Melbourne preseason training

[Ricochet]

Nah nothing as yet, maybe just a rest day for him. Will post if I hear something.

Yeh sounds like a light day. Might be just to keep him off his feet
Cheers man

[Big Mac]

Nah nothing as yet, maybe just a rest day for him. Will post if I hear something.

Yeh sounds like a light day. Might be just to keep him off his feet
Cheers man

Yeh a lot of the big guys get reduced workloads every so often

[Purple 77]

I thought I read a while ago that ALL of melbourne's big guys do light days here and there, purely to just to look after them.

If Hogan got a papercut, I, and all melbourne supporters, would know  :P

[Barra13]

From todays session;

Competitive match practice was short and sweet, sweet to see come footy again, even  at this level.

It was a full match practice as only about 14 per side but it was full contact without the players trying to hurt each other.  "Quarters" were only about 5 or 7 minutes and at time the ball would just be given to the opposition.  Conditions were warm but perfect otherwise.

The one that impressed me was Petracca.  He looked absolutely comfortable in this company, winning contested possession and seemed to make good decisions.  Kicking a little iffy but not bad.

Others to do well were, apart from the regulars (Jones N, Lumumba, Grimes, Tyson etc) were M Jones who I didn't have near my 22 but today was good.  He has speed, knows how to find it and disposed of it well.  He's in the running for a midfield spot.

Max Gawn took some took contested marks and Spencer was involved round the ground.  I think Jamar, regardless of his seniority, is under pressure for his spot.

The reality is that the match was short and it was hard to pick out "best" players.  And half were wearing green vests covering their numbers which makes them hard to identify when they are on the other side of the ground.

Oh, and special mention to the Toump who I thought was good and involved today.  Of course the issue is how many can translate to match day.

[Purple 77]

Oh, and special mention to the Toump who I thought was good and involved today. Of course the issue is how many can translate to match day.

That's what I wanna hear.

[Barra13]

And another;

There was a lot of match sim as stated by previous posters. I must say, I was wondering where the Demons were training and who the team was on Gosch's paddock, the training intensity has lifted that much.



One thing I disagree with from another poster is that competition will be fierce for spots, including for the first time in years in the midfield. Interestingly, I don't think there were as many standout players as in previous years as the gap between our best trainers and worst is no where near as large as before.



Just a few to catch my eye, observations below:



- Max Gawn showed some great contested marking strength on a number of occasions. Tom Mac was ragdolled a number of times by Max. I expect he will play deep forward, rotating ruck with Jamar this year. Marking really well.

- We have a number of first year players that may actually be too good to leave out. Petracca has a real turn of speed and has strength/smarts to go with it. Will surely play early on. Brayshaw just does not waste a disposal, not as noticeable as Petracca but again he should play early. Stretch also impressed me today, small but a low centre of gravity enables him to scoop up the ball at pace and speed off. Might get a shot later in the year. Vandenberg is a big lad, seemed right in it most ogf training but a few errant kicks he will need to iron out to play seniors. Not yet convinced on him yet. The other lads further behind these four.

- Hogan does not like to be beaten, ever. Has that strut to him a la Jono Brown. Cant wait to see him play.

- Newton looks solid, a bit like Brayshaw does not make errors but also flies under the radar.

- Mitchie, I am not sure about yet. Doesnt seem to have enough penetration when kicking long. Just cant see it

- Viney is a classic. Jones got a free kick paid and Viney pushed him hard in the chest. He is just one way, all agression.

- Matt Jones. Seems to have developed an extra yard and seems more poised with the ball in hand. Unfortunately noticed Terlich for opposite reasons.

- Salem. Would love him and Jetta in the backline. Kicking sublime and Jets to lock down the most dangerous small.

- Frost. First time I have seen him and he has some real toe for a big guy. Marked, ran past and baulked an opponent at one stage. Impressive.

- Last but not least Toumpas. Looks like he just belongs now. Maybe just taking longer than some of the bigger kids to adjust at AFL level. I expect many Demonlanders will pleasantly surprised this year.

[Barra13]

And another;

I went to my 5th session today. Notes (apologies for any repetition)

- 8 or 9 blokes in the rehab, Vince wasn't at the ground. Watts and Howe look pretty fit despite not participating.

- Frost looks great, a true athlete with size, speed and strength. You can see his usefulness streaming out of defense.  I think he is a lock for R1

- Jones is as prolific in intra-club match sims as he is in the real thing, the bloke is just a gem

- Gawny looked good playing key forward, a very imposing figure.. it seems very likely he will be spending lots of time down there in 2015 and for mine he could be one of the ones to take a big step forward

- Toumpas is starting to grow on me. I still worry that he has nothing about him that makes him stand out, and that he might not be able to get his hands on it enough BUT gee he moves really well and is a super efficient user. He is a smooth operator. Can't wait to see his year.

- Vandenberg got some wraps for some good tackling and general contested footy. Is a chance to make an impact.

- Petracca looks every bit a senior player.

Overall I was pretty happy, there were some fluffed kicks but if you take Terlich out of the equation you just about halve the number! Sorry but it's true! Overall marking, movement, linking up etc looked good

Heart attack moment: Jones vs Tyson running back with the flight of a skyball, at the moment of contact each held their ground in attempt to 'body bounce' the other guy off, there was no holding back in intensity. Tyson won. Jones got up gingerly clutching his knee, with Tyson offering his apologies. Jones went to the boundary and got looked at, but it seems he is OK. Good thing this is the bloke that misses a game about every 2 years because he is made of concrete. Scary moment, but exciting to see Tyson man up and defeat the skipper..

Attended my first training session for the year. There were very few bystanders so I thought I'd give my observations. I must have been on the other side of the ground to Baghdad Bob, cause I hardly noticed Petracca but noticed others not mentioned.

The match simulation involved 1 player with a white vest who played for both teams. Those players were Tyson, Viney and N.Jones alternatively. Tyson copped a spray from Roos for not giving off a handball which resulted in a turnover.

Standouts

- Despite his earlier error, Tyson is our classiest player and makes the game look easy.

- N. Jones just kept getting the ball.

- Newton was the player that surprised me the most. Great awareness and decision making, and a lovely left foot kick.

- Hogan clunked a fantastic contested mark and roamed as far as the centre. His kicking for goal doesn't seem to be a concern either.

- Garlett didn't do a lot, but will be great around Hogan.

- The backline players in Jetta, Dunn, Salem and Frost were impressive. I didn't have huge wraps on Frost, but his defensive skills were great. Salem also copped a spray from Roos for playing on and kicking to a contest, but his disposal is 1st class which is sadly lacking in our backline. Brayshaw got a fair bit of the ball at half back.

Disappointments

- Viney was in the play alot, and was in his element when tackling was involved. However he missed targets too often and at one stage smashed his fist into the ground after having a handball blocked by Frost, resulting in a goal at the other end.

- Collectively Spencer, Pedersen, McKenzie and M.Jones made the same mistakes they've been making their whole careers. Spencer and [Pedersen] dropping marks under little pressure. McKenzie going to ground unnecessarily to give off a handball resulting in a turnover.(Keep your bl##dy feet). M. Jones almost missed the lot when having a set shot 30m out straight in front.

Toumpas got plenty of the ball, but every time he did, he'll stop to survey what's ahead of him, and kick the ball leaning back. This results in the ball taking longer to get to a teammate. Good players know what they're going to do with the ball before they get it. It's something that Toumpas needs to work on.

Overall I thought the standard was pretty average in what seemed to be a low intensity match simulation. The conditions were fairly windy, but there were too many missed targets.

On a positive note, the addition of Hogan, Garlett, Newton and Lumumba will hopefully improve our side. Contrary to BB, I thought that Jamar was clearly the dominant big man.

Vince ran a lot of laps at a fairly decent pace, but I noticed a limp when he was walking. Howe also ran laps but seemed to be moving ok when kicking for goal.

I assume you must have been watching a different training from me then this morning

Vince, Watts, White, Hunt, Howe, Neal Bullen, Fitzpatrick, Garland all did some sort of rehab wo

Missing  Trengove, King and Riley

Standouts for me today were Jones x 2, Michie, Cross, Garlett  Frost, Brayshaw and  Petracca who had an even better session today than last week, complimented him after and he said "that's what I am aiming for,  to improve every session"

The one on one work that we keep seeing Salem do is at his request, feels it is an area of his game that needs work, has no idea where he will be playing, Roos has not discussed with him

Coaching - after two poor options and the ball going to ground, Roos pulled up in the drill and in a voice everybody could here said (this is to get past the censor) "that's farken scheizenhausen", they had another match sim at the end of the session that went for 20 minutes, the first 5 when this occurred was ordinary but after the spray, the next 15 was really good

Somebody said Nathan Jones had a bit of a knock, didn't stop him winning the goal kicking comp against Brayshaw at the end, with a very over the top celebration, much to the few still there  amusement,

Jeff Garlett wears 33 because the jumpers they are training in are last years, this years still to be delivered.

[Barra13]

Getting some reports coming through that Petracca came down awkwardly from a marking contest. Knee buckled beneath him and was in agony on the ground for a few minutes before hobbling off the track. Not good news, will filter more through when available.

On another note, Frost also appears to have done a hammy. Again, will filter more through when available.

[Barra13]

No news as of yet, but a bit of a report here;

Just got back from training. No good news unfortunately. Firstly, Sam Frost grabbed for his hammy and went straight off. Had some treatment on the sidelines and left. Mentioned Petracca's injury in the other thread. I also noticed that Garlett was feeling for his hammy during a drill, and whilst he completed the whole seesion, he hardly got involved.

As far as the rehab players go, Watts did some of the early drills and looked in no discomfort. Fitzpatrick spent the whole time on the sidelines. Howe did some light running. Didn't see Vince, JKH, Stretch, Garland, Jamar, White or Hunt at the ground.

Training appeared to be a light session, mainly focussing on ball movement, and personalised drills. Very little contested work, so the players that stand out tend to be the more skilled. Salem stood out for his clean hands and kicking, whilst Toumpas stood out for his gut running and kicking on the run. Hogan was once again a beast, but T Mac did really well against him in one on one contests.

Those that didin't impress were Spencer (dropped another sitter and fumbled the follow up) and Terlich. During one of the personalised drills involving 6 players conducted by Allison, the player would receive the ball with back to goal, turn around and weight a pass to a designated player. The designated player would run to goal and duck back so he's looking at the kicker, and the pass had to be weighted in front of him. Salem was spot on each time and Petracca had one miskick that he was filthy about. After 3 miskicks, Terlich finally nailed one, and proceeded to give himself a fist pump with a smile on his face. It made me cringe.

During one of the latter ball movement drills, Spencer and Toumpas were grappling with each other behind play. Initially I thought they were mucking around, but it happened again 5 minutes later at the end of the drill. Hogan ran in to defend Toumpas, and I thought he was going to snot Spencer. It broke it straight away.

In a funnier moment, there was a drill that involved one on one marking contests, with a kick weighted to a designated player. N. Jones was up against Hogan, and Hogan beat him every time, regardless of who was favoured by the kick. I heard Jones yell out an expletive, whilst Hogan was laughing.

Mark Stevens came up to me in regards to the Petracca injury. I asked him if he'd been to many of our traing sessions, and he said he had, and thought that we'd been impressive. I mentioned my concerns about our midfield, and he agreed that we didn't have any champions there.

[Ricochet]

Confirmed ACL. Poor flowering kid

[Barra13]

Yep just has been tweeted, feel for the bloke, and Melbourne  :-[

[Barra13]

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-02-16/petracca-suffers-serious-knee-injury

[Rusty00]

Wow! That sucks big time :(

[TomK]

Holy shower! Absolutely devasting news. Best of luck to him.

[Purple 77]

Of course.

flower sake.