3183 Dee

I dropped past briefly on my way back from Fitzroy to Balaclava, to catch the handball drill. As on Monday, I can’t help but be impressed with Langford: he looks so at home at this level and has great touch. Good to see him take the game on so confidently. Sure, he may get caught out a bit in his first few games, but with a bit of experience, he will be very special.

This guy is fantastic - the real deal. He did incredible work with Ash Barty, this would be a phenomenal get for the club, if true.

Went along today with my lad - I didn't keep detailed notes of all the training, but from what I saw: - Practice drills getting the ball from forward half stoppage and delivery into 50 - Close up 2v3 inside work/tackling - Stoppage drills - Part match sim, with the ball being started from a ball up in various parts of the ground - Short, full ground sim - Running exercises Some general observations: - JVR looking very commanding now. - Harvey Langford looks VERY likely - doesn't look out of place at all. Laid a couple of great tackles on Viney, which Viney loved. - Kossie looks very sharp - he just finds space and time and his kicking is elite. - I like the look of Tom Campbell - certainly a strong unit, who loves the contest. I'd imagine Max is quite happy having a legit ruck to contend with. - I thought some of the disposal was still not great, despite it being a practice, although the wind was very strong across Gosch's - Great to see Chunk out there. It was also interesting to hear Troy Chaplin coaching the forwards, very commanding presence. - Not sure who the coach was in the middle of the main sim, but seemed to be running the entire session. Barking out orders and instructions, had everything under control! - Good to see Spargs back in the fold - participated in the first few drills and then running for the rest of the session along with Xavier Lindsay. Poor Tom Fullarton running lap after lap. - I think Chandler will be the new ANB

I’m intending to come to training today with my lad - has there been a change of time announced?

I think the body language thing was something Darren Burgess was big on - ie never show that you're gassed in training or in a game as it gives the impression of vulnerability to the opposition. I wonder if Darren Shand has had any input yet, because this also has echoes of the All Blacks philosophy.

I know what you mean - although I think the Giants may have a G on one of their tops? Anyway, looks like they’ve tried to incorporate lots of things into one design. Looks like the logo of a 70s American cable news channel.

Suns?

The Duursmas have done it again. If Willem gets drafted, that'll be the 4 kids playing top flight footy - incredible.

That is VERY good - actually LOL'd

It’s a précis of what has been written in Thr Age.

Absolutely devastating.

I would love PJ back in for 3 years, with an Angus Brayshaw succession plan 😉

I agree - I think we all thought that would be his break out game. Good luck to him for the future.

The optimist in me would like to think that Brad Green has come in and laid down the law, which would be fantastic, as I wasn't necessarily convinced that he's the right man for the job.

Actually a good call. Bring PJ back in to mentor Gus for 2-3 years. Gus goes to CEO, PJ goes to President.

Worth tuning in to the last half hour of the whole trade period. Otherwise you are wasting your life.

How are you supposed to tackle Watson?

Just saw that. *Cringe*

Did he have someone to blow the horn when Carlton kicked a goal?

Bloody hell, Norm - enough with the curse, already.

Max Gawn is an unbelievably good leader, who loves the club as much as you and I do. That, in itself, is rare. More than that, he leads by example - putting the whole club upon his back at times. He goes about his business with gravity, yet cuts through all the AFL bulltish with a great sense of humour and self deprecation. Every single club would love to have Max Gawn as their captain. We should go to the football for Max Gawn alone: it is rare that we will see a character like him in the game, and before long it’ll be too late. Max Gawn should be captain for as long as he wants it.

Have I missed something? Is there a massive unspoken issue that the media are prodding at like an unlanced boil?

Wouldn't surprise me - getting out of his brother's shadow...

I think the most telling bit was at the end, when he said that, as an employee, he couldn’t tee off at the club, but if he was not working there, he would let loose. As I said on another thread, this off season we need to recruit culture makers as well as skilled players. The loss of Gus, ANB, BBB is huge for our culture: aside from Max and Viney, I don’t see too many others who will put the club on their shoulders and say “Follow me”. We have a good crop of young players coming up, but without proper leadership around them, will either leave or not develop their full potential.

As well as better skilled players, we have to recruit culture setters as a priority, after the loss of Gus, ANB and BBB. I’m not sure who that is, but it is so crucial to provide an environment for all of our young guns to thrive, otherwise they too will be looking elsewhere. Time to put our laissez faire, amateur club days behind us.