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It actually would be more than a fair question to ask. There would be so many advantages to playing an intra-club on the weekend and from the clubs perspective it would have been the smarter option There is obviously a good reason that they scheduled it for 3 o'clock in Casey but it must be pretty excellent as they would have struggled to scheduled it a worse time and, perhaps, place. As others have mentioned I am sure they could have tweaked the training to accommodate a weekend match rather than mid-week We have a tiny membership base. We need to be doing things better than everyone else. It was a wasted opportunity

I'm not against Casey and made it out there. But there would've been 500 people there. Collingwood had 5000 in a centralised area at a fan friendly time. Of course they have swindled their own training oval which is now a mini stadium fit with lights etc which makes things easier but the point remains. You'll notice Richmond and Carlton held intraclubs at their traditional homes today as well. I hope Casey brings extra members, but they weren't there yesterday and they aren't going to VFL games. Meanwhile there are thousands of demons supporters who live much closer to Gosch's paddock and the MCG who don't turn up for games yet alone intraclubs. They are the disenchanted base of supporters. PJ has already mentioned the desire to get them back. They may be whingers and soft whatevers but they are supporters who probably just need a winning games and a bit of extra TLC to come back. We can't provide that TLC to the majority of fans whilst being way out at Casey without any fan engagement at all.

I was on the outer wing as I always am whenever I go to Casey. The rehab guys, Fitzy, Watts, Vandenburg, Hunt and another I could not identify where doing repeat sprints up and down the boundary under the instructions of one of the phys ed guys; it was brutal. Vandenburg is a big unit. A couple of times he deliberately started about two metres behind the rest and made himself catch up by the end. The sprints were about fifty metres. During one of the drink breaks, Watts noticed the guy near me had two little kids, about three and five, wearing Melbourne jumpers. He jumped the fence and came up to talk to the kids. The kids were speechless. I have always been a Watts supporter, even more so after witnessing this.

Mate, quit acting like you're Paul Roos' Demonland mouthpiece.

I see St Kilda had their intra club today at 11. Was a huge crowd with memberships tents set up and jumping castle for the kids. Would have sold couple of hundred memberships and good time to purchase club merchandise. The club would have made a killing today. Get ya [censored] sorted MFC. The perfect day when most most people and kids have today off theres nothing better then going and see intra club hitout and buy a membership along the way. Instead we put it on a [censored] time slot like thursday. Even today i would have made the treck down from the country just to have a look.

Thanks Bruce.

Yep very excited for Salem especially the reports of him playing across half back, we need his class coming out of the backline as that's been a definite area of weakness over the last, well, decade.

Humorous rant by Ealesy over at Bombertalk in relation to The Age editorial. What is causing the tainting of the AFL? Essendon, James Hird and the players sitting back and respecting the process, barely commenting on the saga unless absolutely required and when commenting, doing so in a respectful and polite manner despite not receiving anything of the sort in return? Or the likes of Caroline Wilson, Tim Lane, Jake Naill, and Samantha Lane bleating and crying and sooking and demanding and acting like tantruming 3-year-olds who want to see this matter only resolved in a manner acceptable to them. Geez, have I been getting it wrong? Paragons of virtue, that mob from Tulla.

Just back: Some comments: Hogan: Simply an asset. Aggressive, quick, strong hands, awkward but reliable kick. N Jones: Busy. Just Jones Salem: Will be a lock for 22 on this form. Played down back and had a lot of it and kicked very well. Toumpas: Made the odd mistake but found plenty of it and kicked well. Dawes: Can't get a clean mark, they were all two grabbers. Not that impressive but worked hard. Viney: Aggressive, plenty of the ball and linked up well. Brayshaw looked taken aback by Viney's attack on the ball. He'll learn. Lumumba: As you'd expect. Just blowing the cobwebs away. Brayshaw: Pretty much unsighted by me. Gawn: Did ok competing up forward and rucked well but was beaten by Jamar who will be no 1 on todays form. Tyson: Not prolific but classy. McKenzie: Prolific but not classy. Pity he can't do more with the ball but he cut Kent right out of the play coming off half back. Dunn: Solid workout BILLY STRETCH: What did we pay for this bloke? Well it was a bargain. Plenty of the ball, ran well, clean hands, kicked well. I loved his father and I'll love watching Billy. Frost: Solid at both ends. I really like this bloke. Kent: Rarely sighted. I was disappointed as I love this bloke. Cross: Just gets it but made some awful disposal clangers. Newton: Didn't notice him much. I think he's that sort of player as I noticed another poster praised him. Garland: Solid Pedersen: Good competitive hitout. Competed well in the ruck and around the ground. Michie: Started really well and I thought was one of our better players but died out a little. Found a lot of the ball. T Mac: Solid Riley: Solid O Mac: Was involved in a bit but a project player I'd have thought. Grimes: Solid. No kicking clangers that I saw. Garlett: On this form he'll be the recruit of the season and Malthouse will just look silly. Class above. Jamar: Best ruckman. Took a good grab but little involvement other than that. Spencer: A game to forget for Jake. Bail: Played very well early with plenty of the ball and played centre square a bit. Great run, clean with the ball. M Jones: Played well. Kicked well and has pace. In best 22 on todays form I'd have thought. Terlich: Lots of the ball and played as Terlich plays. Harmes: Aggressive at the ball but not pressing ahead of the other "competing" mids for a spot. It seemed to me to be a day where the "definite" 22 just went through the paces, got a bit of the ball and looked to find some touch. The other players had something to prove and some took their chances. I don't think Stretch is ready but was impressive, Toump and Salem were good and Salem in particular has stepped up significantly as you'd expect. There were times when there was no flow in the game with multiple kicks across half back but there did seem to be a more attacking flavor to the game plan. Pity that a few missed but shyte happens. I'll be interested to compare my impressions with others.

After seeing what other clubs have done in terms of their intra club what we did with ours is indefensible. These are professional athletes being trained by professional coaches and fitness staff - surely they have the smarts to alter the plan slightly so the intra club can be played at a time when they get as many people there and make a day out of it. Supporters, and memberships, are the lifeblood of the club. To not put more weight behind that is disappointing from the club.

Completely missed the point.. What has playing on a Saturday got to do with 10 Casey top up players? Casey has a squad of about 30 to 40 im pretty sure a lot of these blokes would be free on a Saturday to fill in. And exactly what program are you talking about? My issue is when you put a timeslot of Thursday 3 o clock on a school week you are going to get a lot of disappointed supporters and kids who are unable to attend because of work life and school times. A lot of these people would have been hanging all summer wanting to go to an intra club match to see improvement and new recruits only to be let down by the timeslot. Me included. Yes its all about the players getting match fitness but supporters have just as much as right to this. After all we are paying for this club. It is also another day to boost memberships if it was held on a Saturday. It would have attracted a lot of kids and families and merchandise sales would have gone through the roof. Nothing better then going to a footy on a Saturday with bright sunny skies right? Yes the family day at Lunar park is good aswell. But why not having one at Casey aswell while being treated to a scratch match huh? I wouldn't have had it on Goschs paddock anyway. Casey on a day like today would have been brilliant. Like I said I would have done a 3 hour road trip down by myself just to have a look...

Paul Roos is actually the messiah. He really is.

I met the ex-wife of a very well known former MFC player and board member in Bali recently. She was very candid about things - historically and currently. She reported that, finally, the consensus is that the Demons have really got it together. As we all know, it's been an absolutely hopeless club for literally ages. That is no longer the case. Expect serious success from now on.

I hate the joint. Every time I go there I'm stuck in a massive line to buy a ticket, then I'm put in a crap position with the sun in my eyes to watch it. Sux balls big time.

I see a lot of passionate supporters, the majority of whom are silmply expressing their desire for Jackson to stay. This is a forum for passionate supporters is it not? The only overreaction as I see it is from those who denigrate others for expressing that passion.

"Respecting the process" is the funniest thing since the english cricket team

The beauty of Salem at half-back isn't just his kicking skills but also his great body-on-body work. He is so good in one on ones, particularly when the ball is on the deck.

Just about everything has been reported, but I would like to add a couple more observations: * Viney is one tough, hard and competitive beast. Brayshaw thought he had a chance one on one going for the loose ball. Not only did Viney win it hands down, but Brayshaw walked away holding his jaw. Certainly hope he was OK, and although he played on for another 10 minutes, he was last seen going up the race with a trainer, still feeling the side of his face. * Garlett was simply a streak in the forward line. Something we haven't seen since Flash. Just when you think the ball is bouncing around going nowhere, in he comes...making everyone else look like they are standing still. And his snap from deep in the pocket under pressure was an obsolute pearler. Most of the crowd were silent, because they didn't believe it was a goal. * Salem kicking in will be an monumental step up. Accurate, raking kicks to the open man was a delight to watch. Grimes is going to struggle to find a spot when you already have Garland, Dunn, McDonald, Lamumba and Frost filling the main spots. Where do Howe and Jack fit in if Salem is in the mix as well? * Gee Jonesy is great. His carving through a series of players in the first quarter was beautiful to watch. And Cross is another one who seems to make time stand still when he has the ball in his hands. Again poetry in motion * Jamar absolutely owned the ruck, but dropped out of the game around the ground too quickly. Pedersen is going to be the bonus player for us as he can play in virtually any role....forward, back or ruck. * Lamumba is something special to us as well. Finally, we have someone who can break lines and open the game up. Even when he marks with his back to the play, he twists in mid-air looking for the next option...no static play in the backline with him around!

No, you don't. I attended one of these events years ago. Barely any merchandise. Couldn't buy a membership. A handful of players, at best, were around after the event...and years later nothing has changed. I talked to one young chap on the day and said, in effect " I'm here with two kids, trying to spend money and you have nothing for me to buy!" Bloody amateur hour. Again. Saty, I get that you defend the club regardless of what it produces. I bemoan our state out of a desire for us not to be a laughing stock. We have so far to go it is just maddening.

All AFL players are lectured to and listen to whatever BS the club sticks on a whiteboard. When a 33 yr old premiership player recites propaganda from his new club, which Chappy has just done it indicates to me how the young kids (and their parents) swallowed the cr@p about the injections. It just shows how hard they try to do their job. It shows to me what a disgrace that those officers of EFC who aremost guilty will be exonerated and those just trying be a team member will get flogged.

The problem for Tony now is that the Emperor seems to have abandoned him. The party newsletter, The Australian has leaked that Tony wanted to send troops unilaterally into Iraq. Tony has vehemently denied it but the Oz is adamant they are correct. That is a sure sign that his most serene highness Rupert the Wise has made up his mind. Tony is for the chop sometime soon.

We are going round in circles. Let's presume the club purposely wanted to keep the intraclub as a low key affair. That's not unreasonable. The bigger the build up the more pressure on for players and coaches to make it entertainment instead of the focus on the actual football. Let's also presume (whether true or not) that having it on Thursday at 3pm provided the best conditions for the coaches, players and fitness staff to prepare for the season. That may have been the case. They didn't have to work extra hours and had and then had a 3 day weekend to break up preseason before our first game. I personally can't see how a few hours later and/or Friday and/or Saturday would've changed anything but so be it. What I don't get was why there was no BBQ, membership tents and some basic kids entertainment. It seems we dropped the ball on that at least. Even Saty with your fierce defending of all things the club does I don't see how you can say a membership tent and a BBQ wouldn't have been a good idea.

If other clubs can manage a more supporter friendly time and day then why can't our club? Given our last number of pathetic years our club should be doing the most out of every afl club to try to get supporters back.

That doesn't make sense to me, An intra club match should be put on at a time which suits the general public and supporters, I would say if the fitness program costs the club a chance to gain supporters and memberships it should be slightly altered, surely a few Casey boys would have loved to play on Saturday in front of a crowd twice the size of a crowd on Thursday 3pm.

Speaking for someone who has a young family, by the time you pick them up from school it was almost impossible to get to Casey at that time. My kids and I would have loved to go, but would only have made it if it was played in the inner city area. I hope next year is a different story and it is played somewhere and at a time that the majority of supporters can get to.

Intra-club and practice (NAB) matches mean nothing to me. In this day and age, they are an anachronistic left-over of what footballers did 10,20,50 years ago, but football hasn't caught up. Training is where footballers gain fitness, endurance and exposure to the drills the coach is trying to implement. The idea that you need "match practice" today doesn't sit with full-time athletes, especially in AFL where the risk of contact injury is high. Having said all that, it is great for the fans because they get to see new players in action, and hopefully determine whether they are any good. So the observations made by many at the intra-club would seem to show the following: Lamumba, Garlett & Frost will be great additions to the side. Their presence WILL mean we can perform better than we did last year. Hogan should also make a positive difference, but we probably already know that. There are plenty of others who might show something more than they did last year ( but then every fan at every club thinks the same) At a minimum, putting 4 more very capable players into last years side will see us win games that last year we lost. The improvement in others from last year is conjecture, and we won't know that until the real games start, but it will be an additional bonus....i.e you won't work that out from intra-club matches

I haven't been to Etihad much but when I went I thought it was an impressive stadium. Then Melbourne came out and ruined it. I am sure when we start winning there we will like it more.

Etihads not as bad as people make out, it sucks but putting up with it to see the Demons play is a small price. The major issue is our form there, if we could win some more games there it wouldn't seem nearly as bad (as is true for most of our performances over the last decade).

Hope you washed your hands afterwards. I dropped by a couple of times, but it's just too disturbing.

He doesn't think so, he told me last week, that is why he is doing all the extra work, reckons he is nowhere near strong enough to compete with the 'mature' footy players he may come up against, but is working on it No that's how quick he is, I would rate him alongside Matt Jones for speed, had a chat to him when they finished, can't wait to get the all clear from the shoulder injury so he can get a crack at the NAB cup hopefully, he is my smokey for this year now I have seen him

And yet both jumped the shark.

We don't have to be interested - I'm not much interested myself. The point is that it's of immense significance to indigenous footballers throughout the country, not just those in the AFL. These blokes are very proud to play in this game.

Fancy actually going to the football and seeing your team win. I'd like to do that. Probably the glaring weakness in our team is the ability for our players to kick. Matt Jones is not a good kick, he lacks penetration and control and often has the ball bounce in front of his target or sail over their heads. Grimes is worse. Grimes will likely play round 1, but if our backline players are pretty healthy then he most likely wont still be there in round 4 based on the form he showed yesterday. You have to ask yourself why Salem goes to half back and looks like a star after one intraclub. Or why Billy Stretch comes in and looks so comfortable. Same can be said for JKH last year. It's because these experienced players are ordinary. Of course their is bias to the youngsters and against the whipping boys. But I went to Casey hoping to see Jack Grimes freshened up without the captaincy and after a fit and healthy preseason. I didn't see that at all.

Cheers Webber, needed a good laugh on a warm Friday afternoon. The one positive to come out of this intra club is the fact that we clearly have a coaching group who are willing to not only take risks but also understand the players as well. Playing Salem off half back is one such example - the kid can kick the footy beautifully and with some coaching and work on his defensive skills he can be a weapon for us going forward, rather than just trying to move into the midfield before he is ready. As long as we can stay as injury free as possible then we should be in good shape come Round 1.

Don't forget Dawes ability to chase, pressure and how many crunching tackles he did last season. He will protect Hogan all year long and Hogan will benefit from knowing Dawes won't bring the second defender to his contests.

The only best 22 definites (if eligible) at present for me are as follows: FB: Jetta Dunn ***** HB: Salem Tommy HL C: Vince Jones Viney HF: Watts Dawes Howe FF: Jeffy Hoges ***** R: Jamar Tyson Cross Not sure where Watts and Howe will line up but they are definitely in for my liking. Frost, Garland, Grimes, Toump, Gawn, Pedo, Kent, Bail, Newton, JKH, Matt Jones, Viv and Brayshaw can all fight to the death for the last couple spots and for the pine.

I think Garlett is a great pick up because his best attributes are exactly what we have been lacking in the forward line in recent years - raw pace, class and the ability to kick opportunistic goals. Last year we had to work so hard for every goal and at times we just needed that easy goal to release the pressure. I wouldn't focus too much on an intra-club game, though. This is exactly the type of game where someone with Garlett's attributes would naturally shine - quick deck, lots of space, little pressure, etc. So while I do think he's a very good acquisition the true test will come on a miserable day at the G against some nasty little back pocket player who won't give him a moment's rest.

The training posts have been fantastic. Very high quality and useful insights without the ego of the reporter intruding. Pity some of you are not footy journalists...no, probably not otherwise your reputation and integrity would go out the window. So like so many others, your posts are really the best thing about this site. We are learning a lot about how individual players are developing and what our options are likely to be. It is not surprising to read the comments on our "old players." Nothing much seems to have changed. I think for some of those players this season may be their last gasp. Our improvement as a team is clearly going to come from the inclusion of our new recruits such as Lumumba & Garlett together with the likes of Salem, Toumpas, Frost etc, No doubt we have greater depth so we should expect improvement, however, I suspect that it is not going to be exponential. Time will tell, however, my mindset is that we will see gradual improvement this year which hopefully provides a foundation for the next 5 years. Unlike the top teams we still do not have a nucleus of star players or match winners. Hopefully we will develop those players as wins and confidence come but it is going to take time. But as Old Dee has previously stated we are dancing with our sister until the real deal starts. Lets temper our expectations.

Made it out there. I'm going to save you most my long story about stupidly thinking the whole of Eastern Melbourne is pretty close by, going to do the 1000 steps then battling traffic through Belgrave to cut down to Casey. Except for saying they're are now many more housing developments along Clyde road and each one comes with a roundabout and Australians seem to have absolutely no understanding of how to drive through roundabouts. So I made it there at about 5 passed 3 which turned out to be quite a bit in to the 1st quarter. They played 4 quick quarters with pretty quick breaks besides 3/4 time when they went inside but not for much more than 5 or so minutes. The red team won by about 5 goals. Reds:Hogan, Garlett, Dawes, Gawn, Spencer, Cross, Tyson, Viney, Garland, Dunn, McDonald, Riley, Stretch, Salem Blues (MFC jumper): Jones, Frost, Pedersen, Oscar Mc, Jamar, Toumpas, Terlich, Grimes, Viv, HL, Kent, Brayshaw Unsure what team: Newton, Riley, Bail, Matt Jones, Harmes MIA: Fitzy, Watts and White (running laps), Hunt (had been training), Trengove, ANB, KIng, Howe, Vince Can't remember seeing Vandenberg at all Jetta and JKH obviously in Perth Petracca there in casual clothes. Knee in a bandage/brace whatever you call it. Pumping all his fellow young guys up on the bench. Smiling. Showing great character. Hogan was largely opposed to Bryce Rutherford from Casey, so I'd temper expectations. He also had a few uncharacteristic drops otherwise he couldve kicked 6. Garlett was cleaning them up though. Dawes was double grabbing but presenting and bringing it to ground, had a good match up on Frost for the first half or so. Frost was solid, then went forward. Tom McDonald played on his brother, which allowed him to run off and get involved in rebound, he wasn't perfect but took a couple of nice marks. Playing with Dunn and Garland they were much more organised in the backline than the other team and Salem was benefited and capitalised from that. He has the most lovely pure kicking action and looked a natural back there at least rebounding. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Terlich and Grimes at the other end. Grimes had a couple of shocking turnovers. Preseason seems to have done nothing for his confidence, balance or execution by foot. Dished off a hospital handball as well and generally looked like he just can't find the right space to link up. I guess he's got a month to change that. Terlich was ok, but in an effort to move the ball on quickly he grubbed a left foot kick off half a step and he followed a great bursting run through half back with a kick straight to a leading CHF in the centre of the ground. In some ways its moving the ball on quickly, but if it's not marked it becomes a very dangerous spot to have the ball in dispute. This kick was easily spoiled by the defender right on the hammer of the forward. Newton got hold of the ball at used it pretty well at times. Stretch seemed a natural running player. Links up well, not perfect by foot but you can see him improving and being a very good running player, I think he'll get a shot this year. Toumpas had some good moments. Aidan Riley was really cracking in at the contests. Jordie McKenzie was finding space and the footy from half back, but unfortunately his kicking is still far from AFL level, went for a penetrating forward entry from 60m out but the ball went 30m deep but 60m high. Viv Michie had some moments, he seems a solid tackler, my main concern is he just doesn't play at the speed required. Jamar dealt with Spencer pretty easily in the rucks and probably had the advantage on Gawn as well. It annoys me we will still look to drop a ruck behind the ball from half forward stoppages, I hate that tactic. Gawn might have been edged in the ruck but he's as good as if not better than most of our midfielders on the spread and had plenty of touches of the footy. Draws men and gives solid handballs at times. Lumumba was pretty involved, playing a fair bit on the ball for the blues. At times he really broke the game open with run and spread. A couple of other times he ran in to team mates in contests though, which is hard to tell who's fault it is. Certainly rather them running in to each other than both sitting back at this stage. Lumumba will help us move the ball on quicker, but it wont always end well when he goes on his big runs. Both Matt Jones and Bail bobbed up in times. Bail finding plenty of space. Matt Jones with a nice break away from a pack and hit up kick to a leading forward. Crossy was involved in everything early, found a heap of the footy a couple of poor turnovers though before he settled down. With the ball running on in to space and the only two in the area Viney and Brayshaw contested a loose ball. Brayshaw (in a move he'll probably regret) tried to initiate a bump with Viney and seemed only to run his jaw in to Viney's shoulder. He didn't take part much after that but he stayed on straight after and then on the bench didn't have it iced or much concern for him. It was right in front of the main crowd so likely others saw it and maybe tracked him better than I did.

Hogan re-signed until the end of 2017 so let's lose our minds over something else...

he is just one of those players you can tell is going to be a beauty, isn't he?

"pinpoint pass" and "smooth moving" have been used when JKH had the ball. Sounds about right.

Hi everyone,I've enjoyed reading the gameday threads on Demonland for the last couple of years so I thought its about time I joined in.Looking forward to the 2015 season and discussing it here with you guys.

I find it hard seeing him in any spot BB

They're both ahead of Brayshaw and Petracca (def now!) I reckon, on account of having played senior footy. I've had a feeling since we drafted Stretch that we'll see a lot of him this year. His size will become irrelevant very quickly, as his physique looks remarkably mature to me....very low body fat, just a classic running build.

Hogan and Garlett!... seven goals between them. Yay!

'Sam Frost goals'. I thought he nicked a hammy at training on Monday.

Not a great trainer in terms of stamina, work ethic etc. by all training reports, but put a ball in his hand and let him play the game, and boy is Garlett a beauty: Garlett hits Dawes with a nice pass Matty Jones - fine work. Runs and carries the ball with a bounce and finds Garlett, who finishes with a goal. Jeff Garlett produces some pace and class and kicks a fine goal Jeff Garlett kicks a fine goal from the boundary. Nice work by the new Dee Jeff Garlett again kicks truly. He's been very good. * Continually editied as GARLETT KEEPS DOING STUFF!!!!!111one!!!!11

OD I hope that is because your eyesight has failed. Perhaps you could listen.

As fas I am concerned our next premiership will be the greatest ever. Dwelling on fast fading past glories gives an empty feeling. Gives us more reason to feel morose. If anyone may happen to have MFC number plates with that elusive yet unknown date could be sitting on a small fortune to boot.