Casey Scorpions v Collingwood

[RalphiusMaximus 5,993]

Cross will be gone soon. Then I guess the question will be can you fit Jones, Vince, Viney, Tyson, Brayshaw and ANB in to one midfield but if we get to that stage I'll be pretty excited.

I think Vince plays half back, 1 plays predominantly half forward and the other 4 go through the inside midfield spots and it's not a problem. The likelihood as well is that for every 6 players from an AFL list you pick out there will be 1 injured.

We might be wise to draft more selectively for talls and speedy/skilled outside mids from now but it's a bit early to count our chickens on Tyson, Viney and Brayshaw yet alone ANB after 1 high possession VFL game!

All very true, plus we have Petracca to come back who has a bit of burst pace to him. If White, Stretch and Hunt were to all turn into players we'd be ok for run, but I don't see all of them lasting. That would be too much to hope for.

[CityDee 738]

He was the leader of the SA midfield and one of their best players in the u18s. He's not really quick, but from memory he takes the ball cleanly at a run and dishes quickly. Had a high ratio of kicks to handballs which is impressive for such an inside player and speaks well of his evasiveness. Averaged 19 disposals, 1 goal, 4 tackles and 5 clearances a game through the championships. On the downside his disposal efficiency wasn't great, so he'll need to work on that. I think 40 was about as low as anyone could see him dropping in the draft, so we did quite well getting him. Knightmare had him at 21.

Basically, we got the best mid from the championship-winning side, so we have to be happy with that. The only concern I have is that we're starting to look like a very one-paced team, especially through the middle. If you add Tyson and ANB to N. Jones, Vince, Cross and Viney, we're going to get badly shown up by the quicker midfields.

Port and GWS say hi. Lets hope Brissy and the saints dont get hold of us

[jumbo returns 6,547]

He's good mates with Stretch and was thought to be a good selection by Melbourne, when we picked him #40.

I know another player on our list who was good mates with another player in a draft......

[KC from Casey 6,672]

A few people have asked about the two Demons in our development league team. I apologise for not responding earlier but it's sometimes not possible to keep up with earlier posts while posting during a game and also worrying about the iPhone running out of power.

Max King, despite having the raw edges of many young lanky types is coming on well. He's in the goals every week and on Friday night got plenty of the ball as well (I'm told he had 18 touches). His marking is solid and he took another speccy this week which seems to augur well for him. I think it's unfair to hold the same expectations for him as people have for Jesse Hogan who, whilst not as tall at 195cm is very solid for a 20 year old. King has plenty of development in him and if the club can mould him into say, a Tippett type of forward foil for Hogan, then we can look forward to some high scoring excitement in the future.

But that's a bit of a way off. He is currently finding it hard to break into the Casey team because of the fact that the Scorpions are fielding at least two of Jamar/Spencer/Gawn/Fitzpatrick each week and because of the good early form of Casey recruit Jordan Moncrieff who got promoted into the seniors ahead of him a few games ago and has been kicking goals and therefore kept his place in the team until now. Perhaps his chance will come next week - Coburg aren't traveling all that well so it might be his time.

Jayden Hunt is being nursed through the development league team after a bad back injury. He's not showing many good signs but he certainly has pace and was impressive as a schoolboy footballer two years ago. Perhaps he needs to get his confidence back after a long time out of football but perhaps, he just doesn't have what it takes. He was a late selection in a shallow draft so it won't be a disaster for the club but I wouldn't write him off just yet.

[deanox 8,788]

Thanks KC, appreciate the feedback on the players and the game.

[P-man 13,277]

Never apologise KC. Your efforts are stellar.

The Max King reports are almost as exciting as the ANB reports (or are we officially callng him "The Business"? Cause I pretty much love that nickname)

[Dee-licious 1,867]

I second "The Buisness" and open it to the floor for a vote

[Elusive Tunbridge 795]

The Business - cute, I like it. And KC, I'd love to hear your thoughts on White.

[ChaserJ 4,009]

A few people have asked about the two Demons in our development league team. I apologise for not responding earlier but it's sometimes not possible to keep up with earlier posts while posting during a game and also worrying about the iPhone running out of power.

Max King, despite having the raw edges of many young lanky types is coming on well. He's in the goals every week and on Friday night got plenty of the ball as well (I'm told he had 18 touches). His marking is solid and he took another speccy this week which seems to augur well for him. I think it's unfair to hold the same expectations for him as people have for Jesse Hogan who, whilst not as tall at 195cm is very solid for a 20 year old. King has plenty of development in him and if the club can mould him into say, a Tippett type of forward foil for Hogan, then we can look forward to some high scoring excitement in the future.

But that's a bit of a way off. He is currently finding it hard to break into the Casey team because of the fact that the Scorpions are fielding at least two of Jamar/Spencer/Gawn/Fitzpatrick each week and because of the good early form of Casey recruit Jordan Moncrieff who got promoted into the seniors ahead of him a few games ago and has been kicking goals and therefore kept his place in the team until now. Perhaps his chance will come next week - Coburg aren't traveling all that well so it might be his time.

Jayden Hunt is being nursed through the development league team after a bad back injury. He's not showing many good signs but he certainly has pace and was impressive as a schoolboy footballer two years ago. Perhaps he needs to get his confidence back after a long time out of football but perhaps, he just doesn't have what it takes. He was a late selection in a shallow draft so it won't be a disaster for the club but I wouldn't write him off just yet.

Thank you KC, don't ver leave us!

[daisycutter 28,692]

the business is a bit of a mouthful, so i''ll spot for "The Biz"

[G-max 154]

Alex Neal-Bullen-a-China-shop.

[manny100 1,058]

Hi all, some one requested some information on AND. See 'the King of draftings's' comments below sourced from Big footy. Knightmare had him rated at 21 and said he was season one ready. Anyway read, digest and comment.

21. Alex Neal-Bullen (SA Mid)

Height: 182cm, Weight: 77kg, DOB: 09/01/1996

Recruited from: Glenelg

Draft range: 20-50

Best position/role: Midfield on the ball.

Strengths:

Work by hand What most stands out with Neal-Bullen is his awareness in traffic to find the best player by hand, he will at times gamble looking for the opening but he typically finds the most damaging target.

Inside game In addition to what Neal-Bullen does by hand he at stoppages is consistently in close, in the best positions to either win his own contested ball or to receive the inside ball to win the clearances. He had the highest clearance winning total through the U18 Championships and has shown at SANFL League level that he can also win the clearances. He has excellent contested ball winning numbers and is a terrific contested ball winner showing hardness at the footy, and a real cleanness at ground level.

Endurance Neal-Bullen has among the best endurance of the midfielders in this draft and it is obvious watching how much ground he covers in game and how many contests he gets to. He is someone who just never seems to stand still in game really showing in game a terrific work rate.

Season one ready Neal-Bullen has played and played very well at SANFL League level showing that he can compete against men and find and win his own footy against men which suggests that he can from season one play senior games if the opportunity presents.

Versatility Although he by far and away is best suited on the ball through the midfield he has also spent time in the back half this season so while he probably will be more a pure midfielder he can as required be played in the back half.

Pace - Neal-Bullen is not a plodder and can at times use his pace in game. He can provide some run and carry with ball in hand or break away from the contest and occasionally can get himself out of trouble in traffic to then get a handball off to a target or a quick kick away.

Weaknesses:

Footskills under pressure and decision making Neal-Bullen in traffic by foot will often just get the ball onto his boot hoping it hits a target, really at this stage just lacking composure. Because he gets so much ball in close making it a reoccurring theme and a constant frustration with his game but at times he can hit a meaningful target from these situations so he is someone who will go for damage over efficiency and it will be a learning process to know when to hit the meaningful target and when to go safe. Give him time and space through and his footskills while still slightly inconsistent are on the most part generally good mostly hitting his targets over a variety of distances, making better decisions and occasionally doing damage and even at times lowering his eyes, but on the inside he just needs that bit more composure and needs to take more time on his kicks than he does at the present time.

Outside game At this stage Neal-Bullen finds a high proportion of his ball inside the contest and surprisingly despite his endurance and work rate he finds limited outside ball as someone who is very much an inside midfielder first at the moment.

What I expect will improve:

I mostly with Neal-Bullen anticipate the natural and continued improvement in the areas that he performs strongly in and specifically his inside game.

Who he can become?

Through the midfield Neal-Bullen is of similar quality and production to Anthony Miles.

When will he be ready to play?

Neal-Bullen has the ability to play as soon as season one and fit in at AFL level given his strong SANFL League performance.

How to best utilise him?

Neal-Bullen is best utilised on the ball through the midfield.

Interpretation of his numbers:

Neal-Bullens numbers have been exceptional both through the U18 Championships and at SANFL League level this season and is among the best performed players in this draft class. Through the U18 Championships he led all participants in clearances and was also one of the dominant contested ball winners throughout. What was troubling was troubling through the U18 Championships his low disposal efficiency of 54%. Through the SANFL at league level Neal-Bullen has shown that he can not only play at the level but also find strong numbers suggesting that he will be able to make the adjustment to playing at AFL level and if opportunity presents from season one.

Knightmare, Nov 5, 2014

[Moonshadow 16,411]

KC you are a great asset to Dland. Fantastic write ups and information. Much appreciated.

[bjDee 1,249]

I second "The Buisness" and open it to the floor for a vote

It's a Yes here, also happy with DCs suggestion of The Biz.

[Demonland 66,548]

FESTIVAL by KC from Casey

The Queens Birthday weekend festivities kicked off early this year with a Friday night development league curtain raiser at Casey Fields that was won comfortably by the Scorpions over the Zebras thanks to a dominant second quarter.

The Saturday game against Collingwood VFL brought with it a large crowd to Cranbourne which, to their credit, is what you expect when the Magpies are playing. The result was another win to the Scorpions - this time by the narrow margin of four points after four quarters of pulsating football in a game affected by the strong winds that prevail in the area.

The Pies had first use of those winds and were off to a flyer. They booted the first four goals of the game and appeared to be on their way to icing the game up very early in proceedings until a late counterattack from Casey produced a goal at the 27 minute mark to the hard working Ed Morris and the Scorps were down by 20 points at first change.

It was the Pies who opened the scoring against the breeze in the second term but Jordan Moncrieff replied with his first soon after and Casey was on its way. With Mark Jamar and Jake Spencer dominating the ruck hit outs and Alex Neal-Bullen, Dom Tyson, Viv Michie and Morris winning the ball at ground level pumping it inside fifty, the goals eventually came and the home side fought hard for a two point lead at half time.

Collingwood came out strongly with the wind behind its back in the third quarter but poor kicking for goal was its nemesis. That and the fact that the Scorpions were able to turn the tide with the final two goals of the term - the last one again to Morris with a goal from just inside fifty after the siren to make the difference 11 points. Dean Terlich was playing a great game in defence not only stopping his opponent but also winning his own ball.

With a three goal breeze behind their backs, the Casey boys were in the box seat but it took ten minutes and goals from Jamar and Nathan Page to give them the lead. The Pies were not to be denied and a dour struggle ensued and now it was the Scorps' turn to kick points. Rohan Bail kicked his second but the Collingwood spirit was not to be denied. They goaled against the breeze to make it a four point game but the siren denied their efforts to make it five wins on end.

The stars of the game were Morris and Neal-Bullen. Tyson wrote his name into the Demons' team next week and there were several bright spots not only for Melbourne but also for the Casey listed team which is building up nicely and will no doubt be looking forward to next Saturday's must win match against Coburg which had its measure last year.

Tomorrow, it's up to Melbourne to make the Queens Birthday weekend a truly festive one for the fans.

2015 Peter Jackson VFL

Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 5.8.38 7.8.50 10.12.72

Collingwood VFL 4.4.28 5.6.36 8.13.61 9.14.68

Goals

Casey Scorpions Bail Morris 2 Byrnes Jamar Michie Moncrieff Muir Page

Collingwood VFL

Blair Gault 2 Cox Goodyear Gray Monkhorst Still

Best

Casey Scorpions Neal-Bullen Tyson Morris Michie Stretch Jamar

Collingwood VFL Williams Karnezis Wallace Reid Marsh Dwyer

Rohan Bail 2 goals 2 behinds 19 disposals 11 kicks 8 handballs 5 marks 75 dream team points

James Harmes 20 disposals 10 kicks 10 handballs 9 marks 5 tackles 84 dream team points

Mark Jamar 1 goal 1 behind 20 disposals 14 kicks 6 handballs 7 marks 1 tackles 20 hit outs 101 dream team points

Oscar McDonald 18 disposals 6 kicks 12 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points

Jordie McKenzie 22 disposals 5 kicks 17 handballs 5 marks 4 tackles 77 dream team points

Viv Michie 1 goal 28 disposals 12 kicks 16 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 103 dream team points

Alex Neal-Bullen 1 behind 34 disposals 21 kicks 13 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 123 dream team points

Jake Spencer 1 behind 10 disposals 4 kicks 6 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 26 hit outs dream 76 team points

Billy Stretch 1 behind 21 disposals 9 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks 4 tackles 81 dream team points

Dean Terlich 29 disposals 16 kicks 13 handballs 6 marks 5 tackles 109 dream team points

Dom Tyson 33 disposals 12 kicks 21 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 1 hit out 101 dream team points

Mitch White 15 disposals 9 kicks 6 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 52 dream team points

The Development League side wrapped up their game with a dominant five goal quarter but managed only two goals in the second half of an otherwise low scoring game to win by 22 points. Nathan Paredes and Angus Scott were Casey's best but Max King was not far away with his three vital goals. He got plenty of the football and took some strong marks including one great speccy that warned the crowd up on a cold night.

2015 AFL Victoria Development League

Casey Scorpions 2.3.15 7.6.48 7.10.52 9.11.65

Sandringham 1.3.9 2.4.16 4.7.31 5.13.43

Goals

Casey Scorpions King 3 Fisscher Lang 2 Anderson Paredes

Sandringham Bazzani Davis Haidon Roos Zijai

Best

Casey Scorpions Pattison Fritsch Anderson Fisscher Scott Lang

Sandringham Zijai Noone Verma Plostins Bazzani Persson

[John Dee 439]

I travelled to Casey yesterday for my first match of the Scorpion's season. As always, there was a cold breeze blowing pretty much straight down the ground. What was unusual was that the wind was a basic Northerly, as opposed to the normal Sou'Sou'Wester.

Tyson was a bit quiet early but really worked into the game. His knee was quite heavily strapped, so whether he comes back in next week will depend on how he pulled up.

Terlich was Terlich. Got plenty of the ball but repeatedly butchered it.

I didn't realise that Bail was playing until he bobbed up with two goals in the last. Both were snaps, as that is the only time you can ever depend on his goal shooting.

ANB was in everything and is coming along nicely.

Billy Stretch played on a wing all day and was quite impressive.

OMAC is TMAC 2.0. Anyone who saw the young TMAC playing for Sandy would agree. OMAC is a better kick.

Jamar was the best big man on the ground, Spencer was not.

Michie was serviceable.

[What 18,810]

Awesome reviews.

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, what makes the win really impressive is Colingwood hardly have anyone on their injury list, so their VFL team is very strong.

[SaberFang 7,141]

Sounds like we finally have some quality youngsters developing nicely in the seconds. The future looks bright.

Hopefully the senior leaders stand up tomorrow on the big stage.

[Whispering_Jack 28,094]

Thanks to Collingwood, here is the replay

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

[bush demon 1,915]

Why? the last time I looked one of the teams is CASEY

It is their home game and guess what their home ground is out Casey.

The game is on Saturday so you can go and watch it.

Or is that too hard?

Seeing the footy at Casey is FAR better than the G. You can walk on the ground and listen to the coach and the line coaches, wander around at will and get up real close to the action.

[Sideshow Bob 2,165]

the business is a bit of a mouthful, so i''ll spot for "The Biz"

Yep - all the over the 'Biz' its a cracker. Will be even better if he lives up to it.

[Wilson7 2,536]

[Gator 16,921]

Seeing the footy at Casey is FAR better than the G. You can walk on the ground and listen to the coach and the line coaches, wander around at will and get up real close to the action.

It's the worst viewing ground I've ever been to.

[rjay 24,047]

I will feel sick if we force Jamar into retirement. Even the D-League is an insult for a modern champion of the club (granted, the criteria isn't as high as it once was). I fully expect him to return to the side in a week or two should Gawn not perform anyway, but demote or sack him for Max [censored] King?

Russian has every reason to be miffed, considering the fact that he was dropped for an inferior player despite playing well. The fact that he's not playing well in the VFL is no good, but he's hardly taking his complaints public.

If King is a half-decent player he will stand up and perform?

Here's a hint - he was a rookie selection for a reason and nothing he has done so far contravenes the fact that he will be delisted soon.

I wouldn't want this to happen either 'pirlo' but if King is to make it then he must pressure Jamar, Gawn & Spencer for a place.

I think the 3 of them are now in a shoot out for their careers...

[rjay 24,047]

I travelled to Casey yesterday for my first match of the Scorpion's season. As always, there was a cold breeze blowing pretty much straight down the ground. What was unusual was that the wind was a basic Northerly, as opposed to the normal Sou'Sou'Wester.

Tyson was a bit quiet early but really worked into the game. His knee was quite heavily strapped, so whether he comes back in next week will depend on how he pulled up.

Terlich was Terlich. Got plenty of the ball but repeatedly butchered it.

I didn't realise that Bail was playing until he bobbed up with two goals in the last. Both were snaps, as that is the only time you can ever depend on his goal shooting.

ANB was in everything and is coming along nicely.

Billy Stretch played on a wing all day and was quite impressive.

OMAC is TMAC 2.0. Anyone who saw the young TMAC playing for Sandy would agree. OMAC is a better kick.

Jamar was the best big man on the ground, Spencer was not.

Michie was serviceable.

Pretty sure Tommy Mac didn't play for Sandy. The only game I saw him play was for Casey and he was pretty impressive then...