AFL track watch: The latest training updates from around the competition
The intrigue surrounding Kysaiah Pickett at the Dees only grows. Plus an update on the Daicos brothers’ fitness, the untried Saints’ swingman impressing and more in track watch.
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Livewire forward Kysaiah Pickett was unsighted at Demons training for a second time this week, just days after reports emerged from Western Australia that he was ‘desperate’ to return home.
Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson on Tuesday dismissed the reports, saying in a radio interview that Pickett was “really happy here in Melbourne” and “loves his teammates”.
However, track watchers did not miss the fact that Pickett was absent from training on Wednesday after also missing in action on Monday.
The Demons confirmed that Pickett was back in Melbourne on Wednesday, after missing Monday’s session to head home to Western Australia for personal reasons.
However, he missed the midweek training due to an infection in his leg.
Pickett is contracted to Melbourne until the end of 2027 after extending his contract in 2023.
He will miss the first three games of the home-and-away season for the Demons regardless after being suspended for a bump on Collingwood captain Darcy Moore in the side’s final game of last year.
BACK TO THE FUTURE?
Harrison Petty’s move forward last year wasn’t exactly a rousing success.
While he provided a marking target at times, Petty only kicked 9.15 across 20 games last season.
The former defender was back in the backline during match simulation on Wednesday and looks set to play a more mixed role in 2025.
Richardson said this week that Petty’s “versatility can be a real weapon for us” and the plan is for him to spend time at both ends going forward.
TEARING IT UP
After a difficult 2024, Clayton Oliver looks in ripping nick as he aims to rediscover his best football this year.
A leaner Oliver was prominent once again during match simulation, showing off his signature clean hands and getting involved multiple times in chains working up and down the ground at Gosch’s Paddock.
Smooth-moving running machine Caleb Windsor was also in everything, finding the footy with ease on the outside.
Blake Howes and Bailey Laurie were others to catch the eye during the session, while forwards Jake Melksham and Bailey Fritsch were lively in attack.
Fellow forward Shane McAdam – who played only three games last season as he struggled with injury and form – has also had a strong few weeks since returning from the Christmas break and took some nice marks on the lead.
NEW FACES
Top-10 draft picks Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay had a lighter session on Wednesday as they are carefully managed.
They took part in warm up drills before doing some work on their own for parts of the session.
Category B rookie selection Ricky Mentha Jnr – who has impressed track watchers over summer – also joined Langford and Lindsay for some separate work.
In match simulation, ruckman Tom Campbell was dominant with Max Gawn sitting out.
Campbell competed well and gave a strong contest in the air around the ground.
Mature-age forward Aidan Johnson is also impressing as a target in attack, pushing for an early-season debut.
Johnson, 24, is a 193cm athletic forward who was picked up with pick 68 in last year’s national draft.
TAKING IT EASY
Captain Max Gawn (larynx) and star midfielder Christian Petracca (ribs) remain in non-contact training but are continuing to get load in their legs.
Both took part in warm-up running and drills on Wednesday morning, before joining the rehabilitation group.
Jake Lever, Tom Fullarton, Matthew Jefferson and Kynan Brown were also part of that group, but Brown later joined the main group.
Exciting forward Koltyn Tholstrup completed his own training program, which mostly involved running laps and some light individual drills.
Defenders Tom McDonald and Judd McVee both spent some time on exercise bikes in the tent before leaving training.
WOUNDED SOLDIERS
Midfielder Tom Sparrow was sporting sandals and sunglasses on the sidelines, along with a nasty bruise and cut on his cheek which required stitches.
Forward Charlie Spargo was on the field but didn’t do much more than Sparrow after his Achilles surgery last July, restricted to some light running on one side of the ground.
After being spotted with his arm in a sling earlier in the week, defender Kade Chandler ran laps for most of the session with the support of some strapping high on his right arm.
The Demons say that Chandler has a sore AC joint, but thankfully it is nothing too serious.
Forward Daniel Turner had the wind knocked out of him in a marking contest during match simulation late in the session.
DAICOS BROS NEAR RETURN AS CAMERON BACKS COX
Collingwood star Darcy Cameron says the Daicos brothers are both edging closer to full training as he hopes Mason Cox will continue to partner him in the ruck in 2025.
Cox has flown home to the US for family reasons this week as Cameron offered his support to the tall, who played second fiddle in a ruck-forward role for six goals from 16 games last season.
The 211cm veteran will face competition from not only a squeeze on forward line spots created by the arrival of Tim Membrey from St Kilda but also from 21-year-old specialist ruck Oscar Steene, who was impressive in the air during match simulation on Wednesday and also ran strongly during a 400m effort at the end of a drill.
Steene, who signed a one-year deal for 2025 towards the end of last season after a toe injury wiped out his entire campaign, ran towards the front of a pack led by Isaac Quaynor, whose conditioning looked closer to the levels that spurred his career-best 2023 campaign.
Cameron said Steene, still untried at senior level, had impressed him in drills along with last year’s mid-season recruit Iliro Smit.
“(Steene) is looking really good at the moment – he’s put on a bit of size, he’s running really well,” Cameron said.
“So is big Roo – Iliro Smit – they’re both doing really well at the moment.
“We haven’t really spoken much (about ruck plans) just yet, but hopefully what it looked like last year – I feel like I work really well with Mason, but that’s not my call at the end of the day.
“(Cox) has been training really well this pre-season, and my love goes out to him and his family at the moment.”
Josh Daicos (calf) appeared briefly during Wednesday’s training session for some light work along with star midfielder Jordan De Goey, but Nick Daicos was confined inside as he continued to recover from what the Magpies declared a “mild” case of plantar fasciitis.
Fellow premiership on-baller Tom Mitchell was still absent from the track, but Cameron said he had also just resumed running after scans before Christmas revealed a bone stress injury to cap off an injury and illness-plagued 2024.
“They’re both running now. I know that Josh is back into full training next week, and Nick’s progressing really well,” Cameron said.
“(Mitchell) is really positive around the club still, and I think he was running either today or yesterday for the first time in a few weeks since it happened.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him out on the track … you feel for him because he does everything right. He works so hard around the club and outside the club as well.”
Among the Magpies’ younger brigade, Reef McInnes continued to catch the eye in a new defensive role, while Harry DeMattia had a prominent on-ball role as he ran with the likes of Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury during match simulation.
Strong winds put pressure on the Pies’ foot skills, but McInnes was noticeably clean as he mopped up on the last line of defence and distributed the ball confidently while keeping a lid on his direct opponent Beau McCreery.
Cameron said McInnes was “hopefully” the replacement for premiership backman Nathan Murphy that the Magpies had sorely lacked last year.
“Murph was a really big out for us – you can’t replace a person like Nathan Murphy – but Reef has done a really good job of bringing his strengths,” he said.
“He’s training really well, and that move down back is looking really good for him.”
Up forward, Dan McStay moved sharply and caused headaches for his opponent Charlie Dean, while Cameron also pushed forward aggressively to stretch the Magpies’ first-choice defence.
“F---ing talk to me, Chooka, f--k me,” Jeremy Howe yelled over his shoulder at Billy Frampton after Cameron pushed past him to come over the top of Howe in a marking contest.
New AFL football department employee Joel Selwood was spotted on the outskirts of training, with Cameron saying the Geelong premiership captain was there as an observer.
“He’s just hovering around the club, sort of sussing out what we’re about at the moment,” Cameron said.
“Fly (coach Craig McRae) introduced him this morning – he’s just going to be at the club for the day, I think.”
The Magpies have four weeks to prepare for their first pre-season games – a “triangular series” match simulation on the Gold Coast against Brisbane and the Suns on February 20.
SAINTS’ SWINGMAN PUTS HAND UP FOR DEBUT
St Kilda has used the past two off seasons to strengthen its midfield, but it was the backline that shone in match simulation at RSEA Park on Wednesday.
The departure of Josh Battle will open a chance for the Saints’ youth to fight for a senior spot, including untried swingman Isaac Keeler.
The forward made the move down back last year, featuring in 14 VFL games for Sandringham.
Keeler has used the off-season to add size to his 198cm frame, with the key utility contesting strongly against Max King in early one-on-one drills.
His aerial work was most notable, soaring above 204cm prospect ruck Max Heath to bring down the mark of the day.
Arie Schoenmaker was the main distributor out of defence in simulation drills, while five-gamer Angus Hastie displayed flashes of the intercept ability he was known for in his draft year. Another who stood out was an injury-free Angus McLennan.
A consistent VFL contributor in 2024, McLennan looked explosive and read the play brilliantly in defensive 50 drills that saw him shut down entries and find the ball at stoppages.
Callum Wilkie provided a highlight, lunging to spoil a certain goal on the line during a training drill.
Max King left the track early, taking part in running and limited early drills before exiting.
Hunter Clark, Liam Henry and Paddy Dow were among other notable absentees, a list which also included all of St Kilda’s 2024 draftees.
Rowan Marshall and newly-signed ruck Harry Boyd were also missing, with Keeler and Heath taking responsibility in ruck duties.
Originally published as AFL track watch: The latest training updates from around the competition
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