Dees_In_October

It’s that rare beast – an AFLW training report. Disclaimer: I’m terrible at recognising players without their numbers and haven’t put names to faces for the new recruits. So my observations are quite generalised. The main drill I witnessed was moving the ball from end to end, re-setting once the defensive team touched it. The players were divided into four teams for this, at first playing on two smaller sized areas, which saw lots of missed short kicks and drops marks (at least in the drill closest to me). Paxman stood out and was constantly in motion, even while the drill was re-starting. Then the area was expanded, with the four teams rotating on and off. They had more success with this, hitting targets better and switching with some fluency. Someone got put down in a hard tackle; after a short break, play resumed, so probably just precautionary checks. There were some nice evasive moves in this drill from players who were not familiar to me so that either bodes well for our new additions or poorly for my eyesight. Next up, they split into line groups – no positional surprises there in terms of this year’s players. Defenders practiced spoiling from behind; mids roved to L. Pearce and worked on clearing to outside runners; forwards practiced goal kicking. Rushed set shots was a major bugbear of mine this year, so I was happy to hear them being exhorted to take the full 30 seconds. Even still, some were taking them too quickly in my reckoning. Zanker has a great action and Cunningham struck a nice one from a fair distance. Back to the mids – away from the main group were Paxman, O’Dea and (I’m fairly certain) Mithen, practicing their positioning and bodywork at ball ups. Onto the most critical part of any pre-season training report: hats. A startling lack of hats – perhaps as summer players most prefer to practice as they play? There were some visors though, all facing forwards, none backwards. There were a couple of players running laps, my best guess would be Patterson and Emonson. Aside from that there were no noticeable players recovering or absentees, although now that I think of it, I didn’t notice Kate Hore or Talia Radan, who I guess is the first AFLW premiership player on our list. Daisy stood out as always but for different reasons than usual, of course. She was behind the boundary line when I first got there but was soon between the drills providing encouragement and feedback with the coaches. Overall, there were positive vibes. I wouldn’t say they’ve quite trained the house all the way down, but I hope to get along to a post-Xmas session to check the progress.

Great idea! This is what I came to add. In my mind though, Viney actually dropped his mouthguard and STILL managed to pick it up and catch Selwood in time. Did I completely make this up?! Either way, awesome moment.

It's like having Knickers the cow X2

We should really re-analyse the fixture after each season, to see if what we thought was 'hard' the previous November really turns out to be. But we never care by then. One positive is I used to look at the fixture, clutching for any straw that might give us a sliver of hope, whereas now I figure we either stand up to the challenge or we don't. Most likely, sometimes we will and sometimes we won't. The stuff around the NT games annoys me because we're doing the AFL a service in promoting the game there (not just lining our pockets, although that's obviously part of it). So when there are clear solutions that would give us a slightly longer break, it's frustrating that they don't. I kind of wish they'd just have everyone play each other once and be done with it but then it would be much harder for them to disguise the inequality I guess. Also the $$$ factor.

Very sad. Far too young to go. RIP

Aside from the ridiculous conference system and the uneven, nonsensical fixture that results - I could rant forever - the positives for me are some better venues and I do like one of the new teams getting the chance to open the season. The summer games at Casey have a fun atmosphere and though it's a bit of a hike from anywhere on the other side of the city, it's worth it to support our team at home. The games at Etihad and Victoria Park in 2019 are also good opportunities to check the Dees out in more central locations with better seating facilities. Apparently, they haven't finalised the broadcast deal yet, which is odd considering that was what they were supposedly prioritising over every team playing each other. But anyway.

Glad we've bolstered the forward line some more. Maybe an experienced defender for the interstate free agent. I guess we don't really have a true second ruck now but not as necessary, fingers crossed, over the short season. Noticed that Paxman was representing the players at draft day - maybe captain or vice captain in 2019?

Just posting to move us along off 186.

I can't remember if we knew this already, but Bartlett mentioned in his B&F speech that this had been 2 or 3 years in the planning so far.

An excellent role model to our young players - wherever you are told to play on the field or at whichever level, give it your all and you'll end up much loved and well-respected. All the best, Cam.

What a night. What a win! I loved that our players' response to mistakes and missed shots or free kicks seemed to be to go harder again. Never dropped their heads or lost their cool too much, even as the points piled up. That mindset seemed pervasive enough to have been coaching instruction and I think it really prevented us from collectively ever being too overawed by the occasion, which could easily have been a problem. What I'll always remember from this game though is the relentless pressure we put on, especially early: the smothers, tackles, bumps, niggle, chase-downs. Amazing. And just so proud of our supporters. We really brought it from the first bounce too. There were clearly heaps of nerves and so many of us have been scarred by the past, but the volume of support we brought from the get-go really matched and (I like to think) reinforced the players' intensity. So I guess what I'm saying is well done us! Sweet dreams, demonlanders ?

People going to training doesn't matter. It's mainly the diehards that do that with any regularity (Although thank the gods for those on here who do and provide all the great reports!) Family Days, held at both Casey and our city training site, are what draws in families, kids, curious newcomers etc. and people are happy to make the extra effort for that - so long as they're held at a good time but that's another issue. I'd also love it if our women's team could play a true home game that wasn't a 3-hour commute for Dees fans in the northern suburbs. What we're looking for in a training ground is one that's got top-notch facilities, is centrally located for everyone, especially those who go there regularly - the players, coaches etc. - is connected to the administrative side of the club, and is a hub as the club's home in the city that bears our name. We want to grab people's interest where we can get it (including around Casey) and then convert that into memberships and game attendance. Who cares if those people watch training?

Since we're going deep dive on this, here's the Victorian heritage database report on Yarra Park, for some light reading. http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/114751/download-report As you can tell just by walking through there, the physical heritage listed (scarred trees, substation etc.) would not be (directly) impacted by the proposed site.

Can't un-see that now! I wouldn't want that demon now either. Something more like the 80s one but in contrasting colours, sort of silhouetted where the monogram is now.

As a kid I loved what I think of as the 'hair on fire' version. Not so much now. I can see our current one but with a demon instead of the monogram. That way it has the best of both worlds, with the demon, and also the word 'Melbourne' being in there.

Was desperate as always during some really crucial plays late.

Tonight, it was me, but in a proud way. So courageous.

Credit where it's due. It's no Leo Barry, but enjoyable nonetheless.

2016 Brownlow count, Round 19. Gawn is 11 votes behind the leader and gets the 3 votes against Gold Coast. (With some lip-reading) he can be seen confidently telling his teammates, "This is it, I'm coming!" What a legend.

Gosh. Now I feel like we didn't celebrate it enough!

Seems like a good time to revisit: