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Since TMac returned for the Essendon game, he and Jesse have combined for ... v Essendon: 4 goals, 24 disposals, 10 marks v St Kilda: 5 goals, 37 disposals, 14 marks v Gold Coast: 8 goals, 39 disposals, 15 marks v Carlton: 5 goals, 35 disposals, 11 marks v Adelaide: 7 goals, 38 disposals, 18 marks v Bulldogs: 9 goals, 43 disposals, 21 marks That's 38 goals between them in just six games. And given those stats are on a generally upward swing, just how good can they get? (If anyone has access to the 'kilometres covered' stat, I'd be interested to include those numbers too … I just don't know where to find that info!) I'll admit, I thought TMac's forward line form last year was likely to be a bit of a mirage (like Colin Garland being swung forward and winning us that game against Essendon that one time), but he's been in close to All-Australian form since he's returned. The way the two of them work together has given our forward line a real point of difference, and it seems like no opposition defence is able to set up to properly counter them.

Interesting thing with repeat ACL ruptures. The physical test we use to assess ACL patency is the 'Lachman's' test, and in my experience and statistically, they reveal more 'give' on reconstructed knees than non. If the tests pre-MRI are suggesting some laxity with inconclusive 'end-feel' (when the ligament snaps tight), it's not easy to be definitive. If the MRI is now inconclusive, I'd suggest he'll now have a sneaky arthroscopy to get the real status of the ACL. I'll admit that as much as you can rupture an ACL in innocuous fashion, yesterday's was particularly innocuous. My first thought was a meniscal tear (cartilage), given it may have been vulnerable post first reconstruction. That would be a whole lot better, so here's hoping.

The ruptured ligament is surgically replaced by an equivalent tissue, harvested in Jake's case from his patellar tendon or quadriceps tendon, as his hamstring has already been used. First stage is the anchored graft blending with the bone (3 months). Over the next 6 months it redevelops a blood supply, thus making it a fully regenerative tissue. 9 months total. Teenage recon failure rates are higher than for adult recons, so when he comes back, already his knee will be statistically more robust than it was before yesterday. Considering he seemed to be walking well yesterday and today, it will very likely be uncomplicated by bone bruising or MCL/meniscal damage, and thus uncomplicated in recovery. He'll miss the next 14 games (think about it!) then be back game equivalent footy by early March next year.

No concrete news yet, but there was a clip on afl.com of him leaving the hospital/doctors being harassed by journalist and he was walking unaided with a barely noticeable limp. When probed if he'd done his ACL he said not sure and doctor wasn't sure and he didn't wanna talk about it further. I feel if it was full blown ACL he'd have been on crutches? I'm still hopeful it's just a strain and he'll be back after 4-6 weeks. Clip of Lever is in the first part of this video http://www.afl.com.au/video/2018-06-03/rance-will-be-embarrassed Also, great to see Rance come under attention in a negative way for once. The guy's a dirty cheating piece of sh*t, and probably the most over-rated player in the history of the game. Never seen a guy get so much praise for losing so many one-on-one contests. When I checked 2 weeks back, he had conceded the second most amount of goals out of all full backs this season, despite Richmond flying!

more talk on 3aw re lever and inconclusive mri from lingy (source lever family) meeting with specialist now, maybe more scans lever and family confident

A very open final quarter and we could only manage behind after behind. Willy took it coast to coast once late and scored a soft cheap goal so they'd be disappointed we didn't put the foot to the throat in that last qtr. Without seeing official stats or bests mine would be Pedo, Jkh and stretch. Of the potential lever replacements they all started slowly but by the end Kielty probably just shaded Frost for his superior workrate in the second half. Not sure either did enough to be honest but there's a slot there if they are deserving of it or not. Until he was concussed late Pedo was easily the most influential man on the ground and they may have even considered bringing him in as a defender, but his head hit the ground hard so he'd have to be in some doubt now. Petty copped the wrath of the coach several times from the box during the game , I don't think they were at all happy with his game and general positioning today. Tyson was industrious but not dominant for mine. Garletts score line flattered him he was very poor again today. Hunt had a bit of it but wasn't influential. Baker was busy but frustrating in that every second good thing he tried to do ended up in a direct turnover, still has to work on his decision making. Weideman after a slow start really was quite busy in the second half. Not enough to get promoted but a promising return. If the young rucks I thought Flip worked very hard today to get involved and ran to a lot of good spots, one of his better efforts. Meese tried to niggle him constantly all day physically but he handled it ok. He shaded King today. Bugg was woeful, more interested in niggle, wasted chip kicks going forward, you'd expect a lot more from him. Smith was ok but just doesn't get involved and use his strengths of leap and agility enough. Johnstone was a bit better in defence than I've seen him as a forward has very precise kicking skills but still like some margin away from making it. Normally reliable Casey small forward Angus Scott was also very poor today The clouds rolled in as did a bit more of a breeze by the end, more like the weather you'd expect at Willy. Good to get a decent sized win but I'm assuming the coaching staff wanted more from this result Edit: I forgot Josh Wagner, thought he was very good off a half back flank today steady and compact with his disposal

Keep T MC Forward forever.

Pedersen making a claim for the big QB clash - he now has three goals.

why would spargo need a rest? he's got 9 days to recover for qb then he's got the bye for a 2 week rest

McHoganald

All Australian side B: Jetta, O.McDonald, J.Lewis HB: Salem, Vince, Hibberd C : Fritsch, Oliver, Jones HF: Petracca, T.McDonald, Neal-Bullen F: Melksham, Hogan, Spargo FOLL: Gawn, Brayshaw, Viney IC: Harmes, T.Smith, Hannan, J.Smith COACH: Goodwin I would have Lever in it if he wasn't injured.

Many were saying that of ANB up till about 3 weeks ago but look how he has prospered. I see Stretch in a similar vein, has some good attributes and is a solid trainer and wants to be the best he can, given time and a chance he may surprise. I would not write him off yet.

If he's not in pain they won't be resting McDonald on QB.

Anyone who reckons it doesn’t hurt the team is kidding themselves. Lever is a gun and had developed in to an essential part of the side. His replacement, whoever it turns out to be, is indisputably a significant downgrade. I just feel terrible for him though. After a rough start he’d just reached full swing. He’ll be struggling, no doubt. Hopefully the recovery is as smooth as it can be. Golden opportunity for someone else to step up now.

Coach singled out special praise for Tyson's work that qtr in the huddle. Pre huddle he asked Goodwin for his thoughts and the first thing Goody mentioned to him was the way the rucks were doing. Looks like the plan is to rotate the 3 of them flip King and Pedo on meese all day to wear him down. Rawlings also made mention of Whirlpool kicks into the forward line with crumbers at 10&2. I'm assuming that's a cluster of talls to congregate 20 out from goal. Balic is playing as an out and out full forward today too btw

Just to reiterate, Pedo looked in a really bad way. There was no contact he just hit his head hard on the ground when falling backwards in a mark almost like a whiplash motion. Looked extremely groggy getting off the ground. Hope the poor bastard is okay.

Thanks kC, drunken67 and all other posters, love following the game on DLand lifts the spirits, another great weekend for Dee supporters. Go Casey!!!!!!!’nn Go Dee’s!!!!!!! great to be alive!!!

Siren sounds and the Casey Demons win by 38 points despite not scoring a goal in the final term. Peter Jackson VFL 2018 Williamstown 3.3.21 4.7.31 5.8.38 6.10.46 Casey Demons 4.4.28 6.8.44 11.12 .78 11.18.84 Goals Casey Demons Pedersen 4 Garlett Weideman 2 Balic Frost King Williamstown Dorgan Ebinger George Marcon Masters Schultz Best Casey Demons Stretch Pedersen Balic Kennedy-Harris J Wagner Williamstown Greiser Myers Tippett George Dorgan Meese

Rawlings just said in the box that it's not on that they've whacked us 7 times today but at least it's not working. I love being within earshot of the coach

Balic got killed off the ball in the guts, Willy being real dirty. If they take out Dec I might kill someone

No way is TMac going to the backline.

Max would have kicked that goal against the Cats if he had gone to the camp.

Gutted for Jake, was just finding some great form too. Hopefully it isn't a full ACL tear. As for his replacement, Frost is probably the most likely given his similar role and AFL experience. But we'll have to see how the 3 talls, Frost, Keilty and Petty, play tomorrow to see who is really putting their hand up. Optimistically, if Keilty has a big game tomorrow, it would be a dream come true to see him debut in a big game like the Queen's birthday, to see if he has what it takes to play at Senior level. Over the last 4 weeks I would say Keilty is probably the most in-form in the VFL of the defenders, but it's a pretty close run. I am about 80% sure Frost will get the gig, but damn It'd be great to see Dec get a run at it.

Gutted for Jake, was just finding some great form too. Hopefully it isn't a full ACL tear. As for his replacement, Frost is probably the most likely given his similar role and AFL experience. But we'll have to see how the 3 talls, Frost, Keilty and Petty, play tomorrow to see who is really putting their hand up. Optimistically, if Keilty has a big game tomorrow, it would be a dream come true to see him debut in a big game like the Queen's birthday, to see if he has what it takes to play at Senior level. Over the last 4 weeks I would say Keilty is probably the most in-form in the VFL of the defenders, but it's a pretty close run. I am about 80% sure Frost will get the gig, but damn It'd be great to see Dec get a run at it.

Crows fans will be really happy. They've just been tipped out of the eight by a bee's and replaced by .... Port Adelaide.

That worked well last year.

I'd rather Balic, who at least plays forward.

I'll be there next year, watching Jakey take his 10th intercept mark, with all my 2018 premiership gear on and having (another) celebratory ale All the best, young man

Yeah don’t move TMac back that would kill our forward prowess

With all the poo thrown at Pedo over the years I’d say he would rank being called a ‘poor mans Tommy Mac’ as quite the compliment

Anyone would be when they win the ball at half back, pass it off to the wing and then sprint 60-70 metres to become the next link in the chain. Spargo has one more in him before the bye.

Pedo dominating all over the ground. Both he and Frost have both latched onto huge torps. Pedo has 2.2 and balic 1 goal

I’ve been a bit surprised about Smith’s name being thrown up. Firstly Joel is still trying to get back to His best footy after some nasty injuries but mostly that Joel is a rebounding half back, not a key defender. I’d think having only 1 tall defender in won’t be able to stack up against any decent forward line, you need a minimum 2 Key Talls down back. The 3 I named are all tall defenders.

I thought Nev played one of the great back pocket games today. Clearly BOG IMO.

In response to one of their fans saying they were "underwhelmed by Melbourne". Trav 20 said: ↑

Tom would perform well, but a net loss to the team

Dec Frost and Petty all getting hands to it just not hanging on Hunt Stretch Tyson Lockhart great Pedo needed to mark a bit more then Its gonna be hard for me today to focus on the team as I’m really focusing of Decs game so apologies

Only if injured. Tim has been an eye opener in his round the ground pressure. Pedersen is more a poor man's Tom McD.

Pedders is putting on a show again.

You don't understand; North weren't good yet when we beat them. How could they have been? I mean, they lost to Melbourne!

Viney mentioned a few names on the footy show as possible replacements and good to hear him mention Keilty second after Frost. It could mean little or maybe he’s really rated down there. Positive plug nonetheless.

A bunch of c#%nts

Don't underestimate the leadership despite his age and the onfield coaching, directing to man up and positioning. We are going to miss him and his position can be filled but he can't be replaced. Huge loss.

A cheese platter of Dees?

Good post. I reckon Frost is very underrated amongst Melbourne fans. A bloke with those stats and his physical attributes demands a spot in our side, especially when our preferred like-for-like option may be out for an extended length of time.

Very rarely post but an avid reader of the forum. Nev’s Game today was reminiscent of the great Gavin Wanganeen, won the ball in the air, on the ground contest after contest. Quite simply watching him today was like watching a virtuoso performance of a master at the absolute top of his game. A must for All Australian.

Frost is THE obvious choice to replace like with like. Has the height / leap / spoiling ability. Has the pace and has the mobility. He also has aprox the same games experience (albeit zip finals of course). He is the 2nd best intercept player in our team just behind Lever, averaging 7 per game vs Lever's 7.9 He turns the ball over about the same number of times per game as Lever (averaging about 3.5 each per game) He doesn''t get as many possessions so maybe lacking a little in work rate at this point. Maybe this is just a matter of getting enough consecutive games into him? Sometimes he runs and yes has a brain fade or two and forgets to dispose to a free target or two (earlier on in the run) or just forgets to dispose of it and keeps running! Eliminate this from his game and get him to play within his limits and we might have a reasonable replacement (given a fair run at it ie., enough consecutive games).

Put him in a house like Big Brother. Don’t film it or anything. Just lock him in there and don’t let him out.

It’s almost like if you have a good team, you win everywhere.