Melbourne 2016 pre-season

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There didn't seem to be too much trouble sighting the players at the training session that I went to this afternoon.

Apparently the lights were on so it was all on display to see.

Injured and missing first:

Jones not there.  Dawes neither ( not unexpectedly).  Rehab group: Vince, Lamumba, Max King, JKH?,Petracca, Newton.  All the rest were training with the main group including Trengove.

* Petracca bandage on knee, which I didn't see last week.

* JKH ran a lot of laps but didn't seem to have anything wrong, maybe just a training load situation.

*Newton with tape on achilles.

*Lamumba and Vince must be very close as both seem to be moving very freely.  Lamumba putting in a 3.9 for 50m.  Hope I don't jinx him because Dawes did a 3.6 last week, and look what happened to him.

* Petracca complaining about having to do the continuous sprints.  " there must be an easier way to do this apart from 30 times over..."

* King must be just building up condition as there doesn't seem too much wrong with him either.

The Rest:

* Trengove moving freely and while I didn't see a left-foot kick, neither did he have to in the drills I watched.  But he looks comfortable and is back in the game.

* Hunt can move and as one of the conditioning coaches said: " he now has the body which can tolerate what the coaches want him to do".  His speed will be a real asset come the main event.

* I can't describe how good Max Gawn is with his mobility and quick hands.  Then he is a mountain to get around when he sits in the goal-square.  Watch out Todd Goldstein!

* Joel Smith is a chip off the old mans block.  He has a really good spring on him, and once the body is up to AFL standard, we might have something special

* Hogan, Hogan, Hogan.  What can you say!  He is just seriously good, as if anyone didn't know that already. He owns the whole forward half and demands the ball when it comes his way.  Poor Weideman had to take him one-on-one in a drill.  What a lesson for the kid.

* But Weideman was with the main group and while Hogan showed him how to play, he is like Smith someone who will develop quickly and has that something special.  Never dropped the head, and knows how to get his own ball.

* Oliver is already playing with the mids, and has trimmed down so much from his U18 days, he now needs to build up some muscle mass up top.  Has the legs already and has the smarts and toughness.  Might get a game at the end of the season, but then also nice to have him developing while Petracca and Kennedy and Trengove take up spots in the middle this year.

* Kennedy showing plenty in the middle and will be up there for selection.  Didn't see enough of Bugg to draw any conclusions.

* Dunn is an absolute lock at FB and Col and Tom his permanent henchmen.  Just solid all three.  There is nothing like these older strong bodies when it comes to contests, and each of them holds their own.

Not much more to add, but it would be nice to see Vince, Petracca and Lamumba back with the main group soon.  It would give us nearly a full list going into round 1.

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Couldn't resist dropping into Gosch's this afternoon to see if the rumours about Trengove recently returning to full training were true.

H, JKH, Newton, Max King  and Vince were all in rehab although most looked unhindered by their respective aliments and should hopefully be back in full training soon. Newton seems to be moving pretty well at the moment. Still has strapping on his ankle but was running laps with no obvious discomfort. H was doing some 100m sprints. Ran at a good pace and looked sharp,  it really looked like he was galloping across the ground.

Petracca seemed to switch between the rehab group and full training a couple times. Had his knee strapped as well (although this might be for his injury last year). Not sure where he is in terms of his fitness and if a Nab game or round 1 are possibilities.

In the main group, Captain Jones was the only noticeable absentee. As mentioned in earlier reports, today's drills were heavily focused on efficient ball movement. An early drill I took note of involved an in-close game of 'keepings off' where one group would quickly hand pass to each other while being pressured by the other group. O.McDonald and Weideman made a couple blues here where their hand passes were smothered. Frost impressed me here. For a big lad, he has fast hands and can hit a target. He also nonchalantly hammered a 60m torp through the big sticks while waiting for the next round to start. Neal-Bullen also looked really sharp here.

Next drill involved the full ground and players leading and kicking the ball to each other around the oval. Players would rotate around the oval as they completed their kick. Players in the forward group would lead up to the ball and then have a shot. There was a great moment when Stretch nailed a bullet pass to Weideman who subsequently played on, straightened, and kicked the goal through the big sticks. Kent, Dunn and Salem all looked especially classy here. For those wondering (like myself), yes, Trengove is in full training at the moment. Looks completely at home with no discomfort what so ever. He kicked with his right foot.

There was also some one on one training where Mitch King, T.McDonald, Hogan, Hulett and Weideman would pair up and compete to mark or spoil the ball. Although Weideman looked a bit out of his depth against McDonald, at times he showed great signs of his one on one ability. At one stage he completely out manoeuvred McDonald and marked in front of him.

The final drill I stayed for was general match simulation practice. Jayden Hunt looked absolutely brilliant here, he has a real knack for breaking away from the pack with his speed (think Sam Blease but with more muscle and grunt). Laid some fantastic tackles and at one stage completely outplayed his opponent by spoiling his mark, subsequently crumbling the ball and delivering a brilliant pass to Sam Weideman who proceeded to kick the goal from a tight angle.

I left soon after. All in all, the group is looking classy and starting to knuckle down for their first NAB Challenge match in 12 days time.

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Ahem...

It’s been a while coming, but I’m finally back on the track. The last month and a bit I really apologise for not being able to make it down - firstly the Aus Open shifted training anyway, and then uni got really hectic. Summer school does that when you try to pack everything into a very short period of time. So yeah sorry for not being able to get a few reports down.

Regardless, I’m finally at Gosch’s for the first time in a long time and the scene somewhat surprises, a couple of players are already into their rehab and there’s a few players here and there doing extras. It’s a credit to the work Roosy has done to ensure that players are a lot more thorough and professional in their training habits. It certainly would not have been seen under Neeld. One thing that maybe the club can perhaps invest in is a new cloth â€" the cloth used still has the old Schwab logo emblazoned all over it. Irrespective, I carry on.

Jay Kennedy-Harris is the first player to walk past of those who isn’t doing any form of rehab â€" I would say that he’s somewhat more shredded than the last time I was here. Clearly the boys are putting in a lot, especially in their upper bodies, from everything I’ve read and seen. Looking further up and I notice Heritier Lumumba in the rehab group â€" even he’s looking a little bit slimmer than the last time I saw him train.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of one of the first to arrive is the fact that there is an umpire walking across. Can’t work out who it is but that only means one thing â€" match simulation. You beauty. Not entirely unexpected because our first game is in 12 days, but that also means I get to have a serious look at what Goodwin has planned for us. That’s pretty exciting.

So some Billy Stretch’s to get into it. Christian Petracca is having a bit of a kick-to-kick with Crossy and Max King over on the near side. Christian’s still looking fit and is starting to kick the ball around. I don’t realistically expect him to play in Round One to be honest. Not unless he absolutely kills it in whatever NAB Challenge game he’s slated to play. Expect him in the VFL to start with. Put him on your SuperCoach bench.

The first drill is split up into two groups, one of them doing a handball drill where they have to work their way past a defender who’s wearing a bib, the other group doing some kicking drills. There’s a couple of things I notice. The first of which is Sammy Frost looking really strong on the training track, which is really pleasing â€" of course Sammy had his injury issues throughout all of 2015 with that toe of his and I’m really looking forward to him giving Hogan a chop out up forward this season.

The other is Jack Trengove. Also a well-documented case in 2014/15, and I’m pretty sure regulars who’ve either gone to the track or seen photos of him circulate on social media know how ripped he is. It’s really promising to see him running at a good pace, using the ball as if he was never gone and backing himself to take on faux defenders as well. It’s really promising to see.

The second drill is a full grounder and more or less I’m keeping my eye in on the new blokes more than the ones who were in the best 22 last season. Sammy Weideman is the first I’m keeping an eye on as part of our hopeful future forward line dynasty. The pleasing thing is Weideman’s looking really good out on the track to start with physically. He’s moving around really well after coming off that well documented five-month injury layoff. There’s still a bit to work on, and that combined with just getting some regular game time into the bloke means that Casey supporters will be seeing a lot of him to start off with. Which is understandable and I’m willing to wait. 

‘Clarry’ Oliver is the next bloke who comes across over to the far side where I’ve found myself. Early indicators are everything I’ve expected from a bloke who’s been a rather late bloomer, but also one who has a truckload of potential. He does not miss a beat with his kicking. It is probably the definition of ‘low and hard’ which I hear on the regular. If there’s something I question about him it’s probably his explosiveness off the mark, but then again it’s the first time I’ve seen him in full training. I’m now happily convinced I might see him play a number of games this year. Not as many as Gus Brayshaw managed straight off the bat, but I’m expecting Neal-Bullen and Stretch-like amounts of games (so around 10 then).

The next drill passes by and it’s a bit of a change up from what I’ve seen previously. There’s four groups â€" one which wears white vests, one which wears green, one in pink and one wearing their normal jumpers. The aim of the drill sees one team try to move the ball as quickly as possible through the ground, mostly incorporating good decision making and use through the middle. While the other group sits out, they are asked to sprint from the near-side wing to the goalsquare.

Some things which are pretty evident â€" Tom McDonald continues to up his leadership game as he organises the defense, where he also makes some excellent tackles whilst defending.

The drill also sees a bit of an injury scare for Dean Terlich, who lays a tackle then gets up relatively gingerly, holding his right ankle. After some consultation with a physio, Terlich is able to jog off, but it’s certainly the last thing he needs as he battles to get back into the side.

The drill, irrespective, carries on. Another bloke who continues to impress with his decision making and ability is Salem. He always seems to find a bloke in space, even under pressure. It’s a very special ability he has and I’m hoping that he can make the most of what is hopefully a move to the midfield for season 2016 which is exactly what I want to see. Hopefully he stays injury-free.

Additionally, a bloke who’s really flying under the radar as a candidate to see more gametime in 2016 is Oscar McDonald. What I’ve really noticed is that his improvement has been every bit as rapid as brother Tom’s. His running and ball use in this drill is very good. I think he certainly has the ability to win a spot in that Melbourne defense, particularly now that Melksham is out for the year. When you look back at his performance against the Giants in Round 23, I’d back him in for sure.

The next drill is a bit of a change up, similar in nature to the previous drill but now much more tightly confined to one area of the ground and split into three groups. Both the group in front of the faithful and the one on the wing are trying to clear the ball either end â€" the one in the 50 are either trying to kick a goal (white vests) or are trying to get a clearing kick (jumpers), whereas the one on the far-side wing encourages more handball when trying to clear the area.

On the near-side wing there’s an interesting quartet â€" Tom McDonald, Sam Weideman, Mitch King and Cam Pedersen. All four are working on their one-on-ones. The inclusion of Pedersen as a defender intrigues me in a sense, given that a lot of our supporters rate him as a forward higher than even Dawes. Then again, with Frost coming in and Pedersen still (in my eyes anyway) a member of the best 22, you have to put him somewhere. Anyway, I can’t help but admit that it’s pretty exciting seeing Weideman manage to beat McDonald in a one-on-one. As for King, he is regularly outpointed by McDonald, highlighting how much development he needs to get games. It’s a very eye-opening experience seeing the difference between a developing forward and a top-line defender.

As the groups chop and change, there’s some pretty ordinary news with the sight of Tom Bugg heavily limping. It appears to be a right ankle injury, and seriously struggles to stay upright when he puts pressure on his foot with his boot off. Bugg leaves the track, his NAB Challenge campaign somewhat clouded at the moment.

Bit of a highlight and reinforced confidence comes when Kent pursues a high ball which was kicked as the boys move off to their next drill, and marks at full tilt. Quickly, he then delivers a low sort-of chizzler to Harmes. Maybe not massive in the scheme of things normally but remember Kenty is coming off a hamstring tear which completely ruined his 2015 season, and he’s looking good out on the track. Pretty significant in terms of his fitness if you ask me.

This next drill that I mention is a little closer to match simulation but there’s a great big flood of about 30 players trying to get the ball in one half of the ground, perhaps even only inside the forward 50. The jumpers have the ball first and work their way to about 20 out where Alex Neal-Bullen takes a good mark under pressure, and converts. The green vests side works their way up in a far more unconventional manner, which sees short kicks and switches aplenty. In particular, there’s a really good switch from Oliver which is rather impressive.

The boys then get into a boundary throw in situation, and what impresses me is Vandenberg winning the ball from a Max Gawn tap, then progressing to work about 60-65 metres to win the ball on the opposite wing, delivering a good ball inside 50. Another instance seems to be bringing out the weird and wonderful today â€" Gawn CRUMBS a marking contest and gets the hands to Viney. Yep, it’s all happening.

Speaking of Viney, he has been everywhere in this drill, collecting seven touches, a couple of clearances and a goal to boot in this drill. He has really taken his second half of the season by the scruff of the neck and looks to be building to an even bigger 2016. Remember, he played 16 games. He missed out on the B&F by just one votes to Vince who we all thought was a dead set machine all season. Viney is an animal.

As the sides are changed around a little to even things up (the jumpers have provided much of the play), Kennedy and Vandenberg (who has also gathered plenty of the footy in this drill) combine for a svelte Kennedy snap around the body for a goal. While Kennedy still has a knock on his decision making which has again been fairly evident today, that kind of goal sense will be handy for us this year and it’s enough to see him in my SuperCoach side at the moment â€" albeit on the bench.

Another couple of things I take out of this drill is that Gus Brayshaw looks to be carrying on his solid debut season, and collects around about nine touches and kicks a goal. Hogan (I surprisingly haven’t mentioned his name a lot, if at all) has had a very solid session, and although Dunn manages to get a hand on a marking attempt, Hogan’s cat-like reflexes allow him to outpoint Dunn on the ground. He still very much looks the player he was last season â€" set shot still on point, and really getting into a really good rhythm now. The only true difference you see with big Hoges’ is his electric green boots which are slightly less fluoro than mine â€" or so I’d like to think anyway. I’m just hoping I have something over him which isn’t our ages.

Annoyingly, despite the boys heading off into match simulation, a combination of my mother returning from the Harbour City and Mernda starting training at 6 meant that I had to bugger off. Nevertheless, I remain very happy with the improvements the boys have shown since I last saw them train in December.

Couple of other things I take out of it
-There is an intraclub on Friday at Casey Fields at around 9:45 in the morning
-Following the Dees/Dogs game at Craigieburn on the 6th of March there will be a practise match involving the women’s teams
-There is also a peculiar onlooker which I’ll post in a photo below…

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I went today from 2 till 3:00 maybe later. I havent really read all previous reports.

I was looking for leading and kicking skills and they did that on my side coming out of the back 50 hitting up a player coming from the pocket to the wing.

Lucky we are good at grabbing half volleys as sometimes it was the lead and other times it was the kick. it was 50-50 successful/good, there was no pressure.

The good players were good, but thats about 8 or 10.

Hogan whose body is like a 200 cm version of Leigh Mathews, short legs, long body; is just outstanding. Could play in the middle. Kicks long low passes to a spot where he expects his teammate to be. Watching him kick he pushes the ball out and connects with the very point beautifully. Or else boots it truly from 50 or so.

Next is Trengove, ANB Brayshaw Garlett and Garland who hit targets and lead with timing and took hard fast one grabbers. Ppl cheered Garlo for something when I 1st got there. He was very good to my eye. Viney, Gawn and Salem were ok but I prob missed the good sh!t. Too many others were hit and miss. Watts sh!ts me. He is the nicest guy Ive ever seen. The love was all around. Id swap him for Robbie Muir.

If you dropped a mark (im counting 2 grabs as a drop) or lead wrong or kicked a softy under no pressure to a player who had to stand under it, you still got a high 5 from the dude at CHF.  His hands will be sore right now but Im sure he has lots of lanolin.

Im happy with inside work and defense. Dunn and big Mac are grouse. I perked up watching Tom and Jesse toy with the kids in a push and mark, when they battled each other it was a bull fight for a second or 2. i had them 5/3 Hoges way.

Forwards and delivery to them is however, my pet hobby horse. We arent good as we could be.

It may have been an easier run day after harder days but seeing North belt the suitcase out of the under 25s - well thats the little papers story, it seemed half a ballarat.

Everyone looked very fit. It was my 1st training session this summer and by 3:20  I jumped back on the scooter. Everyone seemed happier than me.

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I went down, just my quick opinions-

Harmes in everything, tough clean and creative in the midfield
Watts linking up high, a lot of long leads and delivering to the deep Fwds. This role suits his game
Salem superstar, deadset gun across half back, use was top quality
Kennedy looks sharp, fast, and cracks in.didn't get heaps of it, but would be a contributor
OMac is a player, he will get games this year.
Kent Gun, involved in everything. Damaging left, tough and racked up possessions through middle and fwd
Tmac holding the ball 3 times, but was good
Grimes was good, he is best 22
I saw hogan kick 4
Tyson gets a lot of contested ball, didn't use it real well though
If Gawn goes down were buggered, he got a lot of ball and dominated taps but had no competition

I went along.

Some really good patches where we linked up well, and also some broken plays due to a fumble or poor skill error. Overall there were some good signs.

Viney, Watts (swapped teams with Harmes at half time), Hogan, Salem were the best for me. Dunn was very vocal and screaming at players all day. Got pretty frustrated as the white team started to fade.

Hogan could've kicked 6 or 7. Gave a couple away and was the best option a few more times.

Not sure the Frost up forward experiment is working.

Roos just interviewed now on SEN:

- no injuries today...one small niggle but I didn't catch who it was.

- Gawn terrific today.

- Salem in best 3 today (maybe BOG) along with VanD and Tyson.

- Kennedy and Bugg played well today and performance have spiked since Christmas.  They are both 'competitors'

- Oliver was fantastic around the ball.  Weidman was very smart in the forward line...(I think he meant he has good footy IQ).

- Casey players did well...Plapp doing a great job and they got our game plan really well.

- Need to temper Melb supporter fans' expectations of Hogan...it is only his second year and needs to be a team effort.

- Consistency of mids to improve for us to be more dangerous.

I was lucky enough to have the day off and get down to Casey this morning.A few thoughts on what I saw:

Hogan was slow in the first quarter,he was dominated by Dunn in the first half.In the second quarter Hogan started getting frustrated and his curses could easily be heard from the sidelines.In the second half Hogan got out of first gear and and played great kicking a couple of goals each quarter
Viney;best on ground
The new guys;a lot to look forward to in the future
Watts played okay but still needs to back himself with his set shots
vanders is looking like a souped up version of his 2015 self
The best I've ever seen Jetta play
Dunn had an intimidating presence commanding his defenders into position,telling them to man up and giving them feedback

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First time post, I didn't want to mis anything so just made some quick notes that may be slighlty out of order;

First half

Weideman good hands and nice field kicking to position - already bigger than I thought he was, gawn as others had mentioned is looking super fit,
hogan standing five meters from a trainer who's kicking low hard balls at him and his hands are phenomenal doesn't drop one and they are coming in quick and they just stick,
first goal long ball to the goal square jesse nearly takes the mark between two spoilers Kennedy stays down and gets the crumb and goal for the blue team,
watts 55m out takes a mark in space acts like he's having a shot drills a beautiful low ball to someone in space who's set shot hits the post white team,
garlett boundary line poster blue,
hunt great kick to gawn 45 m miss to left just behind blue,
tom mac spoil behind white,
anb second nice delivery from in traffic to someone in space,
Kennedy to hogan to harmes good set shot 40 meters out bit of an angle goal blue,
anb good tackle in front of us, mongrel kick forward
weideman good chest mark 45 out beautiful action another poster white team,
oliver two nice strong tackles,
gawn dominant early in the rick,
watts chasing hard two good tackles,
oscar bad turnover in space to the opposition,
pedo dropped chest mark,
clayton oliver nice turn on traffic long ball in to the forward fifty,
Viv michie nice goal ran around one 45 out.
Kent nice run and carry to quick for viney, best passage of the day so far,
Vanders strong mark instant dish to running grimes who spots up hogan in space in the middle to garlett back to Vanders who kept running, courageous diving spoil from Dunn just stopped what would of been a super passage of play.
Kent 80m run down that just missed,
Vanders again strong,
grimes good tackle should been ball umpires pretty laxed,
clarry again strong in the contest nearly breaking free when he should of had no chance to do so, even when tackled by two still kept his feet,
Weidman nice pick up turn and handball from a bouncing ball,
tyson to Vanders 45 out slight angle to the left one behind blue,
anb had a bit of it and using it well, grimes had it a lot and also using it well and running hard,
Kent good spoil
watts another good tackle just misses Kent inside fwd 50 and out of bounds,
anb snap in traffic around body spoiled through for a behind for white
again good ball movement from blue salem,
Vanders and a few others involved in a nice chain from back line that ended with an uncharacteristic dropped mark from tyson 40 m out directly in front.
Nev jetta and Dunn good first half,
grimes again good handball under pressure keeps running to space inside fifty should of been his shot at goal poor kick to him jusssst out of reach,
salem beautiful pick up, run an lace out pace to watts on the lead good mark 45 out on front poster blue,
Second half

watts fwd, goal white team non melbourne player,
awesome contest mark
salem quick inside ball that opens up the play kick to watts who nudges his opponent out pick up kicks to Vanders on the fifty quick kick to hogan on the boundary 35 out set shot goal.
Another white goal from a turnover to a casey player,
salem ball use amazing, tyson catches someone holding the ball centre
handball to tom mac holding the ball,
nev beautiful kick fwd to pedo hands to clayton 50 out just misses crowd thought it was a goal, another nice piece of play,
intercept mark salem from jetta kick, salem to Vanders mid field to a hard running jesse to a hard running grimes on the goal line goal blue,
clearance viney clean tap to brayshaw who recovers a poor viney handball, to vander behind from 55,
Kennedy good spoil runs to goal chase down hunt misses everything,
Kent out the back to hogan in the goal square good attempts to spoil by Dunn but mark and goal hogan blue,
viney getting his hands on it a bit and using it well, watts the same,
salem has been best on ground another good contested mark and beautiful kick,
Kent pushing up to the wing,
Tom mac good intercept mark handball to garlo 70 bomb to the goal line touched through,
good mark inside 50 pedo slight angle pushed to the right behind white team,
watts marks 60 out spots up frost on the lead 40 in front bad miss left behind blue,
jesse good intercept mark handball to frost check side goal to blue 30 m out,
spencer off since first quarter boots off,
clayton good acceleration then turn over,
anb good clearance,
salem again involved twice and sets up a running viney to someone who goes long to jesse good contested mark in the goal square, kicks his 3rd goal blue,
salem is on fire and the crowd are loving his work,
blue ball movement been really good all day another chain and quick switch from full back to jesse free kick from Dunn push near the boundary 30 out goal for blue, jesses 4th,
harmes been spending a bit of time in middle,
great tommy mac link up after spoil three touches that leads to out bounds fwd fifty,
watts again in space marks and just misses
Kent, gawn a couple of nearly marks near goal today in big packs,
viney goal from clearance inside 50,
gawn nice tap to brayshaw to viney to grimes another nice pass to a diving lead mark.
Clayton holds the ball up and releases cleverly, player kicks to the leading weid, good mark on the lead turn kick to dangerous spot stretch gathers and goals,
watts again to salem another good kick,
good tackle hunt,
Wagner turnover,
After match comments.

Some running, grimes viney Vanders and tommy mac leading the way, grimes really really impressed me today.

Salem was unbelievable and was getting everyone very excited,

gawn won the ruck contests handsomely and the only thing that stopped him havig a really dominant day was a missed goal that was kickable and two or three nearly big pack marks where the odds were against him,

Kent didn't have a lot of it but was very very good, fast and precise with his kicking, was chasing hard and tackling well too,

Vanders was excellent he was really running hard to space and getting in good positions and linking up his running seems to have gone to another level,

Neville jetta was excellent, garlo and Dunn too, tommy mac got in to it the new the game went and viney had a big second half.

Tyson was in it a lot, anb also had his share of it today and was good, oscar mac didn't have a big influence and was involve in a bad turnover under little o no pressure,

michie kicked a really nice goal from just inside 50 after running around a player,

watts was excellent today and was definitely in the best few out there today.

Kennedy did a few good things he intercepted a ball and went charging in to the open fifty and hunt swallowed up the ground enough to pressure him as make him miss everything from an angle, hunt really impressed me today too, I hadn't seen much of him and I can really see why others have been talking up his ability he's got a really nice kick and his speed is awesome; I can see him playing more games than not this year,

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Made the 45minute trip down to Casey although was five minutes late because I was trying to figure out if exit 24 or 25 was Clyde Rd - what is wrong with having the road name as well as the No. Ditto it would have been nice to have the names of the Casey boys on their backs today. Name and number is the go.

Contest was a bit like Carlton v Hawthorn last night. Apart from Dunn, Kent and Watts playing for the magoos - it was almost our first team versus our second team, so it just took a little bit of time for the extra class to bear fruit (a la Hawthorn). In fact you could even say that once Watts and Kent moved to the seniors forward line at half time, the seniors got on top.

Up until then the greasy early conditions meant that there were plenty of skill errors. The two shining beacons in the first half were Dunny - who was absolutely brilliant caralling Hoges and at the same time instructing his young defence. His kicking was precise etc, etc. the fact that he played all game in the twos was clearly to make sure that Jesse was fair dinkum and anyone suggesting he is on the outer is a nuffer. The other clear talent was Salem, who, after quarter-time just dominated everything and his precise kicking was only matched by Watts (after half time) and T-Mac (yes, I kid you not).

Harmes scored the first goal that I saw and teams up well with his buddy Hogan, but it was a bit of a point-fest until a brilliant evasive goal by Michie off a Kent outlay.

Eventually once Spencer went off at half time and any sense of ruck equilibrium ended, the weight of ball told as Gawn was able to just palm it down to Viney, Tyson or VB. By then Bugg had been sent back up to the seniors, which also meant that poor old Neal-Bullen and Stretch were left to try and dismantle the seniors.

As a result Hoges got on the end of a few after half time - I had him down for four goals and Casey's No.8 did likewise on a couple of counters by the magoos.

Observations on players:

The surprise (to some) non-players today were the skipper, Mitch White (I never read what kept him out last week from training but clearly it's not minor - back-related from lifting too big a weight is my guess), Terlich (ankle didn't come up) and Hulett. Trenners, Vince, Dawes, Harry O did not play as expected.

Clearly Roosy/Goody is unclear yet on which are the better forward link men to go with Hoges, Frost and Garlett. Harmes and Kennedy were lively in the first half but ultimately just one goal doesn't read well. I'm sure both will be in the 26-man squad to play Port though, but I though Watts and Kent clearly won on points when they got their chance in the second half.

You have to assume that both Stretch and Neal-B will have to work their way into this team and are down the queue.

Hunt was given a really good go as the running defender in the seniors and you could tell he's in vogue with coaches at the moment as he chased hard Ben Kennedy and forced him to miss when a goal on the run was begging. Hunt's kicking still lack the quality of Salem, or even Jetta, but I suspect he'll get a really good go in the pre-season comp and you have to think he could be a Rd 1 prospect. The other blondie Wagner is a bit better in the air and could be a chance down the track if Harry O can't get his ankle right.

For once when I've attended Oliver was playing and his attack on the ball is superb (No Jimmy T here) and part of the reason why the magoos were competitive, but he still has a bit of work to do on his disposal. He might get a game off the bench in the pre-season comp, but barring injury to our main group, won't be playing AFL Rd 1 - IMO.

The Weed was quiet today which is not unexpected - he was playing in the magoos - as delivery was never going to be precise to him. Wanted a cheap kick on the wing a couple of times, so still very much a project player with learning to do.

Matt Jones got his chance ahead of Stretch today before being swapped back to twos in second half and was lively at times, but didn't do enough.

Bugg probably didn't get many disposals either but it seemed like every time there was a congestion and a tackle - he was involved. Will play v Port and probably Rd 1.

Grimes played wing early and then went forward so you can forget him being used in the Crossy type role. His smarts saw him involved quite a bit but I suspect Roosy wants him as back-up, as clearly VB and Brayshaw are ahead of him as the high half-forwards.

O-Mac got the gig as full-back in the seniors (because Dunny was required on Hoges) and his kicking is still a little suss - he has however improved massively from last year.

Col was more attacking this week, even almost kicked a supergoal from 70m out. Lock him in for Port and most likely Rd 1.

Dom T turned it over at times , but on other occasions was exceptional. He just reminds me so much of Hodgey. He has an amazing ability to win the ball from the scrums, it's just whether he can make the right choice to release. The same could be said of VB. He likes to go inboard and his kicking is just not always flat and hard enough - the case in point was when he sent a hospital pass to Salem, who was crushed but got up to set up a Hoges goal.

The only other comment is that I don't quite get what is going on with T_Macs shoulder. Sporting the No.5, he at times looked like a young Schwarter charging like a bull out of defence and his kicking was ultra impressive. But then he gets pinged, as he did by Harmesy in the second-half, and calls for the play to stop like a prima donna. I'm assuming he's got an Ablett-style stinger that is causing him a few issues, but only of a minor nature.

[Barra13]

1. Hogan - It was a toss up for BOG for me between Hogan, Salem, and Viney. He was so dominant. I thought Dunn was outstanding today and Hogan was just too strong, too smart. I really cannot express how lucky we are to have this boy.

3. Salem - The contested marking was outstanding, but the highlight was breaking a number of tackles and weaving his way through traffic. Bold prediction - he will be top 3 B&F this year. The boys want the ball in his hands.

4. Watts - A really good game. Probably in the best dozen. Thought he played the lead up role well and when he was in the Blue team (the better one) he looked all class as the delivery to him was much better and then he was delivering it really well to Hogan et al. He will play round 1 in the forward line.

7. Viney - His tackle on Wagner was amazing. He grabs him by the hips, lifts him above his head and then just holds him and squats. He was prolific and hard at it. Lock him in for the Bluey this year.

10. Brayshaw - He just seemed a class above with Salem and Viney than anyone else in the midfield. Oliver was having his own way and then went on to Brayshaw in the last quarter and Brayshaw just killed him. It really felt like no one was on Brayshaw all day, just had time and space.

11. Gawn - Dominant, and really didnt have any competition. I was impressed at how he took that and really looked to have an impact around the ground. The forward line work was quite good.

12. Tyson - I know the reports had him as good, must have done most of his work in close as I didnt see a lot of him. When I did he was Tyson, strong at the contest but not as polished as others. Maybe as I'm not noticing him means he is in and under each time?

13. Oliver - Cannot believe what I saw. After the first half I had him locked for round 1. Played a different role in the second half where he struggled to impact the game. Tackling machine (maybe 8-10 for the day?) and loved the hard ball. I really noticed in the first half the time he had on his hands. It really felt like people decided not to touch him when he had it in the first quarter. Could be something really special. He is seriously big. At one stage he was taking on a player in close and came off second (due to height) and I thought ah well, Vanders is strong, until who I thought was Vanders turned around and it was Frost. He looked similar size to Frost. He is a seriously big boy.

14. Dunn - Is still the best one-on-one defender on our list. Great all day, just Hogan was better.

15. Stretch - he was on the opposite wing to the fans so we didnt see a lot. When we did we saw pace and a really good boot. I dont know if I have him in the 22 after today but he is close.

16. Kent - the hardness and the speed were great. Although he didn't do much, he was dangerous and will be a good weapon for us this year.

17. Frost - Will be our second forward as he presented, rucked, went for the hard ball. Yes he was dropping some marks and his kicking was a little off at times, but the ingredients are there. He showed enough for me to be happy with him in there as the others develop.

20.  Garland - Great roost for a rushed behind. Played a really good linkage game up back. Thought his skill level was up and comfortably beat whoever he was on.

21. Pedersen - Had a good moment in the 4th but wasn't really in the game. He needed to impact this pre-season and I didn't see anything that would make me pick him in our best 25

22. Michie - Some really nice things but on the other side of the oval a lot of the time. Enough to show why we gave him a rookie spot.

25. McDonald of the Tom Variety - Played as a midfielder/wing/half back at times. I cant remember him having a one-on-one in the second half. He was really working on being a bull at the gate and pushing through. Really interesting to see where he plays this year.

26. Weiderman - still has a football sized hole in his chest from a bullet from Dunn. Not strong enough yet but he has the skills (marking, kicking, leading, IQ) to be a serious player in the forward line. I thought he was the 4th best forward today behind Hogan, Watts, Frost.

28. McDonald O - this boy will play. His battles with Weiderman were outstanding. It was great seeing these two go at it. Oscar is really impacting contests and he seems as if he has good knowledge of where the ball is going and can peel off his man. Weiderman and McDonald will be better as they will grow together as serious competitors and players.

29. Hunt - Blow me down and call me Betsy. Where did this come from. Seriously, when did this boy become a player? He was in the top 10 for the day and if today (and previous reports) are anything to go by, he will play round 1. He 'hunts' the ball and is just hard at it for an outside type. I dont even know if he is an outside type. He just saw ball, got ball, run away with ball.

30. ANB - On the wing on Grimes most of the day. Ran all day, disposed of the football ok, tackled well, competed well. He is just a footballer's footballer and if I said to you, he was ANB, you can imagine his game. I really like him and think that we are a better team with him here, but he is just going to be a Brad Sewell, not a Luke Hodge.

31. Grimes - Slow first quarter where he struggled with the pace (ANB wore him like a glove). Second quarter he was probably BOG for the quarter. Second half again some really great things and then some times where you just want him to do something special. I think again like ANB, he does his job and he is good at it. He is a good AFL player and will be in the round 1 team as he is in our best 22. A star, no, but a really honest footballer that we all want to do well.

32. Bugg - In it a fair bit, on the wing as well. We saw what weve been told, scrappy and up for a fight. There were some nice passages from him, but these were more tackles and handballs in close rather than game breaking plays.

33. Spencer - was hurt but mostly hurt by the gap between him and Gawn. Was good in drills but in the game just seemed small.

34. Mitchell King - I really liked his game. He presented well, competed well against Gawn and Frost. Project player and am looking forward to see how he goes in the future.

35. Ben Kennedy - Locked in the dreamteam now. He should have had a beautiful running goal but shanked it. Really loved the way he went about extracting the ball today. Was one of the best in the first half, petered off as the game went on.

36. Garlett - Good forward pressure and dangerous. Lock him in for another 30-40 goals this year.

37. Vanders - this boy is special. He just seems to be in everything and is just so strong. There are so many like Vanders on our list now and we are better for it. There was a great bit of play that went Salem - Brayshaw - Watts - Vanders - Hogan and it felt like 5 first rounders marking and disposing of the ball. I'm very happy with his development.

39. Jetta - I am sorry that I ever doubted that you would line up in Round 1. Enjoy another season of killing small forwards across the league. Tenacious and great rebounding.

42. Wagner - Much better than I thought he would be. Was busy early and was in the play a lot. Can run with the maul and got into good positions. Interesting to see how he goes this year.

43. Harmes - thought was good but wasn't blow away with him. He did what he could do and you can see the talent difference between him and our 'top' rounders. He competes hard and hope he has another good season.

44. Smith - not much to say. Really don't remember him in the game other than Dunn coaching him into position. Good skills early on in the drills, but project player.

45. Matt Jones - Listen, I know that people were saying he was having a great pre-season but I didn't see it in the game. He was in and out of the game at the best of times and doesnt look like he belongs. Thank you for your service, I appreciate it. All the best with your future career.

[Purple 77]

I think Hunt as the peak of my curiosity coming into this season.

[Barra13]

Went over... here's my report

One more training session before the lads’ head off to Adelaide to play at the wonderfully named Playford Alive Oval, which joins the pantheon of great grounds such as 1300 Smiles Stadium, GMHBA Stadium (believe me, say it quickly) and the good old Woolloongabba ground. Up and coming names for grounds include “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood” Oval and also the “She sells sea shells by the sea shore” Park. For the slightly less eloquent, training today returns to the familiarity of Gosch’s Paddock. Gosh.

Additionally, today is the very antithesis of everything Melbourne has stood for over the past two weeks or so as the less-familiar February feel of the cooler autumnal air is replaced by the more-familiar but steadily disappearing scorching variation of Jesse Hogan’s 2015 season. It’s going to be a bloody hot one, not that anyone in the area, by now, need this piece of ‘breaking’ news.

Anyway, less jabbering on about how hot the weather is and speculation over how I can improve the names of our simplistically named grounds, and more about how the Dees’ train this morning.

If they want to come out and train, that is.

At 10:15, not one of the boys fit for full training appear â€" it’s all, in fact, the rehab group. White, Newton, Dawes (solely walking laps of the ground), Petracca, Vince et al are all out on the ground, not doing an awful lot. Kennedy-Harris was out there, but has since disappeared. Finally, out of the AAMI Park mire, a wild Dean Kent appears, hopefully keeping in mind that we need someone with Mean Look just to keep him there in a move not seen since the good old days of trying to catch Raikou, Entei and Suicune all the way back in Pokemon Gold and Silver. #throwbacktuesday

A couple of things I notice as the boys file through â€" firstly THE CLUB HAS TAKEN MY ADVICE and invested in the new cloth I called for last week which is excellent. Secondly the sight of Christian Petracca in full flight getting the dukes up and reminding us all that Daniel Cross (who is acting as his direct opponent) is a retired footballer is a sight for sore eyes.

As the boys gather in to do their traditional Billy Stretch-es, the boys are all up and about cheering a couple of times â€" the first, and loudest, I presume is for Jack Trengove’s return to full training; the second (not as loud) cheer is for Max King training with the main squad again and the third (small) cheer… you can make up a story to your own liking, I couldn’t tell you that one.

A look around as the boys pass by the faithful for the first time, Hogan and Brayshaw are embracing in the manliest cuddle you can see; Tom McDonald has borrowed the #5 jumper just to confuse us all and James Harmes seems to have recovered from the unusual sort of claret formation that he had on Friday; obviously I presume most of you would have seen the photo of him looking more like the Flash than a professional footballer.

The stretches are such that I decide to replenish my water/sugar supplies across the road, and are perfectly controlled when I sit back down on return as they start their drills for the day. In between I see a bloke who I thought was Stevo and was ready to give him the ‘how do you do’ until I realised that it evidently wasn’t old mate, and then I see Hogan drill a goal from a difficult angle with frighteningly consummate ease. He goes okay.

That first drill that I mentioned for the day, split into two groups, goes briefly. One on the far side of the wing doing some sort of stoppage drill, and another group doing a triangle-like drill focusing on ball use and delivery inside 50. It looks like it was set to start well but believe me, Maxy Gawn coming close to barrelling into the fence just near where I’m at isn’t fun.

The next drill is this kind of zigzag formation which goes all around the ground and then ends with a burst down the middle and delivery to the goalsquare. Seeing Viv Michie absolutely streaking down the middle is a good sign, seeing Billy Stretch dart through the centre equally so. Meantime in the rehab group there seems to be this sort of goalkicking competition going on between Petracca, Jones and Cross which gets super competitive â€" Petracca absolutely nails it with a savagely beautiful goal on the run, and then you see the unusual sight of Jones shanking not one, but two kicks on the run that you would expect him to kick 11 times out of 10, the first going completely across the face and on the full. Such is the competitiveness between captain and arguably one of our two most prized talents I take my eye off the wider drill to focus on all the banter going on. It’s fun to watch.

The next drill in the meantime is more of a quick decision-making drill involving the use of handball in a small confined space. Easily the highlight of this drill is that man again â€" Hoges. Fairly corralled to such an extent by Jetta, the big boy not only finds his way through ole mate Neville but also two other players with ease to break open, almost midfielder-like. I wouldn’t exactly be against seeing Hoges put into the midfield for small bursts. Even if he is our best forward. He’s capable.

Another bloke who’s doing well for himself in this session is Wagner. I haven’t talked a hell of a lot about him since he’s come to the club, anyway, bottom line is he’s a competitor, a fierce one at that, and he doesn’t mind a tackle. He might be a decent chance of getting on to the senior list in place of Melksham.

The next drill is one which goes both ends, two groups in the middle trying to win a stoppage and two groups in either forward line jostling for the footy. A team in green bibs tries to defend against a team of jumpers. Near side, Weideman has the hard task (again) of manning Tom McDonald, while a couple of balls go in his direction, McDonald is just too strong for him at the moment. Meantime on the far side there is the extremely pleasing sight of Trenners’ going for a stroll, and also winning a hard ball in another contest.

This drill lasts another 10-15 minutes or so. The next drill after that is a spreading drill much like the one I detailed last week. Again, like last week, it’s pretty much the jumpers who are all over the bibs. Having the two best readily available players at the moment on form (Hogan and Viney) does that. Additionally pleasing was Bugg muscling his way towards getting Jetta in a crunching tackle which is a dead set ripper. Also pleasing was seeing Kennedy get the ball three times in the middle of the ground before delivering an absolute rip-snorter of a ball to Watts inside forward 50.

One more thing about Hogan, he’s on both teams at various stages of this drill and also, this drill is showing how much he’s outright dominating today. At one end, he delivers a low chizzler to a team-mate (might have been Bugg) in a crowded forward 50, and then at the other end he delivers the most perfect ball you could imagine, scything through a pack to find Stretch all on his own. You had to be there to appreciate it really, Hoges’ field kicking is so underrated.

In the meantime, Jeffy misses a sitter from 20 out. His set shots are something he has to continue to work on. He missed a whole heap of simple opportunities last year and if he sorts it out, we will be a much better team for it offensively-wise. Mind you there was nothing much wrong with the lead up, he took a ripping overhead mark from a very solid Viney ball, and he is still positioning himself really well. I think it’s five of the last six years he’s kicked over 40 goals, the challenge for him with me is to increase that to 50. If he’s kicking 50 goals a year he’s not far off his old mate Eddie Betts who some reckon is worth a million a year (except for Carlton, obviously, who reckon he’s not even worth $650k a year!).

The boys put the footy’s away now at least and then get into some running. Just as a measure of Trenners’ running capacity at the moment he gives Bernie a slight start then overhauls him at top speed. That’s always a good sign. Does that mean he could be finally over all those foot problems for good?

As a finishing up kind of drill (or at least the way I see things because the surrounds are getting cleaned up) there are various different groups. One doing a kind of fending off drill, one doing a stoppage drill and one doing a goalkicking drill. Nothing of the sort really standing out, but with the clean up in mind and the lure of airconditioning at Edwin’s too great knowing there isn’t much of the session left, I get over to the joint for a spot of lunch.

[kilbluff1985]

Barra do u think barring injury Salem will have a breakout year

[Barra13]

For DT? If yes, he has slipped in and out of my team a couple of times. He is just awkwardly priced for me, but he will lift his average for sure.

If you mean in terms of the AFL, then yes. If he stays injury free he will have a big year. He is one of the ones that is in the future plan along with Brayshaw, Kent, TMac etc.

[Barra13]

MELBOURNE has named four new recruits in its 29-man squad for its first NAB Challenge match against Port Adelaide at Playford Alive Oval on Sunday.

Draftees Clayton Oliver and Josh Wagner have been named for their first appearances in red and blue, alongside fellow recruits Tom Bugg and Ben Kennedy.

“It’s pleasing to see some new faces in the team for our first NAB Challenge game against Port Adelaide,” general manager of football operations Josh Mahoney told melbournefc.com.au.

“As we’ve said previously, we wanted to play our best team available throughout this NAB Challenge period and we’re pleased with the squad we’ve been able to pick for the first game.”

Oliver, who was drafted with Melbourne’s first pick (no. 4 overall) and mature-age rookie Wagner, who was selected in the 2015 rookie draft, were both selected after showing impressive signs throughout the pre-season.

“Clayton Oliver has been on a modified program throughout pre-season but he’s already showed the attributes that were why we brought him into the club, with his work around stoppages, and we look forward to seeing him play throughout this period,” Mahoney said.

“Josh Wagner was taken as a mature age player from Queensland.

“The benefit of being a little bit older than our other draftees has allowed him to do a lot more of the program over pre-season and he’s impressed us, particularly with his skills off half back.”

Kennedy and Bugg, recruited from Collingwood and GWS Giants respectively, add further experience to the team, while third-year player Jayden Hunt is also among the inclusions, having completed a strong pre-season after two injury-interrupted years.

“Tom Bugg and Ben Kennedy were both brought to the club as players who had spent time at AFL clubs previously and we expect them to be able to play a role for us immediately,” Mahoney said.

“Jayden Hunt has been able to put a good book of training together, which we’d been hoping for, and he deserves his opportunity.

“We look forward to seeing him utilise the speed he’s been showing us at training.”

Captain Nathan Jones and 2015 best and fairest winner Bernie Vince will miss the game against Port Adelaide but are expected to feature later in the NAB Challenge.

“Bernie and Nathan won’t be playing this weekend,” Mahoney said.

“Both have niggling injuries but they were in full training today and we expect both of them to be available to play next week in Craigieburn against the Bulldogs.”

“The opportunity not having Bernie and Nathan in the side presents is that potentially some of our younger players will get a lot more minutes in the midfield, which we think will benefit them heading into the season.”

The squad will be trimmed to 26 players ahead of Saturday’s match.



Melbourne squad v Port Adelaide

1. Jesse Hogan

3. Christian Salem

4. Jack Watts

7. Jack Viney

10. Angus Brayshaw

11. Max Gawn

12. Dom Tyson

13. Clayton Oliver

14. Lynden Dunn

15. Billy Stretch

16. Dean Kent

17. Sam Frost

20. Colin Garland

21. Cameron Pedersen

22. Viv Michie

25. Tom McDonald

28. Oscar McDonald

29. Jayden Hunt

30. Alex Neal-Bullen

31. Jack Grimes

32. Tomas Bugg

35. Ben Kennedy

36. Jeff Garlett

37. Aaron vandenBerg

39. Neville Jetta

42. Josh Wagner

43. James Harmes

45. Matt Jones

46. Dean Terlich   

[Purple 77]

Can't wait to see us play, even if it is lowly NAB Challenge  8)

[Barra13]

Melbourne squad NAB 2

2. Nathan Jones

3. Christian Salem

4. Jack Watts

7. Jack Viney

11. Max Gawn

12. Dom Tyson

13. Clayton Oliver

14. Lynden Dunn

15. Billy Stretch

16. Dean Kent

17. Sam Frost

20. Colin Garland

21. Cameron Pedersen

22. Viv Michie

23. Bernie Vince

25. Tom McDonald

28. Oscar McDonald

29. Jayden Hunt

30. Alex Neal-Bullen

31. Jack Grimes

32. Tomas Bugg

35. Ben Kennedy

36. Jeff Garlett

37. Aaron vandenBerg

39. Neville Jetta

42. Josh Wagner

43. James Harmes

45. Matt Jones

46. Dean Terlich 

In: N.Jones, Neal-Bullen, Michie, Terlich, Vince

Out: Brayshaw (knee), Hogan (rested)

Note: Final team to be confirmed in lead-up to Sunday’s match