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There seems little doubt that the Casey Scorpions of 2015 will be a far different proposition to the side that limped through much of last season to finish second last, ahead only of the now defunct Bendigo Gold. On that performance, the club would be ranked last among the remaining VFL clubs but, after a shaky opening few minutes, the team settled down well against one of the competition's power house combinations and maintained control for much of the game. Their accuracy in front of goal was a stand out. Gone were the hesitancy and poor decision making of a team that was often undermanned, inexperienced and outclassed side playing poor directionless football and in its place were bigger bodies and a new style of more direct purposeful football under new coach Justin Plapp. They held on against the wind to win well by 20 points - 10.2.62 to 5.12.42. There was only a small contingent of AFL listed players with rejuvenated big man Cam Pedersen relishing the game against his old VFL club and dominating all over the ground, particularly up forward where he was in fine marking form and got among the goals. Angus Brayshaw was the most impressive of the young recruits. Playing in the middle, he showed class and balance and dominated the centre clearances with great effect. His second term was outstanding. He has clean hands and delivered the ball well given the gusty conditions and relished playing under Plapp, his 2014 coach at the Sandringham Dragons. James Harmes was effective coming out of defence and Oscar McDonald, playing mainly up forward moved well and kicked a goal early. Billy Stretch on a wing was quiet but had a few good runs and looms as a future outside player who will no doubt be groomed to emulate the Lewis Jetta/Isaac Smith type of player in the future. Jake Spencer rucked strongly, assisted by Jack Fitzpatrick who filled in up forward for short periods. Skipper Evan Panozza played his usual workmanlike role in defence with occasional stints up forwards. Mitch Gent, who was sidelined by injury last year, was in good form and Tim Smith took a couple of his trademark hangers. Ed Morris and Bryce Rutherford look to be kicking on from their break out seasons of last year. Lucas Walmsley was the stand out among the recruits. He has pace and poise, kicked the first goal and showed out and with his shock of blond dreadlocked hair is sure to become a crowd favourite. Other recruits who caught the eye were Jack Hutchins ex Gold Coast, returning Gippsland Power player Tom Muir who spent last year in Adelaide, James Munro from Sandringham and Luke Hannon who skippered Eastern Ranges last year and was a teammate of injured Demon recruit Christian Petracca. Jordan Moncrieff, the son of ex-Hawthorn forward Michael, is a likely type at 197cm. The side was missing experienced Shannon Byrnes and Will Petropoulos and will have much greater depth in 2015 but the main difference between the Scorps of last year and this year is the purpose and spirit of the players. They have a greater desire to succeed. At the final break, Plapp called upon them to maintain their intensity and show the opposition no respite and they managed to do that against a very strong side. They mastered the conditions, kicked well for goal and deserved the result.

I went with my daughter and had a great time. Really enjoyed chatting with Jack Watts - he is so lovely. Also met Sam Frost - he is a lovely humble guy as well. Had lots of photos with many of the guys and they were all so obliging. The best thing for me was that my daughter, who for the past 10 or so years claimed to be a Collingwood supporter has finally seen the light and took out a Melbourne membership today. She has finally seen the light and I have welcomed her back to the fold!

Just got back. To be honest if you've got no kids and aren't a signature hunter there isn't much going on but I have kids and they love it. My 9 year old wasn't impressed with col garland she thought he was a grumpy old man. Best on ground has to go to toumpass. If anyone hasn't spoken to him before they should. He is a great bloke and is very engaging with kids. He and JKH had a booth at the demon army tent and we're getting photos done with kids wearing wigs and not taking themselves too seriously. My daughter loves the toump so she got his number on her back. I took her friend from school with us and converted her to a Melbourne supporter so today was a success.

What I've learnt thus far… Spread. The first half was the best I’ve seen a Melbourne side attack and spread in a long time. I think watching via the stream it’s difficult to glean how much that 5 goal wind had the capacity to effect kicking skills, but, in the main, I thought we transitioned the footy very well and opened up space and opportunities through spread and hard running. It helps when you’ve got tall targets, as they are the driver in giving the team confidence to move the ball quickly. Salem and Toumpas play far better football when they’re behind the ball. Toumpas is very much a confidence player with a long way to go, but the more he feels he belongs and the more he touches the leather the better he’ll get. He’s poor in a one on one contested situation, but with experience he’ll play to his strengths and hopefully become a reliable distributor. Salem has a harder edge and while he too needs to improve his decision making, we’ve potentially found an elite half-back, who has the capacity to push through the midfield as his career develops. For the first time in a long time I didn’t have apoplexy when Grimes had the footy. It was a break-through for Jack and a much needed boost for his confidence. Hogan is still a little rusty, but when he gets his timing right he’ll impact plenty of quarters. Even a little off his impact is palpable. He has a Neitz-like on-field presence that will greatly benefit the likes of Dawes, Watts and Pedersen. Garlett’s a terrific acquisition and he’ll salivate at the prospect of scouting Hogan-impacted contests. I like Newton. The club is trying to develop him in a more outside role, which threatens to reduce his early numbers. He’s most comfortable inside the contest with his nose over the footy, but they reckon we’re reasonable well off in that regard and want to capitalise on his quality left foot. We’ve already seen enough to know that Garlett, Lamumba, Frost, Newton, and van Demon (thanks to another poster) are going to be quality additions. This will be Watts’ best year for the club. As the third or fourth tall he has the capacity to be a nightmare for the opposition. His frame is clearly the strongest it’s looked, with both upper and lower body strength significantly improved. Thankfully, the midfield experiment is over. I’m looking forward to a 40 goal year. Some will consider this ambitious, however, with a defined role, undoubted footy smarts and superb goal-kicking accuracy, two goals a game isn't setting the bar too high. More importantly, this has to be the type of impact required. Intensity is the key for Jack. Brendan McCartney, in particular, has the ability to bring out the best in him. Matt Jones, McKenzie and Bail are solid servants, but they’re below the quality required to make a charge up the ladder. The club knows this, but their attributes will get them games until the likes of Brayshaw, ANB, Stretch and, of course, Petracca consign them to the past. We know what we’re going to get from the aforementioned and unfortunately it’s sub-optimal. I’d get Brayshaw into the team as quickly as possible. As Greg Chappell once said, the best way to learn how to play test cricket is to play test cricket. He should be over his head knocks and the quicker he’s in the team the better. I’m not as concerned by the abysmal second half as some. 220 disposals in the first half to 110 indicated that when we play with the intensity and to the structures they've trained over summer they can play effective two-way footy. It only takes one player to break down well-rehearsed zones. Combined with reduced intensity or changed personnel at stoppages we saw what can happen. In modern footy momentum can be difficult to withstand. They gave the Dogs a sniff and their tails subsequently went up. It’s a timely reminder to coaches and players as to what we can expect when you stop tackling, running and defending. The coaches would rather the opportunity to dissect this game now than after round 1. Tackling is the one area our better mids need to keep an eye on. Your best 6 should aspire to average at least 4 tackles per game, but preferably 5+. Tyson is a revelation, but he needs to improve his tackling numbers. I’m not as critical with the odd miskick as some, but I do want to see his tackling efforts improve. He’s adept at getting first possession at a stoppages and weaving, feigning, etc. until he gets that quick kick or handball out, but he can also sit back at times waiting to pounce. We are getting bigger and stronger, but we still need to raise the aggression stakes. Notwithstanding the exceedingly poor second half, I've seen enough already over the preseason with recruits, young players, hard running and spread to be quietly optimistic looking to the year ahead. Supporters’ emotions rise and fall too much over a quarter here or a half there. But it’s difficult to be overly critical with what they've had to endure.

I guess many people like me are reading the preseason tealeaves as a portent for the season to come. I've almost given up reading DL for any meaningful insights or rationality - certainly there's no balance. Still If I'm going to have a crack at 'others' I may as well offer a contribution rather than just whinging. Firstly I was heartened that the club did the right thing by its supporters and provided a telecast of the game that I could access (at least the first half - the connection in the second half was very similar to our on field display). I know there are many that have been unhappy with the engagement with the membership of late, but from where I sit at least the club is trying, not always getting it right, but trying. Secondly our on-field performance was definitely a game of two halves. What I liked in the first half (even though at times it seemed like a training drill) was our ability to move the ball quickly by hand. Something that we haven't been able to do for the longest time. Instead of just hand balling under pressure and coughing it up, which has been the norm for too long, we were hand balling in front of the player to run onto rather than at their feet, over their head or behind their back. Once the player hand balled they automatically put on a shepherd. These are football basics, but something we obviously had to relearn. Based on what I saw Garland and Grimes will finish top ten in the B&F if they play like that consistently. Matt Jones I thought was also good in the first half (didn't make any errors that I could see anyway). Tommy Mac and Nev were superb. The midfield kicking wasn't flash, but as Roos said the conditions were difficult. It always seems to be windy in Ballarat. I thought our intensity in the first half was fantastic and actually intimidated the Doggies a bit, - when was the last time we could say that about any Melbourne side? Not so much in the second half, but at least we're raising the bar (previously the difference between our best and worst football was OK to Insipid). Now our best looks a lot better. Hard to gauge what our worst will be like at this stage, but hopefully a damn site better than in the last few years. I doubt we'll see a centre square set up like we had in the last quarter once the real stuff starts. The Bulldogs were missing 5 of their best 7 from their top ten from last year (Griffen, Libba and Crameri were unavailable) we had all 7 of our best 7 from the top ten available (Howe, Vince and Frawley unavailable). So yes the Doggies were inexperienced, but in general I think we found plenty to be excited about into the future. Our recruiting is getting better Frost, Lumumba, Newton, Garlett all look like being in the best 22 and I think we're actually a much better side immediately which takes the pressure of Petracca, Brayshaw and Stretch to adjust to the tempo of league footy rather than throwing them to the wolves to make up the deficit of talent. I was disappointed Vandenberg got injured because I think he's also a smokey for round 1. Tyson, Salem and Toumpas all appear to be improving rather than just plateauing and Hogan just looks like a player (easy to see why there's so much hype - well founded IMO) won't be dominant in 2015, but I can't wait to see what he's doing to opposition team in two years time.

I'm assuming. because it suits me, that Roos saw enough in the first half and changed things AND the players know it is a practice game and are likely to be more choosy about how hard they go. Especially after getting ahead so well in the first half. Looking forward to seeing the rise and rise of Jimmy T this year.

Watched the game today for the first time. The toump was terrific. Not sure where this tackle stuff comes from. One he laid some great tackles himself. Two yes he got caught with it a couple of times but so do m Jones and viney (who seems to escape critisim because of his attack on the ball). Instead of the photo of him being tackled we might have equally referenced the play where he brilliantly avoided a tackle and won the ball in the forward pocket setting up an easy goal. Class

Really good effort today by the mfc. Seemed to all run smoothly. My kids loved it. Each year they look forward to it, even more than the games. My eight year old made me go on the roller coaster three times. The Luna park staff had great pleasure in announcing it was more than 100 years old. Didn't inspire much confidence and the old girl is as rough as they come. Watts is such a champ with the kids. They sure do love him and Jack Viney. Nate jones took his new little one on the stage as did crossy. Nice touch. One of the other kids we went with got shat on by a seagull. I said that was a one in a million chance l, then noticed the five hundred seagulls above the ride. Revised the odds and I reckon it was probably a one in five chance.

Why would anyone do that?

Box Hill had 16 AFL players playing for them so a great effort all from Casey. Found this on the Hawks Bigfooty who some went and watched the game. " My BOG was Angus Brayshaw, a serious ball magnet and effective with his use of the footy. Interesting that he is not in the Melbourne senior team."

In the last quarter, I saw H appear right in the middle of the screen lining up in the square, and I immediately felt safer. 10 seconds later, Jamar taps it right down H's throat, who bolts away and delivers a rocket to Watts who converts. I was really impressed with him yesterday. The guy can just play - I think that got forgotten a bit with all the silly business with Buckley in the last few years. Also, I thought we were told he was a poor kick. Early days, but no sign of that so far.

Link here.

As disappointed as I was at the time by the second half I think we can read a little bit into what Roos is trying to do. They mixed up the winning combination from the first half to give some other players game time and to learn more about where those players were in terms of preparation and the game plan. As I saw it our key mids were essentially removed from the clearance work to see what a few others could do which allowed the dogs to win out of the centre. The coaches need to learn what the marginal players can and can't do and those players need to learn as well. It became obvious our second rung players have a longer way to go and are not yet comfortable with implementing the game plan. M jones has a long way to go and Mckenzie was poor. Lumumba is not a good inside mid without support and is better suited to the position in combination with jones and viney feeding him. Garland improved but needs another game under his belt to put in a full performance. Watts was good in the second half and but for the wind would have kicked 3. It's going to be a difficult choice what to do with watts and frost. In the season proper we won't see a starting clearance group without one of jones Tyson and viney which happened quite a few times in the second half. (Jones started on the wing a few times) On reflection we have learned a lot out of yesterday in particular what combinations work and who is ready for the season..

Remember when everyone* was having a haemorrhage over how we paid "overs" for him, when we actually paid the only reasonable currency we had left? *Almost.

BACK AND FORWARD by Whispering Jack It's a pity in many ways that the NAB Challenge game against the Western Bulldogs couldn't be played backwards because that might satisfy many of the Melbourne supporters who were disgruntled by the outcome of a game which their team actually won and give them some perspective. If you really could play the game backwards then the deficit at half time would have been 38 points making Melbourne's fightback to pull the game out of the fire look heroic. Given that such things are such a valuable commodity but have been rare in recent times, I would prefer the heroics to be kept for events that have a little more meaning than this little romp in the goldfield town of Ballarat. The reality was that this was a practice match and the result was as irrelevant as it will be next Friday evening when the Demons face up to a truncated Bomber line up at Etihad Stadium in front of however many fans bother to front up to the ground or watch on Foxtel (strange how that mob still get all of their games televised even if half the side are unlisted ring ins). The reality is that Melbourne disposed of an undermanned opposition in the first half of the game so comprehensively that the second half was used for its proper purpose - experimentation. In the event, the Bulldogs came out with some added purpose and managed to outscore the Demons in the third quarter with the aid of the wind and continued to surge against a much different midfield set up and an altered defensive mindset in changed conditions with a swirly wind gusting all over the place. This did not alter the fact that the focus should be on the style of play that we saw in the first half which is going to be more the hallmark of the Melbourne Football Club's on field efforts in 2015. As Paul Roos put it after the game, "omething we've been working really hard on is getting the ball moving with a bit more speed." This was highlighted by the showings of the club's four 2015 recruits from other clubs in Heritier Lumumba (running defender and midfield), Jeff Garlett (goal sneak), Sam Frost (a big man with pace who can play forward or back) and Ben Newton (midfield). There was also a lot to like in the games of Christian Salem, Jay Kennedy-Harris and Jimmy Toumpas and the little we were allowed to see of Jesse Hogan whose season was crippled by the injury he suffered in the corresponding game last year. There is also evidence of other players playing different roles as the club's rejuvenation continues, albeit not at the same revolutionary pace that many would prefer. Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson dominated the first half stoppages but were used sparingly in the engine room in the second half and these were among many of the changes rung in by the coaching group, the consequences of which were stunningly obvious but lost on some of the fans who turned on their team expecting it to go for the jugular when there was another game even more meaningless in terms of result only six days away. When that day comes, the match conditions will be changed further to the traditional 22 man team format and two weeks beyond that, the real stuff starts. You can rest assured that by then, the team's focus and its line up will be different again and it will be some time after, that we will really be able to discern whether or not the team has moved forward. MELBOURNE 0.2.2 0.8.4 0.9.6 0.10.9 (69) WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.0.1 0.1.1 0.4.4 0.9.8 (62) GOALS Melbourne: Garlett Kennedy-Harris 2 Cross Dawes Frost Hogan N Jones Watts Western Bulldogs: A Cordy 2 Bontempelli Boyd Goodes Grant Jong Minson Stringer SUPERGOALS Melbourne: Nil Western Bulldogs: Nil BEST Melbourne: Salem T McDonald Tyson Dunn N Jones Jetta Kennedy-Harris Western Bulldogs: Honeychurch M Boyd Grant Jong Daniel A Cordy INJURIES Melbourne: vandenBerg (cut head) Western Bulldogs: Nil SUBSTITUTES Melbourne: Western Bulldogs: Reports: Nil Umpires: Chris Donlon Scott Jeffery Brendan Hosking, Curtis Deboy Official crowd: 5000 approx. at Eureka Stadium, Ballarat.

Here you go. Using Google was really hard.

Keep drinking.

Mate, I'm sorry, but most people open threads because they want to discuss the topic in the title. I have deleted posts I have personally found funny many a time, when they don't have a place on the site. I'm not being the humour police, I'm being the needlessly and intentionally off-topic police. I'm sure if WJ and Demonland think I'm too heavy handed, they'll bring it up with me.

Or 14 or 16.

Just when I think you are about to post something worthwhile about the game you go and add on that at the end and ruin it. Why bother? Unless you want to quote them directly and argue the case then let them have their opinions. You never bring anything to it, other than the same stock standard response that NOBODY buys. Your arguments are like the theological equivalent of saying "look, over there" and running in the opposite direction. And I do agree with Roos - we took the pedal off far too much in the last. We did ok in the third into the breeze and then got complacent, thinking the breeze would do the work for us.

What would Roos know about footy anyway?

We needed a replacement for the departing Frawley, and for pick 24 we have found a beauty here! electrifying pace, solid foot skills, creative, brave, and did I mention electrifying pace? Will work well with McDonald. Will make others around him stand taller. Excellent work recruiting guys!

I just have to say that I thought our captain gave a great interview. Real content and comfortable, even a touch of humour.

Was there today and had a great time. My two daughters (17 & 19) absolutely loved getting pics and talking with the players. 19yo has a big crush on JKH and got a few pics. Very well done to MFC and also to the greater majority of the players. One or two seamed disinterested but most were thrilled to be able to meet and talk with the kids (and older teenagers!). O'Mac was also brilliant and willing to engage. Another fantastic day. As I said - very well done to the MFC and player for being totally involved.

I actually think it was, and will prove to be, a masterstroke. Pick 23 (or whatever it was) for this guy, especially in the context of the club losing our most experienced/best defender as a free agent to the Hawks, is an absolute bargain. And we got Brayshaw for that defender we lost, whose absence I don't think will particularly hurt us given the recruitment of Frost. Salem and Tyson for pick 2 was also a masterstroke. The club finally seems to have worked out how to draft and trade players.

I heard a discussion on sen a week or 2 ago, discussing reasons for poor carlton membership. Plenty of unimpressed supporters rang up with stories way worse than anything I have read on here.

I was actually at the game ,and in between buying cans for BBO who was rapidly dehydrating from a long walk (sort of) in the direction of the ground ,I noticed our skills have improved rapidly. Our kicking is now snappier,more confident and decisive ,mostly due to the options be made available faster. I am extremely pleased with our new forward line. If Garlett,Hogan,Jkh ,Dawes and Watts get on the park we will be kicking much bigger scores. Toumpas and Salem were excellent ,Dunny and Frost were solid . I have often thought in our quest for big bodies that we had become too top heavy and slow. Garlett ,JKH work well with Dawes (who will spill marks to their advantage) and Hogan who will clunk many or take two or three backmen with him. Toumpas and Salem are good around the packs also. We are in for a much better year.

A great day at a country footy match! Friendly crowd, mostly standing and mostly Dees I thought but none of the intermingled Bully supporters managed to annoy me. Maybe the fact that Ballarat provided a sunny day for possibly the first time ever had something to do with it. The drink tent was a real nostalgia trip with the local "Ladies Committee" serving full strength coldies out of an ice tub. The only sour note was that I had to endure Biffen's company and BO but more of that on another thread. Despite missing the first 10 minutes, obviously the first half was the highlight of the game. And the highlight of that for me was JKH. It was easily the best I've seen of him and he showed real poise and confidence . He could be a surprise packet this year. Jetta looked the goods again and Frost is top pick up. Frost is also easily distinguished as he has jug ears like Adam Gilchrist. Lumumba showed pace and the ability to be where the ball is. A full season from him will add a lot of bite out defence/midfield. And talking of pace means Garlett - another top selection I reckon. While I'm not going to pre order finals tickets just yet I did see enough to give me genuine confidence in team improvement and competitiveness this year.

I remember Roosy said after he left that there were two sides of the story and he would leave at that.. The feeling i got was he wanted to mentioned what happened but kept his professional hat on. Something definitely wasn't right.

I am sure Clark's position at the club was untenable for whatever reason before he retired. Most likely the powers at the club fully expected that he was going to end up playing somewhere else. Overall pragmatism won out out and we managed to get a decent replacement for him in the end.

Thanks P-man. Agreed, JV did make a few silly errors but I'm not or wasn't worried by him. I liked his game because of his attack and willingness to win that contested possession for us time and time again (as you eluded to above). Yes Grimes did kick one clanger that was out on the full via mark by a bees d*** in a tight situation, I find it somewhat amusing how people spot it with ease because they're looking for it, and further others claim he had a bad game because of it. However, Grimes racked up quite a few tonight and disposed them at 90.9% efficiency.

Toumpas - missing from analysis Cross - also not included Joeboy - perhaps not watching

I generally love your 3 word reviews, but this is the worst you have ever done. Lucky though, it is only NAB Challenge matches, so you are just "blowing" out the cobwebs.

1 recruit per year from GWS could be a winner . Tom who?

Garlett - great pick up Toumpas- confidence building game Salem - prolific ball winner Viney- first game back Jones - easy 22 disposals Tyson- typical Tyson game. M jones - disposal worris me Jetta - played his role Dunn - played his role McDonald - great attacking run Lumumba - versatile game today Hogan - underdone but huge JKH - great in patches Cross- average game today Gawn - ok but average Bail - didn't get much Frost - quiet but explosive Newton - quiet game today Michie - ok for sub Vandenberg - head collision sub Watts- silky given opportunity Garland - lethargic and slow Don't know if missed any today's game was so poor against rally poor opposition.

I love this video anyway, but check out Jones at 2:43, 6:10, 8:40 and Tyson at 9:05, 11:04, 12:30. If these two aren't stars this year, it'll only be because the rest of the side are so bad that we're unwatchable to the rest of the league.

I feel there were many positives to come out of tonight's game. - confidence in our ability to score - first times n a long time we have come out on the front foot and was dominant for the whole first half - Garlett, Lamumba and Frost all had good games and each added some pace and creativity we have lacked - Salem keeps showing signs, Toumpas is getting it more and starting to impact a little more - we won a game. Have to enjoy the little things. *edit- must mention Grimes as a positive today as well. Credit where it is due he was much improved with his kicking today. If he can start to back himself and chip sideways less, he just might make it yet

Frost, Lamumba and Garlett- that is a "moneyball" approach I can deal with!

Had some time to think about the game and although we were dominated in the second half, there's two clear positives to come out from the result. 1. We won 2. No injuries

If you are old enough to remember dad - his kicking was appalling early in his career and whilst one could never describe it as silky smooth it was a hell of a lot better in his middle and later years. From many accounts, the midfield structure having been dominant in the first half was switched seriously in the second. That is what these preseason games are all about - experimentation

So we stunk it up during the second half of a NAB Cup game in March. Who cares. It feels as though the Earth is about to cave in and our impending doom is upon us. NAB Cup games are for experimenting. Experimenting with centre square groups, experimenting with different styles of play, trialing players in different positions. The scoreboard is close to irrelevant. Take the game for what it was and remember to breathe. The kids showed some promise. Toumpas and Salem in particular. Viney will be better for the run, ditto Watts. Garlett and JKH looked terrific at the feet of the forwards and our movement out of half back looked good. Clearly our depth is still poor as when we went with other players, particularly during the last quarter, we struggled. That is still our future until the kids come on more and we upgrade through free agency. The other positive are the new guys we did pick up - Lumumba, Garlett, Newton, Frost... all of them showed they are best 22 players who will be an upgrade on those who have filled their positions in the past. Plenty to like about today when the dust settles.

Was there today, thought I'd see the massive overreactions put up on here. Have not been disappointed, 25+ pages of whinge. The facts are we played very impressive footy in the first half, had the win in the bag and (whilst i'll be jumped on for this) put the cue in the rack in the second half. First half Mcdonald and Garland seemed to have license to run and make the play, then in the second half looked to be under instruction to stay back a lot more. Might have been to try and stop the doggies flood. Great signs from grimes, salem, toump, garland, garlett, jkh, lumumba, jamar and jetta. A little disappointed in gawn up forward today but ruck was ok, and dawes didn't have a big impact

Don't worry, Jones going down with injury is one of those hypotheticals that'll never really happen anyway

I was watching the centre bounces with interest! Nathan Jones wasn't in the centre once in the last quarter. From this I can conclude the following: 1) We were experimenting 2) The experiment failed 3) We're farked if Jones gets injured

Good summary, and bonus points for including a five-syllable word.

good to see some people have written off the season after 60 minutes of football. calm the fark down. seriously.. its the whizz fizz cup in the cauldron that is North Ballarat.. I'm happy with a win, nobody getting hurt, there were some good performances out there today, and there are also a few things to work on.. you doomsayers better not watch us against the Essendon thirds next week, if we don't win by 15 goals, you'll be cutting up your membership cards!!

I must have seen a different game to you i thought he played a really good game.24 disposals 10 marks and 4 tackles. Some people will never be satisfied.

Why don't you ask one of the players.

Thought Casey's style of play today was a huge improvement on the past couple of years which frankly, was very frustrating, indirect and hard to watch. Today there was a much greater emphasis on moving the ball quickly and a lot less pointless backwards movement. Guess credit must go to the new coach. Agreed with KC that Cam Pederson was probably our best player and 3 goals was good reward. Of the others, Brayshaw, although not a flashy type was good all match. Stretch had a couple of good runs along the wing. Considering Casey only had 7 Demons compared to Box Hill having about a dozen Hawthorn players it was quite a meritorious victory.

yep, it's an upper middle class county south east of london