Slartibartfast

Well James Podsiadly didn’t get drafted until he was in his late 20’s and he went okay. I don’t think Jeffo will be a crash and bash forward like JvR but I can see him being successful as a forward because he’s got high footy IQ. He gets to the right spots and has clean skills. Gunston and Hipwood come to mind. And I don’t think there’s any doubt that he has to show something this year but it doesn’t have to be 30 goals playing every game. Solid improvement and involvement will do me. I don’t think we can underestimate how difficult it would have been playing at Casey last year with too many forwards and a non existent midfield. And he had no preseason either. I’m still holding his shares.

Thanks. My bad re PSD, I couldn't remember the name of the preseason supplemental selection period and call it PS draft! As Dazzle told me before, best not to speculate; hang on, did Dazzle speculate above?

Did we ever find out whether being on the LTI list allows us to select someone in the PS Draft?

What would he earn from his social media presence?

Have you been to Casey? From the city it’s about a 50 minute drive if the freeway is working, which it often isn’t. Then you get the pleasure of standing on a seat outside the fence trying to see what’s going on. At best you’re about 40m from the play and at worst about 100 metres. Your elevation above ground level is so small it’s particularly difficult to see what’s going on. I think we underrate the effort put in by Casey trackwatchers and we are blessed to have anyone prepared to do it. Even if I lived 10 minutes away I’d find it pretty unrewarding. That we have PF is a blessing. Rather than complain about the lack of reporting I applaud any reports from Casey. Looking forward to your report Picket, and appreciate it immensely.

Perhaps so but I think you can be replaced by another play in the PS or mid year drafts.

Jumped to conclusions? Give me a break. How does idle speculation represent jumping to conclusions? Of course I hope Luker is okay, I wish him well, but one possible explanation for his absence, for whatever reason and I’m not speculating that reason, is he won’t be on our list going forward. The things we know are that he hasn’t been at training for weeks at a critical time of the year for a young player, we have three train on players with no list spots available (why would we be showcasing players to other clubs if we had an interest in them) and he’s probably behind JvR, Turner, Johnson, Petty and Jefferson for a KF position. Please don’t attribute things to me that are false. I fully accept that I might be way off the mark here but my suggestion is a possible explanation of what we know.

Yes. But why have 3 train ons if you’ve got no spots? I haven’t seen him since Christmas but he may have been there.

Mate, it's a view. Live with it.

Okay, idle speculation but I think Kentfield is off the list and one of the three train on will be selected in the draft. My pick would be Roy George. Other observations. Sestan worked very well off half back, he's a very good kick. McAdam was a star in a lot of the drills. If he stays fit we have something. At one stage Windsor had the ball running to goal. Lingers decided to run him down. Did manage it despite Duke going at 85%. Windsor and Kossie, as Scoop said, stand out with their physical attributes. Roy George continues to impress. Does some special things. I was on his bandwagon at the end of last season but I am now. He's got some special attributes. I disagree with WW. The match sims are not all that physical. It's tackle with care and little contact in the air but Tmac might have a word with JvR. Addition: had a long chat with Kingy, was really approachable and happy to talk. He's a big fan of Windsor going back "because you don't get enough of the ball on the wing". He thought as a team we had the greatest highest and lowest variance. He had a long chat to Trac, I love to know what he thinks now.

No offence taken by me Neil. I think @Go Dsmakes a fair point. I hate picking up a thread where there is a comment about a player in a previous thread and you don’t know who the player being referred to is. First world problem.

Perhaps this should be pinned so those unsure of nicknames can find them easily.

Interesting, I think Howes has been more impressive.

Just back from training, I left before they'd finished. I didn't take much out of today other than Pup did the whole session after an initial fitness test. Chin did a mountain of running but didn't move his right arm and then did some gentle ball work not using his right arm. Tmac was there initially but didn't do any of the training that I saw but didn't look to have any injury. Sparrow and Kossie were no shows. I didn't see Knuckles either. Kolt didn't participate in any of the training drills that I saw but did a lot of running and showed no discomfort. The full ground drills were 14 v 14 and there was lots of open space. As in other training sessions Clarrie and Duke impressed, Howes was involved and made very few mistakes and the usual suspects did well. AJ also hasn't put a foot out of place this preseason and will be an interesting watch. Trac, Gawny, Fullarton, Woey, Lever and Jeffo ran laps. Langford, Mentha and Lindsay didn't participate in full ground drills but did a far bit of boundary sprinting while the drills were on. I reckon there was a lot of management of players going on today after a big session on Monday in high heat. The only players who look a way off are Spargs who just ran and did agility exercises and Chin. Lever still hasn't been involved in much and given that he is a player who needs games to find form could also be a question mark for the start of the season if all the other talls are fit. As already stated Disco copped a big hit in a marking contest but nobody went to him as he recovered on the boundary line and there didn't appear to be any long term damage.

I agree Mr lose, Ricky has dancing feet and I great to watch. Having said that I think he’s a work in progress and others are well ahead of him at this point. @Gator, was Spargo doing anything but running?

Is it the usual 10.00am start. Had a Quick Look and couldn’t see it on the MFC site.

Campbell is at his 4th club. If he was good enough to be in our starting 22 he wouldn’t be on our list. I think he’s a nice player and excellent addition but I’m realistic about his role.

I thought Lindsay was very impressive. Quick, clean, lovely kick, positioned himself well, was very involved. For someone that hasn’t done much full training for a while he was very good. Howes played well. Used his body well in marking contests and was strong one on one. Keeps his feet well in contests. He’s a slow burn but he can definitely play.

Is this a flash back thread?

I wouldn’t worry Picket, the report said it was done at training on Friday afternoon.

You’re worried about Brownlows, I’m worried about best and fairest. One? Give me a break.

I still hold hopes for Jefferson. I think he's now developing the body to compete and he's got footy smarts but as you say his competitiveness is questionable. As for "wasting pick 15" it's interesting to look at the 2022 ND. There are only two players that I'd want ahead of Jeffo at this stage. Weddle would have been very good and Darcy Jones shows lots of promise but apart from that I can't really see one player that would have added value to our list. And our needs were clearly KPF's so I'm happy with the pick and my stomach is quite settled.

I remember when we picked Luker Kentfield mid season and some wanted him put straight in. I see the same thing happening with Johnson. I wish the kid luck but he needs many more attributes than a chop out for Max.

I think the biggest issue is how we structure the forward line and whether Petty plays forward or back. Part will be structure but part will be form. I can't see Tmac and Petty playing in the same backline and so one of them misses out or one plays forward. I can't see Tmac playing forward and I think Tmac would be the one missing out if they don't play one forward. That leave forward line talls being two or more of JvR, Turner (both locks IMO), Jefferson and Jackson. If we play three talls then it means Tmac misses for either Jefferson or Johnson. That seems very strange to me particularly seeing Tmac was so good last year and has been in the best trainers this PS, both in the time trials and drills/match sims. If it was me Petty would play forward and that's where I think it will finish but that's doesn't seem to be what the FD think. The other possibility that is exercising my mind is maybe Lever is significantly longer term than we think but at training it doesn't seem that way. Really the rest of the team pretty much picks itself with the last few deckchairs to be decided. Lots will depend on how Lindsay and Langford progress and how ready they are for senior footy. I don't think they'll be rushed, we've enough depth to make sure they are fully ready. The other two who aren't mentioned much are Howes and AMW. Both look good to me and form will decide the final spots but it probably doesn't matter who gets the nod, there's not much difference. It's the structure of the talls that holds the most interest.

Player summary, part 2: Adams: Evaluating Jed is a bit difficult because, if it hasn't already been mentioned, he looks a lot like Petts! And now that Petts is doing a lot of training with the backs it's even more confusing! When he first came his running was very poor but it's slowly improving. Rather than being a long way back he's now managing to keep up with the slower groups. I'm not sure how much of an issue that is given his most likely position is deep back but it's an area he'll have to work hard on. Encouragingly he's done a full preseason. He's been a bit more involved this PS than others and he's had some good cameos one being a really good pack mark which drew applause from coaches and players alike. His kicking is good and decision making okay but he still doesn't get involved as much as you'd like. I can see why we drafted him but he's a slow burn and being behind Tmac, Lever, May and Petty he's likely got another learning year at Casey. He'll need to show a lot more this year and will be an interesting watch. Hore: He's done what he's always done, all of the sessions in a reliable and solid matter. Marty is what he is and what we've seen in the past is what we'll get in the future. Verrall: Will is an interesting player. The major negative is his running is terrible and in the time trials I reckon he was 20 to 30 seconds our slowest player with one of the fitness staff running with him over the last couple of hundred yards to help him finish. His running issues are nothing new but don't appear to be improving much and that is an issue. He's also a bit of a tweener, not quite big enough for a ruck and is he agile enough to play a KP role. But he has attributes. For a tall he's very good below his knees and once the ball hits the ground he stays involved with some nice skills. But in his primary position as ruck he's outclassed by Tom Campbell and of course Gawny. And tbh I've not seen a major improvement this PS but others have commented that he's "bulked up" and looking much stronger. Campbell: Tom will be a terrific back up for Gawny. He started in rehab doing a lot of running but has progressed into the main group where he's been providing Gawny with some solid competition in ruck drills, something he didn't have last year. He's a neat player, knows the caper and looks to have fitted in really well. Sharp: The kid can run which is a huge advantage as it's allowed him to get to so many contests in the match sims. He's a neat player and his skill level reminds me a bit of ANB in his younger days although he's probably a bit neater below his knees than Nibber was. He does a lot of off ball work from what I've seen and played almost exclusively on the wing, often against Lingers (boy do they cover some ground) and I reckon he'd have learned a lot. I see him as best 22 at the moment but of course it's "dancing with your sister" time so I not overly confident about that. I am confident he'll work his way into best 22 over time and be a good solid player. He'll just get to so many contests and provide so many options and you'd expect him to be very damaging later in games when others are spent. Fritsch: Started in rehab and only moved into full training towards the back end of this period. But he was running freely and quickly from day one and looks to be really fit now. His skills have been on display and he looks a cut above a lot of the time but he always has. If he can get a good run of fitness leading into the season he should be set up for a good year. Sparrow: I hesitate to judge players physiques but it seems pretty obvious that Tom has trimmed down and is looking much leaner and defined than last year. He's in the midfield/wing group and hasn't missed a session. He's having a good PS and will have the opportunity to improve on last year. Fullarton: Again he looks bigger in the shoulders than last year but who knows. He was training well initially but then moved into the rehab group and has been doing a lot of running. On the track Tom looks to have so many good attributes but his challenge is to demonstrate them on gameday so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully he's out of rehab after Christmas and gets a good run for the rest of the PS. Petty: Well the major news which you all know is he's now officially a swingman as he's trained mainly with the backs but has done some forward work. He's a great competitor at training and he's shown all his well know attributes with positioning and marking. I'm hoping for a better season from him as he's done a full PS to date and hasn't missed a beat. Where he plays will depend on Tmac's form I guess and whether Jeffo takes his chances when they come. Pickett: Just wow, he's dominated training in match sims with his speed, agility and vision. He's training with the mids and if he plays the season there will give us a completely different look. Whether we can afford to miss him up forward will be interesting but he's just looking great. What a bummmer he's missing the first 3 games. Chandler: Fit, tough, involved and running better than ever finishing in the top 5 in the 2k time trial. It's sometimes easy to forget that even more mature players can improve as they move through their middle 20's but I think Chin will do that, just think of ANB's improvement over his time with us. He's not missed a beat this PS and appears to have taken on a much greater leadership role. I've had the pleasure of meeting him, he's a ripper, and leadership seems to be a natural place for him to be. Sestan: I called him "smokey" from day one and he's still one. Couldn't run much when he first got to us and was overweight for an AFL footballer but that has improved significantly now that he's into his third PS. He's got lots of attributes headlined by his kicking which is great but unfortunately he spent some time in rehab missing a lot of match sim sessions. He's playing with the forwards and doing a bit of clearance work and I'd imagine he'll play midfield at Casey but whether he can get fit enough to do that at AFL level who knows. I don't know what role he'd play in the seniors but he's giving it everything and won't die wondering if he could have given more. One of my favourites, I hope he makes it. Mentha: When I think of Ricky I think of a big smile and dancing feet! He loves to dance, dodge, twist and turn. He's about on a 50/50 success rate atm with all that but boy is it fun to watch. He's quick, has nice skills and good vision and if he can find the ball he will become a fan favourite pretty quickly. He's a young bloke on a steep learning curve and it looks like he's loving the journey. Great to have him on our list. Woewodin: Was training well and involved but ended up in the rehab group. I can't really add much because I haven't noticed him all that much so maybe other track watchers can fill in the gaps. Very neat player. Has he improved on last year? I hope so but I don't know. Brown: He looks taller to me but that might not be right. He excels at the running drills and looks better all round to me this year with his strength and agility. He's playing midfield and wing, mainly on the other side of the ground to where I stand but I've got this kid with a bullet this season as I can't see what he hasn't got. He's very clean, agile and quick. His kicking is perhaps his main area for improvement but he's moving solidly in the right direction. Johnson: I didn't really have much expectation when we drafted him given his lack of high level footy but JT has picked a good one I think. He's strong with good pace and ground ball skills. His marking is solid and he stays involved in the game when the ball hits the ground. It will be fascinating to see how he improves in an elite program but I expect him to start at Casey as he'd be behind a lot of our other talls. Kentfield: Luker is big and strong and has done a full preseason to date. He's doing everything reasonably well and he moves very well but he hasn't been all that involved in match sims but it would be hard for him as there are a lot in front of him and the match sims have mainly been ball movement where the tall forwards don't do much contest stuff. Another learning year for Luker but one thing he has in spades is the body to play AFL. Moniz-Wakefield: I really like Andy, he's a bright happy bloke with some really good AFL attributes. He hasn't stood out to me this year at PS as much as I'd like but sometimes I just don't see blokes. I know that sounds silly but there is so much going on and you're trying to take in so much. The good news is he's done all the training and is setting himself up well for the season. George: Roy is in the Ricky class, fun to watch and looks like a really engaging character. Whether he finds a way on to our list I don't know but he's been a lot more impressive than I expected and certainly has some of that indigenous magic. He's only done a couple of sessions so it's very early days. I guess the first step is hoping nobody else picks him up. In summary I reckon it's been a very good preseason simply because so many have done the majority of the sessions. The list looks happy and engaged. Troy Chaplin has certainly brought a different focus to the forward line with what seems to me much more instruction and involvement than Stafford. That's not a criticism of Greg, just an observation. Different coaches have different ways of doing things. When Scotty West was in charge of the mids in the late 00's he did all his coaching on field and he'd have the mids on field when other where looking at vision learning the ropes. But I like the fact that the players are hearing different voices at training and messages delivered in different ways. Observing training my guess is that Chin will take ANB's role and Sharp is likely to take the wing as Windsor moves back. The makeup of the forward line will be interesting with the main query being whether we use two or three KP players. Anyway it appears a fair bit of training after Christmas will be done at Casey which I won't be able to get to. Hopefully they have some at Gosch's that I'll be able to get to.