Great result

Only saw the last 15 minutes but young K White could have a future

Connection wise I'd give the team 6.5/10 for what I saw.

AFL wise .... not much but it's not all bad by any means

7 minutes ago, Older demon said:

The highlight for me was Verral coming of age in the ruck. He played a great game and has learnt from Max to pluck the tap and kick the ball. Kalani's last quarter was fantastic. 2 goals a few marks and some great taps. Don't show too much form, otherwise the other buzzards will put an early bid in on him.

I've had high hopes for Verral, rucks/ talls can take time to develop. Nice to see he's coming along. He should take preference over the other players in a similar position to keep on the list.

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

So when can we get kalani back again?

I was watching the game, watching the stats and getting pretty happy with the boys efforts, Will Verrall just kept getting better and better, that’s his breakout game. Riley Bonner top effort but then Laurie, Brown, Woey2.0, Matty Jefferson and Kalani White all put in a huge effort in the last. Great game to watch.

4 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

U said it first Dazz@👍

3 minutes ago, Gibberish said:

I've had high hopes for Verral, rucks/ talls can take time to develop. Nice to see he's coming along. He should take preference over the other players in a similar position to keep on the list.

Was tracking well last year but seemed to have plateaued in the first half of this season.

Hard to get a good run with so many NQR talls at Casey.

Second half of 2025 could be big for hi

3 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

What is satisfying is that since his demotion back to VFL he hasn’t dropped his head, but rather got better at halving contests and presenting an option. It shows he has something meaningful to offer the senior side.

As iterated very good game by "EL JEFFO CANTINA" Took some great contested grabs, used the ball well when he got it and bounced back from a couple of big hits! + 2 goals!

Lets back him in eh?

Edited Saturday at 12:343 days by picket fence

1 minute ago, picket fence said:

As iterated very good game by "EL JEFFO CANTINA" Took some great contested grabs, used the ball well when he got it and bounced back from a couple of hits!

Lets back him in eh?

That was very good to see.

1 hour ago, Dingo said:

Just curious - any food and beer on sale?

Yes, but according to my friend the BurraBurger was disappointing.....

How excited should we be about an 18yo holding his own in the ruck? KW's last quarter was everything we could have hoped for.

shhhhh

31 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

Agree. Just needs to come in after the bye

Yep on Jeffo Bandwagon as well! Ans showed a bit up the ground!!

Edited Saturday at 13:093 days by picket fence

1 hour ago, jaydenh10 said:

bonner stated in the post game interview that he is the manager of our nga, maybe thats why he didn't get picked up in the mid season draft and likes what he is doing now.

Seems like a really good guy. Hope he’s a keeper as well, as they tend to attract other good blokes and good players.

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

How would you structure the forwardline, Dazzle?

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Jeffo played a very mature, contested game as the key focal point forward. His last few VFL matches have shown he can learn and grow.

Is my vision bad or did Kalani tap one over his head to a team mate that didn’t break stride? He looked to really grow with confidence in the last quarter. For a skinny 17 year old ruck/forward, he looks likely.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

And Verrell looks to have come on in leaps and bounds when given primary ruck duty. Great ruck craft at times tonight.

Yes, I think Jeff is a very clever footballer. One Mark in particular in front of the goal Square where he out Marked 2 defenders was particularly good.

Was probably taking a bit more heat tonight as well, considering that JVR is still in The 1s. I think we only had 5x tall forwards tonight.

Verrall did stand up when he needed to be counted on – particularly in that last quarter. I still think it’s a good thing having TC at the club as backup for Max, another playing coach, and an all round good guy.

But I don’t think he needs to be leading the ruck in the VFL– half is plenty. He has nothing to prove. If Verrall or AJ are getting slaughtered, then he can step in and carry more, but it’s not doing their development any good by having them at CB for five minutes per quarter.

And what a nice little cameo from Kalarney in the last quarter. You could see his confidence grow as soon as he marked that little chip kick from Verrall, and then goaled it. No stopping him after that. I thought the coach did well sticking him in the ruck for the last few minutes once we were four goals up. He’ll carry that confidence into his next game.

2 minutes ago, Adam The God said:

How would you structure the forwardline, Dazzle?

He's probably your 3rd banana in line with Melksham or Fritsch.

Don't think hes physically ready to be a 2nd tall forward jn JVR or Petty.

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

U said it first Dazz@👍

JVR better put in a good game tomorrow as his spot is up for grabs.

5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

He's probably your 3rd banana in line with Melksham or Fritsch.

Don't think hes physically ready to be a 2nd tall forward jn JVR or Petty.

Dd JVR has done very little this year, hardly even vfl standard. He goes out for Jefferson. You cannot keep playing someone because they are an average second ruck.

1 hour ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

Yes, but according to my friend the BurraBurger was disappointing.....

They keep the best ones for Port games.

That was one of the better VFL games to watch in terms of standard. Not the usual scraps we often see, it was free flowing with good skill on show from both sides.

Kalani certainly made you take notice in the last, especially when the game was still up for grabs. He had a snap at the goals from the pocket in the third which he missed, but the technique reminded me of his dad instantly.

Edited Saturday at 20:512 days by Dee Zephyr

WHITE NIGHT by KC from Casey

Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night.

After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal.

Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form.

With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage.

The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

For the second time in the evening, it was Cross with two quick goals who broke the game open and broke the Bombers’ hearts. The team stormed home with a seven goal final stanza to sit in the top six, at least temporarily, overnight.

The 200cm tall, teenage father-son draft prospect Kalani White, the son of former Demons ruck star Jeff, had been quiet until just before the final break announced himself with a fine 30 minutes at the end to finish with two goals from 10 disposals in his VFL debut. He is also tied to Gold Coast through its Academy but looked really at home in the red and blue, albeit with the number 50 last worn at the club by Ben Brown and not dad’s 34 which some say has already been reserved for him. In any event, his fine showing which also Included 11 hit outs in the ruck, certainly brightened a cold night for the fans in the crowd.

It really was an evening for father-sons with solid contributions from Kynan Brown (18 possessions, eight tackles) and Taj Woewodin (17 disposals, eight tackles, one goal).

Bonner was best on the ground after accumulating 33 disposals while Laurie was not far behind with 26 touches, eight tackles, seven clearances and a goal. Verrall had a breakout evening with the added responsibility of leading in the ruck and amassed 44 hitouts to go with his 21 touches, nine clearances and three tackles. Jack Billings was also busy, particularly early, and finished with 22 possessions and four clearances. Mitch Hardie (two goals) and Riley Baldi were both solid contributors.

Another rising tall was Matthew Jefferson who has really emerged from his shell recently. After two five goal hauls, he added two goals this time but he showed out further afield as well with 16 disposals, 8 marks and 4 tackles on the night.

The team’s next outing will be in much warmer conditions when it visits the Gold Coast after next week’s bye.

CASEY DEMONS 5.2.32 7.7.49 10.8.68 17.10.112

ESSENDON VFL 1.3.9 5.7.37 10.10.70 12.11.83

GOALS

CASEY DEMONS Cross 4 Hardie Jefferson White 2 Bonner Craven Henderson Laurie Mentha Sharp Woewodin

ESSENDON VFL McMahon 4 Eckersley Shiel 2 Menzie Monteath Sweid Unwin

BEST

CASEY DEMONS Bonner Verrall Laurie Brown Jefferson Woewodin

ESSENDON VFL Monteath McMahon O’Neill Shiel Tsatas Brodie

9 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Matthew Jefferson is ready for senior footy. Loved his game and I think he is someone we just need to get games into this year.

Tell that to Goodwin!

Jeffersons game time tonight was better than his recent two 5 goal hauls. His marks were commanding and clean his attack on the ball and man was improved and his kicking well executed. More of this please El Jefo.

One of the better games I have seen Verrall play it was like watching a young Grundy. I do worry he is a touch too small to make it as a ruck and has shown little elsewhere but hope his development continues in the second half of the year.

Edited Saturday at 22:062 days by Lil_red_fire_engine