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ANOTHER CLOSE ONE by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions opened their 2013 practice match series by producing yet another narrow victory to overcome a fast finishing Frankston Dolphins outfit by two points in a thriller at Casey Fields. Despite the loss, the close result was a credit to the stand alone Dolphins who had to contend with a team that had no less than a dozen AFL listed players and almost beat them. The match started in fine conditions and the Scorpions opened strongly with the first goal to big Jake Spencer. They dominated the first ten minutes of play before the Dolphins, in their third practice game, counter-attacked with two quick goals to grab the lead. The Scorpions regrouped to hold sway for the remainder of the term with goals to Brayden Fowler and Aaron Davey, who was in everything, giving them an 8 point lead at the first break. The conditions worsened quickly as dark clouds began to cover the ground bringing a steady drizzle that turned to rain in a second quarter which saw the Scorps continue to dominate without doing that much damage on the scoreboard. The lead was out to 15 points at the half and thanks to early goals in the third to Tim Smith and Davey, Casey suddenly held a game high 28 point lead. However, the visitors did not give in but instead, they persisted, raised the pressure levels all over the ground and played more direct football as they slowly reeled back the deficit. By the final break Frankston looked confident and trailed by only 11 points. The Dolphins continued where they left off in the early stages of the final stanza and broke through for two goals to take the lead for the first time since the opening quarter. The Scorps were stung into action and indigenous pair Nev Jetta in defence and the dangerous Davey up forward got them home, the latter with a great soccer goal and the former with some cool play under pressure down back. It was a nailbiter but the siren sounded with the home side just two points ahead, the narrow win a regular scenario at this ground over the past twelve months. The Scorpions have weathered some difficult moments during the off season and still bear the scars of those tumultuous times that had some reading the club its last rites following the collapse of its poker machine venture. While other VFL clubs are spending up big on recruits, only one newcomer, tall local lad Michael Boland from Cranbourne, made the senior team. He showed promise and kicked an important goal against the run of play in the third quarter to stem the tide when the Dolphins had taken the ascendency. The cheque books might be out of sight but a few loyal servants in Kyle Matthews and Evan Panozza are still there. Casey will also be relying on more improvement from the likes of Michael Riseley, Luke Tynan, Brayden Fowler and the enigmatic Tim Smith to progress this season. Youngsters Mitch Gent and Nathan Page were impressive. It took the club a long time to announce its coach for 2013 and Rohan Welsh needs an injury-free year from the Demons to enable his team to contend with some of the more free spending clubs in the competition. They face a real test against the Borough next week without the luxury of AFL players other than a few who might be permitted to play due to a return from injury. In the early game, Casey was down at half time by eight points but a five goal to one third quarter saw them home by 29 points. VFL Casey Scorpions 11.12.78 defeated Frankston 11.10.76 Development League Casey Scorpions 13.12.90 defeated 9.7.61 HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dominic Barry - a livewire who oozes potential. He looks the type who can cause damage when he gets out on his own but is lightly built and was brushed aside far too easily in this game. Will benefit from a year of learning the ropes at VFL level but don't expect to see much, if any, AFL action this year. Mitch Clisby - this was his first pre season hit out and he looked in his element. He got his hands on the footy and used it well to the team's advantage. Thomas Couch - hard at it in the middle but lacked a little in pace and his disposal wasn't great. If he plugs away, opportunity might come his way during the season but, at this stage he is behind the young midfielders as well as the other mature agers in Magner and M Jones. Aaron Davey - the classiest player on the ground and his use of the footy was top shelf. Has lost a bit in pace and got a fair bit of attention but was good around goal and deserved more protection from the umpires. At one stage, he was tackled when he didn't have the footy, then laid a perfect tackle on an opponent, then got crunched and still went unrewarded. He was one of the main reasons why Casey got up to win. Troy Davis - was solid in defence and mostly did the right things even during the pressure cooker moments in the final term. Has been criticised for his disposal but, apart from one crucial error, was quite good in this area. Michael Evans - worked hard in the midfield and around the ground. Has been out for a long time with injury problems but looks as if he might be able to force his way back into AFL contention if he can remain fit. Jack Fitzpatrick - flashed in and out in both the ruck and up forward. Moved well at one stage to take a nice grab in front of goal but let himself down with his kicking for goal. Neville Jetta - copped an early knock to the ribs but kept going all day and was cool under pressure in defence, particularly in the tense final quarter. I had him down as the team's best. Joel Macdonald - generally safe with the football down back and his experience was invaluable in the tighter moments. Jake Spencer - started well with an early goal but didn't dominate the ruck as one would have expected. Participated in a battle of ruck dinosaurs and broke even at best. Still awkward with his kicking and I'm just not sure where his career will go in light of the new ruck rules. Rory Taggert - like Evans, has missed a lot of football through injury. Looks a balanced footballer with a neat kick but still needs to put in a fair bit of work. Josh Tynan - has built up nicely since last year but is another who still needs a lot of work at this level.

Just got back to Brisvegas and walked in the door and jumped straight on Demonland. Not sure how much analysis from those who were at the game exists above this post but I thought I'd share my thoughts anyway. Firstly, I love going to Southport. Ground is always in good condition and there's lots of good vantage points. I was lucky enough to be standing on the fence for the whole game directly behind the Melbourne interchange entrance. I really enjoyed this unique perspective as I was able to get a bit of insight into the personality of the players in terms of their footy brain, communication, positivity etc . . Interestingly one of the most quiet players appeared to be Jack Grimes. Rodan (who didn't seem to get much of it) was really impressive. At one point when Watts marked on the wing closest to us, he was basically coaching him. Told him to slow down, look through the options, pick the right one and then when his kick went to the right option reinforced his effort with a positive. Might seem like a little thing but highlighted for me why he and Dawes and Byrnes have been brought to the club. Before I talk about the match, it's important to note that it was bloody hot. Hottest day we've had up here in over a month and 11. 50 - 2.10 would be the hottest part of the day. Little breeze to speak of. We noticeably tired in the second half. The main reason I ventured down to the Coast today was to watch Hogan and Toumpas and in the first quarter I could have happily headed back up the coast because Hogan made it pretty clear that he is the real deal. He faded a little in the last quarter but he took a series of contested marks and could have easily taken more. More than once he overcame being in the least preferred one on one position to win the ball (in the air and at ground level) and created space for those around him. Can't wait to see him in 2014! Casey watchers are in for a great year. Like many have suggested throughout the pre-season Jimmy Tompas has given an obvious insight into why he's so highly rated but it also becomes obvious that he will need some time. He had one sublime moment on my wing when the ball was poorly handballed by a team mate and he was seemingly left to contest a hot 50/50 ground ball. I thought to myself at the time, that I would find out whether this kid goes hard or not. Not only did he go low and hard, he actually beat his opponent to the ball and spun imperiously out of confestion. Smacked of class. Give him time but he'll be a beauty. Don't think he's played too many games in heat like this. He was really struggling with the conditions but kept working hard. He's a confident young kid and seems to be coping well with the structural demands of the team rules and doesn't hesitate to tell his team mates where they need to be. My other highlight for the day was Dean Terlich. I really like the cut of his jib. He's an intelligent footballer who seems to have jelled really well with the team. He knows his role, he knows the team structures. He'll become more and more comfortable with the tempo and he'll better utilize his good kicking skills. I'd definitely have him in the team ahead of Strauss at the moment. Strauss had an intersting game. He was really good in the areas that I have questions marks about him. He competed well one on one and was strong in the contest but his run and carry and end product was a little disappointing. Matt Jones shows a bit too. It was clear that he got better and better when the early fiz had gone out of the game. He got alot of the pill. He's clearly a neat kick who works hard from contest to contest. Decision making and adjusting to the tempo of AFL footy will be his challenges. When we were up and about and travelling well in the first half I was marvelling at the fact that with what was basically our entire spine missing we still had some quality tall targets up forward. In addition to Hogan, Pedersen and Sellar are genuine players. They both have big bodies are flexible and can take a mark. Pretty good back-up in the key position department. Likewise down back with Frawley and McDonald out we still had Gillies, Garland, Dunn and Watts capable of matching it with the bigger Gold Coast bodies. But just as I started to marvel at our depth in this area, Dixon started to get on top of Gillies and the game turned. Gillies tries hard and is a great size and certainly worth persisting with. Dunn was ok one on one but his much talked about kicking was poor today. Watts was good. Calm with the ball in hand and made good decisions but didn't do anything over hard or courageous that would have you going home thinking we'll see a pack bursting Watts this year. Also wanted to make mention of Magner. I've had him pigeon holed as a slow, hard working trier but having seen him today and watching the Renmark replay I think he deserves a spot in our starting 22. He reads the ball really well in the centre. Today he got it first dibs numerous times and his hardness and tackling pressure are of a very high standard. He and Jordie might find them fighting for a position if Viney consolidates as expected. Good to see Grimes get a few touches. He spent alot of time off the ground early in the second half. He's clearly being carefully managed given his history of injury and if this has been the case all pre-season it could account for his lower than usual disposal numbers. Sylvia was Sylvia. He failed to find much space when in the midfield and didn't hurt on the scoreboard when he went forward. He's at the crossroads. I thought Jamar looked it great nick and was getting around the ground pretty well given the conditions. I think he'll definitely have an improved season if he stays healthy. All in all, I wouldn't be slashing my wrists over the final result. McDonald, Clark, Dawes, Frawley, Trengove, Blease, Viney and Jetta all out of my best 22 missing and the heat was a genuine factor. Disappointing we couldn't get anything close to our best team on the park this pre-season but the positive is that we're not far away from doing exactly that and it might make round 1 all the more interesting. Potato cakes surprisingly good. Happy to answer any specific questions.

Dear Mitch, You have only be with us for a very short time and in that time you have earned our respect with the way you play the game. You are skillful and have no fear. I only write this because you are the most valuable player for Melbourne. I just ask you to get through the game and try not to attempt to kill yourself in a marking contest. Too many times last year I thought you were dead. Love always Cowboy From Hell.

I think they are talking about the play and not the video

^^^This guy really needs to get over his dislike for all of us. I always like to think of Land as a Demons themed pub. A group of people having a chat on different things with varying people. This guy just constantly talks about how "everyone here is so stupid, especially you - the person I am talking to." Wouldn't you just leave the effing bar?!

god the thread titles around this place give me a fright sometimes, i thought the 'Mitch Clark Back' title was perhaps about Mitch having issues with his back. *see's own shadow and runs and hides from it*

Okay, I was there yesterday as well. Some random dot points ... - No-one should be playing football in sauna like conditions like that. Ludicrous. There's the pain barrier ... and then there's just plain dangerous. - Once again the midfield was found wanting. We were okay early, but the Ablett-led class of the Suns assumed control as the game wore on. Suspect this may be the story of our season. - Watts was our best player. Wonderfully skilled for a guy of his height. Get him in your fantasy sides because he will rack 'em up this year across half back. A break-out, possible AA season beckons. - Terlich was impressive and will play round 1. Capable of kicking goals running at full tilt - not an easy skill. - Cam Pedersen was disappointing again. Here's hoping his efforts this pre-season is just a case of flat form. Because he's shown nothing. Will start at Casey. - Sellar will get the nod in his place, although like others I'm not yet convinced. Has that not-quite a ruckman ... not quite a KPP look about him. - Jamar has trimmed down and looks seriously fit. Played well I thought. Another you should get in your fantasy sides coming off a weak 2012 (cheaply priced). - Not sure Toumpas is ready based on what I saw. Suspect he'll need a stretch at Casey to find his feet. - I thought Matt Jones and Tom Gillies did okay. I'd pick Jones ahead of Jordie McKenzie every day of the week. - Where the hell is Viney?? Is he injured? Can anyone shed light? - Sylvia, McKenzie, Dunn and Grimes didn't do enough. Not good enough from senior players. I'm going to be on their case this season. 'Raise The Bar' boys. - 'Hulk' Hogan is absolutely a special talent. Even more impressive was watching the 17yo confidently bark orders at seasoned senior players. Finally a player with swagger! - Howe was virtually unsighted all game. Another with fairly ordinary pre-season form. - Rodan and Byrnes need to provide greater support to Nate Jones. They both went missing for large chunks of quarters. It's all about work-rate, although granted the heat was unforgiving. - On the Suns ... Dion Prestia will be a gun. Makes good decisions and is relentlessly hard at it. We should have a serious crack at him. - The Suns will be 20% better than last season and will put the frighteners on a few more fancied sides. Some of their young tall-timber types like Sam Day, Gorringe and Dixon are really coming on, particularly Day. - I'm chucking a $50 on the Little Master for a second Brownlow. Took some photos as well. I'll try and get around to posting them tonight. Cheers, RR

Hogan and Clark together in 12 months - more anticipated than my dodgy Robbie Flower Collectors Edition Port I purchased two decades ago. Vowed I wouldn't open it until we won a flag. It's looking very dusty.

My biggest gripe is that over that last few seasons our players rarely shepherd. In fact, I believe one of our biggest deficiencies is the lack of shepherding. Protecting your teammates who have possession of the ball builds confidence and teamwork for everyone involved. After that, being in the corridor or along the boundary is a matter of what suits the situation.

Hartlett, Boak & Brad Ebert would waltz into our midfield for starters. I'm not saying "expect to lose" but those who are assuming that a win is a fait accompli are setting themselves up for a big fall.

Why is beating Port supposed by some to be so easy that we'll be wrist-slitting if we lose. Every game will probably be a struggle this year.

I read some posts from a selected few who are beating the drums about our coach already. That is your opinion so I must respect it but I do not agree at all. This is a worst case scenario thread where IF we do show no improvement at all I would like the drum beaters to give me a logical replacement and what type of gameplan compared to Neeld's you would like to see. Don't just say let's fire him. Show me a replacement and be proactive in a post. I have never thought about not renewing a membership but if Neeld was to be let go I would strongly consider not signing myself and my kids next year. Jesse Hogan may have something to say about it though. I could not see the point of hiring a coach and giving him the green light to cull a list and start from scratch but then fire the coach. This would leave us in a worse position then we were in after Bailey.

All I know is that there won't be any grey. If we beat Port we'll be talking the 8. If we lose, it'll be spoon talk.

I believe that a lot of supporters overrate our list and football department and it shows. Some believe that we should make the eight and some think we should win eight to ten games for Neeld and co to keep their jobs. So lets have a look at where we were, a club that was in basic term broke an underfunded football club, poor culture over many years, no structures within the club of what is needed to be a successful club, a board that leaked like a sieve and if reports are true the players had a lot to say to what went on. So Neeld is appointed and he fully changes the way the football department is set up, not only is there assistant coaches we now have line coaches to help with the players development, we also got in Dave Misson and he is one of the best in the business and then Neil Craig who also knows how a successful football department runs. So Misson’s first pre-season and the man is staggered at the fitness of the players with all his data from the swans and the saints he rated us at about sixty percent compared to those two teams, then again he was still flogging them during the season. Then we come to this year and I believe he has ramped it up another twenty percent so that leaves us another twenty percent left for next year, you cannot get to an elite level like all the top sides in a short time, Misson is building the body to match the fitness base then we will be able to compete with the top sides. So now we come to Neeld’s second season and he has cleaned out the playing list and brought in some expiernced players as well as some youth and yet people still complained and only wanted youth, I believe they do not understand what Neeld’s so called money ball is all about, first and foremost bring in expiernced players bides him time to develop the younger players by taking the pressure of them so instead of getting the best player on them (instead of two players on Clarke they now have to look after Dawes, Pederson, Byrnes or even Howe) they might get the second and third player so that in effect helps them with confidence and that will help fast track their development. Neeld knows that he has only a couple of years at most with Rodan, Byrnes etc so this is where top clubs have it over us, when they have a player out with injuries someone from the second tier stands up and that is where we need to get. So lets remember before we put time limits on Neeld and co just remember get the foundation right before the building can be built, what I hope to see (wins would be nice) but the group continue to bridge the gap between us and the top sides so we can have continued success. P.S If you don’t think Neeld, Misson and Craig don’t know what is needed to get to the top then your dreaming!!

I'm not sure why there's such doom and gloom when one considers we were the spooner last year outside of the two fledgling clubs. Have some perspective. There's no point talking about what we thought was going to happen as we prognosticated back in 2010, it's the here and now that is the benchmark as we look to the future. In a couple of years time our spine will read: Frawley, McDonald, Viney, Clark and Hogan. Other clubs will be hard-pressed to better it. Imagine if you're a midfielder, or flanker and had a rampaging Hogan, Clark, Dawes and Howe wanting you to get the ball into the forward-line quickly ? Conversely, imagine not having them there. Do you think you'd be mucking around, going sideways trying to find a clean avenue, so that you could hit up someone just inside 50 ? And then the dreaded turnover happens and the defenders are caught out of position. That's how we've played because we haven't had the confidence, or urgency to get it in there quickly since Neitz left. The difference in mind-set and urgency is stark and it does effect how you play. The confidence that lifts a team by knowing there's big strong targets is immense. Trengove is also really important. Many supporters hardly factor him after his disappointing 2012, but he's a key for me. If he can progress to be the player we all envisaged then an emerging midfield of Trengove, Viney, Toumpas, Jones, and Blease together with Kent, Barry, Matt Jones and another top 10 midfielder from this year's draft means there's cause for optimism. Especially if we can lure a Rischitelli type, as mentioned by 55 and another poster. As a Melbourne supporter I acknowledge that what I'm espousing is just more "next year" stuff. I get that. But I also get that that's our reality. The Swans built a premiership list within the space of 7 years without access to great draft picks. I maintain that we have a core 12-14 players that are very capable of developing into premiership players. I'll manage my expectations for 2013, but I'm very bullish about the next 5 years.

It is the same noisy, lunatic fringe as last season, CFH. They'll be at it again no doubt when we (most probably) lose more than we win during the first half of the year. Bandicoot and his 'tick tock tick tock' nonsense - just ignore it. The sensible and astute among us understand that this new-look side will take a few months to 'bed-in'. Let's see how this team is performing during the second half of the season before we really put the coach under the microscope.

I was at the game. Really can't add much to what GoodVibes had to say. As I have been saying all along, a game in the middle of the day up here is absolute lunacy. However, I'm wondering whether Melb had anything to do with that. Think the team only flew up yesterday, before the game (and apparently their bus got lost -- hence the later than scheduled start). And, I heard they were booked on a flight home around 4:30 pm... I also wondered about the team numbers. Pretty sure 27 players were named for this list, but five of them (Frawley, Davey, Spencer, Jetta and Evans) didn't play. Hence, according to my calculations, we had just 22 players. What happened to the 6 man bench in the pre-season matches? A couple of other departures from the norm were ther quarters were exactly 25 minutes in length (no time on), and there were no super goals (because the scoreboard wasn't equipped to show them?) I spent the entire day upstairs in the section of the Club that has big windows overlooking the ground. Nice breeze coming through the open windows. But, was crazily hot outside in the sun. While the condition of the ground was good, I am still baffled as to why the game wasn't played at Metricon. I heard someone saying the Suns seconds team was actually playing there, while our game was on at Southport. Very curious! Why not play BOTH games at Metricon? Biggest thrill for me was to meet the Toumpas clan. There was a heap of them at the game, include Jimmy's Dad, Uncle and Grandfather. All as proud as punch, and excited to see Jimmy out there in the Red & Blue. They seem like a great family, and it gave me a buzz just watching them and their genuine excitement for their boy. At the end of the day, it was what it was. A practice match. Really don't think the score meant a whole lot, especially given it was a game played in crazy 30 degree conditions, with a large number of our best 22 on the sidelines. I can only hope that the coaching staff were able to achieve some of their goals from the event, as they prepare for the real thing.

The result is important and somewhat indicative, but geez there's a lot of game analysis going on here based on either nothing or twitter updates... (Thanks to the Brissy fellas that have posted at least informed views) One thing that worries me though, is we're hearing the same old pre-season views we've heard for a long time. "Oh it's only NAB Cup", "Oh we had players out", "Oh Neeld was finding out about players"... Which is all fine and for the most part true, but it has an ominous deja vu to it.

of course its the preseason and it could all change for those clubs that have underperformed during NAB cup but for me whats concerning is the reasons Melbourne has under performed. Its the lack of team work, the poor field kicking and the fade outs. thats what is concerning. that stuff cant be switched on in 2 weeks. i have realistic expectations of 2013 so , baby steps, as they say, but my point is i disagree with posters who write our poor nab cup off as just pre season form. our problem areas run deeper than that. thats where the Dees differ to those other sides in the league that havent really performed as expected in teh NAB cup. the hawks, swans etc no doubt will switch on in 2 weeks. we have a bit more work to do . Still, i love what neeld and co are doing and the direction the FD is taking. but lets not kid ourselves by thinking its only a practice match , we are in for a bit of pain yet. the best thing we can do thouugh is to pick out the positives (eg Watts game today), and enjoy the ride. Carn the DEES!!

I just saw a tweet reposted by Matt Jones that stated Mitch Clark will play next week in the VFL. Anyone else hearing this? very excited. Dare I say it they may play Dawes as well just so they can have a small amount of game time together,

I actually feel sorry for someone who can't or refuses to enjoy the sense of community you can get from a place like Deeland. i mean I'm a pretty jaded person myself, but that's just sad.

Northey may have overseen the most successful era since our last flag but personally I'd put down the culture change at the time down to Ron Barassi. Northey reaped a lot of what Barassi had sewn IMO.

The Demonland Nine? Great name, but it actually applies to the nontuplet of Whispering Jack, Range Rover, WYL, stuie, Ben-Hur, belzebub59, Rhino Richards, rpfc and the new kid on the block "Bitter but optimistic".

I have been a staunch supporter of Watts but he must become more aggressive at the contest - particularly in those marking situations that you allude to. BH takes a much stronger line on this but I have been prepared to allow Watts some slack because he was just a kid. However, I reckon his time has come. This must be a year where he not only garners possesions but is prepared to impact on the contest.

Why are we so worried about turning the ball over in the spine of the ground? We literally have nothing to lose by going down the middle. If we continue to play that boundary hugging style (predominantly) we will continue to lose games. Unless our skill levels increase by an astronomical rate. What are the chances of that? I saw some strong evidence in the practice games that we're going to be playing a lot more corridor football. Hope the trend continues. Playing the boundary does serve one purpose - it limits the damage. Big deal ! A loss is a loss. Obviously, there are times when moving the ball around the boundary line is the best option but the Collingwood model did this with breakneck speed a lot of the time.(Geelong closed down the Pies boundary line movement in round 8 of 2011) The corridor is quite a large expanse of the ground in actuality. 20 - 25 metres in from the boundary line from the HBF to the HFF/FP is the corridor these days. So it's not as if the middle of the ground is a slim part of the ground - there is quite a lot of room. Our players need to learn how to 'gut run' into space. The coaching dept. need to knock the laziness out of our blokes. I'd rather see the team play a far more enterprising brand of footy. If that means we get towelled up in the process on occasions then so be it. The greatest risk is not taking a risk. "The boundary line is your friend" - not if you're not a highly skilled team. That style makes a poor/average team even worse. We saw the evidence last year. Other clubs last year could read our game plan like a book. We were so predictable. Of course, our players were being taught how to play a far more accountable brand of footy with a large emphasis on defensive skills. The side effect or consequences might have been that our players played a much more inhibited style. Fair enough but this is year 2 now. We need to take the game on with a lot more 'spread', give and go handball, kicking to 'position' and we need to play on at all costs. And that includes using all areas of the ground. What have we got to lose?

Most of your news stories are written by a menopausal maniac with information gleaned from hiding in the ceiling at the junction oval amongst the possums. The only people that write about us now are the types that would kick an unconscious guy in the head after a fight , pull the wings off flies, torture cats etc. Having a crack at us now is almost sadistic. Weak,lowlife hackery. I remember '87 when there was barely an article about us as we kept on winning. We did better flying under the radar than we do in the 24 hour news cycle. We are as close to extinction as ever if this season fails to bring any success at all. The Age is in the same boat. Sad how two of Melbourne oldest institutions are scraping the barrel of existence after 156 years together in this town. Pathetic ,Disgusting ,Desperate and irrelevant-Sums up The Age more than us.

A improvement in skills is what I want to see most. We were deplorable in most departments last year. Not being able to hit up a player from 20 metres is not acceptable and it is turnovers from BASIC skill errors that really hurt and kill off momentum. I'd like to see an entire match where our captain doesn't kick it out on the full. That would be a good start.

The club either employed the guy or it didn't. It would be easy to verify if it did. This harpy has it in for our club and some of its officials and at every opportunity puts the boots in. I note that she refuses to mention any of the rumours surrounding one of her beloved Tigers. She has now ruined one of the footy shows I previously enjoyed, Footy Classified, as I can't watch the show without seeing and hearing her. IMO she has less credibility than the AFL and that's saying something.

This is why our club will never be successful......... 1/ Without commenting on specifics for the game plan - go outside the club ask anyone within footy - Defence wins premierships 2/ If that has any resemblence of truth - we cleraly didn't turn over enough players 3/ I know we've been crap for ages and I would love to win some games - but this site has very un-realistic expectations. And I agree with CFH. If Neeld gets sacked this year I will never support this club ever again

Did I read that correctly? Have you been through some kind of Watts reeducation program?

How about you all wait to feel sick when something actually happens? Did you people envision a great rise up the ladder when we beat Collingwood in the NAB Cup last year? If you did - you were an idiot. If you didn't - you were right, because the PS means nothing in the grand scheme of things or even in the minor scheme of things. They got some games into Terlich, Jones, Kent, and Toumpas. They got some form out of Watts, Sellar, and Magner. We have a great number of spots up for grabs and some people put their hands up and that is pleasing. We still have some worrying injuries but let's judge how they play AFL football when they start playing AFL football.

It's the kids i worry about. The kids who don't want to go to the footy because the Demons suck. Yesterday is a practise game, yes. But try telling that to a kid who is going to cop it on monday. Round 1 is very important...so is Round 2...

You are looking at the clock after one season? What kind of generation z impatience is that? At least wait for the regular season to start before you judge the coach's performance.

I am still willing to wait and see, but my 12 year old son is already depressed over what he has seen. After hearing that Gold coast beat us yesterday, he said that we suck,and wasnt sure whether he wanted to go to the footy this year. If lose to Port round one, we will be 5000 down minimum on membership. Memo to players, "Please.....somebody do something!"

Correction

There's a pretty balanced report on their website. Hogan named as second best for the Dees. Probably the most exciting addition this summer century. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/suns-soar-with-win-over-demons-in-final-hitout-20130316-2g7i4.html

After a second Misson/Craig Pre Season we will be more competitive physically. Both have a fine track record of conditioning players to play tough hard competitive footy. After a second Neeld pre season our players ability to implement a contemporary defensive game style should have improved. We were missing our 2 first choice key forwards and our 2 first choice key defenders against the Suns which will limit any team.

Geez it was bloody hot today at the ground. After the warm up I would have been stuffed. Considering the conditions today and the players we had out we did ok. Watts did really well as did Jamar. Sylvia continues to frustrate. So much talent but bigger all ticker. Hogan will be terrific ( I think we may have got this one right for a change) contested really well and is a big unit for 18. Toumpie is a cracker and will work in well with the mids. Stellar looks to have improved since last season too. He presents well and second efforts are good. The players seem to understand and be able to execute the game plan better than last season which is good to see. There is progress being made. I was standing behind the GC interchange and it gives u a totally diff perspective on the game. One thing I noticed is how hard Ablett works. His work ethic is outstanding and GC are going to be stuffed when he heads back to the cats. He is clearly the hardest worker in that team. My son asked him if he can play for us and he looked at him and smiled. So it wasn't a no!!!! All in all a good effort would have been nice to win but whoever scheduled the game at 11.30 (which didnt start till 11.50) in Brisbane in March must have rocks in their head. Round 1 will be a good indicator for whats in store as was last season.

How Gold Coast lined up: Out: Wilkinson, Brown, Martin, Gorringe, Weller In: Ablett, Harbrow, Hunt, Russell, Shaw FB: Broughton, Warnock, Murphy HB: Shaw, Thompson, Harbrow C: Rischitelli, Bennell, O'Meara HF: Stanley, May, Matera FF: Dixon, Day, Hall Fol: Smith, Swallow, Ablett Int: Brennan, Horsley, Lonergan, Prestia, Hunt, Russell Outside of Bennell (who was named), Tom Lynch and McKenzie this is the Sun's best line up. Out of my best 22 (others may disagree): Frawley, Clark, McDonald, Dawes, Trengove, Blease, Jetta, Viney and Kent - 9 players. Unlike some, I don't agree that this match meant nothing, but just as clearly if you take out your entire spine, as well as other good users and decision makers then you're clearly weakened as a unit. Especially when you're playing in exceedingly hot conditions interstate. It's not an excuse it's fact. Practice matches ARE important and once again the coaches would have got a lot out of it and the players will be involved in the review. But to be making an all encompassing determination of our preseason and likely prospects for season 2013 on a game such as this merely highlights more inept offerings by the footy stupid dolts that frequent this site. At least you're consistent.

This is what I take from the pre-season to date. We are entering fifty more than previously but miss the marking power of Clark and Dawes. We are getting our share of the taps but the various mid-fields we have employed have been out-gunned. (Trengove, Viney and McKenzie may help here but we desperately need another gun midfielder). We have missed the run and contesting ability of McDonald and he is now an essential part of our backline mix (particularly post-Rivers). Gillies seems to be solid and consistent and a good decision maker. Dean Kent, Matt Jones and Dean Terlich have all shown positives and are of a size that can compete come Round 1. Sellar is by far the best option as a pinch-hitter going forward, also has the ability to play key-back (we have a keeper there!). Sylvia has had a full pre-season. None of our games have been at the MCG (where we play our best football). Davey is able to make a better contribution than 2012, if called upon, due to improved fitness. Dunn has found his position. Toumpas and Viney have shown they will be very good or better in the years to come. Hogan is a great pick-up as a leading/marking key forward of the future (also a good kick for goal).

Thanks for the offer but I gave up smoking a few years ago.

Not sure but when I get through some commitments including a mate's bucks night which starts in less than an hour, I'll provide some notes on the game including the Demons who took part. I think the stand out Demon on the day was Nev Jetta who defended well all game, closely followed by Aaron Davey who was classy and skilful, took a few knocks and got little protection from the umpires. Tom Couch did well on the ball but doesn't get enough penetration with his kicks at times. Troy Davis and Joel Macdonald defended well. Dom Barry still has a way to go but he has the makings. Will not play a senior AFL game this year however, because he's far too light and easily brushed aside.

Ah a bit of sanity prevails

OK.. Fairly even match besides the string of GC goals in the third, last quarter i'ld say we got the better of them, Tappy got absolutely creamed in the back with a resulting "play on" leading to a GC goal, frees went that way today. Watts BOG. Sylvia was hungry, no Davey, Jetta, Clark, Dawes, Viney, Garland (2nd half, not subbed, well no vests?!), Trengove.. it was a practice match, a good hit out. BELIEVE PPL!!! looking forward to the real stuff. I just got hit with a footy typing this.

Godwin's Law essentially states that the probability of any Internet conversation mentioning Hitler approaches 1 the longer it goes. 186 is our Hitler.

So you were there mate? How good were we then? I am a disappointed member. You can make your own judgement as to how good we were when you watch a game.

Dont like people making excuses about who was not playing. End of the day our depth players need to still know how to win games as we will probably never have our best 22 on the field any week of the year. We will always have injuries so we need to learn how to win when players are injured rather then using it as an excuse for losing.

the same people make the same excuses over the last 5 pre seasons yet we end up rubbish in the real season, so how about some accountability. Pre season form does seem mean something to us. Get it. The trends and stats are there now.

No the gherkin is leaning to HIS left.