Slartibartfast

What are the admission requirements? Is it just walk in?

Okay, you're a pessimist.

And to think I was expecting the facepalm!😀

Kate Roffey and Gary Pert need to start to show some leadership and aim for a little bit more than pedestrian performance. They are both running scared, not letting the stream of question time at the AGM be shown to members? Why? They didn't want to answer the hard questions in front of the membership. They don't want outside scrutiny so shut down any communication with prospective Board candidates instead selecting their own who they know will just blend in. Why? They don't want to answer questions. Just look at the pathetic communication on the home base. I liked Kate when she took the job but her performance in the last couple of years has been disappointing. Thank heavens we have a competent footy department which was largely set up by Peter Jackson and thankfully we have JT who continues to all us to perform well on the field but it just covers up the poor performance of our Board and senior management. It's time they stopped trying to just keep up with the pack and started to aspire to lead it. It's really disappointing.

Thanks for the report, much appreciated. Did you notice Tmac on the track? Cheers

Bailey Laurie.

I'm not a Schache fan as you know picket but if it is his time at least he'll have an opportunity to state his case and cement a spot because there is certainly one there for a tall forward who can help in the ruck. You'd think it's last chance saloon. I was critical of his one year contract extension but it's now proving to be an astute bit of planning. Kudos to the FD.

Not me Picket, I saw him last year do the same thing. He's got great skills but that's about where it stops for me. Having said that he may get a go because Petty, Brown, Fullerton, Melksham and now McAdam will all perhaps not be available for the first round. When the real stuff starts he really struggles and I've seen nothing to suggest that's changed.

It was a beautiful day at Gosch's until the players arrived and it seemed most of our tall forwards sat out training and did little or nothing in the rehab group. Someone's got the voodoo doll out for our talls as Turner, Tmac and Verrell were all additions to this group since I last saw them and Petty did about 10 minutes and then absolutely nothing. Salem started with light drills and then just did running (mainly with Clarrie) and AMW, who had just worked his way out of rehab was back there. McAdam was also a new addition. At least Steven May did the whole session unhindered. But the number in rehab is not good at this time of year. The session itself was as low key as I've seen this year. There were few high intensity drills before ball movement drills (match sim is a very glorified description) and these drills were at about 75% intensity I reckon. Of course it's all part of the plan I guess and with matches against Richmond and Carlton not too far away perhaps it's to freshen up, who knows. Some players to catch the eye: Adams: there was some high marking practice and Adams was the stand out with several strong marks against the likes of Verrell, Schache and Tomlinson. He's got very good hands and he's come on in leaps and bounds from last year. You'd think the third tall at the moment would be between Tommo and Hore but Adams is putting his name forward. KBrown: I couldn't be more impressed with what I've seen from this kid over the preseason. He's involved, he's clean and his skills are sound but the most impressive thing is he looks comfortable at the pace and finds the ball really easily. He's a string bean above the waist but his lateral movement is really good and he's learning what he can do and what he can't. Viney: tried to do too much on occasions and got caught a couple of times but looks set for a really good season. Chandler: involved a lot and kicked really well for goal slotting a few from very tight angles. I think he's stepped up from last year and hope he can maintain his form for longer this year. Sparrow: did the whole session in a rare bit of good news. Kossie: did some really magical Kossie things when the ball was on the ground, what a shame about the suspension. Seston: is improving. He's getting more involved and looks like his running has improved and he's got great kicking skills. He was last on the track with JvR practicing his goal kicking and was doing it very well from a variety of angles and distances. He's also getting more involved in general play but today even I could have got a kick (perhaps!) KfW: in match sims he's against Max and just gets a lesson and he seems to have trouble judging the ball in the air to compete but perhaps Max is just too good. But he's improved a lot since last year and he won't die wondering if he could have done more to make it. All players had their moments. The regular senior boys just went about their business and blokes like Howes, Laurie, Woey, Windsor and The Kolt all showed their skills but really this session just seemed to be a loosener and I'm not reading too much into it. A prime indicator is it's the first session where Trac didn't seem head and shoulders above the rest. I'll be interested to read others opinion as perhaps I'm being too harsh, but that's the way I saw it.

Only one was. He’s in good company.

Personally I think the Schache decision is very easy to understand. The coaches believed that Tmac had more chance of impacting the game than Schache. So although Tmac was having a poor game they thought he was still a better bet than Schache. The game was a slog suiting Tmac. In an open score fest Schache would have been used. It wasn’t so he wasn’t used. I agree with them. Tmac puts his body on the line and competes harder than Schache ever has. He was the better bet and they made the right decision not making the change.

Monday morning quarterback.

I saw a Foxtel ad last night saying Preseason footy starts on 18th Feb so I assume they will.

Is there still an offer through the club?

In Robbo’s article it said Clarrie returned to the group on Tuesday at Casey. That helps explain the response on Wednesday. Kev’s observation was quite right, very low key response on Wednesday.

Suggest you read my post more carefully. Petty is clearly competitive.

For what it's worth I've not noticed any changes in our training this year to last. The ball movement drills (which happen on Wednesdays) have always focused on finding a bloke in the corridor. But these drills are only 12 v 12 or 14 v 14 and it's easier to do. I'm not expecting any great change to our game plan. It will be more direct if JvR and Petty get up and firing but if not I think it will be the same. Unless they move Tmac forward we've only got one competitive KPF at the moment (I don't include Schache, he's just not competitive) and we will rely on McAdam and Fritta to provide aerial targets.

Could be Mono but you’re a little late. Demonstone has already had some fun at my expense!😀

Agree Dante, Schache 2024 is the same as Schache 2023. He's a very good trainer and able to do really good things in the training environment but in a truly contested situation he doesn't seem to be able to do it. Treat training form with care, Andrew Strauss was one of the best trainers I've seen over the years.

Much busier.

It was a good day at Casey apart from the weather and the wind but fortunately as the players started the match sim both abated a bit and conditions were not too bad. Watching this match sim is so much more informative than the ball movement drills they do at Gosch's as it's genuinely competitive but tackling is very soft and the intensity is limited. Nobody crashes packs for marks much expect JvR who seems not to be able to help himself. There is the occasional tackle but it's more to impede someone than to take them down. In the ball movement stuff on Wednesday's the main players don't seem to dominate and the youngins do well but today was a different kettle of fish. Trac did what he liked and really ruined the game in the first quarter. Gawn, Trac, Viney and ANB were against an assortment of players the most notable being Rivers. But Gawn had no opposition (KFW played forward all day) and the centre group had a field day. Viney is great and looks set for a continuation of last years form, as someone else said ANB was very good and was heavily involved. But again, as noted, Bill was right up there. He's just a very smart footballer who does smart things. One goal in windy conditions from the boundary and another where he dodged the man on the mark and kick truly from 45 were highlights but he was involved inside and dished the ball out with good vision and precision. I'm not sure he'll play because of the logjam for spots but he'd be an automatic selection at most clubs. I know it's easy to get carried away at this time of year so I've got to be careful but keep and eye out for him. Kade Chandler is another to impress. Sure hands, good kick and quick today with at least 2 goals and perhaps more. He ran out of petrol tickets last year but this year he'll be better and better for longer. Problem is he's competing with Kossie, Spargs and a number of others for a spot in the forward line but he certainly put his name forward today. Howes played deep back and started on Fritta. What he did he did well and he looks taller than last year to me. He's got really good skills and seems to have picked up the pace of the game well but of course with the midfield dominating for Fritta's team Howes had his work cut out. He's an interesting choice for third tall because you'd think it means Lever has to play more accountable footy and that's not his go. Another interesting watch. Kynan Brown is also an interesting watch. He certainly gives it his all and can find the ball well. He played the game on Langdon and they were on the side where a lot of the play was (due to the wind). He did some nice things but in a fully contested game he'd be ragdolled I reckon. But his hands are clean, he is quick enough and he's showing a bit. A great Moneyball pick. I was also impressed with Seston. He was involved in quite a lot of play in the wing/back area and found quite a bit of it in one patch. He used it well and was clean, he's clearly made improvements to this game this year although he's not close to best 22 at this stage. But for a smokie he's not disappointing, he's got some really good attributes, his kicking being the main one. Jake Bowey was really really good. His disposal is first class, his ball handling is very good and his decision making was good. He found it a lot today both inside and outside and was a real standout for me. McAdam is a class footballer but he didn't play the whole game. In the third he, Brayshaw, Billings and some others were just running laps and McAdam was the tailender so I think they are still trying to build his tank. But when he was on he finds it and uses it and will be an interesting addition unless his fitness stops him being selected. Rive played midfield for the last part of the game and did well. He just looks to be continuing his confident run from late last year and as I type this I'm wondering if Howes takes his spot if Riv plays more up the ground. Tmac was good today but he wasn't on anyone much. But he found it and much to DL groupthink kicked it well on all but one occasion. By the way, he wasn't the only one to miss a kick. It was a kickout from a point and I don't expect him to take any of them in the seniors. But in my view he was the third best tall back on the field with the caveat that he didn't really have a challenging opponent. Fritta took some really good grabs, Kossie did some Kossie things and Woey looked composed with the ball but struggled against the first picked midfield. The Kolt and Duke had little influence that I saw but Duke played on the grandstand side and I wouldn't have noticed much of his play if he was involved. Best for others to comment. Kolt seemed to have little input and is still picking up the pace of the game. My final point is that the kicking for goal was very good in difficult conditions. As I commented to others, if we'd kicked like that in the finals we'd have won the flag, but enough of channelling Masie. I can't be bothered proof reading this so apologies for typo's and mispellings. @Demonstone will no doubt do that job for me and this report will be covered in red ink.

Can anyone see Petty? Yep, on the bike.

Brayshaw isn’t wearing a helmet. That’s the intensity. They play at full pace but not much physicality.

Lever doing all drills.