Points of note from the match, which lasted about half an hour I think:

- Jake 'Pretzel' Spencer, who is surprisingly quick and was moving very well. Still has an incredibly awkward kicking action, but hits targets and gets amongst the play. Good signs. Also has an evolved nickname apparently... lol. Jamar was in full training, on the opposite team of course.

- Scully, of course, who is just a freak. So fast, so clean, never stops. It has been said many times before, but it's amazing how well he trains.

- Watts, who made a better showing than the previous drill. Presented well, got plenty of the ball, worked hard, and took a good contested mark over Bate and Joel Mac (I think). Still played half-forward, with Dunn (still repping the black mo) playing in the square for their team.

- Trengove's awesome don't-argue on Moloney (no mean feat), and just his balance, poise and kicking skills in general.

- Strauss, although admittedly playing loose man in defence, had his kicking boots on and was hitting some excellent long targets. Here's hoping he can step up to AFL level and release Grimes to the middle a lot more.

- Bail, whose run-and-carry was excellent. I like the way he always runs as far as he can before kicking - the proverbial "80 metre player".

- Dunn, who got stuck into LJ for ignoring him as a handball option.

- Jurrah instead tried to take on two defenders, and Dunny wasn't happy.

- Rookies Evans, Lawrence and Johnston were amongst the play and didn't look too out of place, especially Johnston the ranga, who seems to be filling the shoes of Cheney quite nicely.

- Davey looks to have overcome his leg injury nicely, and was speeding around the place hitting 20-cent pieces at 50 metres, as he tends to do.

Apparently Bradley Green was announced as captain to the playing group before the session... I didn't see that bit.

I too will be making my way down to Richmond... I shall add my observations at some point tomorrow.

In other news the only player on the richmond list to not play a game this year is our one and only saviour, Mr Jordy McMahon, wonder if it had anything to do with a certain goal?

Ahahahahaha classic... lol Jordie.

Brett Voss anyone? Not disgraceful, but an average player at best.

Here comes the story of the Jurracaine!

YES

Why do people keep calling for Bartram's head? How much must he do to prove himself? Yes, it's likely he'll be pushed out of the team in the next few years, but ATM he's our best small defender by a fair way. Give the man some credit.

BUMP for comparison... prepare to be embarrassed by your bold predictions

Interesting thought, Thompson. A Morton trade might get it done.

What is certain is that if a Thompson came to MFC, a mid will be pushed out.

Doubt it will happen; Thompson is 27 - a year or 2 too old I would have thought.

I would personally burn AAMI Park to the ground if that happened... and AAMI Stadium too, just for good measure.

51,239

Frawley to Roughead... although I'm not convinced he has the height/jump to stop Rough's high marking ability.

Garland to Franklin - closing speed on the lead, his extend-an-arm ability around the body.

Rivers 3rd man up whenever the ball comes in high.

Jurrah finally pulls in the mark of the year.

Its funny how we expect that of him... I love having him on our team.

Someone, anyone to knock Campbell Brown senseless.

YES. Get him Sylvia.

Hawthorn to play like a top 4 team and win by 5-6 goals.

When do we stop talking about them as a top 4 team? They're really not that good. Hell, we can play like a top 4 team at times (see Pies x2, Dogs, Freo, Lions [lulz]).

West Sydney Moons ?

i like Blacktown Panthers... WS Wolves maybe

The selection panel will be lynched by an angry mob of Essendon supporters if Fletcher gets pipped by Frawley I reckon... I would prefer Chip in the team.

I called this last year, and I reckon he's definitely the right sort of player to win a Brownlow... powerful, explosive even; racks up the touches, gets his own ball; kicks goals.

Hopefully DB leaves him in the midfield for the rest of the year. IMO he has really stepped up the last couple of weeks because he has had to shoulder much of the load in the absence of Junior, Beamer and Trengove. Same goes for Jordie, and Jones to an extent. He won't have nearly as much impact on a HFF I reckon... although that's what he did last time against Richmond.