Just a few notes, James Munro did not look out of place at all. A few hard tackles here and there. I wouldn't be disappointed at all if we considered him for mid year draft, especially with KK and Nietshke on the long term injury list. Mitch Lewis was another who performed well for is from a Casey perspective.

Dom Tyson is an absolute shadow of himself. Im sorry to say but he hasn't improved at all. I always like domma and wanted him to kick on at North, but he's depth for them and if he is not playing in the center circle then he's useless elsewhere. 

 

I was also at the game. 

- Fritsch was probably melbourne's best despite missing some gettable goals. I don't care how depleted we were last season, Goodwin's decision  to play him in the backline was a major reason why I question Goodwin's understanding of the game. 
- Brayshaw was mostly unsighted in the first half so I would've liked to see him influence the game more despite him not playing in the middle.
- Melksham looked good.
- Marty Hore did one really courageous ground ball get that made me immediately want him in the round 1 side. 
-  Lockhart needs to play round 1. He could really become a good player.
-  I'm not really a bedford fan. Missed some easy opportunities. 
- Pickett did some nice things but I haven't really seen much mongrel in him like was advertised. i'm sure he'll come out of his shell but Spargo is the better player at the moment.
- James Jordon tackles a lot harder than I thought he did. Much more than an outside mid.
- Bradtke is probably worse than Brendan Van Sheik.
-  Oscar McDonald is still oscar McDonald regardless how long you lock him in the weights room. He's just reactionary to his opponents in all contests. He needs to back himself more.
-   I was the most pleased with Tom Sparrow. He has a go. His kicking isn't great but he is just a well rounded player that has Brayshaw tendencies. Could have a big year if given opportunity. 

13 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

 

That was Xerri wasn't it. He had a few cheap shots during the game. Must be a nice guy to play dirty in a 'friendly' match.

He kneed someone in the head at one point and Gus had a crack at him.

3 hours ago, Dr.D said:

Fritsch was probably melbourne's best despite missing some gettable goals. I don't care how depleted we were last season, Goodwin's decision  to play him in the backline was a major reason why I question Goodwin's understanding of the game.

I have sent this to Glen Bartlett to instill  you as senior coach before round one, sweet dreams

Nice to wake up after seeing two Dees wins and no injuries.

And we’ve got Friday night footy next week. And it’s sunny......

27 minutes ago, In Harmes Way said:

Nice to wake up after seeing two Dees wins and no injuries.

And we’ve got Friday night footy next week. And it’s sunny......

See, being a Melbourne supporter isn't ALWAYS bad...

4 hours ago, Dr.D said:

I was also at the game. 

- Fritsch was probably melbourne's best despite missing some gettable goals. I don't care how depleted we were last season, Goodwin's decision  to play him in the backline was a major reason why I question Goodwin's understanding of the game. 
- Brayshaw was mostly unsighted in the first half so I would've liked to see him influence the game more despite him not playing in the middle.
- Melksham looked good.
- Marty Hore did one really courageous ground ball get that made me immediately want him in the round 1 side. 
-  Lockhart needs to play round 1. He could really become a good player.
-  I'm not really a bedford fan. Missed some easy opportunities. 
- Pickett did some nice things but I haven't really seen much mongrel in him like was advertised. i'm sure he'll come out of his shell but Spargo is the better player at the moment.
- James Jordon tackles a lot harder than I thought he did. Much more than an outside mid.
- Bradtke is probably worse than Brendan Van Sheik.
-  Oscar McDonald is still oscar McDonald regardless how long you lock him in the weights room. He's just reactionary to his opponents in all contests. He needs to back himself more.
-   I was the most pleased with Tom Sparrow. He has a go. His kicking isn't great but he is just a well rounded player that has Brayshaw tendencies. Could have a big year if given opportunity. 

Arden St, facing the green bit?

Jordon and Sparrow are both being coached to be inside mids, with Jordon able to play half back and Sparrow able to go forward

I kept swapping ends, the forward pressure was excellent and agressive all day led by Pickett,  Bedford and Spargo

Oscar was stopped by the police on the way home, they said can you identify yourself, he looked in the rear vision mirror and said 'Yes, that's me'

8 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Aside from what occurs in terms of the playing side in practice matches, we’re always concerned that there are no injuries and it appears we’ve come out unscathed in that regard. This is where the list was at over this weekend ~

Oskar Baker — played v N Melbourne 
Toby Bedford — played v N Melbourne
Harley Bennell — injured 
Austin Bradtke — played v N Melbourne
1. Angus Brayshaw — played v N Melbourne
Mitch Brown —  played v N Melbourne
Kade Chandler — injured
Kyle Dunkley — injured
2. Bayley Fritsch — played v N Melbourne
3. Max Gawn — injured 
Mitch Hannan — injured 
4. James Harmes — rested
5. Michael Hibberd — rested
Marty Hore — played v N Melbourne
Jayden Hunt —  played v N Melbourne
Luke Jackson — rested
6. Neville Jetta — played in All Star game
7. Nathan Jones — injured/rested 
James Jordan — played v N Melbourne
Kade Kolodjiashnij — injured 
8. Ed Langdon — rested
9. Jake Lever — rested
Jay Lockhart — played v N Melbourne
10. Oscar McDonald —  played v N Melbourne
11. Tom McDonald — rested
12. Steven May — injured 
13. Jake Melksham — played v N Melbourne
Alex Neal-Bullen — rested 
Aaron Nietschke — injured 
14. Clayton Oliver — rested
15. Christian Petracca — rested
Harrison Petty — injured 
Kysaiah Pickett —  played v N Melbourne
Braydon Preuss — injured 
Trent Rivers — played v N Melbourne
16. Christian Salem — rested
Joel Smith — injured
17. Charlie Spargo —  played v N Melbourne
Tom Sparrow — played v N Melbourne
18. Adam Tomlinson — played v N Melbourne
19. Aaron vandenBerg — rested
20. Jack Viney — rested
Corey Wagner  —  played v N Melbourne
Josh Wagner — played v N Melbourne
21. Sam Weideman  — rested 

We saw a return of two “best 22” players in Angus Brayshaw and Bayley Fritsch who missed MS01 leaving only Max Gawn and Steven May from that category still out. With Max due to make a possible return in MS02, that leaves May as our only major injury concern - a far cry from the situation in 2019. I’ve heard conflicting reports on May’s recovery but suggest that he will be one to watch over the coming few weeks. 

Other players that we should be watching on the score of injuries are Dunkley, Petty and Smith. How far away from playing are they?
 

I reckon our 22 is almost a lock (in red above), with only 2 of the 21 listed above "debatable in Spargo and OMac, both of which would suit us well out West. So the competition is really for 1-3 spots in our Round 1 22.

Good spot to be in. 

The set shot goal kicking... would like to think it's an aberration but it happens too often.

A game day poster said there was no wind(mind you I could not tell on the Delhi to Amritsar express).

Would like to think that every kick is analyzed and that players are walked through it again. Especially those considered to have a degree of difficulty of less than 50%.

Not sure what if anything can be done about the kicks from within play but all in all there was probably 5-6 goals missing from that score.

Great to hear that Spargo and the other players had a good game.

Mitch Brown surprises me. Weideman has a real competitor it seems.

Where can I watch. copy of the game?

7 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Just a few notes, James Munro did not look out of place at all. A few hard tackles here and there. I wouldn't be disappointed at all if we considered him for mid year draft, especially with KK and Nietshke on the long term injury list. Mitch Lewis was another who performed well for is from a Casey perspective.

Dom Tyson is an absolute shadow of himself. Im sorry to say but he hasn't improved at all. I always like domma and wanted him to kick on at North, but he's depth for them and if he is not playing in the center circle then he's useless elsewhere. 

Haven’t watched the replay, but they both looked impressive at boundary level. Good depth, and quite unfortunately, better options than KK and Nietshke. 

5 minutes ago, inanunda said:

Where can I watch. copy of the game?

@inanunda Page 5 of this thread down towards the bottom of the page

1 hour ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The set shot goal kicking... would like to think it's an aberration but it happens too often.

A game day poster said there was no wind(mind you I could not tell on the Delhi to Amritsar express).

Would like to think that every kick is analyzed and that players are walked through it again. Especially those considered to have a degree of difficulty of less than 50%.

Not sure what if anything can be done about the kicks from within play but all in all there was probably 5-6 goals missing from that score.

Great to hear that Spargo and the other players had a good game.

Mitch Brown surprises me. Weideman has a real competitor it seems.

There was a definite breeze towards the north west pocket which made set shots at the City end (no idea of Arden St's ends names btw) difficult especially from outside 30. At ground level you couldn't feel it too much but the modern balls are so light that any kind of breeze impacts kicks.

The overall score line wasn't flash but I thought a fair bit of it was Bedford with some work to do on set shots and Brown just having a very off day in front of goal.

23 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

From AFL.com

At one stage, after a late Tarrant spoil on Bayley Fritsch – another standout in his first pre-season hitout – Pickett physically remonstrated with the North Melbourne backman.

Love it!

Jeffy Farmer Junior!

Just watched the replay and think in Trent Rivers I may have found a new favourite player for the next decade or so. Booming kick to advantage, solid build and just looks a natural footballer 

1 hour ago, FarNorthernD said:

Just watched the replay and think in Trent Rivers I may have found a new favourite player for the next decade or so. Booming kick to advantage, solid build and just looks a natural footballer 

Agree.

I think North rely on their best players, the issue is that they are senior.  Results need to come now.

It would have been doubly difficult for North fans "death-riding" our season for an early pick. Either we're better than they thought or their future is horrible.

I’ve just watched the 4th quarter again especially for Tom McDonalds excellent comments. Quite insightful they were. He’s a pretty smart bloke! Nice to hear his thoughts on Max as captain and the whole leadership affair.

Edited February 29, 20205 yr by Dee Dee

On 2/28/2020 at 3:55 PM, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Do we ignore the Essendon scratch match because it doesn't suit the upbeat narrative?

You’re absolutely right. And we should start referencing Casey games when measuring the success of Melbourne’s senior team...  ??‍♂️

1 hour ago, Fifty-5 said:

I think North rely on their best players, the issue is that they are senior.  Results need to come now.

It would have been doubly difficult for North fans "death-riding" our season for an early pick. Either we're better than they thought or their future is horrible.

They are heavily reliant on Goldstein, Cunnington, Higgins and Brown but most teams rely on their best players. They've drafted very well the last few years and Tarran Thomas (future star), Simpkin and Larkey are very good young players too. They just have a decent sized gap in their list in the mid 20's guys. I've heard a big reason Brad Scott walked away so early was that he wanted to go embark on a proper rebuild around their talented young guys but the powers that be said no.

They will be death riding us all year for sure, but the good part of that trade is at least we have our destiny in our own hands. If we are rubbish then handing over a high pick will be just one of many problems!

1 hour ago, Dee Dee said:

I’ve just watched the 4th quarter again especially for Tom McDonalds excellent comments. Quite insightful they were. He’s a pretty smart bloke! Nice to hear his thoughts on Max as captain and the whole leadership affair.

Also got a chuckle when he mentioned Trac saying he is a leader (as all are leaders now) and wants to get into the leadership meetings!!. I have a very good vibe about this year. They all seem to be on the one page, Trac signing on for another 2 years, less injuries and all seem to be getting on with each other and enjoying the pre season. Trust this continues and I reckon we might just surprise a few people this season.

3 hours ago, Docs Demons said:

Also got a chuckle when he mentioned Trac saying he is a leader (as all are leaders now) and wants to get into the leadership meetings!!. I have a very good vibe about this year. They all seem to be on the one page, Trac signing on for another 2 years, less injuries and all seem to be getting on with each other and enjoying the pre season. Trust this continues and I reckon we might just surprise a few people this season.

wasn't it salem he said said this?

1 hour ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

wasn't it salem he said said this?

Yep.

1 hour ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

wasn't it salem he said said this?

Just checked back on the replay: according to McDonald it was Petracca. Makes sense really as Salem is a wee bit more reserved while Petracca has a reputation for being a bit of a card!