T-34

Richo got back and played some pretty good footy after his injuries, all is not lost.

I realise patience is wearing thin but this is what is required and hopefully we are rewarded with a solid 14-15 games this season, leading into more the next season.

Hope there's no pitching woo either dc.

I thought that was an oriental baseball player.

I dislike any and all opponents, for various reasons ranging from smug or feral supporters through to being spoon fed success via long term AFL assistance.

I always felt that was what made the game so good, tribalism and a healthy hatred of anything other than your team.

Second best ball winner and consistent but not quite our second best I'd say. I expect Viney, Vince and Tyson to join Nath Jones as midfielders with more output than Matt Jones in 2014. Probably McKenzie, Cross and Trengove as well. Then Matt Jones will be fighting it out with Michie, Evans, Toumpas and Watts

One thing about Matt Jones - as he's a good runner and reader of the play if he tidies up his kicking then he can rotate to the half back flank. With a lot of teams playing just 6 defenders you need one or two mids who can take their turn lining up on the half back line to spell the back 6.

No one hates the contract extension. I'm just worried that we always seem to sign mediocre players to decent deals when they haven't quite earned it. All of Blease, Dunn, Strauss, Tapscott, Bail and Nicholson being contracted this year is a perfect example of that. It didn't matter much this year but in a couple of years we might have a few rookie promotions and lots of draft picks and not have as much space on the list that we would have liked. It's a bit like we are scared of everyone leaving when I'd rather back the club to keep guys and the players to play to an expiring contract.

McKenzie is not capable of any meaningful output as he is mediocre at best.His tackling and harassing are his only assets, if he gets the ball in hand he is a liability.

Matt Jones even with only one preseason behind him is already well past Jordie as regards his potential output.

I like Jordie as he always gives 100% but he is extremely limited in what he can offer at this level.

I would hope M.Jones would be one who is capable of playing a role very well, whether in the middle or elsewhere, your suggestion of rotating through a back flank may be his niche.

This is based purely on Champion Data's point system so is hamstrung by statistics.

Several players mentioned rarely play in the positions stated.(eg. Bartel-Defender)

We will all see where someone like Frawley is rated when clubs are lining up to lure him away at seasons end.

Players who rack up cheap possessions across half back can score heavily but are hardly elite, however in this case Melbourne 2013 struggled to have players ranked anywhere above pure crap.

Hoping 2014 is a marked step up.

If Matt Jones is at the bottom of the best 22 selected we will be doing fine.

Looking at other lists the 22nd best player of many would be inferior to Matt.

He is a better player than many give him credit for, and what he achieved in his first season with only one pre-season under his belt was great and he will be better after getting another solid pre season into his body.

We are seriously deluded if we think our best 22 for 2014 wouldn't feature M.Jones on a consistent basis.

I rate Kent as an excellent prospect and given an injury free run at it, will be featuring heavily from 2015 onwards.

Even top sides have Matt Jones type players who are happy to go about their job and relish the opportunity to be AFL players, not a trait some of our list seem to portray as often as they should.

Well you should be surprised. As many others have inferred, if Matt Jones is getting a regular game in 2015 we are still in the bottom 4.

There are worse players than M.Jones walking around with premiership medals.

Seriously misguided statement.

I don't mind the sound of that forward line and think with the right midfield feeding it, it would be successful, however not entirely convinced we have that midfield yet.

Hawthorn just won a flag running Franklin, Roughead, Gunston and Hale in their forward line, at times all at once and functioning well, I'm sure Roos is capable of orchestrating something similar if that's the way he chooses to go.

The amazing thing about Foxtel or any other form of television is if you don't like it you can switch channels, with the amount of moaning going on you would think everyones TV has been welded onto Fox Footy and can't be changed. Lighten up a little, every show doesn't have to be a clinical dissection of team A's defeat of team B or replays of when our team was not crap, another by product of improving this season will be not having to see how terrible we were during the following off season.

One thing I have noticed during early training sessions is that Roos often has pulled up Fitz for his poor leading patterns.

He seems to be unsure of where to lead to and when to go.

My belief is that he will not necessarily be best 22 in 2014 but that Roos will continue to work with him with a view to 2015.

He will be a contributor in 2014 but not every week.

Roos surely sees his potential and will be looking at him to be a major player but not next season.

Public schools in general do not finish up until Thursday, older students doing years 10,11 or 12 may be finished and students attending private schools are probably finished.

I have one year 10 student who finished last week but my year 7 son doesn't finish until Thursday.

Would seem a strange decision or one that doesn't understand that the majority of Casey based kids attend public not private schools.

I couldn't fault the intensity or application last year at all. I reckon it's a myth they're training harder. But they do look a lot happier and ebullient. The training is also smarter, because much of the fitness is from the harder running during the training. So if you're meaning that from an intensity point of view then I agree.

The training intensity under both Roos and Neeld is light year ahead of the Bailey regime.

So wish the like button was available.

Hammer, nail, head, bang.

Pet memberships don't count.

They seem to get counted at Hawthorn.

As a postman I lost count of the amount of Hawthorn memberships addressed to Princess, Spot, Rex, Fluffy and Tweety that get delivered.

Certainly looked 100% at training yesterday.

??????

DID michie Train?

Yes he did and has been with the main group most of the time since his arrival.

Looks very assured with ball in hand and disposal is really good.

Considering what we paid and his string of injuries he looks the goods and will be a quality addition to our squad.

Saying Terlich's decision making and disposal is suspect is extremely harsh, the real problem was further up field, with players not working hard enough to make themselves a viable target. If Roos can improve the players desire to work hard for their teammates, disposal and decision making will improve dramatically, not just from Terlich but from a host of others whose disposal is constantly questioned.

Have seen this at training with Roos picking up on poor positioning and leading by players rather than those who are trying to pass the ball to said players ( Fitzy is one who springs to mind )

Is Toumpas still eligible ? Training form thus far would suggest a big improvement.

Don't really care how many wins we have or where we finish on the ladder,but it would be great if we went north of 5 wins for the season.

The major indicator for us will be percentage,70-90% should be our aim not the 50-60% we scrapped together in 2013.

Be careful what you wear-and go to the toilet before you go .

Only aesthetically pleasing individuals allowed.

So far they have been on the track on time or even slightly early,so I would definitely look to be there at 9.30,however the first part involves warm ups which isn't overly interesting.

Good on you T 34 I am not sure where the Master was coming from. We all show up to support our team, I didn't know we all had to meet some physical aspiration set out by someone who calls himself the Master! For what it is worth I had achillies problems this year that has curtailed my tennis and running and as a result my weight has ballooned. Better not show up to training I suppose, at least until I can get my body back into shape.

Doing that should not be a prerequisite for showing some support.

Happy to hear thoughts on todays training but don't really need to hear about the world according to The Master.

Hope the achilles problems get sorted out.

Its ok I forgot many kids have finished school so should expect that kind of playground drivel for a while.

Master I'm the guy in the blue t-shirt who recently suffered a stroke and also a busted knee which has resulted in weight gain but please don't let facts get in the way of off hand smart ass comments. Only makes you come across as an up yourself [censored] jockey but thats only one mans view.

Second session I have seen so far and while some of the disposal today was a little sloppy,the enthusiasm and pace they are training at is certainly up.

Also noticeable is how Roos gets involved in showing players what he wants in drills and is very hands on.

Players look to be enjoying their footy and hope this comes through when the games begin.