Older demon

For all the rough stuff mentioned Paddy was a gentleman. He was my first coach at Caulfield in the VFA and such a contrast from Tony Jewell who he took over from. Tony was fiery and could give a spray and left you in doubt about what he thought whereas I don't think I ever heard Paddy swear who was measured and always referring to Len Smith's coaching notes. A great career as a footballer and a wonderful man. My condolences to the family and may he rest in peace.

Stay surely November is over and Jake can remove the caterpillar from his lip!!!

My interest is his thinking of Jackson as a midfielder. There was lots os speculation when the Dogs went early with Bontempelli a 193 cm mid. It was a calculated risk which has paid off handsomely. From the limited highlights Jackson may well go the same way. Seriously athletic and hunts the ball.

The latest draft predictor from the Adelaide journo's has us taking Jackson at 3 and no bid on Green. Tactically GWS take Ash at 4 and Sydney make a bid for Green which GWS match so Green goes at 5. Sydney then get pick 6(Flanders) Adelaide have 7 (McAsey) Freo 8 ( Robertson a W.A. boy) Freo have next pick 8 (Stephens) Carlton bid for Henry at 10 which Freo match. That means Freo get picks 8,9,& 10 wow. At 11 Carlton may go for Serong leaving MFC with pick 12 and in this mock draft Young is still there and so is Picket.

I thought tonight was a great initiative and the speeches as open and transparent as an AFL club can be in such a dog eat dog environment. As Saty said some of the questions were excellent and other made me cringe. Bartlett was quick to point out that questions had to be respectful. Goody want s the players to be instinctive but he wants cohesion and consistency. I can see that what is lost with so many injuries and no pre season that we never had a settled team. The best back 6 never got to play together. This is so important and builds confidence and a knowledge that each team member knows what the others will do. Burgess wants them training 80 % of the time with a footy, practising drills and getting buy in from everyone. That is one of the keys to Richmonds success.

Thanks for the training reports Sayy and the pictures, much appreciated. Someone asked if Jordan had bulked up but I am more interested in Sparrow. In know Burgess said last week that bulk isn't ideal for our game now perhaps he meant they need power and speed without the bulk. Back to Sparrow, last season one of the many commentators was asked, who of our crop of draftees would play senior games for MFC. Without hesitation he said Tom Sparrow who he thought was a steal. He likened him at the same stage to Dangerfield which of course is easy to say and Tom's year was cruelled by a knee injury. I would keep a close watch on this one as the pre season develops.

Quoting the famous "The castle" line "Tell them they are dreaming. He wants 5 years at a million a year for many club wanting him in the pre season draft.

Interested in his thought on the difference in training at Arsenal. Concedes soccer is less physical but their traing loads are higher and centre around pace, agility and speed of the mark. Fascinated that Robbie Graysons would be considered average for agility in premier league. I suspect the greater training for speed and take off may lower the number of hamstring injuries which is still the number 1 injury causing loss of game time.

Grapeviney that is pure gold thank you for sharing the story.

MFC had a data manager or as they called him the Load manager in 2017. To some, he was the guy that loaded those GPS gadgets into the back of the players jumpers. In conjunction with the fitness staff he was also responsible for blood testing, ie Haemoglobin and White cell counts etc to ensure they weren't getting run down with training etc. He was poached by the company that sold the GPS units, with his knowledge he now markets them internationally. He has more sports degrees than I can name and worked at the AIS unfortunately the club saw fit not to replace him. Not sure what they were analysing this year but 2019 was a stinker This appointment suggests that the club has decided that they need to collect the big data and compare it with previous years and what the other clubs are using. Think of it as doing the 1% in the hope of getting a slight advantage over other teams. Correct it won't help if the team cannot kick or has poor skills. I can only assume that Burgess wants data analysis as part of his entire fitness regime.

Bernie Massey, Phil Rhoden (briefly) maybe even Alan Johnston later on occasionally, Derek Feldman

The question to ask is will he improve our team or fill a gap in our playing list. In my opinion the answer is NO and Fritch can more than adequately fill the role. Remember Richmond spent years poaching Collingwood players as payback and it got them nowhere. If Carlton want him they can have him. They have played Gold Coast to get him for nothing and ironically the last time I remember this they took Nick Stevens from Port. Clubs have long memories and it will come back and bite the Blues as Martin just isn't worth $700K.

THanks for the table and updates. With 35 seniors and 4 rookies we can add 5 players to the mix. Realistically we have 2 viable picks in the national draft unless we split pick 3 and I don’t consider pick 97 as viable/useable. I doubt we would take more than 1 in the PSD but there are a lot of players without clubs at the moment. I can see a scenario where we take 2 picks in the top 10, upgrade 2 rookies and take on 2 new rookies and then 1 player in the PSD.

Would we rookie one of them if the cards don’t fall right in the national and PSD? 3 picks in the national draft unless we split pick 3

Well Max will certainly miss Frosty. I still think we will regret getting rid of him.

Most clubs pass on picks that late. Maybe no-one or as mentioned the rookie upgrade. Lots of space on the rookie list now.

I am not sure whaat MFC have in mind for the PSD or rookie draft but we only have 3 selections in the national draft. Stretch and JKH not offered contracts yet and may have to wait till all drafts. It would be unfair and most unlike MFC to delist players after the PSD. This said I wouldn't go after martin. He wants big coin and I believe he would be competing for a spot with Melksham, Fritter and Hannan. His strength is his overhead making and he can kick goals. We need a small forward in the mould of Papley, Myers (at Geelong) or Rioli (the Cyril variety). Draft what you need not because he is unexpectedly available or has potential. That is all Martin is a tease who hasn't played to his potential.

Jake Nial also reporting in the Age the same scenario. GWS must be crazy desperate for pick 3 offering pick 6 and next years first rounder.

Given the way he has been treated by the club no surprise. He did not want to leave and was effectively hung out to dry. Gawn is holidaying with him and did not want the club to ditch him. Content that the club had too many backs and saw a way to balance the list but some of the unfounded rumours thrown about here are just that rumours. I wish Sam well and the chapter is closed

I think that now that the Saints have split their pick we won't split ours. I agree with others that we go to the draft with pick 3 and pick the best, classiest we can as we need more A graders. Bid for Green if we want to, remembering you can trade picks live on draft day. No offence to Bonar he is another big bodied mid with 2 knee redo's no thanks. I also believe that Saints will have to trade away players if they want to get everybody in who they are chasing.

I also posted that was it wrong to assume if it is a key forward but in the Elliot mould not necessarily a tall. So I got that impression as well. Saints need to clear cap space but it aint Membrey so I thought Billings.

OK a key forward doesn't necessarily mean a big bloke. Maybe a hint is Elliott is not the only player we are talking to. Could it be another key small forward. The Saints and Dogs need to clear cap space for their upcoming recruiting. That opens things up Breust, Billings, Membery or Billy Gowers all of whom would surprise. MFC have long held a belief that Billings was the best in his draft year. Small quick who misses lots of goals but always performs well against us!!!!

Bonar is a strong bodied inside mid who has had 2 knee redo's. We have enough inside mids and dodgy knees for mine.

With Richardson as the director of coaching he may have suggested that they had too many assistants last year and has simplified the coaching roles ie Senior coach, backline, forward line, midfield, ruck and kicking coach. The director may look after both coach and player development. How many coaches does it take to change a lightbulb??

In the midst of the silly season, with some players on holidays while others nervously await their futures and the media throng offering their opinion of worth and final destination, comes a most moving story. By accident I started reading AMT's story, published in the HS today. Hamish McLachlan has unearthed the most insightful story of a young indigenous footballer who wanted to play AFL. I will leave it for you to read rather than detail the story but is both sad and inspiring. If ever I think I am going through a rough patch I will reconsider that life ain't so bad after seeing what this young man has been through. I also think I might be a bit more considered in my commentary of players because we just don't know what sort of bullying or critique they have grown up with and how they will react. And what is my opinion worth anyway in the scheme of things. The AFL is a fishbowl and everyone is entitled to their opinion which social media enables but this young mans story touched me and highlighted how fragile a young mans confidence can be. I had no idea the struggles he faces and the ongoing scars of his childhood. I don't care who he plays for and wish he was one of ours. I have nothing but admiration for him for sharing and opening up about his life and upbringing.