Leaderboard

Matt Burgan is running a North Korea style media campaign. Only reports on the good stuff. If you were only watching his updates you would think we were up by 5 goals.

On way home from game. Take out the second qtr where we were caught flat footed and they got over the back of the press too easily we were much improved with our attack at the contest and structure. Jamar easily BOG with limited opposition though Garland aside from one brain fade played an excellent game on Milne and counter attacking. I don't know what others saw that I missed. M Jones and Terlich really started to look the part second half. Jimmy T not ready yet based on today. Our first quarter press was the best I have ever seen us implement it. It fell apart as we tired. We lacked crumbers especially considering we had no Clark or Dawes. Pretty sure I saw Daveys last game in red n blue today. Some on here lack realistic expectations. Our structure and run has improved but we still have players who lack the decision making and disposal to play consistently at top standards. Most importantly no injuries that were noted.

We lost to a nearly full strength side by four goals in a pre season comp in 35 deg heat and from all reports nobody injured ...I am satisfied

All I can say is that Garry's comment was very prescient. When people think of Judd, what do they think of?The answer is a football pay packet of in excess of $1 million annually and that is precisely what young Tom Scully is taking home for producing those third rate efforts for Kevin Sheedy. It makes me feel good every time I think about it. And one of these days, I hope and dream that the $½ million compensation we recently had to pay back to the AFL for going after him a little too hard for their liking (and that of the barracudas in the media) will pay us handsome dividends. At last count, we were able to secure Mitch Clark (who we couldn't have afforded if we had to fork out the 20 pieces and more of silver necessary to have kept Voldemort) and the compo allowed us to get our hands on Chris Dawes, Jesse Hogan and Dom Barry as well as putting us in a position to collect both Jimmy Toumpas and Jack Viney whereas we might otherwise have secured only one of them. All that for a player who plays so outside that he might as well have been sitting watching the game with me in my living room last night.

Davey is finished. Although that isn't news, he's been finished for years. I only have one comment. I really do hate umpires. Is despise worse than hate ?

for the wrist -slitters: Theres a lot of our 'best' team missing today...Id suggest a lot more of Melbourne is missing that the case with St kilda. now, please continue with self flagellation lol

Stop freaking out people. We were bottom 4 last year, i expect improvement this year but nothing to drastic.....people need to be realistic about us this year, plus it is still preseason.

I think MOST people have NOW accepted he's 21 and most AFL players don't reach their peak til around 24/25. Most also accept he played quite well as last year progressed and is showing the signs of why he was a #1 pick. By all means, pick on the underperforming over 24s, but give the kids a chance to develop before going all MFC eat their young on them.

Okay, I'm going to assume you did actually watch the game in order to create a thread about his performance. 1. It's third round of NAB Cup. Where he's at is a practice match. 2. He suffered a nasty knock last week from which he is possibly still feeling some effects. 3. We have so many greater concerns than Frawley, who remains our best defender. 4. If we're going to dwell on today, how many goals were actually kicked on him?

All minus scores. They were bad!

Think he should be put into VFL for the year playing how he did today.

Its going to take us a few years before we build a decent midfield, Viney and Toumpas will need time to develop. Sadly our brigade of second stringers just cant match with the elite of the competition.

If we're comparing to other sides, look at what Freo are doing to the Bulldogs. 25 points isn't so bad.

I think we all need to chill a bit. Still Nab cup and we were missing our two big forwards as well as Viney, Trengove, Kent( best 22 IMO) and a few other guys. We aren't all of a sudden become a top 4 side lets look for little improvements and start there. And maybe wait until the real season before the talk of suicide starts....

Sick of hearing people blame the umps. They say it like theyr is a conspiracy to make the dees lose by giving frees to the other team. The reason we get less frees is because we are always 2nd to the ball. If our players were always first to the ball those free stats would look completely different.

Not much to hang your hat on but Hardtack is right. In past years we would have lost this by much more. A tiring Melbourne kicking against the breeze in the last could have got very ugly They also had a more full strength side out there so I will hold off on the wrist slashing for now However, if we end up at Kardinia Park next week remind me to pack the razors just in case

If only his foot was a clearance player.

Quarter time here at Casey Fields and we're witnessing something we've never seen here before. A scoreboard that works!

According to the AFL site, no radio or tv for the game. Absolute horse [censored]. Us interstaters will appreciate any live updates and post match reports we can get from the Demonland faithful. Everyone have a good day, and hopefully another win to keep building some momentum for Round 1.

Watched him closely and he's a typical Melbourne number one draft pick, i.e. no good. He was the right choice for pick one at the time, but boy he's vanilla. He doesn't have one weapon at AFL level and gets exposed by disposal and lack of size. His decision to leave will be one of the great wins in this club's history. One can only wonder how his output and salary is going to pan out over the journey. GWS are embarrassed, which is why they've already fudged his B&F placing and elevated him to the LG. In time it will get more media scrutiny.

Made the trip out to Casey today, some observations. * Our structures are much improved on last year. Our zone was holding up the Saints out of the back half quite often, forcing them wide and to execute pin point passing to move the ball forward. * Overall I thought we were just about the better side today, and the stats back that up. If it weren't for their 2nd qtr burst, it would have been a very close run thing. THeir polish when they had momentum really hurt us, yet we missed shots when we needed to score and just couldn't quite hit our targets often enough. * Terlich looks like he has a big future. His attack on the ball and safe hands were a highlight. * Jamar dominated the taps, unfortunately a lot of them were to Jonesy and St Kilda's Jones was sitting on him, so he was unable to clear. * Can we please stop playing Joel Macdonald. He costs us so many goals from his mistakes, even if indirectly. * Gee we would have been better for having Ollie WInes in the centre square today... but I'm sure the Toump will be better for the run. * Pederson should only play if Dawes or Clark are not fit for Round 1. Sellar has earnt the right to play, pederson hasn't. * The tackling today really let us down.. We pressured well but couldn't lay the tackles effectively. * Davey had a poor game, let's not slaughter him in NAB3, please. * Overall, not a fantastic effort but far better than a lot on here are giving the boys credit for. Looking forward to next week.

I spent the afternoon trying to get an update from Matt, Scanning Demonland and watching live stats on AFL site. Frome reports here I reckon I got a better handle on it than some of the punters who claimed to have been at Casey! Ben-Her is the least likeable poster I have come across in my time here. Smug, self-serving egotist! I try to avoid s/he as much as possible. These are my positive observations after the game. Jamar is a highly rated tap-ruckman and he is in great form. Toumpas will blossom around the age of 21. We started well. Dunn impacted the game again. Sellar could easily have come away with 3 goals against Saints, which was my benchmark for inclusion in Round 1. We had same or slightly more inside 50's and that will translate into scoreboard when Clark and Dawes play. We had as many possessions as opponents. Magner is in consistently good form. N Jones is in consistently good form. Apart from Saints 6 goals in 12 minutes, we were highly competitive in all aspects for 80 minutes of the game. Tackling was down, but I have seen enough of previous NAB efforts to realise that out tackling is vastly improved across the board. Apparently kicking efficiency was down, but those jumping up and down most have never played in the conditions a wide-open, south eastern plains reserve tosses up (I note GFC have now played two in a row at Kardinia Park-home ground... I also note that Pies are at Etihad indoor stadium). Demons got within 18 points in final qtr when teenagers Hogan and Toumpas goaled. Apparently this is a rare game where Howe didn't take a screamer and we all know that will happen on a regular basis once the real stuff begins. Apparently there were no pre-season injuries to report (remember The Ox... Ben, you weren't a Demon supporter in those days... Oh damn, I used the words Ben and supporter in the same sentence!) David Roden got his hands on it and continued his habit of scoring a goal. Garland blanketed Milne. Frawley played well before running into a bit of trouble (which coincided with Saints purple patch if my reading of the game is correct... funny that!) That's plenty to be pleased with in a pre-season game. We are definitely on the improve and I think a win in round 1 is more than likely!

Same old Watts. Looked skinny. Had a couple of nicely weighted kicks. Refused to attack the ball in the air or impose himself on any contest. Standard.

Concerned about the quality of ball movement and lack of forward and midfield pressure. But wasn't completely hopeless effort. St Kilda did play Sydney last week whilst we didn't have a game and our kids played in renmark. For example Magner found more footy as he's had the extra game. One thing is for sure I'm so sick of Joel macdonald he is worse than useless. Same goes for Aaron davey. Pathetic footballer. Like the cameo from tapscott at the start of the last quarter. Lifted the team by hitting in hard. People are being stupidly harsh on hogan. He's just turned 18 and playing in a battling forward line. And I think pedersen and sellar will both play round 1 alongside Dawes and be effective. Gillies battled on riewoldt but otherwise is ok. Terlich looks the goods. Matt jones looks like he'll need another preseason but isn't bad. People are also harsh on toumpas. He's not a miracle worker and he's smart enough to hold the footy instead of blazing to a non existent forward line. He remains all class but will take time to develop into a consistent performer.

Worst trade ever. Should have kept Gysberts

I didn't see a single second of play from today, but if we were competitive in disposals (meaning we got our hands on the ball) and inside 50s (meaning we got the ball relatively close to goal), then that's an improvement on last year, where our uncompetitiveness stemmed from not actually getting our hands on the ball and not getting it inside 50 enough. With more practice, and a full strength line up, these disposals and inside 50 numbers will translate into better performances.

+ Viney and McKenzie Certainly not all doom and gloom. If Saints weren't full strength they can't have been far off.

i50s are 38-32 our way which is something to take out of it. Clark and Dawes you'd think (hope) would've made a big difference today.

Nope. Go beyond that. Numbness.

Is it just me or has nothing happened in the last ten minutes?

18-48 is wtf territory. I take it all back. We do need McKenzie. Badly.

This just in: we still suck!

Jamar has 20 hit outs in a half

New year same old crap once again unable to stop oppositon teams kicking lots of goals in a row against us

He does look like a player though. It's heartening to see a young player who clearly has the right shape for an AFL player and gets to the right spots to be dangerous. His pre-season form has been really encouraging and he should be in contention for round 1. I also enjoyed the line about changing his goals after missing out on the under 18s squad. No fuss, just got on with it. In the days of athletes chucking public tanties when things don't go their way, it is refreshing.

We didn't offload him, he ditched us. Could end up being one of the best things that ever happens to us, not that that'll stop me getting stuck into him when he comes to the G!

Like it, Red. Would love to see Strauss secure a spot in the back line earlier rather than later. His kicking is such an advantage in the back 6.

For $1million PA you need to put up Buddy like performances not 10 touches.

Confidence can take you a long way. There has been a greater emphasis on winning contested ball, hard ball gets and clearances under Neeld. If we can keep improving in that area - great. The next step is to start using the ball far more efficiently. We need to keep possession of the ball whilst attacking the goals - easier said than done of course. You can't have too many poor to average kicks in your team. Ditto for decision making. The best teams don't often have many of these type of players in their teams. When picking their best 22, the match committee could place a limit on the amount of players who aren't good disposers of the ball. Maximum of 2? 3? 4? It might mean you have to leave a couple of 'goers' out of team but that's the price you might have to pay. I've heard a number of times that the Hawks deliberately trade for or draft players who can kick the ball well and are good decision makers. Apparently their philosophy is that they can always teach these more skilful types to get better at winning their own ball. We need to start hitting a lot more targets on a far more regular basis if we're going to challenge the middle tier teams. Turnovers are killers and we need to eliminate as many of these as possible. Our disposal needs to improve dramatically if we're wanting to win a fair percentage of games. It's going to be interesting to see how good all our new players are with their disposal in the games.(especially under pressure)

Thanks for stating the bloody obvious other wise I would not have known.

I touched wood when I read Mitch sent one through post high.

Oh yes you are....You have wanted to stick a knife in our present CEO from years ago. Do a better Job or shut it... I notice Hazy FanBob ADC have not said one word over the last few weeks.....They all said the Shite was going to be flying by now. My personal opinion is it would be bloody hard to be the CEO of this club, and gaining Sponsorships a constant concern Regardless of who is in the chair . Has CS made some mistakes in his tenure?? Yep he has, but has he done a good Job rectifying those same mistakes?? Yep he has. I work very close to Glenhuntly Road Elsternwick/Caulfield....Old established area..But the amount of business' closing doors in the last 12 months is scary $$$ are tight....$ponsorship Budgets would be the first to be tightened Brian Cook does a fantastic Job, BUT he is CEO to a single club in a city...Can you imagine how many more Business opportunities we would have if the MFC was the ONLY club in Melbourne...??? Look at the Draw the AFL give us....would you commit $100,000's of company Sponsorship per annum on the back of that??

I was never excited by his highlights videos from the U18's. Anyone with a flawed kicking action will eventually be exposed.

Nah, I think we should "accept mediocrity" a bit longer. If "186" showed us anything it's that the "reality bus" is running over our "culture" and we need to "buy in". Hopefully the new "Neeld type players" will take us some of the way...

Thank god we offloaded him when we did. One of the rare wins.

Yeah, Rodan's great. Always liked him as a player ... let's hope he burns it up. Good work lads

Backs:Jetta, Frawley, Garland Half Backs: Dunn, T-Mac, Watts Centres: Grimes, Sylvia, Terlich Half Forw: Blease, Dawes, Howe Forwards: Pederson, Clark, Byrnes Rucks: Jamar, Jones, Rodan Interchange: Viney, Trengove, M Jones Sub: Toumpas Emergencies: McKenzie, Sellar, Tapscott Assumption that Clark, Trengove and Blease are fit. People should ignore that 5 of our back 6 are over 190cm. I think it is very flexible with Watts and Dunn able to play on talls and smalls and good ball users. I dont rate McKenzie or Nicholson but accept at least Jordie will play. I expect this to change again after tomorrow as its fair to say aside from the usual suspects and maybe Jetta no one I think has cemented a spot based on NAB cup form that was not already starting 18 last year. Updated based on the StKilda game In Terlich; M Jones Out Evans Magner

It's a miracle .. boys having fun pre season and not one comment from someone saying "they're not being serious enough" blah blah blah

It shows the real reason why we recruited rodan...

I like how this viral thing has gotten otherwise-serious and professional people to engage in downright outrageousness. Funny stuff!