We definitely looked flat, and it could be argued that our players were cooked from the shorter break.

 

I guess we will see this week.

43 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

I know that VFL is far less intense than AFL but what does it say when Oliver finishes a game off so strongly a week after given a rest from the AFL?

Are our selection policies too conservative or did the win over Richmond mandate that there be no more that one change notwithstanding we were coming off a six day break?

The Saints made three changes to their losing team. In hindsight, you can mount a good argument that their inclusions tipped the balance in their favour.

And two of those ins in Membrey and Acres were both instrumental in their win.

10 hours ago, monoccular said:

That sign in the background must be a few years out of date.  Honor and Essendon should not appear in the same screen.

Its the Essendon Cricket Club's board.

An article in the HS this morning indicated that Jack Trengove is building towards an AFL return, following another strong and composed (27 possession) performance for Casey on the weekend,  The article, which confirmed that Jack was tagged for the entire game, included the following comments from Justin Plapp:  "Trengove was influential in the Scorpions win.  He was winning the inside (midfield) battle quite a bit and he was clean with his disposal.  The last two weeks in a row he's nearly been our best player."

We could have used Trenners at the first contest in the center although Oliver can play that role also . 

7 minutes ago, CityDee said:

We could have used Trenners at the first contest in the center although Oliver can play that role also . 

I think I'd rather oliver. but i have been wondering about trenners, im not convinced he gets in our best midfield not long term anyway.  But what about half back? he is a pretty good kick and a very good mark for his size. Could he play Wagners role (i like wagner but i though he struggled this week) His pace worries me a bit but that second back flank position i think is the one most up for grabs (aside from the second ruckman/forward but we have nobody on the list capable of taking it)

22 hours ago, big_red_fire_engine said:

No. To be clear not ready for seniors but has some good attributes, one to Essendon, 4.8 to 3.1 19 minutes into the second. 

Possible 3rd tall?

13 minutes ago, defuture15 said:

Possible 3rd tall?

Happy for him to replace Kent. His performance in our two shocking losses to Ess and St Kilda are telling.

36 minutes ago, defuture15 said:

Possible 3rd tall?

If he can lead away from jesse, i am all for it! Can anyone offer an opinion on his nous as a forward?

I realise that its early days

45 minutes ago, defuture15 said:

Possible 3rd tall?

Hulett is learning the trade at Casey and is just beginning to become useful there.  He's miles from AFL footy but he's a good prospect.

35 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Happy for him to replace Kent. His performance in our two shocking losses to Ess and St Kilda are telling.

However he has been terrific in the three wins.

There are a lot that would in the drop line in front of him IMO.

15 minutes ago, old dee said:

However he has been terrific in the three wins.

There are a lot that would in the drop line in front of him IMO.

I guess I was alluding to the old adage about looking at players who perform poorly in losses...

We desperately need players that can stand up even when the team is being beaten. We have been bereft of real on-field leadership for so long but that's what good teams have.

17 minutes ago, old dee said:

However he has been terrific in the three wins.

There are a lot that would in the drop line in front of him IMO.

He's a bit of a """barometer""" for the club 'old dee' , and I really hate it when commentators over use that term but early in the game I saw the lazy Kent who wouldn't get up to more of a trot when they had the ball...then I thought we were in trouble.

1 hour ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

I think I'd rather oliver. but i have been wondering about trenners, im not convinced he gets in our best midfield not long term anyway.  But what about half back? he is a pretty good kick and a very good mark for his size. Could he play Wagners role (i like wagner but i though he struggled this week) His pace worries me a bit but that second back flank position i think is the one most up for grabs (aside from the second ruckman/forward but we have nobody on the list capable of taking it)

Pace is the questionable attribute, Wagner is a dynamic type in the air and around the contest and a freak of a kick . Maybe trenners comes back forward and mid or as you say takes Salems spot ( may need a rest )  allowing vince and jones to rotate forward . 

6 minutes ago, CityDee said:

Pace is the questionable attribute, Wagner is a dynamic type in the air and around the contest and a freak of a kick . Maybe trenners comes back forward and mid or as you say takes Salems spot ( may need a rest )  allowing vince and jones to rotate forward . 

Yeah i like wagner, maybe dropping him is too "knee jerk" of me. It hard because im trying to remember the week before when everyone was so good compared to this week were hogan was more or less our only good player. I feel trenners form is forcing us to look at him which i never really thought would happen coming off such a long time out of the game, but l'm not sure he gets in the forward line or midfield. Well actually I'd take frost out for him but they wont do that 

I would imagine the replay will be put up on the MFC website in due course but I thought I'd give a quick run down and my impressions of the game for those that are interested.

 

The Conditions

They were awful.  The condition of the ground was good apart from the centre square which was a bit boggy but the rest of the oval was in first class condition.  There was a very strong wind blowing pretty much straight down the ground and this made any sort of possession chain footy almost impossible to play.  It was not a day to judge game plan or see players roles in any meaningful way as it was a crowded game with numerous stoppages ( I reckon there would have been in excess of 100) and it was just a slog.  It was one of those games where there were 30 players within 15 metres of all the stoppages and looked like the school playground type game.  

I spent the first half of the game in the grandstand which was as far away from where the majority of the play was but in the second half I went to that pocket to get a closer look.  Accordingly my impressions are mainly from the second half because it was very difficult to see much from the stand in the first half.

Oscar McDonald - Didn't see him in the first half but in the second half and particularly in the last quarter when we were defending he was very good.  He read the ball pretty well in the air and kicked and handled it with confidence.  A solid without being outstanding performance.

Clayton Oliver:  I thought he was very good.  Found the ball easily, has an uncanny knack of being able to keep his arms free in a tackle and regularly finds a very good option.  His found some space when others couldn't and was one of the more effective players for Casey.  He's too good for VFL footy and I'd be very surprised if he plays for Casey next week.

Max King:  Shared the ruck work with Pencil but didn't do much against Jamar.  He competed well but it really wasn't a day for big men and he struggled to have an impact beyond competing in the ruck.

Jack Trengove:  Solid and unspectacular performance where he accumulated possessions in close and took good options as you'd expect.  Was run down in space in the first quarter which worried me a little but the game was such that it is impossible to judge his pace.  Took a few nice marks and judged the conditions better than most but it wasn't a game where he banged the door down.

Liam Hulett:  I've seen him 3 times now and he is getting better and better.  He took some good contested marks and he kicks the ball very well.  He is getting more and more involved in the play and appears to be getting more confidence.  Having said that he is only now becoming a consistent performer at VFL level and IMO is nowhere near AFL standard.  I be surprised if he played senior footy this year but he is certainly making good headway and is a chance for the future.

Mitch White:  I'm a big Mitch White fan but confess to be a little surprised at his numbers because he didn't seem to be that involved in the play.  With what I did see he was good by foot where others struggled and clean by hand.  He also is tough.

Jake Spencer:  Quiet and struggled a bit early but started to do better as the game went on.  Jamar is still a good opponent and Jake contested well in the ruck but probably lowered his colours there a bit but did well around the ground.  He took some good contested marks and kicked a good goal after marking in the goal square at the beginning of the third.

Billy Stretch:  Was a bit of a surprise packet for me as I've always thought of Billy as an outside mid but he excelled in close with clean hands and fast feet.  He found the ball consistently and used it very well in both tight and open situations.  Provided our best bit of line breaking run in the third where he took the ball at half back and ended up just missing the goal after a few bounces.  I thought he was our best but I'm a big fan so my view might be bias.  But he did find the ball inside which I haven't seen all that much before and it was not a day for outside runners so his performance was great.

Dean Terlich:  Got it, spent it, does a lot of good things until he kicks it.  He's a very good VFL player who turns it over a bit.

Viv Michie:  Lots of the ball and used it well.  Played off half back.  It was his sort of day with lots of stoppages and his strong body stood him in good stead.  He's a very good VFL player but needs show he can do it at AFL level.  I don't know where he fits on our list with clearly a few mids in front of him and as a HBF he's competing with Hunt and Wagner who seem to be flavour of the month. Hope he gets a chance because his form has been consistently good and it's hard to see how he could do much more.

Angus Brayshaw: Concussed early and was very very wonky walking off the ground.  You almost feel he needs a month of training and should just reboot for the second half of the year.

Ben Newton:  Solid contributor mainly on the outside and a beautiful kick.  A solid game in conditions that don't really suit him.  Like Viv it's just hard to see where he fits.

ANB:  Workhorse type game.  Strong at the ball but doesn't have the pace or lateral movement to find space and make the most of his opportunities in a crowded scrap.

Jack Grimes:  Didn't notice Jack much but the stats say he got it a bit.  Wouldn't have thought he pushed his case for a call up all that much but I may have misjudged his game.

Colin Garland: I thought he was good.  Defended well, took some good marks, clearly is trying to take the game on more and his kicking was good. It was a good Garland game.

 

The official stats from yesterday's game:-

Angus Brayshaw 3 disposals 1 kicks 2 handballs 2 tackles 15 dream team points [injured]

Colin Garland 1 goal 18 disposals 14 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 81 dream team points

Jack Grimes 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 5 tackles 74 dream team points

Liam Hulett 1 goal 1 behind 15 disposals 13 kicks 2 handballs 7 marks 71 dream team points

Max King 1 goal 2 behinds 13 disposals 6 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 8 hit outs 63 dream team points

Oscar McDonald 1 behind disposals 10 kicks 9 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 71 dream team points

Viv Michie 1 goal 1 behind 33 disposals 19 kicks 14 handballs 4 marks 99 dream team points

Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 1 behind 19 disposals 7 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out 73 dream team points

Ben Newton 2 goals 3 behinds 21 disposals 10 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 105 dream team points

Clayton Oliver 29 disposals 8 kicks 21 handballs 3 marks 16 tackles 1 hit out 131 dream team points

Jake Spencer 1 goal 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 22 hit outs 75 dream team points

Billy Stretch 1 behind disposals kicks handballs marks tackles 93 dream team points

Dean Terlich 19 disposals 12 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 66 dream team points

Jack Trengove 28 disposals 8 kicks 20 handballs 3 marks 9 tackles 108 dream team points

Mitch White 22 disposals 11 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 92 dream team points

 

Matt Jones did not play

Clayton oliver 131 dream points and 16 tackles yet not named in the best...

Stiff..

5 hours ago, Baghdad Bob said:

I would imagine the replay will be put up on the MFC website in due course but I thought I'd give a quick run down and my impressions of the game for those that are interested.

 

The Conditions

They were awful.  The condition of the ground was good apart from the centre square which was a bit boggy but the rest of the oval was in first class condition.  There was a very strong wind blowing pretty much straight down the ground and this made any sort of possession chain footy almost impossible to play.  It was not a day to judge game plan or see players roles in any meaningful way as it was a crowded game with numerous stoppages ( I reckon there would have been in excess of 100) and it was just a slog.  It was one of those games where there were 30 players within 15 metres of all the stoppages and looked like the school playground type game.  

I spent the first half of the game in the grandstand which was as far away from where the majority of the play was but in the second half I went to that pocket to get a closer look.  Accordingly my impressions are mainly from the second half because it was very difficult to see much from the stand in the first half.

Oscar McDonald - Didn't see him in the first half but in the second half and particularly in the last quarter when we were defending he was very good.  He read the ball pretty well in the air and kicked and handled it with confidence.  A solid without being outstanding performance.

Clayton Oliver:  I thought he was very good.  Found the ball easily, has an uncanny knack of being able to keep his arms free in a tackle and regularly finds a very good option.  His found some space when others couldn't and was one of the more effective players for Casey.  He's too good for VFL footy and I'd be very surprised if he plays for Casey next week.

Max King:  Shared the ruck work with Pencil but didn't do much against Jamar.  He competed well but it really wasn't a day for big men and he struggled to have an impact beyond competing in the ruck.

Jack Trengove:  Solid and unspectacular performance where he accumulated possessions in close and took good options as you'd expect.  Was run down in space in the first quarter which worried me a little but the game was such that it is impossible to judge his pace.  Took a few nice marks and judged the conditions better than most but it wasn't a game where he banged the door down.

Liam Hulett:  I've seen him 3 times now and he is getting better and better.  He took some good contested marks and he kicks the ball very well.  He is getting more and more involved in the play and appears to be getting more confidence.  Having said that he is only now becoming a consistent performer at VFL level and IMO is nowhere near AFL standard.  I be surprised if he played senior footy this year but he is certainly making good headway and is a chance for the future.

Mitch White:  I'm a big Mitch White fan but confess to be a little surprised at his numbers because he didn't seem to be that involved in the play.  With what I did see he was good by foot where others struggled and clean by hand.  He also is tough.

Jake Spencer:  Quiet and struggled a bit early but started to do better as the game went on.  Jamar is still a good opponent and Jake contested well in the ruck but probably lowered his colours there a bit but did well around the ground.  He took some good contested marks and kicked a good goal after marking in the goal square at the beginning of the third.

Billy Stretch:  Was a bit of a surprise packet for me as I've always thought of Billy as an outside mid but he excelled in close with clean hands and fast feet.  He found the ball consistently and used it very well in both tight and open situations.  Provided our best bit of line breaking run in the third where he took the ball at half back and ended up just missing the goal after a few bounces.  I thought he was our best but I'm a big fan so my view might be bias.  But he did find the ball inside which I haven't seen all that much before and it was not a day for outside runners so his performance was great.

Dean Terlich:  Got it, spent it, does a lot of good things until he kicks it.  He's a very good VFL player who turns it over a bit.

Viv Michie:  Lots of the ball and used it well.  Played off half back.  It was his sort of day with lots of stoppages and his strong body stood him in good stead.  He's a very good VFL player but needs show he can do it at AFL level.  I don't know where he fits on our list with clearly a few mids in front of him and as a HBF he's competing with Hunt and Wagner who seem to be flavour of the month. Hope he gets a chance because his form has been consistently good and it's hard to see how he could do much more.

Angus Brayshaw: Concussed early and was very very wonky walking off the ground.  You almost feel he needs a month of training and should just reboot for the second half of the year.

Ben Newton:  Solid contributor mainly on the outside and a beautiful kick.  A solid game in conditions that don't really suit him.  Like Viv it's just hard to see where he fits.

ANB:  Workhorse type game.  Strong at the ball but doesn't have the pace or lateral movement to find space and make the most of his opportunities in a crowded scrap.

Jack Grimes:  Didn't notice Jack much but the stats say he got it a bit.  Wouldn't have thought he pushed his case for a call up all that much but I may have misjudged his game.

Colin Garland: I thought he was good.  Defended well, took some good marks, clearly is trying to take the game on more and his kicking was good. It was a good Garland game.

 

Thanks for the run down BB.

Sounds like you and I are both Billy & Mitch White fans.

That roar at the MCG when Trenners runs back onto the field for the first time in years...

THE CASEY AVENGERS by KC from Casey

The Casey Scorpions avenged their loss in last year's VFL Elimination Final and took second place on the competition ladder following a solid 17 point victory against Essendon VFL in blustery conditions at Windy Hill on Sunday. 

The Scorpions were given a boost when they won the toss and kicked with the advantage of a strong wind and, but for some wayward kicking for goal, could have had the game wrapped up much earlier. They led 4.8.32 to 2.0.12 at quarter time with a winning midfield despite the early loss of Angus Brayshaw who suffered a heavy knock to the head. 

The Bombers regrouped when their turn to kick with the advantage of the wind but they were held back for a significant part of the second term until a late surge saw them back in the game with a deficit of only four points at the main break. The Scorpions were held scoreless for the term.

Casey's midfield led by Jack Trengove whose ability was acknowledged by a heavy tag throughout the afternoon, rookie Viv Michie and youngster Clayton Oliver and the brilliant Billy Stretch who proved a handful with his pace and skills. As a result, the Scorpions were able to draw away from the Bombers in the vital third term with five goals to a solitary major for the home side to set up a 30 point lead at the final break. 

The Scorpion defence successfully closed the Bombers down for most of the final term forcing them wide and keeping them down to just two goals with Ben Newton's goal after a 50 metre penalty in mid quarter virtually sealing the game.

The standouts for the visitors were Oliver with 29 disposals and 16 tackles (who belied the decision to keep him out of the Melbourne line up after being managed by resting last week), Trengove with 28 touches and the prolific Michie (33 possessions) while Colin Garland, Mitch White and Oscar McDonald put their hands up to shore up the Demons' defence. Liam Hulett continued to show promise as a potential forward line partner for Jesse Hogan.

Of the Casey listed players James Munro ran hard and collected 22 touches and Kody Wilson, though quiet for most of the afternoon, sparked the side with two vital third quarter goals.

The team returns to Casey Fields for its first daytime home fixture next Sunday against the Northern Blues.

Casey Scorpions 4.8.32 4.8.32 9.11.65 10.11.71

Essendon VFL 2.0.12 4.4.28 5.5.35 7.12.54

Goals

Casey Scorpions Newton K Wilson 2 Garland Hulett Max King Michie Neal-Bullen Spencer

Essendon VFL J Langford 2 Kommer McKernan McNiece J Merrett Thompson

Best

Casey Scorpions  Michie Trengove Hulett Garland Spencer T Smith

Essendon VFL Grima Coghlan Jamar Ambrose McNiece Redman

Statistics

Angus Brayshaw 3 disposals 1 kicks 2 handballs 2 tackles 15 dream team points [injured]

Colin Garland 1 goal 18 disposals 14 kicks 4 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 81 dream team points

Jack Grimes 23 disposals 11 kicks 12 handballs 5 tackles 74 dream team points

Liam Hulett 1 goal 1 behind 15 disposals 13 kicks 2 handballs 7 marks 71 dream team points

Max King 1 goal 2 behinds 13 disposals 6 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 8 hit outs 63 dream team points

Oscar McDonald 1 behind disposals 10 kicks 9 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 71 dream team points

Viv Michie 1 goal 1 behind 33 disposals 19 kicks 14 handballs 4 marks 99 dream team points

Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 1 behind 19 disposals 7 kicks 12 handballs 3 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out 73 dream team points

Ben Newton 2 goals 3 behinds 21 disposals 10 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 105 dream team points

Clayton Oliver 29 disposals 8 kicks 21 handballs 3 marks 16 tackles 1 hit out 131 dream team points

Jake Spencer 1 goal 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 22 hit outs 75 dream team points

Billy Stretch 1 behind disposals kicks handballs marks tackles 93 dream team points

Dean Terlich 19 disposals 12 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 1 tackle 66 dream team points

Jack Trengove 28 disposals 8 kicks 20 handballs 3 marks 9 tackles 108 dream team points

Mitch White 22 disposals 11 kicks 11 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 92 dream team points

Matt Jones did not play

The Casey Development League team had a bye.

 

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Clayton oliver 131 dream points and 16 tackles yet not named in the best...

Stiff..

Just the lazy 16 tackles hey? What are dream points? 

7 hours ago, Baghdad Bob said:

I would imagine the replay will be put up on the MFC website in due course but I thought I'd give a quick run down and my impressions of the game for those that are interested.

 

The Conditions

They were awful.  The condition of the ground was good apart from the centre square which was a bit boggy but the rest of the oval was in first class condition.  There was a very strong wind blowing pretty much straight down the ground and this made any sort of possession chain footy almost impossible to play.  It was not a day to judge game plan or see players roles in any meaningful way as it was a crowded game with numerous stoppages ( I reckon there would have been in excess of 100) and it was just a slog.  It was one of those games where there were 30 players within 15 metres of all the stoppages and looked like the school playground type game.  

I spent the first half of the game in the grandstand which was as far away from where the majority of the play was but in the second half I went to that pocket to get a closer look.  Accordingly my impressions are mainly from the second half because it was very difficult to see much from the stand in the first half.

Oscar McDonald - Didn't see him in the first half but in the second half and particularly in the last quarter when we were defending he was very good.  He read the ball pretty well in the air and kicked and handled it with confidence.  A solid without being outstanding performance.

Clayton Oliver:  I thought he was very good.  Found the ball easily, has an uncanny knack of being able to keep his arms free in a tackle and regularly finds a very good option.  His found some space when others couldn't and was one of the more effective players for Casey.  He's too good for VFL footy and I'd be very surprised if he plays for Casey next week.

Max King:  Shared the ruck work with Pencil but didn't do much against Jamar.  He competed well but it really wasn't a day for big men and he struggled to have an impact beyond competing in the ruck.

Jack Trengove:  Solid and unspectacular performance where he accumulated possessions in close and took good options as you'd expect.  Was run down in space in the first quarter which worried me a little but the game was such that it is impossible to judge his pace.  Took a few nice marks and judged the conditions better than most but it wasn't a game where he banged the door down.

Liam Hulett:  I've seen him 3 times now and he is getting better and better.  He took some good contested marks and he kicks the ball very well.  He is getting more and more involved in the play and appears to be getting more confidence.  Having said that he is only now becoming a consistent performer at VFL level and IMO is nowhere near AFL standard.  I be surprised if he played senior footy this year but he is certainly making good headway and is a chance for the future.

Mitch White:  I'm a big Mitch White fan but confess to be a little surprised at his numbers because he didn't seem to be that involved in the play.  With what I did see he was good by foot where others struggled and clean by hand.  He also is tough.

Jake Spencer:  Quiet and struggled a bit early but started to do better as the game went on.  Jamar is still a good opponent and Jake contested well in the ruck but probably lowered his colours there a bit but did well around the ground.  He took some good contested marks and kicked a good goal after marking in the goal square at the beginning of the third.

Billy Stretch:  Was a bit of a surprise packet for me as I've always thought of Billy as an outside mid but he excelled in close with clean hands and fast feet.  He found the ball consistently and used it very well in both tight and open situations.  Provided our best bit of line breaking run in the third where he took the ball at half back and ended up just missing the goal after a few bounces.  I thought he was our best but I'm a big fan so my view might be bias.  But he did find the ball inside which I haven't seen all that much before and it was not a day for outside runners so his performance was great.

Dean Terlich:  Got it, spent it, does a lot of good things until he kicks it.  He's a very good VFL player who turns it over a bit.

Viv Michie:  Lots of the ball and used it well.  Played off half back.  It was his sort of day with lots of stoppages and his strong body stood him in good stead.  He's a very good VFL player but needs show he can do it at AFL level.  I don't know where he fits on our list with clearly a few mids in front of him and as a HBF he's competing with Hunt and Wagner who seem to be flavour of the month. Hope he gets a chance because his form has been consistently good and it's hard to see how he could do much more.

Angus Brayshaw: Concussed early and was very very wonky walking off the ground.  You almost feel he needs a month of training and should just reboot for the second half of the year.

Ben Newton:  Solid contributor mainly on the outside and a beautiful kick.  A solid game in conditions that don't really suit him.  Like Viv it's just hard to see where he fits.

ANB:  Workhorse type game.  Strong at the ball but doesn't have the pace or lateral movement to find space and make the most of his opportunities in a crowded scrap.

Jack Grimes:  Didn't notice Jack much but the stats say he got it a bit.  Wouldn't have thought he pushed his case for a call up all that much but I may have misjudged his game.

Colin Garland: I thought he was good.  Defended well, took some good marks, clearly is trying to take the game on more and his kicking was good. It was a good Garland game.

 

I went as well and agree with all of this, which actually surprised me.

I thought stretch was very good. Almost kicked a great goal, were he run 50 odd with a guy right behind him and kicked a 60m bomb. Just bounced to the wrong side. His hands and lateral speed were great. Tackles well and often. 

Oliver ran out the game better than I thought he was capable of. Watching him play I think they made a mistake not picking him. He is going to be awesome with fitness.

Hulett surprised me more than anyone. Has strong hands and showed leadership in slowing down the play late in the game after some very good marks when we were into the wind.

king was well beaten by Russian in the ruck but competed well in marking contests. Way off as a ruck but mobile, marks and kicks well.

Is Weideman injured? 

Apologies if this has been mentioned, but did Weid play? Was he injured or rested?