Lucifers Hero

Trekked to Casey this morning. Arrived at 9.15 and players were already working on the field. When the rain came at 10.00 it was my cue to leave. So I was there for about 45 minutes. The view from outside the cyclone fence was very good but it was hard to make out what was happening on the other side of the oval – its quite a flat outer. It was my first ever training session so wasn’t sure what to look for or look at. It was hard to make out some players especially the newer ones or those that hadn’t played many games. So I had to work from their numbers (when they weren’t wearing coloured tops). So missed a lot of the detail of what was happening. Observations: · When I arrived there were some ball movement drills happening on the flanks of the ground with the ball starting fwd of the wing. · It took quite a while to work our who wasn’t there. The only ones I didn’t see were Aaron VandenBerg and Marty Hore (that is not to say they weren’t there). So a fairly fit list especially of our top 30 players. · Rehab group was Brayshaw, Hibberd and Petty. Its great to see it so small. I notice there is an injury report from Burgess on their status. · Oliver seems to have recovered from shoulder surgery. I didn’t notice shoulder strapping but that could be because there was no tackling/contact work. (Not sure if contact training is allowed by the AFL in these covid times). · Ball movement seemed slow and sloppy at times but it is early in the pre-season and there would be a few cobwebs to blow out. · They changed tops often: pink, while, and I think yellow. Couldn’t make out what each meant. · After a huddle there was ball movement training starting in the middle – it looked like transition work but not possible to draw any conclusion on what was happening or how it might look like in 2021. I saw Rosman and Rivers have a go in the middle then fwd and Bowey was fwd (but I wouldn’t take that as indication of when or where they might play). · TMac looked fantastic, moved well and was with the defenders. · I noticed B Brown at the end of my 45 minutes so not sure if he was out there the whole time. Was wearing knee strapping. · At one stage Fritsch did some goal-kicking practice from about 40 m out. · It was good to see Nietschke and Jordan training after missing two years with injuries. · No-one stood out for good or bad reasons as I wasn't there long enough. The person I noticed the most was Rivers. Really like him. · The music was fairly loud so couldn’t tell much from player voices but I didn’t notice a lot of animation which is not to suggest that is a bad thing. · I completely forgot to look specifically for Goodwin, Yze or Williams. But then I didn’t expect the rain to arrive so early. At least two of them were in the middle most of the time directing proceedings. · Overall it felt low key but that could be because I have no idea what to expect from a training session. Well, that’s it folks. Will try to get to training again soon. As an aside training is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but it seems the club publishes pics only for Monday sessions. Not sure if that is due to cost savings.

I assume it is the HS that has been headline chasing? I don't read it nor watch TV news so I can't tell how much of a witch hunt has been happening. The football media websites I read (The Age, AFL, Fox) have been quite low key. Sadly, I saw a regional news report of Patton going to hospital with the Lifeline and Beyond Blue numbers at the bottom of the article. So I suspect all media will now pull their heads in - terrible that it takes admission to hospital for mental health concerns for them to do that. I agree any media that has been playing this story up needs to back down. No matter what someone has done there is no room for media persecution. His alleged actions are creepy and gross but there are processes to deal with them in the AFL and if necessary the law. Hope he gets well soon and has the courage to put these episodes behind him and get on with his life both football and in general.

I'm inclined to think the concerns for Patton's mental health are genuine. Sure the 'mental health card' is often played to escape scrutiny or buy time and players 'take a break from football'. This is different. Patton is in hospital. If the concerns were not genuine he wouldn't be there. It has been a humiliating week for him, played out in public and he has been stood down from his job. The mental health concerns don't exonerate him from his actions or the consequences but it is easy to understand that he would be in a very fragile place.

Bartlett's letter didn't give us much info about his background which is a bit disappointing. Hard for people to assess him. How do you vote, od. The email I received didn't have a voting form attached. I would imagine Bartlett and co would be out garnering 'proxies', assuming they are allowed.

Not too sure about progress. At the December 2019 Fan Forum they said a working party had been set up with the State Government to explore site options. Maybe the funding part is new but not the working party. So its hard to tell how much progress has been made this year. Having said that it is understandable if it has been slow because of covid lockdowns.

Very amusing 'agent 59'. They didn't train at Casey today... Nonetheless, thanks for entertaining us with your, um report imaginings. If only we played the way we trained, eh!

Those survey results paint a sad picture of how young people go about personal relationships. But maybe I'm a bit old school when it comes to communicating with people. Presumably the survey covered sexting that was consensual. The issue with Patton is he sent very explicit images and videos, which were unsoliciited and by some accounts has been doing so for years.

Thanks for info Cc. There is nothing on club website today on training session so am wondering if they have changed the schedule given it is at Casey and distance for players etc...just guessing. Edit: just checked club website and there wasn't anything there for last Friday. Called the club again today. Was put thru to answering service, again. Left message asking for a call, again. Have not heard back, again...' ...hope the club isn't missing out on membership calls!! I know staffing is low but it is very frustrating to not receive a return call especially as the club advertised admin was re-opening on Mon Jan 11. Will call again tomorrow... Anyone on DL with direct contacts at the club?

Your faith may be justified od. HS website caption is reporting Hawks have referred allegations to AFL's Integrity Unit. Can't see the whole article as it is behind the paywall but the referral suggests it is serious and penalty goes beyond a mere rap-over-the-knuckles. Or, maybe they are looking for a political way out that 'manages the optics' and ensures precedents aren't being set...maybe they learnt Patton isn't the only player to behave so grossly.

I'm still trying to find out which days are training days/times. I rang the club yesterday and reached a 'call forward' number and left a message for a return call. If anyone has any info on which days/times are training it would be appreciated and I will go along to a few.

They have really taken 'mindfulness' on board and trained it into players who have been very accepting of the techniques. This is a good example of how it worked in the 2020 GF. why-the-richmond-rooms-were-so-hectic-at-half-time Apparently she always goes into the rooms at half time and she helps settle players and deal with their doubts. I'm sure she was a key part of 'flicking the switch' in player's minds at half time to get them to come out to win. The work she can do at half time is tweaking, tweaking that works because it is based on years of training the fundamental mind techniques so players only need reminders during games. We need a program that trains player's minds as well as their bodies and skills so players know when and how to 'flick the switch' during games and to get support in those techniques at the breaks.

Sutton's warning for new AFL season "While the permits will be easily secured should the virus be under control, Premier Dan Andrews said on Monday he would not hesitate to change the status of an interstate city from green to red within hours, potentially meaning teams would have to scramble home, thereby adding more fixture drama". Does not bode well. Having whole teams stranded interstate would be a terrible situation and would really derail a fixture, even a condensed one. As I mentioned in an earlier post the personal toll of the 2020 hubs may make it difficult for the AFL to get buy in from the AFLPA and the AFLCA to set up hubs again.

JK? I wish I had as much faith, od. Hawks investigating themselves can only serve to protect their own self interest. Not sure it would be much different if the AFL investigated. There is reason to think Patton's behaviour is not an isolated incident with AFL players so I would agree a big suspension is required to set a standard and send a message to others. Will wait and see.

Goodwin has completed the AFL requirements to be an AFL coach and done as much as other coaches have to educate and better himself. imv, it isn't lack of education (formal or otherwise) that is impacting his coaching.

If he was 'flashing' himself in real life he would be charged with 'indecent exposure'. Do it often enough to the same person and there would be an IVO on him. Unsolicited indecent exposure on the internet should still be a crime . On some reports this has been constant behaviour by him for a long time. It sounds really gross. Apparently he has deleted his social media accounts. Not sure if this means his shenanigans cannot be traced. Or if the Hawks 'integrity' investigation would even be willing to check the trail with the internet platforms. All to convenient. I can see a result of not enough evidence, some counselling and all move on. The AFL would certainly be pushing for a sweep-it-under-the-carpet. That seems to be the result of many complaints/issues even when police are involved. If a white-wash is the result it is terrible standard setting by the Hawks and the AFL.

I recall reading somewhere on DL that we can watch from outside the ground to ensure there is no contact with players. I saw a game there about 5 years ago and a 'cyclone fence' defines the ground so is transparent. Again, iirc it is about 20m from the oval fence so a fair amount of training, who is in rehab etc should be visible. Not sure if that configuration has changed in recent years. So I would be happy to venture down occasionally, have a peep and report back to fellow, news-starved DL's but I would like to know when sessions are so I can plan the trip. Wouldn't be much fun to trek down there and it be the wrong day. If anyone had a schedule that would be extra good.

Does anyone know when the next training session is and the start time?

Thought it worthwhile starting a new thread as many people may not see this in the Fixture thread. "The Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging anyone who was in the Great Southern stand, zone five of the MCG, between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on December 27 to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result". To not be too alarmist: "Professor Cheng said the decision to list Chadstone and the MCG as possible sites where the man may have contracted the virus was precautionary, and that there are several other locations where he could have caught it".

.

This will send shivers thru the AFL fixture planners: "A person with coronavirus has visited the MCG on day two of the Melbourne Test...making it an exposure site...Importantly, the state government says the man is believed to have not been infectious when he attended the test". "Anyone seated in the great southern stand at the MCG on December 27 - day 2 of the Boxing Day test - is being asked to get a test and go into isolation, the state government says". victoria-records-one-new-local-case-of-coronavirus If he wasn't infectious at the G not sure why they want people tested. Insurance, I guess, in case more info comes to hand. NSW take note for the SCG test tomorrow - should it go crowd less?.

So it was all my fault! ??

Apologies for abbreviating your excellent post. Wanted to focus on the above. 3 to 4 years ago Macca highlighted that under pressure our players revert to old (bad) habits. So we understood the problem. But unlike Richmond we haven't given our players the 'mind training' (mindfulness is the current buzz word) or if we have it hasn't been sustained or supported with techniques. Dusty is the perfect example of how a player well versed in and accepting of 'mind training' can excel. Not everyone will become a Dusty but training players minds as well as their bodies and skills would, imv see a marked improvement in our performances. If nothing else it would reduce/eliminate the quarters in which we go missing. A 'mind training' program needs to have full on belief and commitment by the FD and playing group and I don't sense we have that or that it is even a priority. Old habits are very hard to undo and I think this is the case for Clarrie. When he started he was told: 'see ball, get ball' and it becomes a hot potato for him. The team was told: 'get jumpers to the contest' and it is stacks on the mill and we get murdered on the outside. It all still sounds very familiar. So we need re-training of bad playing habits, training the mind in staying focused and dealing with pressure so that players can confidently 'let go of the rudder' and not fall back into old habits. We so often hear 'it is all above the shoulders' but rhetorically, do we have a program to re-train their minds?

Yes it is. Yet some posters want to just blame the AFL for imposing a travel schedule on us, and forget that going to Alice was our choice, when assessing the Cairns games.

We had one: 'Esprit de Corps' in 2018, borrowed from Norm Smith: "We have this spirit at Melbourne. It embraces loyalty to the team, to the coach and to teammates. It is the spirit essential for success". We seem to have lost sight of it since then. Don't hear it referred to anymore. Good discussion of it here:

LOL! ? Missed it entirely! Covid has numbed my brain!. Have gone into a voluntary mini lockdown as I live right in the middle of half the current covid active cases. With new exposure sites being listed each day some visited by a case 8 -12 days earlier, one never knows where is next. Anyway, that is my excuse. Or I could blame a typo ?. Just for the record post should have read $500k.