On 09/04/2016 at 12:37, DeeSpencer said:

Neal-Bullen, Hunt and maybe Oscar McDonald the best placed to come in. Pedersen to put pressure on Frost to perform. I'd be surprised if Jeffy isn't right for next week.

Not buying that much has changed with Brayshaw and definitely not Petracca on the back of one game against ordinary opponents. Same for the Weed.

Petracca presumably played decent minutes, which makes it his first full game back. Surely he needs at least 1 more hit out. Weed got the end of a few up forward, but who wouldn't in a 150 point win? McCartin kicked 7 for Sandy, didn't touch it for the Saints last week, knocked himself out this week. Brayshaw looked a mile off it last week, really short of a run and not nearly as clean as we expect for him, 1 week wouldn't have fixed that entirely.

I'm genuinely excited about what those 3 can do in the red and blue, but one night out doesn't change much for me.

That's great mate.  I'm more interested in comments about the game by people who were there.

  On 09/04/2016 at 12:31, Moneider96 said:

ANB + Brayshaw + Petracca. The future of our midfield. 

Let's not forget Hunt. Has had a horrendous run with injury and still managed some outstanding games last year. Bigger and stronger now yet has the outside run we desperately crave. One more high possession game and get him in!

I'm bloody excited to be jumping in the Navara with my 7 year old little Demon for a road trip on Anzac Weekend!

I have been hoping beyond hope that we either see Petracca or Trengove play against the Tigers.

My lad has never been to the home of football.... OUR home of football... and I am counting the sleeps like a kid waiting for Christmas!

What a result and nice to hear some young players doing well. 

On the other hand, what sort of [censored] luck does poor Trenners have? We need him running around getting game time. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 12:59, Jaded said:

What a result and nice to hear some young players doing well. 

On the other hand, what sort of [censored] luck does poor Trenners have? We need him running around getting game time. 

It's a bummer, but I feel worse for Mitch King.  Not exactly the way you want to start your AFL career.  

Trenners is just a minor setback I reckon.

  On 09/04/2016 at 09:22, Sylvia Saint said:

Bloody hell, the radio vaguely alluded to a Casey player clutching at his knee. It took them a fair while to confirm it wasn't Petracca. Whoever it is I hope they're ok.

Just home from Casey. The blokes on the radio were very poor tonight. Granted it was very murky and you could barely see the other side of the ground but they were calling the wrong players all night, At one stage they called Gus 3 times and he was sitting on the bench. Bloody sad to see King go down it was right in front of me and you knew it was bad because he let out a yelp. 

 

It's horrible news about Mitch King.  I really hope this is the last time for him.  He seems to be a really good kid. 

For the team as a whole however, I'm thrilled.  Even against a Port Melbourne feeder side, that's a bloody good win. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 10:23, bjDee said:

Beautiful night. The smoke from the BBQ where they do the bacon and egg rolls (and now hamburgers as well - very filling) was just hanging above the ground for at least the whole first qtr.

Speaking of smoke,I could smell the gunja coming from the Franga crowd at one point during the game.

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:02, Nasher said:

It's a bummer, but I feel worse for Mitch King.  Not exactly the way you want to start your AFL career.  

Trenners is just a minor setback I reckon.

No doubt. It's horrible for a young kid to go down and knee injuries are awful. Just awful. But he's young and has time on his side.

But after everything poor Trenners has been through, I just want to see him get some continuity in game time. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 10:26, Petraccattack said:

I guess ill be the one to ask, anyone think Trascca could debut vs the Pies next week?  Or if not next week vs the Tigers the week after?

Very unlikely. He spent a fair bit of time off the ground in the last quarter. I also noticed they took him off in the 3rd and made him do some exercises and run throughs. Looked okay when he cam on so probably just being cautious. Don't think he has the stamina to play AFL next week. Bloody good kick when he gets it. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:14, Samael said:

Very unlikely. He spent a fair bit of time off the ground in the last quarter. I also noticed they took him off in the 3rd and made him do some exercises and run throughs. Looked okay when he cam on so probably just being cautious. Don't think he has the stamina to play AFL next week. Bloody good kick when he gets it. 

Did you see when he drilled the ball into the forward line during the first quarter? It must have travelled 30 meters but didn't get 2 meters off the ground,[censored] amazing.

Went out and had a look tonight. Not usually a reporter but here's some of my observations. 

He hasn't  been mentioned much on here but thought Smith showed some good signs tonight, got better as the night went on. Took some nice marks and kicks well 

Hunt was also outstanding with his pace, started out being a bit erratic with his kicking but by nights end was hitting targets at will. 

Petracca looks a class above, we should just bite the bullet and start him next week. 

Brayshaw was also in everything and isn't far off. 

Weideman still a bit off but shows promise. Needs to lead more till his body grows enough to match it with the maturer bodies. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:02, Nasher said:

It's a bummer, but I feel worse for Mitch King.  Not exactly the way you want to start your AFL career.  

Walked past King on my way out. He was standing with crutches and with his lightly bandaged knee. Talking with friends, smiling, joking, even happy. Good to see he was up and about and I hope he does well through the year ahead. 

Was it our Smith who kicked 5?

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:20, Emerald said:

Did you see when he drilled the ball into the forward line during the first quarter? It must have travelled 30 meters but didn't get 2 meters off the ground,[censored] amazing.

I reckon thats why the weed dropped that chest mark. Lucky he does not have a punctured lung or busted sternum. He is a good shot at goal as well. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:26, wise said:

Was it our Smith who kicked 5?

No, it was Tim Smith.

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:26, wise said:

Was it our Smith who kicked 5?

No, the Scorps Smith. But I noticed in the qtr time huddles that our Smith is a big young bloke. One of the tallest there today. Will be an imposing figure in the future if he can put on some more muscle. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:28, Wiseblood said:

No, it was Tim Smith.

You're wiser than I.

Ok so i should kick this off by saying that this is a hard match to comment on because of how one sided it was. I felt really sorry for Frankston as by the last quarter they were just uncompetitive giving up 12 goals to 1. At times it looked like a training drill in the 2nd half after the Dolphins were at least competative in the first half where they trailed by 35.

Frankston seemed to come out with an intention to be as physical as possible. Trengove was knocked out with his head over the ball in the first 3 min, King did his knee with a Frankston player sliding into him when he was bending down and both Michie & Pedersen were dumped after disposing of the ball in the first half. Didn't see any of that in the 2nd half however.

Still, you can only perform against the opposition in front of you. So here's my take on how the players went;

Christian Petracca: Kicked 2 goals and did a few very exciting things. There's no doubt he's going to be something special, but i hope they don't rush him. Wouldn't play him next week myself as there's others who were better tonight and after last week i think making sure someone is fully match fit is even more important now. At least another week in the VFL for me.

Jack Trengove: Got a couple of early touches before being knocked out with his head over the ball by a Frankston player who should find himself with a fortnight holiday. Tried to get up straight away but was very unsteady. Will likely miss next week, but should be back in a fortnight. Three solid weeks from there could have him in the frame for seniors by Round 8. He was around at the 3/4 time huddle which was encouraging.

Angus Brayshaw: Solid game in the midfield and he'll be much better for the run. Kicked 2, possibly 3? And looked dangerous when drifting forward. A loss tomorrow and he'll be in contention for a recall.

Colin Garland: Didn't do anything wrong, however didn't have a lot to do. My one criticism would be he could be a bit more damaging going the other way. Nothing wrong with his game, but he didn't dominate.

Cameron Pedersen: Thought he was very good. Split his time between CHF and ruck where he was needed after King's injury where he and Casey's Keilty competed very well against the much bigger Sikora. Kicked 2 goals, but could have easily had 4 or 5.

Viv Michie: In my top half dozen. Dominated around the stoppages, used the ball well and kicked 2 goals. I found the fact he kicked 2 important as in the past he hasn't hit the score board which is a conncern for such a good VFL level player. Next step is to learn how to get more easy outside ball.

Kennedy-Harris: Did his hammy in the 2nd term, so will miss a few weeks. Must admit i'm a little concerned. Didn't have much of an impact and seems to have stagnated.

Sam Weideman: Kicked 4 and looked good. Strong hands, a beautiful kick, moves well and gets to contests and competes. Is he ready for a debut next week? Look if we were to bring a key forward in for next week you'd probably go with Pedersen first, and that's probably best for Sam's development. He's ticking the boxes though!

Liam Hulett: Not the best game, made a couple of errors, but he competes. Would like to see him again before forming judgement, but my initial thoughts are he's a defender playing forward.

Oscar McDonald: Best game i've seen him play. At half time i'd of had him as BOG, however the ball barely came his way in the 2nd half. Regularly outmanouvred and out marked his opponent, ran off them and used the ball well. Based on tonight i'd recall Oscar before Col.

Jayden Hunt: Great game and first 4 quarter game i've seen him play. Seemed to play wing/half back. Used his speed to burn off opponents regularly and link up play with overlapping hanballs. After tonight he should be an automatic selection for any matches at the fast track of Etihad. Horses for courses!

Alex Neal-Bullen: Would probably give him my 3 votes for BOG. Was in everything. Got the ball inside & outside, ran all night, had great hands in close and generally used it well by foot also. Now i'm not saying he'll even be half as good, but for me, there's a lot of Rob Harvey in the way Nibbler goes about things. He's a true midfielder, and this is where he'll play his best football.

Mitch King: Was competing well in the ruck against the much stronger and more experienced Sikora, until a Frankston player slid into his bent knee right infront of me and i heard his ACL pop! Was horrible! Really feel for the kid and hope he comes back from it. He seems to have a good leap, so hopefully this wont effect that.

Mitch White: Reports were he'd been struggling this pre-season. Maybe he just likes the season proper as i thought he was very good. Mitch, Oscar & Hunt dominated the first half with their rebound from the half back line and Mitch used it very well also, just like he did last year. He dropped two marks you'd of liked him to take, but touch wood Mitch is back on track to improve further this year.

Joel Smith: Showed some signs. Took a very strong pack mark in the first half and showed some dash from the back line in the 2nd half. Watching his development will be interesting.

Dean Terlich: Sorry to say, but a typical Terls game. Turned over several kicks in the first half that were cringe worthy. Kicked a nice goal in the 3rd term, but i think we all know what's happening here at the end of the season.

Special mention to Casey players Tim Smith with 5 goals & several strong marks, Declan Kelity who went into the ruck for King, giving up 10cm & 20kg but competed exceptionally well and whoever nnumbet 30 was (not in the record) who was very energetic and in everything. Will be nice to see Casey on top of the ladder at the end of the round!

That second half was fantastic but in all honesty I did not think you can take much away from the game as the Dolphins were little more than witches hats after half time. Very little opposition. The one thing I do find absolutely awesome is the way they played with one on the bench.They did not slow down, players just rotated themselves out of the mid field to either the back line or forward. What I like is that there must have been about 16  MFC players who ran on top of the ground all night and finished stronger than the opposition who lost one player to an arm injury in the last quarter. Says a lot about our fitness and none of them looked exhausted after the game. Quite impressive. Can't really say a lot about individuals as the lighting is not great and at my advanced years the stand side of the ground was in semi darkness. One of the Casey blokes I did like the look of was Attley (No. 15). Went alright. Enjoyed the night, scoffed 2 bacon rolls. Worth the 2 hour trip.   

encouraging sounds - that is the way you treat an understrength side.

 

very interested in the comments about anb being a pure midfielder; yet to get a shot at that role for melbourne.

 

the sooner petracca is in the seniors, the better, based on these reports. no doubt if the sub role still existed he'd be debuting sooner rather than later.

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:33, AngryAtCasey said:

Ok so i should kick this off by saying that this is a hard match to comment on because of how one sided it was. I felt really sorry for Frankston as by the last quarter they were just uncompetitive giving up 12 goals to 1. At times it looked like a training drill in the 2nd half after the Dolphins were at least competative in the first half where they trailed by 35.

Frankston seemed to come out with an intention to be as physical as possible. Trengove was knocked out with his head over the ball in the first 3 min, King did his knee with a Frankston player sliding into him when he was bending down and both Michie & Pedersen were dumped after disposing of the ball in the first half. Didn't see any of that in the 2nd half however.

Still, you can only perform against the opposition in front of you. So here's my take on how the players went;

Christian Petracca: Kicked 2 goals and did a few very exciting things. There's no doubt he's going to be something special, but i hope they don't rush him. Wouldn't play him next week myself as there's others who were better tonight and after last week i think making sure someone is fully match fit is even more important now. At least another week in the VFL for me.

Jack Trengove: Got a couple of early touches before being knocked out with his head over the ball by a Frankston player who should find himself with a fortnight holiday. Tried to get up straight away but was very unsteady. Will likely miss next week, but should be back in a fortnight. Three solid weeks from there could have him in the frame for seniors by Round 8. He was around at the 3/4 time huddle which was encouraging.

Angus Brayshaw: Solid game in the midfield and he'll be much better for the run. Kicked 2, possibly 3? And looked dangerous when drifting forward. A loss tomorrow and he'll be in contention for a recall.

Colin Garland: Didn't do anything wrong, however didn't have a lot to do. My one criticism would be he could be a bit more damaging going the other way. Nothing wrong with his game, but he didn't dominate.

Cameron Pedersen: Thought he was very good. Split his time between CHF and ruck where he was needed after King's injury where he and Casey's Keilty competed very well against the much bigger Sikora. Kicked 2 goals, but could have easily had 4 or 5.

Viv Michie: In my top half dozen. Dominated around the stoppages, used the ball well and kicked 2 goals. I found the fact he kicked 2 important as in the past he hasn't hit the score board which is a conncern for such a good VFL level player. Next step is to learn how to get more easy outside ball.

Kennedy-Harris: Did his hammy in the 2nd term, so will miss a few weeks. Must admit i'm a little concerned. Didn't have much of an impact and seems to have stagnated.

Sam Weideman: Kicked 4 and looked good. Strong hands, a beautiful kick, moves well and gets to contests and competes. Is he ready for a debut next week? Look if we were to bring a key forward in for next week you'd probably go with Pedersen first, and that's probably best for Sam's development. He's ticking the boxes though!

Liam Hulett: Not the best game, made a couple of errors, but he competes. Would like to see him again before forming judgement, but my initial thoughts are he's a defender playing forward.

Oscar McDonald: Best game i've seen him play. At half time i'd of had him as BOG, however the ball barely came his way in the 2nd half. Regularly outmanouvred and out marked his opponent, ran off them and used the ball well. Based on tonight i'd recall Oscar before Col.

Jayden Hunt: Great game and first 4 quarter game i've seen him play. Seemed to play wing/half back. Used his speed to burn off opponents regularly and link up play with overlapping hanballs. After tonight he should be an automatic selection for any matches at the fast track of Etihad. Horses for courses!

Alex Neal-Bullen: Would probably give him my 3 votes for BOG. Was in everything. Got the ball inside & outside, ran all night, had great hands in close and generally used it well by foot also. Now i'm not saying he'll even be half as good, but for me, there's a lot of Rob Harvey in the way Nibbler goes about things. He's a true midfielder, and this is where he'll play his best football.

Mitch King: Was competing well in the ruck against the much stronger and more experienced Sikora, until a Frankston player slid into his bent knee right infront of me and i heard his ACL pop! Was horrible! Really feel for the kid and hope he comes back from it. He seems to have a good leap, so hopefully this wont effect that.

Mitch White: Reports were he'd been struggling this pre-season. Maybe he just likes the season proper as i thought he was very good. Mitch, Oscar & Hunt dominated the first half with their rebound from the half back line and Mitch used it very well also, just like he did last year. He dropped two marks you'd of liked him to take, but touch wood Mitch is back on track to improve further this year.

Joel Smith: Showed some signs. Took a very strong pack mark in the first half and showed some dash from the back line in the 2nd half. Watching his development will be interesting.

Dean Terlich: Sorry to say, but a typical Terls game. Turned over several kicks in the first half that were cringe worthy. Kicked a nice goal in the 3rd term, but i think we all know what's happening here at the end of the season.

Special mention to Casey players Tim Smith with 5 goals & several strong marks, Declan Kelity who went into the ruck for King, giving up 10cm & 20kg but competed exceptionally well and whoever nnumbet 30 was (not in the record) who was very energetic and in everything. Will be nice to see Casey on top of the ladder at the end of the round!

Spot on report. Not much to take from the game but was interesting to watch individuals on the outer side of the ground. Had to listen to the Casey Radio muppets to get an idea of what was going on over the grandstand side but judging by their sloppy calling doubt that they got many players right. 

  On 09/04/2016 at 10:21, picket fence said:

How will Trengove be right when he won't play any more part in the game after failing a concussion test??

I meant right for VFL selection.

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:33, AngryAtCasey said:

 

Mitch White: Reports were he'd been struggling this pre-season. Maybe he just likes the season proper as i thought he was very good. Mitch, Oscar & Hunt dominated the first half with their rebound from the half back line and Mitch used it very well also, just like he did last year. He dropped two marks you'd of liked him to take, but touch wood Mitch is back on track to improve further this year.

 

He'd drop the odd mark or fumble a bit at training as well which is strange as he was very clean in his one AFL game. Good size. Runs all day. Kicks it very well. I doubt it's an eyesight issue and he looks pretty tough so I doubt he's scared. Maybe just losing concentration when he's already thinking of what he'll do with the ball. How did his speed look? If he can start to break the lines and cut out the fumbles then I'll be awaiting his return to the big league.

I had heard that he came back from the break carrying a bit of weight?  Any truth in that?  Did he look at all out of shape? 

  On 09/04/2016 at 13:33, AngryAtCasey said:

Mitch White: Reports were he'd been struggling this pre-season. Maybe he just likes the season proper as i thought he was very good. Mitch, Oscar & Hunt dominated the first half with their rebound from the half back line and Mitch used it very well also, just like he did last year. He dropped two marks you'd of liked him to take, but touch wood

  On 09/04/2016 at 14:01, DeeSpencer said:

He'd drop the odd mark or fumble a bit at training as well which is strange as he was very clean in his one AFL game. Good size. Runs all day. Kicks it very well. I doubt it's an eyesight issue and he looks pretty tough so I doubt he's scared. Maybe just losing concentration when he's already thinking of what he'll do with the ball. How did his speed look? If he can start to break the lines and cut out the fumbles then I'll be awaiting his return to the big league.