Leaderboard

Ok, it's fair to say that we are a real show in the VFL this year with our lack of AFL injuries and the rise of players such as Keilty and Scott adding to the depth of our Casey squad that includes experienced men such as Hutchins and Tim Smith, Munro and Morris. In the past however we seem to have wanted to just send half our players off for an early operation or to get them ready for an early return for the coming season and forget about Casey's ambitions. But if we take "the AFL is all that matters" policy again, I'm sure it will really [censored] off all the Casey boys and Justin Plapp and prove a real de-harmoniser for next season. Further to that, it will deny a number of players a key opportunity to show their form at Etihad or Port Melb in front of a big vocal finals crowd and thus potentially hurt their chances of finding another AFL club or pressing their claims at ours. For example, we all can tell that guys such as Grimes and Dunn and Trenners are on the outer, but a good finals series helps their chances and increases interest from other clubs and we benefit from that because we can then trade rather than delist - and with Hibberd we may need an extra pick or player to sweeten the deal. It also can help our younger guys develop - VFL finals is a huge step up in level from the normal season and is just what guys like Weideman and Hulett - not to mention Neil-Bullen, JKH, Oliver, White and Joel Smith need. I just hope we don't do the dirty on Casey again. If the Weed and Hulett have to start their pre-season three weeks later, does it really matter, especially if they have picked up confidence from a breakout game in the finals?

How can you suggest Oliver! he's getting eaten alive in the VFL!

Anyone who wants Brayshaw out needs their head read. His skills are great, but under pressure in slippery conditions a 26 game player will make mistakes. Like Clint, I don't know who goes out, but I want Oliver in my team (and never again out of it).

Great news! With only a few days left till count closes that is close to our final figure. This is an 11% increase on last year and 31% in the three years since PJ and Roos arrive. And we beat the previous record by 3,000 additional members, people who have never been members before. Enormous result for the club and kudos to members who have stuck with the club and all the additional members now on board. We must keep winning this year to ensure that 39,118 renew and even more come on board.

Surely you are not serious????

So hard to fathom why you'd do that (edit: bite someone, not call your son Myke, though that is hard to fathom too). Definitely deserves the book thrown - not cool. Haven't seen Oliver that angry before. Not much hint of the laughing kid from the country. Reckon he'll be a pretty scary unit when he has shed the baby face.

I'm not sure you can have it both ways. You can't say he was awful when he missed and lucky when he picked well. We also got Howe in that draft and despite the obvious resentment towards him he has turned into a good quality AFL footballer for a mid 30's pick. And Scully is now a really good footballer but at pick 1 you'd expect that. Prendergast was too smart by half and butchered 5 early picks - Strauss, Blease, Cook, Tapscott and Gysberts. But he was involved in Jetta, Gawn, Viney, Watts and McDonald and whilst that is a very poor return for the opportunities he had getting Jetta, Gawn and McDonald with late picks is invaluable to us now (Viney was always coming an Watts at no.1 was a gimme). It also must be said that the players he picked received the worst development in the AFL but I accept his record is poor. Having said that I still think Gysberts in a good environment could have been very good. He had the skills and just needed someone to guide him through the mental part of the game. But that's another discussion - as is this one probably!

Forget Vickery, we should wait and throw the kitchen sink at Peter Wright 12 months from now. Now there's a forward/ruck who can play. A Victorian boy too.

No, no, no, a thousand times no!

I agree. He won't get a touch sitting down.

That's nice and all smithy but what does that have to do with his contract? This guy's head looks like a thumb.

Sam Landsberger reporting on Twitter that Myke Cook will front the VFL tribunal tomorrow night. I suppose I'd have anger problems too if my parents called me "Myke"...

Well that's just so unfair for the powers that be to focus on real foreign drug cheats rather than our true-blue Aussie victims. I think Essendon should have the lawyers draft up a request to drop this whole thing seeing as how long it's dragging on and, for God's sake haven't these boys suffered enough. I mean who knows how much damage is being done to their bodies, liver in particular, during this year of punishment.

I do Nasher this could be the first time in 15 years that the MFC is associated with winning finals and potentially the GF. I want the players to get the feeling of what a winning GF feels like. I also want to go and cheer along a bunch of winners. I want the winning feeling back even if it is only our seconds.

I"m staggered people are talking about this spud. Firstly because the word is he's off to Carlton and secondly he's the sort of player that Prenders would have recruited. Some ability amply supplemented by 'faux' heroics.

1 could be anything. 7 is already one of our best. 10 has had 2nd year blues with injury but he has it and will be a very good player for us. 29 is my boy and will get better, with another pre season while knowing he is in the team.

I don't have a son but I would buy one for $1

The fact the club took so long to settle Frost in defence is one of life's great mysteries.

Of all the things that have happened, *this* is the thing that makes you angry? It's ancient history. Let it go.

Robbo blatantly intimated on 360 tonight that Essendon tanked the Lions match to ensure pick 1 was theirs. Of course, the AFL will do nothing. A notoriously dirty club caught for drug cheating will have no sanctions, despite now tanking. As soon as their players were banned, they banked on the wooden spoon and pick 1 as the key marketing coup that would rally supporters for 2017 after a write-off 2016. They knew players wouldn't be scarred from losing games because, "it was all WADA's fault we didn't have players!" and systematically used media mouthpieces to sell that message to supporters and fans. They also weren't as transparent as Melbourne at tanking, or as harmful to players; they strategically lost that game in the coaches box with dumbfounding inaction rather than questionable action as we did by playing players in the wrong positions. They didn't tag Daniel Rich, despite how easily he crumbles under a tag, and despite the fact that every other coach in the AFL used this tactic against Brisbane in 2016. They threw that game to Brisbane for a very specific reason. And it all has to do with Academy clubs who have a draft-breaking attraction to pick 1: they don't have to use pick 1 on their top 2-3 pick Academy players because no other team can nominate/bid on a player before pick 1. Essentially, if an Academy club gets their hands on pick 1, they get to "double dip" on the best players in the draft under the new system -- they choose the best player in the open draft with pick 1, then the best player in their Academy with whatever scraps of late first-round picks remain. Think of it this way: if Sydney had traded for pick 1 in the 2014 draft, they could have taken Petracca, Brayshaw or McCartin with pick 1, then taken Heeney with second round pick dregs. Clubs paid close attention to what we did with GWS and will fully exploit it this year to maximum effect. Naturally, Essendon are the most experienced cheats in the league, and will take full advantage of this situation.

The Suns will want either a top 10 pick and a player or two first rounders for Jaeger who is seriously injury prone, it's the sort of punt Hawthorn can take, we can't afford the risk, nomatter how good the reward.

I would still consider O'Meara but obviously after an extensive medical check up. The Dogs (Gordon) panicked into the Boyd trade when Patton was the one they needed. ...a bit of due diligence wouldn't go astray by us here.

He won't be traded unless he wants out, end of story.

I haven't seen enough of Weideman to know if he'll make a quality key forward, or not, but I do know that he needs 8-10 kgs before anyone can accurately predict. As for Prendergast ? Please. An utter disaster. The fact that he got a few selections right means nothing. So could I and many of you. When you're employed full time and travel the country watching kids play year after year after year it's not hard to get a few right. Maybe I should bow down in gratitude that he didn't stuff up every single one.

If we lose Dunn, Garland, Grimes, Dawes, Lumumba, Pederson and Trengove this year we lose about 850 games experience all at once. Our whole list has only played about 2,500 total! We may get experienced players in to offset some of that loss but we can't lose that much experience. Guys like that still have a role to play to mentor our young guys at Casey from time to time. I have a vivid memory of the pics of Lumumba and Garland consoling Brayshaw and Petracca at different times. Not to mention helping the young guys at Casey win games so they get 'that winning feeling' and the confidence gained from it. We are desperately short of experience in the seniors - lets not compound it by throwing out all the experience we have at Casey.

An absolutely gutless cop out by an organization full of pomp and ceremony with no substance (sounds like a well known wannabe head of the UN) Won't be watching even before this cop out

There are plenty of others: Jake Neade is 170, McDonald-Tipungwuti is 171, Betts and McGlynn are 172, Ballantyne, Lewis Taylor and Puopolo are all 173. The issue isn't height. It's consistency. Kennedy's shown he has what it takes to play AFL level football at his height (see the first 6 or so weeks of the year). I see him in a similar position currently to what Kent was about two months ago. He needs to get involved through four quarters, and avoid prolonged periods of going missing. Those aren't things that depend on height, they depend on effort and adjusting to AFL level.

Absolutely in a heart beat!

Did he get a rabies shot after the game?

I am a about one more negative thread away from closing my subscription to Demonland. I am being worn down by the constant negativity and pessimism. I'm going to take a little holiday for a week or two. Cheers to those who continue to fly the optimism flag. The rest need to lighten up and see things for what they are. The sky is not falling. We are getting better. We will be good next year and very good in 2018. Maybe I'll come back then. See ya...

Like most of suburbia, we have an unhealthy reliance on McDonalds. Previously we were too reliant on the Hunger of Grimes,Trengove ,Watts. The Hungry Jacks ,the McDonalds are not a healthy dependence.

The umpires knew they'd made a mistake as I don't think I've ever seen an umpire console and put their hand on a player to see what was up after he gave away a free kick. Incidentally, I love Clayton Oliver. He's just what our club needs.

Then the umps pay 50 against and cost us a goal? FMD they are idiots. 8-10 weeks minimum I reckon.

Two Casey matches on TV in incredibly windy conditions and apparently the Weed turns into a cross between Cook and Juice!

If the Umpires made the right call, then that means they missed about 10 others for the match and I reckon through the round over 100. That is more the issue the inconsistency between umpires. There was one by Shannon Hurn inside our forward 50m that was more deliberate that both of our two in question.

If that is applied as a sign of deliberate OOB, you wouldn't want to risk a look-away hand pass near the boundary line. As long as there is a target nearby I don't think umpires should guess the mental state of the players. It's hard enough to guess whether the OOB is a skill error or not without adding more mind-reading.

Think we might knock over 40,000. Got an email asking me to renew my son for $1 for a 3 game membership. My gut feel is that there might be 1000 members who are willing to fork out $1.

I know why he was played forward. It was diabolically stupid.

If this were to happen, how do you see the team lining up? In particular, who moves to the backline to take on O McDonald's role?

I'm trying to think of a player I'd less like to recruit. Zac Dawson perhaps. But it's a close call. Really cannot stand this sniping [censored]. Complete spud to match. I tell myself I could cheer for any player in a red and blue jumper. Vickery would be the ultimate test.

I agree with this, but persistence usually pays off when you're getting that many repeat entries. When the umps decided to put the whistle away, we just didn't get that eventual reward. Kent was tugged back (twice) in the pocket. Hogan had defenders all over him on a couple of occasions. I'm sure there were other 50/50s that on another day could've gone our way. Of course we'd then have been left with another set shot, which to me was by far the worst enemy - accuracy in front of goal. You can talk about quality of entires and ball movement etc, but if the kicking for goal improves even 25% we win the game. It really can become a virus. When Watts missed his I knew it was looking fatal.

Its important to look at that in light of our forward line options at the beginning of the season: Hogan, young and still raw. Watts had yet to blossom as a key forward. Dawes was injured and told to get his body right. Weideman and Huelett not ready. Pedersen was the only other 'semi recognised' forward. There was a gaping hole up forward and a tall was needed to plug it. The club had limited choices and Frost was the 'best' option under the circumstances. Frost has been able to revert to defence because Jack Watts has been outstanding as a tall forward.

Did you watch the footage mate? The umpire went to Oliver afterwards. Possibly not the adjudicating umpire as he would have been moving the mark. They can't overturn something based on what a player says, but they realised something was up. They are only people.

Garland has 2 more years on a deal and no one will want him. I expect if the FD have decided he's finally turned his form around in the VFL - and I expect he either has or is getting closer to that stage - then he'll come back in. Grimes is near certain to move on at the end of the year, so there's less reason to play him. Kennedy's height doesn't bother me, it rarely impacts his role as a high half forward. But bringing him in would achieve little given ANB played ok and had to do a good stint in the VFL. Now it's ANB's time to have 1 or 2 more chances and Kennedy's chance to play consistently well at VFL level.

I agree with you Fifty-5, I reckon both players will last longer than OD suggests. However I had a look at our list and I was surprised to see how hollow it is at the older age levels. Of 12 players who are 26 yrs and 6 mths or older, only 4 have played regularly or even played at all this year. Vince, M Jones, N Jones and Garlett. The other 8, Lumumba, Pedersen, Dunn, Garland, Dawes, Grimes, Spencer, Terlich do not look like they will be significant contributors going forward and certainly not leaders. It's possible all will be gone by the end of 2018. But it seems understandable to me now, why some of these players were given contracts which seemed incomprehensible at the time. We would have had a list of babies otherwise, at least our new recruits can play in a successful VFL team with some hard bodies while they are developing.

Seems like a bit of a non-issue. I'm confident Taylor, Goodwin, Viney, Mahoney and co know well enough to steer clear.

As a punishment the culprit should be made to bite Hopoate's finger - we know where that one's has been. ( that'll learn him)

You are far too centred on the outcome (number of wins), rather than the process (how to build a finals winning team). This year is actually all about next year. I don't particularly care how many wins we have for the rest of 2016, I care that the process of developing the team to be AFL finals ready is followed. If you want to build a backline from our young talent, they need experience, not wallowing in the seconds until they're 'ready'. We have got to get our talented young players to 50-60 AFL games minimum, not just ask them to put on 15kg.

He's only 23 bb. I think Tom has plenty of improvement in him (one facet in particular). If you look at players like Rance or Grundy (and other talls in general), they really hit their straps at about 26/27. Rance was rubbish when he was younger, especially with his decision making. Tom's career could even follow a similar trajectory.

I think I might speak for the silent majority who just can't be bothered answering every negative comment about Tom (and Oscar) but I'll post here every now and again for balance. Tom is a terrific footballer. He is fantastic one on one, he is a great mark both contested and uncontested, he is a fantastic aerobic athlete and most of the time he is a good kick able to make good decisions. He saves many many more goals than he gives away. But he also makes mistakes (like all players) that the haters jump on at every opportunity claiming each and every mistake cost us the game. It's rot. If Tom McDonald wasn't in our team we would be noticeably worse. He's being chased by multiple teams who are prepared to pay high dollars for him because they know that at his age you can build a backline around him for 8 to 10 years. He is in the top bracket of tall defenders in the AFL. I'll be bitterly disappointed if Tom leaves. He's a vital part of our future and that many can't see that surprises me. The concept of trading Tom for Tom Mitchell is mind numbing. A key position back who you can build your team around for a 3rd or 4th string mid who's disposal is poor and has been relegated to tagger on multiple occasions. Please stay Tom, you're a vital part of a very talented young group and to achieve what we all want you're required.