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A hotly contested game in extremely hot conditions. According to my car temperature gauge it was 42 degrees when I got back to the car and it didn't drop below 36 all the way home. Players rotated frequently and they appeared spent when sitting on the bench. It was a gritty win for Casey Demons as both key defenders in Keilty and Gordon went off injured by half time. This left Petty as the key defender, and though he was out muscled on a few occasions he showed real promise (in my humble opinion). He is still lightly built and at present will struggle against bigger bodied forwards, however he reads the play extremely well and is good overhead. Also a good kick to position. JFK looked to be our stand out player over 4 qtrs., though he understandably tired as the game progressed. 3 goals was just reward for his work rate, Spargo has great skills and provides plenty of outside run, as well as winning his own contested ball and creating opportunities for others. Kicked 2 goals I think. Harley Balic looked very promising and not far off a senior game. Strong bodied and wins plenty of the ball and uses it well. Weideman kicked a goal after a strong mark and became more involved as the game progressed. Started winning the ball up on the half forward/wing. Often finds himself double teamed and competing against the full back and their ruck dropping back in to defence. Oscar Baker has good speed and tries to be creative to set up attacking opportunities. Uses the ball quite well and also takes a good mark. Uses his speed to get o plenty of contests. Used off half back today. Good to see Tim Smith back after 12 months out. Looked understandably rusty and the run will do him good. Took a couple of typical strong marks. Keilty was good until injured. Marked well overhead and used the ball well from defence. Dean Kent was his usual bullocking self and kicked at least one goal and could have got a couple more. His strong contested work does set up opportunities for others. Dion Johnstone was in the same boat as Kent, but I did not sight him as much. Still an excellent tackler. Matt King's ruck work was very good, often giving our mid fielders first use of the ball. He has a good leap and he could have kicked a few goals if he had held on to all his marks. Lochie Filopovic has really filled out and competed well against two bigger bodied Port ruckmen. He collected a head knock which required bandaging several times. Great to see Jade Rawlings giving plenty of positive feed back to the players at the breaks. On another positive note Casey have maintained Dylan Gordon, Mitch Gent, Angus Scott, Goy Louk (finished the game on crutches after coming off in the 3rd qtr) and Jimmy Munro. Jack Hutchins didn't play and will certainly help bolster the defence. Max Gawn. Cam Pederson and Bayley Fritsch were MFC players in attendance.

PETER JACKSON VFL 2018 - PRACTICE MATCH CASEY DEMONS v PORT MELBOURNECasey Fields Saturday 10th March, 2018 at 12.00pm Game Length: 4 x 25 minute 'flat' quarters (no time on) Casey will play their second Practice match for the 2018 season today, the first with the inclusion of MFC listed players. We haven't had any news of team selection but once I'm am at the ground later this morning I will be sure to keep this forum updated on who is playing. If you have any questions throughout the game please don't hesitate to ask.

Spargo forward and a bit up the field. Speedy, aggressive, penetrating kick and knows where the goals are. Baker mainly across half back. Composed, looks for options, covers the ground well and appears confident. Promising.

Spargo and Baker the story of the day.

Disagree, Ablett Snr as an example was a champion without a flag. Same as our own Robbie Flower. Buckley never won a flag. Champion players can exist outside champion teams.

Except Lever it was mainly the Crows GF defence. Watts played very well, even if some on here don't want to give him credit. He fought for just about every one of his 17 possessions and his goals were pure class. I agree, he is needs consistency for the whole year but he deserves credit for his match winning performance, not just a cameo. It will be a long year on here if posters delight in potting Jack's good games for Port.

So I’ve watched it a few times now and and Trac almost defnitely meant that kick to Vince to set up for goal. Yes his eyes went to goal but you can see them divert left at the last moment and he adjusts his kick accordingly. Commentators sold him short. It was quite brilliant. So brilliant in fact that they thought it had to have been a miskick. It wasn’t.

It will also be a long year if you take subtle swipes at the coach for 'not knowing how to use his abilities...' every time he has a decent game. It works both ways. I'm genuinely happy for Jack. I'm also very happy with the trade, the acquisition of Fritsch and how well we are going at the moment. At this very early stage it's a win for all involved. But, our focus should always be on us. Be happy for Jack, but never fret when he plays well. WE are building a premiership list, WE are playing ripping football and WE are the ones who will be pushing up the ladder. Enjoy it.

A poster on big footy mentioned that he spoke to Harmes uncle at the Melbourne vs Stkilda game. Harmes was concussed at training and didnt pass the test to play. Not sure if it's been reported already.

There was no wind really, ports midfielder stopped at since the 2nd quarter Casey won 12.9.81-10.6.66 A good contesnt overall, a bit sloppy but you can expect that in a preseason game in this heat Probably won't be back for a while I tend to Dec

Great mark by Bull on the wing and a long Bomb to the hot spot for Weidemans first mark and goal of the game

Watts’ lacklustre 9 touches in JLT1 being completely disregarded. Defensive pressure from Adelaide was non-existent.

bit early! first run with zero pre-season

wish him good luck from us all

Spargo best. Kent prominent. JKH v good. Balic ok. Weideman playing but unsighted as yet.13 for Casey?? excellent.

A couple of points I want to raise. Petracca is a beast. At one point he had two saints laying on his back with the ball trapped under his torso. He pushed up the weight of three people then held them off the ground with one arm while he punched the ball out with the other. The kid is absurdly powerful Hannan looked good as a mid. He has a low accurate kick that sliced through traffic and hit targets consistently. Used it to set up multiple forward thrusts. This as much as his work as a small forward will keep him in the side.

Fritsch has never kicked 6 in a preseason game. Worst trade ever.

good on Watts , well done on 6 , I hope he proves us all wrong an plays like this each week , he can play , he aways could Just sadly for us it looked like he was always in 2nd gear. I don't think he will last but lets see at the end of the year. its only early and he has a point to prove to the only club that wanted him.

You'll be happy with Bayley Fritsch, who has courage in the air and is just 21. I wouldn't change a thing.

What would you know?!

wish him well from all at demonland

Any club would have loved to have had Steven Powell or Brian Wilson in the guts. Both great players and ball-winning magnets.

I think you will find that the idea of the "long bomb" is to kick over the defenders and allow the forwards to run onto the ball. The first Petracca goal came from exactly such a play. The ball that is no good is the one that is put on the forward's head so to speak that is easily defended

My word I blame the Club. Nothing hindsight about it. Thought it was dumb then & still think it was dumb. Why on earth risk a champion player. We know how difficult foot injuries can be.

Until we win a flag we have no champion anything.

No...it means he had a great season. A champion midfielder he was not.

Some very creative headlines by the Herald Sun

I wouldn't have thought we needed to be overly encouraging of Jack or pot him. He's somewhere else now, I wonder when some around these parts will move on.

You clearly didn't watch the game. Most of his possessions were in a contest of some sort and he took 4 or 5 marks! 6 goals + 3 goal assists. Maybe this coach knows how to use his talents to best effect...

So back in December 2016, I produced an early version of the 2017 AFL Phantom Draft. My first two picks were - 1. Charlie Spargo (Murray Bushrangers) GWS Academy 2. Darcy Fogarty (Glenelg SA) Both fell out of favour a little in 2017 (Spargo due to injury and Fogarty due to a slight loss of form) and missed out of top 10 selection. Both are going to be top footballers. Spargo played well today for Casey while Fogarty has kicked three goals to half time in today’s JLT game v Port.

What a horse! Kementari did easy in the end. A class above.

Hi all, might be my first visit ever to this thread...so I am happy for this to be taken with as much skepticism as can be expected with an anonymous tip on the interwebs. Father-in-law has 'recommended' Peaceful State in the Randwick Guineas. There's a family connection so maybe he's just being hopeful...

Hope he’s OK Drunkn.

The Weed needs lots of games but at what cost? He does have attributes so one must wonder by now if he is really training his heart out to make the improvements for the cut. He needs weeks of aggressive, driven performances in the VFL team and very close mentoring, otherwise we will have another prospective tall held in abeyance season by season. He has a great football heritage upon which he can draw, no doubt. It is time for the Weed to turn the corner. Consistently.

Weideman zero possessions at halftime. JKH easily the best for Casey. Keilty and Balic prominent.

Congrats to the lad!

Agreed. Clubs no longer build into the season like in years gone by, they need to be hitting their straps round 1 or else you could end up like Sydney last year. Hopefully we can get a look at Spargo, Baker, Petty and co.

G'day punters. My best was Gailo Chp so will have to find another. Best Bet: Shillelagh Best value: Shillelagh Best longshot (each way): Supido Lay of the day: kalemantari Good luck

I now prefer to name the team in a formation style ... it's not copying soccer, it's keeping it real. A 2 - 5 - 6 - 3 - 2 formation as a starting point but some fine tuning would obviously be needed. Hibberd Oscar Vince Jetta Frost Lever Lewis Hunt Oliver Gawn Tyson Brayshaw Jones Petracca Hogan Melksham Garlett T Mac Interchange: Salem Harmes Hannan ANB

I agree Wadda ... we can't be betting against each other with regards to the best bet otherwise the idea dies just as quickly as it started. I understand that we should be able to say whatever we like but in terms of a team effort, the combined best bet is the only real team aspect here. But punters more often than not prefer to fly solo and the combining of thoughts is a usually regarded as a foreign concept I've never understood that thinking because it simply doesn't work from an overall perspective. That doesn't mean we have to all fall into line, it simply means that we should try and avoid going against another persons best bet here (what anyone does privately is a different matter) It would probably be a lot different if there were a dozen of us here ... if that were to be, the thread would almost certainly turn into an online version of a TAB outlet We'd all be trying to outdo one another. If you watch 'Get On' on Racing.com then you'll know what I'm talking about ... whilst the show is a lot of fun and often informative, they are all trying to outdo one another. Even in their quaddie pick they fly solo in each leg rather than work as a team in each leg.

Looking at most people’s round 1 team, the above team, plus minus a player or two is pretty close to the mark. What I like most is the improvement on nearly every line from last year. Backs - OMac bigger, Stronger more composed Hibberd coming in fit from round 1 HBs - Lever positive addition Salem fitter, stronger Centre - Oliver, Brayshaw and particularly Petracca look fitter stronger and a full preseason for all of them CHF - Melksham ready to fly and I would definitely play Hogan at CHF and he looks really good to go after a full preseason FF - whether it’s Fritsch who brings something new and highly skilled, Hannan, ANB or Harmes all look to have advanced significantly on last year Rucks - Max fully fit, Tyson fully fit is positive Interchange - Just looks a lot stronger whoever is in, Vince fully fit after toe injury last year You bring Viney back in and we have to drop a solid player. When I look at the overall improvement the team seems much stronger and players will be under pressure to perform week in week out. Sitting outside the 22 above are Bugg, Frost, Pedersen, J Smith, & Weideman. This should lead to less of the bad loses. While I’m a glass half full supporter, the Demons look ready for a breakout season!

Gigantic odds Wadda. My shout if this gets up? Nice pick @binman I had trouble deciding between Shillelagh and Gailo Chop. My “Roughie/Each Way” Flem R4 No1. Run Naan $26W $6.20P Can't really state that a Group 2 race is a drop in class but this horse has been racing against the best. First attempt at the 1400m, drawn wide so a roughie in the true sense. Good Luck all!

Ok now we have Binmans Best pick in we have: Flem Race 6 No.11 Merchant Navy 5.50 Rand Race 7 No.3 Kementari 3.00 Flem Race 8 No.4 Gailo Chop 3.40 Flem Race 7 No 1. Shillelagh 4.00 Combined payout 224.00 or thereabouts.........outstanding value for 4 very good horses. Take em any way you please. Good luck.

Hi Binman....did you mean Kementari? Im not sure i like this laying of other peoples Best Bet too much. Is it in the spirit of the thread? Everyone is putting a lot of time and effort into their picks to try and get it right for the group. Sure i respect your opinions and your input is valued, you can write what you please, but perhaps read the preceding posts because maybe you didnt realize....cheers and good luck.

Yep it's what good sides do.

Ablett just announced he’ll be playing now.

There are some overreactions here. Viney is recovering from a stress fracture to his third metatarsal. It usually doesn't require surgery and in Viney's case it didn't. They're not uncommon and with rest they heal themselves. Viney wouldn't be back in full training if he was suffering any significant complications. If he was feeling pain he simply wouldn't be training. It's taken longer than the usual 6-8 weeks to heal, because he must have felt pain late last year, which put his progress back. Being pain free after two weeks of full training is a very good sign. If he plays next week and recovers with no pain it will be a decision based on match fitness as to whether he plays. If you google information on stress fractures to the third metatarsal there's a plethora of information. I know this is his injury, because he said it on a club website interview. From there I looked up the injury some weeks ago.

I'd be happy to see him back in round 5 if it meant there was no further issues with his foot.

As we know, serious foot injuries can be season ending if not career ending. At very least, they can become chronic injuries that can affect a players career and week to week availability. Given Viney's game style, his injury is a major concern. I am not concerned about the first game, but the season and his immediate future. There should be no doubts and no risks taken. I hope that Saty and others who talk about the way the club now rehabs players are on the money. Running training is one thing, but match play and a full season is another. Please, no risks with Jack.