Yokozuna

I don't write on here much, as I genuinely enjoy reading some of the opinions on here, most often to laugh or possibly cry at the stuff some people write. But, need to tell you all, from a reliable source inside the club, watts IS being punished for his training standard and how he returned not as fit as he could have been, not his off field stuff like some people are guessing. The main reason though is how he has been training. for those who go to training sessions, you know they film all the sessions and drills and also monitor all players with their gps systems, and unfortunately for jack, he wasn't doing what they expect of all players, all the time. once he shows consistent effort for the entire session, he will be back in. Even if not picked for the WCE game, have been told it is highly unlikely he won't play round 1 for us!

Sorry, misunderstood you, but I agree, would be happy if they took Garland, and happy for him if he got a go and improved!

There is a reason why a player who just played in their GF isn't offered a contract. If they rated him, they would work something out you would think. i would prefer to keep garland, as they will both be playing at casey all year, and garland has been a leader at the club. that being said, I would be happy not to have either!

Have been reading all of these pages with great interest, and finally found a reason to post, as I don't do it too often. if the FD or any serious Melbourne supporter even thinks that Xavier RICHARDS is an option to take the field, or even be on our list, I am hoping they haven't seen him play and are guessing he might be ok cos his brother was. i will happily be proven wrong over the next few years, but for him to ask for a trade is quite amusing, as I would be surprised if anybody wants him. if we brought him in, I will honestly never have any faith in the FD again, that's how poor a player I think he is! not sure if I have been strong enough with my opinion there or not???

I agree too. I actually really dislike the overuse of the word superstar in our game too. Too often commentators call players superstars, when they are just really goo players. I dont think their are that many superstars in our league. I wouldnt be calling Fyfe a superstar (yet) or Dangerfield (yet). I think they need to do it for a few more years and win a flag. I would say a superstar is someone who has won many, many games off his own boot/ with his own presence and has led his team to overall glory, over a LONG period of time. I guess that means that maybe I think Hodge is superstar? I just cant say that though cos I hate him as a player!!! Maybe they should change the month to "really good players month"!? Just doesnt sound that good. And if Cotchin gets a gig, as did Jack Riewoldt and Travis Boak and many more, we should see Jones get a go in my opinion.

I went to training today too, with my brother, was the first session we had been to this pre season. On a side note, my brother is a sponsor of Jack Trengove (hope he doesnt mind me saying that!!!) and we had a chat to JT in between his running and skills. JT seemed really happy and said he was feeling good. He was moving well and is just getting used to doing everything again, basically getting accustomed to doing what everyone else would see as normal, such as running! He stated he aims to be ready to be selected in round 1. Back to everyone else though, I got there really early and all of JT, Gus, Dawes, Spencer, Vince, Watts, Tyson, Frost were all doing running from 1:15 to 2:00. Of these guys, the most of them then went on and did kicking skills for over an hour. They were all working really hard. Then everyone else arrived. To whoever said Harmes wasnt there, he was, but I understand missing people as they were hard to distinguish at times. Some seperate notes from me: I was super happy with the skills in real blustery conditions, best I have seen in a while. Was also really pleased with the enthusiasm, energy by all players and especially loved the tackling and pressure, it was super hard and fierce. I didnt see many tackles get broken, not without trying, but the tackles stuck and they went in hard. I also know, from a reliable source (always wanted to say that!) that they are trying to train the team to now be more attacking, play more modern football, not just the Paul Roos 1 on 1 style. Goodwin is more of a modern coach who wants to attack more, defend as a team and take the game on. Hopefully they pick it up well and we see more forward movement this year. Individually: Petracca is a beast, his skills were really good too and his leap is still huge VDB looks slimmer and really was impressive. I thought kennedy trained really well and his speed and evasiveness were impressive. Hunt looks really quick and his skills were fine. Gawn has improved, just looks more agile and better endurance. Can see him dominating this year. Hogan was hogan, but what i liked most was his vision and risk taking decisions in drills, he takes the game on! Wiedemann looks real tall, but is skinny in comparison to others. Can see he is working hard but will take some time. Kent looks great and his foot skills and pace were great. I rate him so highly, so i hope he stays fit this year. Along with kent, the kicking skills of Salem just look so smooth, he was moving well, so lets hope he can make the move to the midfield more this season. I like the look of White, his foot skills were great and he goes in hard and has some size. Very good back up. Cant think of any others right now, but if you have any questions, just ask! Overall though i was really impressed today, made me fell much more confident, consdering some of our better and more senior players werent doing heaps.

Have you watched the replay Biffen? I too thought we were smashed in the clearances, but if you watch again, we were not. We even got a few very clear clearances that resulted in goals, as did they. The issue is that we sometimes did rushed, panic possessions, when we have more time. Garlett's goal was a great example of not rushing. Anyway, to say we are so bad at clearances, and then bag cross, not good enough by you. Look at jones hack out clearances when he has more time, Tyson kicking off the side of the boot backwards in clearances. Cross was not the only mid in there! And to say Toumpas and cross almost cost us the game,many others made mistakes. Perhaps some of our best players for the day! Watts did two shocking kicks that cost us, McDonald a few of his usual skill errors, the list could go on. We won, we played well, we have heaps of improvement, but don't bash the same players all the time. And for my swaps, why no mention of Brayshaw? I was thoroughly impressed by him, but was his first game after no NAB cup. Why JKH and Kent before him in all your opinions? I would be inclined to leave the team, but that does hinge on how fit Vince is for me.

Yeah, i worked that out eventually, but there were a few similar looking people with darker hair that I was trying to recognise.

Didn't spend a great deal of time watching him. When I first got there it took me a while to work out who was who, with a few players sporting similar facial hair. That being said, when I saw him kick, did not see him miss any targets. Looks like a solid player at training, but who knows what that all means until we see him in a game.

I went to training yesterday and have been to a few others, the beauty of being a teacher on holidays. I also coach a local football team, so I often watch lots of teams train to find new drills and ideas. Some points I have noticed about the training: Everything is so much more structured and organised now,Marley any instructions needed, everyone knows what is going on and where to go, it is all ingrained into them now. All of the drills involve a lot, and I mean a lot, of hard and continuous running and work at pace. It is very realistic as the running is done in bursts,much like in game day. A lot of the drills have the idea of team work, quick movement, run and carry It is pleasing to see in the drills there are lots of specific smaller things being taught. In one yesterday they took a mark on the HBF boundary. They had to push back hard, look inboard for a short kick and then Rawlings who was on the mark would call play on and they would have to kick to a 1 on 1 marking duel on the boundary wing. Rawlings would praise or criticise dependent on how hard they pushed back, did they look inboard, did they kick the ball close enough to the boundary and did they kick it to advantage. All very simple ideas, but the basics must be done perfectly to be a better team. This is just one example of heaps they are now doing. (This is my coaching coming out here, but I love to see this). The overall skills look so much better, the drills are not so difficult but the ball is moving faster and less mistakes than I can remember. In regards to individuals, I spent a bit of time watching some for a while each lately: Hogan is a beast and loves training, always seems to be enjoying himself and is so competitive. Enjoyed watching him compete in the 1 on 1's, he is going to monster some players, especially uses his body well when the ball is kicked to his advantage. Also really athletic and involved in other drilled, should be able to push higher up the ground too. Oscar McDonald has really good kicking skills for a tall player, bloody skinny though. Petracca is so powerful, his leap off no run up looks massive in the drills. Still needs to work on his kicking under fatigue, missed a few later in the session as was annoyed with himself. Newton looks like a good old fashioned footballer, doesn't make many mistakes and does all things well. Bradshaw looks impressive but seems to slow down a bit too much before delivery, not sure if it is my imagination, but will be interesting to see how he goes in a game. His skills on both sides are really good and his in close hands are exceptional. Howe looks super quick at training, should be able to play more forward and use his pace and leap again. Viney is a beast, is working super hard on his kicking skills every time I am there, but he is just a bull and is so hard to stop. Dawes seems to be clunking more marks in one go, anymore than I can remember, which is a great sign. HL is in everything, very vocal and highly skilled, will be a very good player for us. Finally, Dom Tyson is a gun, if we start winning more games, get on him for a Brownlow!!! (Maybe I should not say that!) his skills are so good, he is so smooth and just glides around, best thing I saw though is that he is being more vocal, directing people, telling people off for not doing the right thing, he may be a new leader this year in my opinion. Any questions will be happy to answer as I have seen a few sessions.

I would love it if we get Capiron. Known him for a long time and he would be a great pickup. Having taught him through my family and from teaching him there are not many better kids around. He is also a great basketballer and all round sports person. I believe he was also the skipper of the Vic Country team in the Under 18's National comp and was in the AIS. He WILL be rookied and I hope he comes to us!

Hi all, just got back from the game. The weather was very blustery, but I was impressed with the level of skill. They did pretty much a full training session prior to the game started, so they were working while tired. 2 notes about other peoples comments. I dont think the game was played at half pace, they were going hard and hitting hard and in regards to the casey players not knowing Roos' style, well that is probably good, or else both teams would be playing the same style and would already know each others games back to front, this way it may have offered some more surprises for the players. So, to the game: POSITIVES: (of course i understand this was an intra club, and this must be taken into account, but no need for everyone to say "lets see it under real pressure") Watts: Was fantastic in the middle, got clearances, used the ball really well, was clean off the ground and was going in and getting the ball and taking the contact. He wascovering plenty of ground too. If he plays like that in the season proper, moving him to the mids will be a master stroke. Mitchie: I thought he was best on ground. He won plenty of clearances and got the ball out to others, he also used the ball well and had heaps of the ball. Was very happy with his display. Fitzpatrick:Did not realise how big he is, he has built his body up nicely now. He moved very well, marked on the lead at full pace and kicked goals. Particularly impressive after missing plenty of the pre season. Kent: I thought he was great. Looked slimmer and really quick. He had clean hands both in the air and off the deck and he has a beautiful kick. Tyson: Really dtrong today, head over the ball and got plenty of clearances. Kicking was better today too. Terlcih: Reads the ball so well and is strong and attacking from defense. Viney: In and under as expected but also moved well and found the ball in space. Trengove: Reads the ball well and will rack up stats this year in Roos' game plan, which is perfect becuase he is a wonderful field kick and strong mark. Dawes: Prior to whatever injury he was leading really well and looking strong. King: I think he shows all the attributes to be really good, in a few years. He marks well and already can see him using his body well in 1 on 1s and ruckwork, has improved heaps. He is also better skilled than most ruckmen. Gawn: I know he was playing on someone smaller, but he is huge and can take contested marks. If he gets fit, can be a great asset to rest in the fwd line. Blease: ran really hard and kept on presenting today, also went in hard. Was really happy with his game. Overall: The voice and direction was great all round. Skills were so much better than previous years, I just think the players are being more patient and choosing the better option, and when kicking/ handballing to a loose player, the skills should be better. MIds: despite no Jones, Vince, Cross, the mids were really good. They worked well and there were some fine, quick clearances amongst the tough tackling stuff. Style: we move the ball back to loose players who have time to see upfield, will annoy some people, but will work. We also switch heaps, which outs the onus on HF and mids to push to the other side to create the next lead and also relies on high skill level, which I think will be our biggest challenge. Again, I know it was an intrclub, but considering who was missing, I was really happy with the hit out. Any questions I am happy to answer.

Hi all. Just wondering how many of you have been to any training sessions and watched Mitch train, both before and after Christmas? I have been to heaps of sessions, before his hamstring injury and after it. I will say again, it was a hamstring injury, not his foot and not his knee! Having spoken to a few mates who work at the club, when at a training session, they are easing him into it and they are confident he will be ready for the start of the year. He could be doing more but they want to be cautious. Yes he and Dawes have missed the main drills, but if you went to training and saw the running they are origins, you would not all be so worried. Yes they are expensive recruits and we want them to play, but to start saying he may retire and be so negative is just over the top. ATM Dawes running and body are looking magnificent and watching Mitch do his stride throughs yesterday, I would be very surprised if he is not back doing drills next week.

I have been impressed with Watts. Having watched many sessions over the years, this is by far the hardest he has trained. The fact he is doing all the drills with the mids is basically making him have to work harder with his running. His skills are still fantastic, specifically his kicking anf I have seen more effort and application when it comes to tackling and blocking. I dont think the coaching staff would let him get away with not doing it!!!! He was a little fumbly on the groud today, but that was later in the session when they were buggered. He still picked it up eventually and delivered well, but it shows he has more work to do. In the last drill today the coaches used Garland (one of the leaders and our better defenders) as an example of lack of effort, where he was absolutely stuffed but let Howe sprint past without a block to receive the ball. Just another example of more accountability and getting the basics right.

I just got back from training. It was a quick hour on the track for the players. That being said, it was not an easy session. Most were blowing bubbles very early and were stuffed at the end of the session. Not only was the humidity hard for the players, but the drills they did were bloody hard work. It seemed that they were working on some more pressure, 2 way running and some tactical stuff in the drills today. The first drills were 3 separate games of 5 on 5 after a tap down from the ruck. They had to run the ball to an end to score and then the other team got the ball. The focus was on picking up a man when defending, cutting your opponents space and blocking/ hitting their bodies to make it hard for them. Tackling was also full on here. By the end of this they were already knackered. Harmes was dry reaching and done and King was battling to move. Next they did a drill focusing on carrying the ball out of defense and once on the HFF it reverted to carrying out of the HBF and hitting a lead up from CHF who quickly played on and hit a lead up FF. Was really happy with the skills on this drill and the voice. Last drill they did was the hardest work. It was a full ground drill which started with either 5 on 5 or 6 on 6 in the middle and a FF at each end. They played around with quick hands in the middle until a coach called out a team who had to work the ball up to their FF. If they got it to the FF then the game swung around and the forwards became defenders and vice versa. The team then had to try and take the ball up the other end of the ground. Tackling, pressure etc. was full on and any mistake etc. was a turnover. There were 2 sets of the 6 on 6 and each group worked for 3 or so minutes and then came off to swap. They did this probably 5 times each and each time they came off they were all stuffed. During this drill you could here them focus on running to space, 2 way running and more importantly the defensive pressure, especially blocking ot getting a body on someone so they could not run to spcae. Overall they trained really well, under the circumstances. I have written on other training sessions, so you will probably know who I have rated so far, but from today the best trainers were: * Barry - fast and skilful and pushed really hard running both ways * Tyson - just silky and running is improving * Dunn - I am not a huge fan of his but he is working hard and he has a beautfiul kick * Pederson - worked his butt off and his defensive pressure on more nimble players was really good today * JKH - continues to look really good * Hunt - has speed to burn but I watched his skills today and he kicks the ball better than I thought * Michie - I watched him closely today and he is really composed and strong over the ball Did not see Vince, Jetta, Fitzy at all today while Viney, Dawes and Clark did some running/riding. Was great to see all the players in their training jumpers with their real numbers, does make it easier for people who dont watch training so much. And yes, Stretch was wearing 7 and Brayshaw 15. Also had a good chat to a mate of mine who works at the club, and he was telling me about some of the players. He does not pick the team, but if he did, he said JKH would be his smokey this year and says that Tyson is an absolute gun and a steal !!! He also said Dawes is close to resuming full training as is Clark, but they are being very cautious with them both so they are ready for the start of the year. He said Clark only twinged the hammy but they are being very careful. Also said seeing Hogan hurt his knee, you would have thought he did an ACL, but only a couple of weeks, so we are bloody lucky !!! Also said Salem was quite sick before Xmas and they are just taking it easy with him as he will be a very good 10 year player, so there is no rush this year. Any questions I am happy to try and answer.

I went to training yesterday and thought I would wait and read other peoples reports first. Not much to add in regards to what was done, just to say that there was a lot of pressure and tackling in the drills today, which i really liked. Secondly, saw Steven Stretch and I assume his wife and maybe another son (if he has another, not sure), watching training. They were very excited watching Billy and seemed to enjoy the session, although, like many on here, on occassion they did get overly and prematurely frustrated with errors on the track. One of the main things i saw with some mistakes the mistakes were that they were generally because of 2 reasons, either fatigue or pressure. They trained bloody hard and fast and there was little or no rest in the drills, therefore the players were getting pretty tired, and then some mistakes appeared. It is only natural, and it amuses me when people at training groan or get annoyed when players make an error at TRAINING - not sure how they will improve otherwise. Also, the pressure put into the drills was great, and when people bemoaned mistakes, I was smiling inside becuase of the constant pressure the other players were putting on. In regards to players: * I can ony continue to say how impressive Tyson looks - if fit will be a great get. * People who continue to downplay Cross' kicking, I clearly wacth another game. He is no gun, but he hits targets and knows his limitations, dont kick too long and hands off if a better option is there. * Jones continues to train well, his kicking is so, so much better than it used to be. * Grimes is impressive, was really happy with his strength in all drills and his voice. * Tapscott continues to train really well, a great improver at this stage. * Not sure about people saying Trengive looks slow, he was never super quick, but he is looking better than last year. Also others are saying Toumpas is looking fast and I saw Trengove following him easily in one drill! * Blease looked much fitter and stronger today and was putting on really good pressure and tackling well today, someting i have not seen often. Also saw Watts put on a few strong tackles. * Someone said Jetta looked fumbly, I was actually impressed with his training thus far. He actually looks quicker than previous. Seems that he has been told he will be a small defender and it might help him to know he has a set position now. * Watts skills are great and I can really see the benefits of him in the midfield, just have to hope he can find the will to be a tougher. * In regards to Dawes, he is moving really well and I have no doubt he will be ready for Round 1, just taking precautions and following a set program for his pre season. * I watched Michie for a while and was impressed with his agility but i did not notice him too much in other drills. * Barry looks really quick and his kicks can be precision, but it is funny that people bag others for kicking when I have seen Barry do several absolute floaters every session. * Howe has been great in all sesions watched so far and I think that he is praying that all our other talls are playing cos he will maul any 3rd/4th defender who they play on him. Other than that I am happy to answer questions on training, as I have been to quite a few sessions so far.

I also went along to training and I was happy most happy with the number of players training fully. Some of my positives were: * quite a large amount of fans watching the session * the melbourne Victory were training at the same time, so was happy to see their skills/ drills when ours were boring or the players were resting, and before any soccer bashing comments, it is a higly skilled sport and the AFL has used soccer tactics in the past and I saw some drills that can easily be translated over to AFL (and as a footy coahc, i know this will be useful). * in regards to the drills, there was nothing new or ground breaking, but everything involved sharing the ball, running to the next contest and kicking/ running to space. A simple philosophy, but one that all teams should strive for. * Tyson had very little tape on his knee, must be getting more confidence in it. And again, his kicking skills were great. * One of the players who impressed me most was Tapscott. We all know he has a great long kick, but his field kicking and kick to the leads were fantastic today and he was running really well. Hopefully a full pre season will give him his best chance to show his ability. From what I can see, they have him training with the FWDs, which is fine, but I do know that the HFF is a tough position to rack up stats, so it may be tough to shine through unless he gets MID time, which will require some more stamina from him. Personally I have high hopes for him, so hope he shows it. * Cross is so, so, so clean with his hands, will be a very good player for the team and a better example/ on field coach. * Vince will be a pleasure to have kicking to our plethora of forwards (if they get on the ground) * Dawes is a man mountain and is bloody ripped at the moment. An impressive physique and was running quickly and effortlessly, hopefully he gets on the field consistently. * JKH is a jet, I am very impressed with him and cant wait to see his output on the field. He attacks the ball so hard, and he has a really good leap. * Not sure about Hogan having a "mare" as someone stated. I was happy to see his on the lead marking and leap, will be a tough match up if the delivery is good enough. * other than that, nothing too new for specific players but overall it looks like the players are enjoying themselves and are working hard to improve. I heard they are doing some time trials on Friday at 9:00 or so at Princess Park followed by training later at Gosch's Paddock for people interested . Happy to answer any questions. *

I think a fit Dyson will be straight in and then Michie not far behind. They have better skills than some who were in that role last year, so I can see them both finding a spot, either midfield or either HF or HB. I have yet to see JKH train so no comment. In regards to Evans, I really like him. Every time I see him play at AFL level he impresses me, just has not had a consistent run. I would like to see him getting a few games in a row to show us his talent. Someone said how many midfielders can we have, my answer is, there can never too many mids, as long as they can play somewhere else too. The more mids that we have, such as the 3 mentioned, the better. These guys should slot into the team and we also need to have better depth available other than Magner, Crouch and the like to replace players when called upon.

He was running around when I left, which was after 1 and 1/2 hours of training! If he did it, it must have been right at the end of the session.

I just returned from training, so here are some notes of mine:- * firstly to those who were wondering why they did this "kids day" today and not on the weekend, they had busloads of local school kids come to training, so I think that was their main point. * Dom Tyson has silky skills, he glides across the ground and makes kicking the ball look easy. Would love to be a forward leading to him. He does need to work on his fitness, as he was battling at times, he was however pushing through the pain/fatigue. * Cross and Vince will be great pick ups, they are both so clean and make the rights decisions in all drills. Also Michie looks good, big body and has really good foot skills. * It was the best I have ever seen Watts train and move. I have always been a fan of his, but he was pushing so hard and fast to make the next contest in each drill, and then his skills were sublime as usual. Really looking forward to see him this year. I think he should try ro be our "Barlow" (probably not as tough, but is quicker!). * The drills they did all day were fairly simple, but they focussed on decision making/good skills and pushing to the next contest. I was happily surprised with the all round skill of everyone. It was up to a standard I would expect from AFL players under no pressure! Which is not always what we see at MFC sessions. * The young draftees are bloody small and will need to build up, but that is expected. Salem was a bit hit and miss with his kicks, either spectacular or floaters. Hunt looks super fast and worked hard. Georgiou looks ungainly but got to the right spots and moved well in the drills. The one I was most impressed with was Harmes, he moves well and got heaps of the ball. * I think Jones will be skipper this year too, so vocal on the track! * Was great to see Tappy moving around in the main group, he looks fit and ready to go. Really needs to make the most of this time to put his hand up. Was training with the forward group, so I guess thats where Roos likes him. * Overall, one of the better sessions I have seen, in terms of structure and application. Really looking forward to seeing how it all works out! Other than that, I can't add more than previous posters but I am happy to answer any questions.

Honestly, I know it will be a tough game this weekend, but I think so many people here look for excuses (we are underprepared, unfit etc.) or look to negatives (our recruits are no good and have shown nothing) before they think of anything positive (these recruits will fill roles we need filled, our 1st year players will be stars, we have had another strong pre season of training and development) or what we might do well. What we know: * We are rebuilding * We are not that good at the moment * We have lots of new players * We are trying to reverse the negatives of the past. You can look at that two ways, one, we are battlers, we need new, average recycled players to help us out and we have shown very little of late. Or, we have shown progression, our new players will fill roles that need to be filled, and do them well, and our new recruits will show energy and enthusiasm to lift everyone. Personally, I think we will win, simply for the reason that I think our size up forward will worry them. The midfield battle will be a challenge, but I am not sure why people think they are so much better than us in there. Someone tell me who ALL their guns are?????? Port has been talked up for the past week or two, and I am not sure why? They are not that good! I will be very disappointed if we lose, and yes I can see it happening, but I believe we are smarter and better prepared than last year.

I hear Toumpas almost begging the fitness people to go back into the main training group the other day, but they basically said, your calf has been sore for a while and we dont want it to go properly, so be patient. That all being said, he is running bloody hard and fast when doing his sprints and he is doing heaps of work, so personally I am not sure if it is better than the actually training! He looks to be working harder than the others are.

To answer some of the questions, as I have been to a few sessions. The drills they are doing a starting to use the whole ground, but they are still working on all rolling up or creating forward pressure. The defenders are working their way through the zone and pressure, and I dont think there is a particular instruction to not go into the middle of the ground. Blease is working his butt off. He was in the last group in the sprints today, but I think he would be able to run in the middle of the second group. That all being said, his endurance will improve, but it is his speed and line breaking we need. Clarke is not relly doing any running in front of people, but he is doing heaps on the bike and other cross training. Along with Gawn and Sylvia and Toumpas, they are taking extra precautions and going slow. Viney was in the top fitness group, he struggled bad in the 3rd sprint, but with true grit, he pushed closer to the front in the next one.

Just got back. There were a few people down there today, enjoying the great weather. While I remember too, there was a bloke from the Casey area letting people know there will be a BBQ and some kids activities (not sure what) at training on Friday at Casey. So get on down. Training today started with some running at the Athletics Track near the ground. Sylvia, Clisby, Gawn, Hogan and Toumpas did their own training which involved running and then skill drills with heaps of running. Toumpas' kicking skills are immaculate, as are Sylvia's kicking, on both feet. The following players did not do the sprints ; Grimes, Dawes, Magner, N. Jones, Dunn, Garland, Joel Mac, Tapscott, Fitzy, and the 5 named above. These guys are all coming back from slight niggles and were not asked to do the hard sprints. The others did 5 x 300m sprints, all at full pace. They were in groups, I think they were in groups from fittest to not so fit. I may miss some names, as I did not write it all down. The first group had Howe, Nicho, T Mac, Couch, Viney, Evans, McKenzie The second group was M. Jones, Pederson, Davis, Frawley, Watts, Tynan, Strauss, Byrnes, Rodan, Barry The third group was Blease, Spencer, Gillies, Jamar, Davey, Kent, Terlich, Sellar, Jetta, Taggert The guys who were the most consistent and at the front are underlined. Howe dropped out after 4 good runs and looked ill and both Jones and Barry dropped out after 2 or 2, not looking too well. The battlers were Davey (but he did it all and you could see he was trying), Rodan (not his style of running really) and the younger blokes on occasions. What must be said, is that some individuals battled on 1 run but then pushed hard through the next one. From what I can see there has been a great overall improvement, and they worked bloody hard. After the running they went back to the ground to do drills. Almost everyone joined in these drills, except for Clarke, Trengove, Sylvia, Gawn, Toumpas, M Jones and Howe. The first few drills were in close hands, quick movement and protcection. The voice and skills were really good. Next they did a drill which was based on the defenders trying to get the ball out of the backline and carry it down the field while the forwards were putting pressure on. In this, the forwards were trying to keep their zone up, work on forward pressure and hold their lines while the defenders had to move the ball quickly and hit targets. At the same time there were guys on the bench and players had to continually rotate. It is great practice to see how well the zone holds up with player coming on and off the ground. The pressure and voice was most impressive in this drill. The decision making has still got room for improvement. You can see the style of game thogh in this drill. They are trying to move the ball quickly and always had 1 or 2 forwards up forward to be a target. The next part of training they split into groups where some players were working on their kicks under pressure while the rest were doing a 6 on 6 drill trying to work their way though under pressure. I left after this, as it was already 12, and they were about to head back into a drill. Maybe someone can fill in anything I missed. I thought it was a great session, especially working hard under fatigue. Again, all the drills involved the following points (which I think are rapidly improving at the club): * hard 2 way running * maximum pressure (to the point where N Jones and Kent had a wrestle after a tackle) * pressure on decision making as the drill is generally stopped and started again when a mistake is made * guys on the mark are running up to the mark at full pace and pressuring the kicker * the voice and guidance is great * the ball is moving quickly, there is not much stopping and kicking over the mark The guys who impressed more most in the session today, overall, were Evans (looks really fit), Tynan (can see a real athlet in him), Kent (worked really hard all the time),Gillies (skills look akward, but work, but he looks to be a smart defender), Frawley(looks really fit and ran well and he did well in the defensive drills), Spencer (putting real pressure on Jamar for the #1 ruck, and his kicking skills are vastly improved). I can see the pressure on all players now as the depth is better than it has been in a while, and players are going to have to work hard for a spot in the team (finally). If you have any questions, happy to answer them. Cheers.

In regards to Howe, I think he will spend more time playing up the ground, from what I have seen at training. He is super quick, great agility, and we know he can mark! He will be a really tough match up for other temas. His field kicking, on both feet, is also really good. I rate him very high in the club in relation to foot skills, and I expect him to have a great year. Possible Top 5 in the B and F in my opinion.