Training 2024 Preseason Thread

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I think Noah Yze is next year. IIRC he played some junior footy with Kynan Brown as a bottom ager.

Then Jeff White's son is available in the 2025 draft.

And I believe Aaron Davey's son is available in either 2026 or 2027. He is racking up lots of accolades playing junior footy in QLD, and according to Jason Taylor, he is moving to Melbourne to do his schooling at Xavier.

But F/S rules are forecast to change for 2025 onwards so who knows if this will have any impact on recruiting them.
 
Dansters training report:
  • Tomlinson won the 2km time trial. He beat ANB by about 30m. He pulled away with 1.5 laps to go. All the players cracked in.
  • Gawn looks in great condition.
  • May looks in great condition. No signs of putting on excess weight. A strong year coming.
  • Jake Melksham is ahead of schedule according to Choko. Great news.
  • Noah Yze was training with us. A big boy for a 17 year old. He has a slightly odd kicking technique aka JVR but it looks like it could be an effective set shot.
  • Jefferson unfortunately still needs to greatly improve his overall intensity. I pumped up his tyres when we got him. But I'm getting a little anxious.
  • Fritsch is in the rehab group. He'll be right after xmas. He hurt his knee (I think that's what I heard) against Sydney in the last round and is just recovering from that. He's carrying excess stomach fat.
  • Kozzie running laps with Fritsch. not sure why. Ripped arms and legs, carrying a bit of fat around the stomach. Sorry for the body composition analysis :) He'll be fine.
  • Brayshaw and Salem I saw there but didn't participate.
  • They did set shot goal kicking with 30 mins to go but I'd like to see more.
  • A bit too much standing around in some of the drills but because they did a 2km time trial, I'll let the coaches off the hook. Some of the drills there were too many stationary people on cones waiting for their turn, for my liking anyway.
  • Bowey and Judd McVee look fantastic.
  • Most of their drills were working the ball from the half back line, through the corridor. Make no mistake, that is the focus in most of our drills.
  • Viney was wearing #35 (for some reason) and is looking in great condition. Probably needs to slim down a tad. Not because he's out of shape but he's just extremely muscly. He's like a chunky Nathan Jones atm.
  • Lever was the loudest on the track. I'm okay with it as long as he keeps himself accountable. A great player but boy gee his mistakes can hurt us at times.
  • tom McDonald training in defence. This scares the hell out of me as his decision making in his earlier years as a defender was horrendous. But I think that he'll be at Casey anyway.
  • Jed Adams, filling out nicely. His short kicking looks okay. He has a unique kicking style too but I think it can be trained to be effective. A big year ahead for him. Quietly confident.
  • Shane McAdam, wow. Looks amazing. Tough, hard, athletic, skilled. Had a few 1 on 1's against Steven May. Didn't shirk anything. Could be a fan favourite this year. Loved what I saw. Looks like a Melksham on steroids. And I like Melksham. if Melksham can get back in the latter part of the season. McAdam, Melksham, Fritsch and Pickett is dangerous.
 
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Dansters training report:
  • Tomlinson won the 2km time trial. He beat ANB by about 30m. He pulled away with 1.5 laps to go. All the players cracked in.
  • Gawn looks in great condition.
  • May looks in great condition. No signs of putting on excess weight. A strong year coming.
  • Jake Melksham is ahead of schedule according to Choko. Great news.
  • Noah Long was training with us. A big boy for a 17 year old. He has a slightly odd kicking technique aka JVR but it looks like it could be an effective set shot.
  • Jefferson unfortunately still needs to greatly improve his overall intensity. I pumped up his tyres when we got him. But I'm getting a little anxious.
  • Fritsch is in the rehab group. He'll be right after xmas. He hurt his knee (I think that's what I heard) against Sydney in the last round and is just recovering from that. He's carrying excess stomach fat.
  • Kozzie running laps with Fritsch. not sure why. Ripped arms and legs, carrying a bit of fat around the stomach. Sorry for the body composition analysis :) He'll be fine.
  • Brayshaw and Salem I saw there but didn't participate.
  • They did set shot goal kicking with 30 mins to go but I'd like to see more.
  • A bit too much standing around in some of the drills but because they did a 2km time trial, I'll let the coaches off the hook. Some of the drills there were too many stationary people on cones waiting for their turn, for my liking anyway.
  • Bowey and Judd McVee look fantastic.
  • Most of their drills were working the ball from the half back line, through the corridor. Make not mistake. That is the focus in most of our drills.
  • Viney was wearing #35 (for some reason) and is looking in great condition. Probably needs to slim down a tad. Not because he's out of shape but he's just extremely muscly. He's like a chunky Nathan Jones atm.
  • Lever was the loudest on the track. I'm okay with it as long as he keeps himself accountable. A great player but boy gee his mistakes can hurt us at times.
  • tom McDonald training in defence. This scares the hell out of me as his decision making in his earlier years as a defender was horrendous. But I think that he'll be at Casey anyway.
  • Jed Adams, filling out nicely. His short kicking looks okay. He has a unique kicking style too but I think it can be trained to be effective. A big year ahead for him. Quietly confident.
  • Shane McAdam, wow. Looks amazing. Tough, hard, athletic, skilled. Had a few 1 on 1's against Steven May. Didn't shirk anything. Could be a fan favourite this year. Loved what I saw. Looks like a Melksham on steroids. And I like Melksham. if Melksham can get back in the latter part of the season. McAdam, Melksham, Fritsch and Pickett is dangerous.
Thanks Dan. I'm pretty bullish on McAdam this year – think he'll add a lot to the team. How did Tholstrup and Windsor look?
 
Thanks Dan. I'm pretty bullish on McAdam this year – think he'll add a lot to the team. How did Tholstrup and Windsor look?
Yeah, I mean I saw both Tholstrop and Windsor a few days ago. Nothing has really changed. Both looked good. Tholstrop the more impressive at this early stage. Seems to link up well and finds space. But the drills at the moment are pretty rudimentary. I think when the match sims come around come around and the club is using the full ground then Windsor will be able to use his weapons more. Because we're practicing just corridor stuff, the ground shrinks in half. I like the look of both.
 
Dansters training report:
  • Tomlinson won the 2km time trial. He beat ANB by about 30m. He pulled away with 1.5 laps to go. All the players cracked in.
  • Gawn looks in great condition.
  • May looks in great condition. No signs of putting on excess weight. A strong year coming.
  • Jake Melksham is ahead of schedule according to Choko. Great news.
  • Noah Long was training with us. A big boy for a 17 year old. He has a slightly odd kicking technique aka JVR but it looks like it could be an effective set shot.
  • Jefferson unfortunately still needs to greatly improve his overall intensity. I pumped up his tyres when we got him. But I'm getting a little anxious.
  • Fritsch is in the rehab group. He'll be right after xmas. He hurt his knee (I think that's what I heard) against Sydney in the last round and is just recovering from that. He's carrying excess stomach fat.
  • Kozzie running laps with Fritsch. not sure why. Ripped arms and legs, carrying a bit of fat around the stomach. Sorry for the body composition analysis :) He'll be fine.
  • Brayshaw and Salem I saw there but didn't participate.
  • They did set shot goal kicking with 30 mins to go but I'd like to see more.
  • A bit too much standing around in some of the drills but because they did a 2km time trial, I'll let the coaches off the hook. Some of the drills there were too many stationary people on cones waiting for their turn, for my liking anyway.
  • Bowey and Judd McVee look fantastic.
  • Most of their drills were working the ball from the half back line, through the corridor. Make not mistake. That is the focus in most of our drills.
  • Viney was wearing #35 (for some reason) and is looking in great condition. Probably needs to slim down a tad. Not because he's out of shape but he's just extremely muscly. He's like a chunky Nathan Jones atm.
  • Lever was the loudest on the track. I'm okay with it as long as he keeps himself accountable. A great player but boy gee his mistakes can hurt us at times.
  • tom McDonald training in defence. This scares the hell out of me as his decision making in his earlier years as a defender was horrendous. But I think that he'll be at Casey anyway.
  • Jed Adams, filling out nicely. His short kicking looks okay. He has a unique kicking style too but I think it can be trained to be effective. A big year ahead for him. Quietly confident.
  • Shane McAdam, wow. Looks amazing. Tough, hard, athletic, skilled. Had a few 1 on 1's against Steven May. Didn't shirk anything. Could be a fan favourite this year. Loved what I saw. Looks like a Melksham on steroids. And I like Melksham. if Melksham can get back in the latter part of the season. McAdam, Melksham, Fritsch and Pickett is dangerous.

Thanks for the rep.

Noah Long?
 

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I'm just glad it gets him out of Jefferson's way at Casey, tbh
Now he'll only have Fullarton, Schache, Brown, Farris-White and Verrall to spoil his marks each week 🤗
 

Track watch: Brayshaw back for Dees as pre-season begins, Oliver set for full return in New Year​

Angus Brayshaw is back on the training track for Melbourne, but another star won’t return to full training until the New Year. Get the latest pre-season intel here.Melbourne midfield star Angus Brayshaw has been given formal approval to continue his AFL career as he made an impressive return to pre-season training on Monday.

Brayshaw was knocked out in the Demons’ qualifying final loss to Collingwood in one of the most dramatic moments of the season, with good friend Brayden Maynard ultimately cleared by the AFL appeals board.

Brayshaw’s brother said in the immediate aftermath he would consider his football future but as his symptoms cleared Demons mid Angus was always determined to continue his AFL career.

On Monday as the Demons senior players returned to training with a 2km time trial Brayshaw ran impressively in baking Melbourne heat then joined his teammates in training.

The fluro yellow hat which indicated he was not yet allowed contact was the only indication that Brayshaw would be treated differently to his teammates.

The Demons have ticked every medical box and had his return approved by the AFL, which means a player contracted to 2028 will have ambitious plans to play a full 2024 season.

Melbourne’s players broke up into smaller groups for that 2km time trial and Charlie Spargo, who played only 14 senior games this year, set a withering pace.

He led home Jack Viney, Brayshaw and Lachie Hunter in one group, while Adam Tomlinson burnt off hard-running Alex Neal-Bullen in the battle of the club’s best runners.

Ben Brown was limited to only seven AFL games given knee issues in 2023 but ran freely as he pushed Steven May hard and was excellent in match simulation as he enters the final season of his contract.

TRAINING NOTES

Melbourne star Clayton Oliver will be held back from full training until mid-January as he continues to rehabilitate his knee after off-season surgery.

The Demons had said Oliver was four weeks from integrating into full training but the expectation is that the Demons medicos will treat his return date with caution.

Melbourne has few issues with his physical conditioning as he ran sprints, kicked the football to fellow rehab group member Bayley Fritsch and did some light touch work.

And while he will be footy’s most scrutinised man this off-season Melbourne is also optimistic he has made gains away from football with his personal issues.

Coach Simon Goodwin recently admitted Oliver’s complicated personal challenges “have been ongoing for multiple years”.
He was admitted to hospital after a seizure the Demons star said was partly attributed to ADHD medication.

The Demons also have swingman Joel Smith awaiting a date from Sports Integrity Australia for a hearing date over his match-day cocaine positive.

Smith has accepted a provisional suspension and is unable to train with the Demons but will face a short SIA ban as well as a likely Demons internal suspension.

NEW FACES

Melbourne’s draftees in Caleb Windsor and Koltyn Tholstrup were both in action but it was the veterans in former Demon Marty Hore and ex-Saint Jack Billings who will be worth watching over summer.

Billings hit up teammates including full forward Brown with impressive foot skills in match drills to show exactly why the Demons traded for the left-footer.

Hore was the VFL’s best interceptor in the past two seasons and could get early games with Harrison Petty playing forward and Smith potentially suspended.

Tom McDonald and Adam Tomlinson will both be pushing for that third defensive spot behind May and Jake Lever, who was impressive pushing McDonald in their 2km time trial.

Ex-Lions tall Tom Fullarton also ran well as he prepares to back up Gawn in the ruck.

INJURY ISSUES

Melbourne is confident Harry Petty will be in full training well before round 1 as he recovers from a serious lisfranc injury that ended his 2023 season.

Petty, keen to return to Adelaide but not released by the Demons, will play as a key forward alongside Jacob Van Rooyen.
Van Rooyen and ex-Crows forward Shane McAdam were both at the forefront as the Demons slotted straight into mid-forward connection drills.

The Demons failed miserably to capitalise on their welter of inside 50s as they lost in straight sets for the second season in a row.
Fritsch was on light duties after his foot issues of 2023 which included a mid-season fractured foot and then toe ligament injury which he endured through finals.

Kysaiah Pickett ran the time trial but then did run-throughs instead of training with the main group he battles some low-level groin soreness.

Jake Melksham is ahead of schedule in his early recovery from an ACL tear but will only be back late next season.

 
Nah. there's really no similarities. He's right footed. biggish build about him.

The knock on him, to this point, has been his competitiveness. Apparently late this year he really set himself to crack in hard for the draft and lift his workrate. If he can lift that part of his game he could be a really good get.
 


Brayshaw was knocked out in the Demons’ qualifying final loss to Collingwood in one of the most dramatic moments of the season, with good friend Brayden Maynard ultimately cleared by the AFL appeals board.



Good friend...
 

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