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What started out as a little creepy stalking thread of a young kid, is now a thread about a really exciting player with loads of talent. Must be the only Demonland thread ever to have improved with time.

Love the pic of gawn looking at the 11 on his jumper, you just know it means the world to him

Doesn't get any better then this. http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-05-24/capturing-the-melbourne-moments

Happy your not running list management at the MFC...

This from the latest article on Jesse: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/jesse-hogan-says-his-selfish-body-language-is-a-thing-of-the-past-after-advice-from-wayne-carey/news-story/05cbf93b33d99498568a84a12f13cc40 Melbourne’s forwards were noted for their selflessness in sharing goals on Saturday, with Hogan saying they will get better the longer they stay together. And if he has fun in a winning side, why would he want to leave the Demons? “We are starting to get that chemistry. Everyone gets a lick (of the ice cream). Jeffy (Garlett) probably handed off five or six goals and Harmsey (James Harmes) got on the end of three Joe-the-Gooses in the last quarter and it’s just fun to play,’’ he said. “The longer we can remain together, the more fun it will be.”

Fun fact... It took Dangerfield 36 games to reach 3 games with 20 or more disposals. Petracca has done it within 4. Dangerfield is a goal-kicker and Petracca will be too. They're similar, but different. Petracca has a bit more of the Dustin Martin raging bull about him, although I have no doubt Petracca will be the better player.

Was that Jack Viney teaching Tracc how to do up his shoelaces?

The old man Crawf was better. The one with Bernie and Jack Watts had some genuinely funny moments.

Quite possibly the lamest TV segment I have seen, it's embarrassing.

Anything over 18 is too warm. Id rest the whole team.

Oliver is being criminally underrated in the Rising Star. I would have him ahead of Petracca so far, who has just firmed as the favourite, while Oliver wasn't even mentioned in the 5 or 6 names I heard mentioned on the radio.

I'm confused by the suggestions of ANB being dropped. He wasn't just okay on the weekend. He was very good.

I'm hoping I missed your sarcasm with this one.

It's nice to be able to look back at page 1 of this thread starting in 2010 with Billy as a 14 year old!

That's [censored] poita. He was not gutless and did test the resolve of a few opponents. He gave us one good year but fell away after that and retired.

Ridiculous comment. Simple as that.

Poor bloke, hope he sorts it out. I want Salem to be a superstar for two main reasons: 1. Makes our team better 2. Proves the pile of monkey excrement Damian Barrett wrong!

awesome shots! well done to the club for giving us the access that Roos / Viney shot. goosebumps. Goody will do well, but we will miss the genius man management of Roos.

Ok. For the last freaking time! I GOT IT WRONG ABOUT THE FLOGGING WEATHER!!! ?

Just the thoughts of a jealous random [censored]. What he's achieving is phenomenal and he already gets marked harder than most as expectations are ridiculously high. He's 21 and hasn't even played 30 games. Boyd has played roughly the same number of games and Dog's supporters constantly call for him to be given 'time'. Patton is older and looked far more at home behind the ball (defence) on the weekend. And Saints fans wet themselves over an 11 disposal/2 goal game from McCartin. Hogan is a young player who is already judged against his own high standards, while others are "given time". I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way.

All the other players walked taller that year knowing they had there backs covered. This year is the first time since that there is that similar feeling out there

Sorry mate, can't figure out how to link the interview on its own - was more linking to the article anyway

The lack of vandenBerg in most teams is disturbing.

Makes the 28 disposals at Casey on the weekend seem pretty impressive.

He has an over active thyroid probably of autoimmune origin causing a fast metabolism resulting in weight loss, a fast irregular pulse, intolerance of heat, diarrhoea and bulging eyes. Can be debilitating but is treatable with drugs to slow the thyroid down, surgery to remove part of the thyroid or radioactive iodine to kill the overactive gland.

That's probably because the 'midgets' weigh more than Oscar McDonald. At the start of the season, Oscar was listed at 82kg, some considerable kilos less than players like Rich, Bastinac and Pearce and Bewick. Freeman, for example, had 14kg on Oscar yesterday, plus a couple of centimetres. Tom Bell had 16kg. I heard a player from another club on the radio yesterday saying that in order to comfortably play as a key defender, he had added 16kg to his frame over the 5 years since he had been drafted. Tom McD is about 12kg heavier than Oscar with the extra 4 years experience. Oscar therefore is a rangy, tall defender who needs some time to build an AFL-ready body. At the same time, some AFL level experience, combined with consolidation for periods at Casey, will benefit his development. Yesterday was a perfect match to give him some time. I don't think we've reached that stage yet. Winning is great, but our window based on the age of our list opens in 2-3 years, and in the meantime development is still as important as winning. Look at some of our team before yesterday and the number of games they've played: Hogan 28 Petracca 3 Oliver 6 Stretch 14 Newton 15 Michie 20 Oscar Mc 3 Hunt 5 Neal-Bullen 11 Wagner 6 Harmes 16 That's half the team that has played less than 30 games. All 11 combined have a tally the same as Jack Watts, and about 25% of Brent Harvey's! I thought yesterday was a good result given the age dimension. My thinking is not only 'in the now' but two years down the track when all these players have added 30-40 games to their experience. I don't know what everyone expects from players so young, but I expect them to make some mistakes. I'm not making excuses, because our season so far has been terrific, but let's be realistic.

The SEN boys have Watts on and said to Jack you need to go to the AFL and ask permission to wear a high vis vest so your team mates can see you. He laughed it off.

Yeah, in his first game back in the seniors since round one, and his fourth game overall... you're one of many that can't see the selectors are giving players an extended run to come up to speed with the game. Clearly they are wearing the odd mistake as long as they are seeing players understand the role and continue to improve. If oscar had such a shocker, he still managed 18 disposals, 3 rebound 50s and a few intercepts playing on the last line of defence....

We're currently 5-4 with a percentage of 113% after 9 rounds in 9th. That's a fair sample size in anyone's book mo64. Granted, it might not be in yours if you think height is irrelevant in todays game! We've played well and probably lucky to clinch the points v GWS. We've beaten Richmond and Collingwood - granted not at their best or strongest - but we played well doing so. We went toe to toe with the Doggies and they had the better of us in the middle and put our defence under immense pressure. We've taken North right to the line in a high scoring game. Where we are at right now - I don't see why we would not be a 70-30 chance of making finals next year, or how that would be seen as overrating us. If the club continued on the upward curve of development and gave young players consecutive block of games - such as Wagner, Hunt, McDonald, NIBS, Kent etc - how else would the club seek to evolve in what it wants to evolve into? Sometimes it's a balancing act. Petracca said it himself, he thought differently as to how AFL was going to be like - it was the speed of the game that was the biggest difference for him. He admittedly thought he was off the pace in his first game v St.Kilda. Then he knew what to expect, and what to take into the next game. And so on. It's called developing. How else would the likes of O.McDonald find that out at Casey? We need to strengthen the defence by experience in order to evolve in what we seek.

No team can ignore the future, even if they are playing for a grand final. I didn't say winning wasn't important, I said at our stage development is just as important. You seem to erroneously think you can't concentrate on both. We've got about a 30-70 chance of playing finals this year with a young list. Maybe 70-30 next year. That says to me that we need to keep on concentrating on developing players with the potential to take our list to the ultimate level. If we are to win a premiership it will most likely be when players like McDonald have got 50 games or more experience. Or do you think we'll win one with Dunn, Grimes and Terlich? We're crying out for another good tall KPB, and they aren't it.

It is easy to believe winning is just around the corner. We need to beat the Saints, the Power and other mid tier teams to consolidate any progress. Coming close second to good teams rather than losing by 10 goals is a relief but that happens occasionally every year. Im hopeful and believe Im with the program but agree that "potential" is a word that gives me the tom-[censored]. If you dont learn from the past you are doomed to failure.

The shower roses are way too small.

In fairness, Danger started as an 18 year old and was roughly the age CP is now by the time he hit 36 games.

Agreed. Of those three I'd say Harmes' spot is the least secure. He's been a bit up and down and his stats flattered him a bit on the weekend. But while he's kicking goals and applying forward pressure he's ultimately doing his job. Kennedy is playing the best of the three. Fantastic pickup. Better than what I expected.

Forget the corny music and just enjoy.

What about Dangerfield, DA? .... Same height, similar weight, both explosive, goal kicking mids, great hands, one has won games off his own boot and the other surely will

Was surprised to see he is still only 19. He is going to be a star. He has the hunger like all our other kids.

On a day where other players fumbled and overused the handball, stretch appeared to be playing to a different game plan on Sunday. Not only was his kicking effective, but it was attacking and set up a lot of play. I'd love to see his "meters gained, rebound 50 and inside 50" totals. The best thing about his rapid improvement will mean little external pressure, with Oliver, petracca, harmes and hogan likely to wear that hype. So Billy can keep playing his role and evolving into a damaging layer for us, low key.

This thread also proves it

He is still clearly our best tall defender.

Dreadful post.

So one team in an 18 team competition has 3 rising stars out of 9 awarded to date .... And just won by 10 goals, with the youngest team on the park of the 18 fielded for the weekend Ok.....Im going to keep my eye on that team! And well done CP.. deserved! I think he might be the closest to Ronald Dale we have seen. Never watched RDB live, but that combination of strength, skill and judgement people speak of is what we see in CP

He's been carrying a right calf. Looked like he was over it on Sunday. Then my sphincter nearly exploded when he landed on his back.

I always thought a thyroid problem was something fat people made up.

Furthermore, he was sprinting back from the wing after he had rushed up on Robertson to shut down an attack when Brisbane were out. It forced a turnover, after which Harmes turned it over in the corridor and Oscar was forced to run hard back to the goal square when the defence was caught out of position. He would have been stuffed after repeat long sprints to the wing and back, and it was actually good play when seen in the full context. Check out the replay .... it's at the start of the 3rd quarter.

Watching a replay and noticed how good Ben Newton was. Looks to be a different player - leaner, more composed and seems to have gained a yard. Would be very unlucky to be dropped.

Billy Stretch is, and was from the moment he arrived at the club one of those natural footballers who see the game faster and a step ahead of the others. This cannot be taught. Then he backs it up with disposal and toughness (the two things which take more time). We're developing a good number of players with that natural unteachable talent now, and they're going to form the kind of 'family' that Geelong and Hawthorn have most recently had. It's hard not to get excited about this, and Billy Stretch will be right in the middle of it along with Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, etc.

They also wrote a story about how Steven May knocked out Melbourne ruckman Stef Martin over the weekend. I mean, seriously...

So a gentle trip is OK? FMD hypocritical bastards. Edit:- 19.2.2 Specific Offences Any of the following types of conduct is a Reportable Offence: (a) intentionally or carelessly; (i) striking another person; (ii) kicking another person; (iii) kneeing another person; (iv) stomping on another person; (v) Charging another person; (vi) engaging in rough conduct against an opponent which in the circumstances is unreasonable; (vii) bumping or making forceful contact to an opponent from front-on when that Player has their head down over the football; (viii) head-butting an opponent or making contact to an opponent using the head; (ix) eye-gouging an opponent or making unreasonable or unnecessary contact to the eye region of an opponent; (x) making unreasonable or unnecessary contact to the face of an opponent; (xi) making unreasonable or unnecessary contact with an injured Player; (xii) scratching another person; or (xiii) tripping another person whether by hand, arm, foot or leg; Except if the force was low enough to are err I dunno make up another exception on the run....arr errr...who are they playing arrr errr..... http://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Files/Images/2016%20Laws%20of%20Australian%20Football.pdf

Just my observations on the game It has been mentioned the Casey forward line didn't really work well last night, Box Hill's defense is very experienced and probably the best in the league. Spangher, Heatherley, Litherland, Mirra & Whitecross were able to matchup well with our ultra tall forward line. The younger forwards in Weiderman, Hullet & King got a lesson in what an AFL defense is like to play against, they didn't move enough for each other and didn't separate the Box Hill defenders. Dawes was easily our best forward for the night with Tim Smith playing a valuable role. Terlich played a half forward role and I thought he did very well, didn't seem to hesitate with the ball as much and the riskier kicks actually work better when going into f50. Good work on the coaches in mixing his game up and trying to get the best out of him, might have a role there in the next few weeks. Joel Smith is being managed at the moment but when he is on the field he is exciting, he has very clean hands and his willingness to take the game on is fantastic. His development from the first practice match of the year has been nothing short of amazing, the only thing holding him back from a monster game is time on the field. The most exiting part of the day for me was seeing Trengrove starting to get his agility back, made a few cuts in traffic that I haven't see before this year and was able to make space for himself in heavy traffic which is sign that it's starting to come together for him. Had a quieter second half which may not be enough for a game next week but he seems to be having fun out there and enjoying the contest.