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Everyone know that in order to stab someone in the back you first have to get behind them.

Favourite Alex Rance moment

Gold Coast gave up pick 2 for Weller. First step is firing whoever approved that. In all seriousness, the common theme with all rubbish teams is poor list management. Jason Taylor’s influence at our club cannot be undersold.

Good to see AVB and McKenna back in training. 428 and 463 days is a long stint on the sidelines.

It's just as well that you resisted the temptation - my view is that it's bad karma to kick them when they're down, especially so soon after we've been there ourselves. I'm happy to savour our team's current vein of form and not have to worry about the woes of other clubs. That said, the growing gap between the haves and the have nots remains a serious concern for all football followers. Apart from the damage being caused to the look of the competition by lopsided games, the uneven fixture could have an impact on the make up of the finals and the top four with Richmond and North being the beneficiaries of easy draws. Last year, Essendon snuck into the 8 on the back of a soft run late in the season and look what happened in their elimination final? We have a fairly tough run towards the end of the season - it could make us or break us.

To all the crow fans laughing about Lever... HA HA HA HA GET FUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEDDDDDD!!!,

As Whispering has noted, he's already extended his contract, which is a good sign. Also, Petty is from a bush town called Wudinna, which is a 6 hour drive (560 kms) from Adelaide. There's far less of a "go home" factor for country kids, whether they be Victorian, or from SA.

FIRST BLOW by KC from Casey Casey struck the first blow in the weekend's Demon /Magpie rivalry battle with a 23-point win over Collingwood VFL on Saturday at Casey Fields to take its winning streak to five games. The Demons wrestled away the lead early in the game and held their opponents goalless in the first term but the Pies challenged with three late second quarter goals to trail by just four points at the main break. Casey responded strongly with the only goals of the third term and another two immediately after the start of the final quarter to hold firm against a determined foe that was desperate to hold onto their spot in the VFL top four. The 23-point win was set up by a clinical performance in the midfield from Dom Tyson (35 disposals) who was simply outstanding in the clinches and maintained a high standard of efficiency and decision-making throughout. His work was emulated by Tom Bugg (34 touches, 2 goals) and Jay Kennedy Harris (32, 1 goal) who returned to his best form of last year. Their dominance in the midfield was offset to some extent by the strength of the Collingwood defence which cut off Casey's marking options but the home side managed to find enough avenues to goal to win the day. The Casey team was smartly decked out in the uniform of its predecessor Springvale Football Club in honour of the Vales' 1998 premiership celebrations. Most of that team was on hand for the pre game festivity and at the end of the day to cheer the current team in the rooms. The Demons fielded 14 AFL listed players with two held back for the Queens Birthday game with Tim Smith apparently rested after copping a couple of knocks last week against the Bulldogs. They still managed to put a strong defensive line up on the ground with Sam Frost, Declan Keilty and Harry Petty performing the big man duties and Jayden Hunt and the improving Dion Johnstone providing the run out of the back line. After half time Frost was moved forward where he showed his versatility, kicking the goal that broke the early deadlock in the second half and proving a nuisance with his height and run. Redhead Oskar Baker showed out with his pace and provided a highlight with a brilliant interception that he just failed to cap off what would have been goal of the day. The return of Casey skipper Jack Hutchins was a welcome one. Whatever the Demon big men couldn't stop was often mopped up by the captain and the pressure he and James Munro (13 tackles) were instrumental in their team's victory. Mitch Lewis was very lively early until injured and Goy Lok was brilliant at times but marred his efforts with some missed in front of goal. Casey goes into next week's bye as one of the form teams of the competition along with Richmond and face lowly Coburg first up after the break with eyes firmly placed on a top two finish and the right to a home final. Peter Jackson VFL 2018 Casey Demons 3.2.20 4.6.30 6.8.44 11.10.76 Collingwood VFL 0.2.2 4.2.26 4.3.27 8.5.53 Goals Casey Demons Balic Bugg 2 Baker Frost Kennedy Harris Lewis Lok Scott J Wagner Collingwood VFL Blair Borthwick Crocker Gallucci Hetherington McLarty Sier Wellings Best Casey Demons Tyson Kennedy Harris Baker C Wagner Bugg Weideman Keilty Collingwood VFL Hetherington Sing Tardrew Wellings Hore Blair Statistics Oskar Baker 1 goal 1 behind 18 kicks 4 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 94 dream team points Harley Balic 2 goals 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 106 dream team points Tomas Bugg 2 goals 18 kicks 16 handballs 34 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 140 dream team points Lachlan Filipovic 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 14 hit outs 44 dream team points Sam Frost 1 goal 1 behind 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 74 dream team points Jayden Hunt 6 kicks 9 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 53 dream team points Jack Hutchins 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 46 dream team points Dion Johnstone 7 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 45 dream team points Declan Keilty 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 44 dream team points Jay Kennedy Harris 1 goal 16 kicks 16 handballs 32 disposals 8 marks 3 tackles 121 dream team points Mitchell King 1 behind 2 kicks 7 handballs 9 disposals 1 tackle 29 hit outs 49 dream team point Mitchell Lewis 1 goal 1 behind 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 55 dream team points Jay Lockhart 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 56 dream team points Goy Lok 1 goal 3 behinds 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 61 dream team points James Munro 3 kicks 15 handballs 18 disposals 1 marks 13 tackles 91 dream team points Mykelti Lefau 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points Harrison Petty 1 behind 11 kicks 7 handballs 18 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 91 dream team points Aidan Quigley 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 1 tackle 13 dream team points Angus Scott 1 goal 8 kicks 7 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 57 dream team points Dom Tyson 19 kicks 16 handballs 35 disposals 5 marks 7 tackles 131 dream team points Corey Wagner 16 kicks 6 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 7 tackles 105 dream team points Josh Wagner 1 goal 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 79 dream team points Sam Weideman 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 2 hit outs 61 dream team points

Interesting and can confirm we were up to our eyeballs in this kid. Taylor called him on the night to apologise he wasn’t going to be a Dee because Oscar dropped to us. We had ANB and Oscar much higher on our draft board than where we drafted them and Ed was pretty sure he was going to be a Dee with pick 53. Don’t know if he’s keen to come back but apparently he ‘understood’ our decision. Hope that insight helps.

Petty just signed an extension on his contract so that’s definitely not in his thinking at the moment. In addition, it’s now recognised that the way to go with a player’s development is that it’s not always the right thing to rush him into the senior team immediately but to invest some time in getting him ready. We’re fortunate at Melbourne that we can do this whereas in the past we pushed players into the ones to the overall detriment of their careers. Look at the examples of Toumpas and others at Melbourne and even Weitering at Carlton. If we look after our players well enough and create the right environment for them, it reduces the likelihood of them wanting to leave further down the track.

An Adelaide contact of mine who's a Port Adelaide supporter is a big wrap for Petty who he thinks will end up as good if not better than Jacob Weitering of Carlton. He's not a fan of the Crows who he says doesn't do enough for players recruited from interstate and that's the main reason why they struggle to keep them in the state.

Kudos for getting the use of their right (he must know people other than CFC supporters) but then ruined it with use of them. And who even eats lamingtons. Would have been funnier referring to ashed chèvre . But then none of his fans would have got it

On this day in 1973 Robert Flower made his debut for the Melbourne Football Club against Geelong

What success? Are we getting ahead of ourselves?

So many reasons why it's important to win tomorrow. Not just to get one over the pies but to grab 2nd spot and a 2 game break on nth, collingwood and port.

He's still 18. And he actually plays all year as an 18 year old. Turns 19 in November.

It’s a blue sky junkie post, but the poster is spot on about the state of their list. For all we carp on about coaching, game plans and so on, I reckon the vast majority of team form is just down to the quality of the players at your disposal and keeping your best players available. He perpetuated the myth about the length of our rebuild, though. This rebuild started in 2013 when Paul Roos came on board. There are basically no players left from the ill fated 2008-2010 and 2011-2012 rebuilds. It’s been three rebuilds, not one long one. It’s an important distinction because the follow-on from “one long rebuild” is “heaps of early picks”, when our current team isn’t chock full of early picks. Clarry, Brayshaw, Trac and Salem are the only top 10 picks regularly in our side, the rest of the team has been built through shrewd trading and use of draft selections all throughout the drafts.

and the right amount of mediocrity to be a tool

They can spew platitudes all day long. Gimme Viney over Rance any day

Do like the selection of Pedo. Not only because of the way that he crunches packs and presents, but I think it will be important to support Gawn in the ruck and help keep our dominance in the guts when Gawn has a spell. Will be a great contest between the two No.1 ruckman and Gawn does have a good habit of rising to the occasion for games and key opponents like this. If I recall correctly in the corresponding clash a few years back, Gawn was up against Collingwoods two ruckman (both Grundy and Jessy White?) and dominated them both. Gawn was cooked in the end and could only manage jogging to position at times in the last quarter, but not before the damage was done, he had a couple of goals to his name and Melbourne had the game in the bag. I don't expect it to go quite that way this time as I think Grundy has continued to improve, but do expect Gawn to go hard - he is just such a compeditor beneath the laid back persona. The only problem I have with the Queens Birthday game is having to wait out the entire weekend for it ...oh and it's not a public holiday up here in Brisbane, that's another problem.

It's funny, some think Keilty was great with 8 disposals and 5 marks, yet Weideman, who was admittedly quiet, had 11 disposals and 7 marks (3 or 4 contested). And remember, playing in the back-line is far far easier than being a forward. I loved the way Weideman moved today. He was really athletic. He just didn't have a day where it clicked. Keilty is a very good VFL player, but I saw a lot more AFL traits from Petty. At 18 he's a rare talent.

Rance is a deadset piece of sh*t of a bloke and possibly the most overrated footballer in my lifetime. He can't defend man on man, lays less than 2 tackles a game on average because he runs away from a contest, he drops uncontested chest marks, and is a complete dog. His coward punch to Watts in the back of the head while he was laying prone and defenceless is one of the worst things I can remember seeing on the footy field. That disgusting act was straight up assault, and wouldn't be tolerated in civilised society, yet the commentators brushed it off saying "he's just frustrated" like that somehow excuses it! He's now been fined twice for staging in the past 12 months, and continues to leap like Superman out of any contest he finds himself in because despite his Hollywood muscles he's weak as [censored] and can't wrestle his way out of a paper bag. The love affair the media and commentators have with him is mind-blowing. I hope he cops more flack for diving again this week. His reputation deserves to be tarnished further and resemble the piece of sh*t he is.

For a bit of balance... Yes Rance is a diver and is overrated... What I can't stand though is how Tigers supporters have him past SOS and Scarlett as the best KP defenders. He's not even close to either.

It’s not that interesting; there is absolutely zero chance Brayshaw goes to Freo. More chance of us getting Andrew here than Angus going there, and even then that’s remote.

Its closing in on the pick they will get from us lol

Ha ha ha ha the cows lost again. Ha ha ha ha. That just made my weekend.

Starting to feel a bit anxious about tomorrow’s game, I can feel it in my plums. Collingwood have been slow to start, if we could capitalise on that and kick the first few I think we’ll be ok. If we also start slow I think the game will be a slow grind and could go either way. Dees by 64.

Richo was having a rant on AW about Rance being called a diver on the socials. It was funny to read all the comments having a go at Rance, with only a small percentage defending him. Guess who all the defenders barracked for. That's right, the Tiggers. Richo, Tiggers fans, Mandy Rice Davies comes to mind: well, they would say that. Rance clearly dived against Essendon. And while his dive was less pronounced against Port, it was interesting that he was nudged sideways, but then went flying forwards.

Great story telling by Max. Its good to hear some of the fun times away from the Club. And, pleased that Mclardy gets a gig at our informal 'events'. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams Easy to see why Neale would choose that song. How Happy would he be for us to win the silverware? I feel kind of desperate to win it very very soon to share it with some really special Demon people, while they are still with us: Neale Daniher, Ronald Dale Barassi and the remaining 1964 Premiership Team. But tomorrow, hope the team heed Neale's words: "Don't give up, don't give in, give it all you've got".

Melbourne by 54 points

Pies supporters on big footy still carrying on about the umpiring from last years game, they even made a video montage of it, they expect the same treatment Monday, I really really hope we smash them some are becoming unbearable

i just hope that the decision rests mainly with peter jackson his administration, decision making and forward planning is excellent and he is in the best position to choose

Really get the feeling Billings would do well in a better team. Clearly has talent

It's funny. Petty was the guy I was most excited about from the off season last year. Perhaps, it's a hang over from having to invest hope into young kids for so many years, but he seems like a Lever clone to me and given I knew what Lever was capable of, I was more excited about Petty's recruitment than anyone elses. He reads the ball beautifully in the air, knows his strengths in terms of body positioning and is a nice kick. Give him 15-20 games in the VFL to iron out some decision making education and learn the game style, and then he'll be ready for the big time. I'm excited to see where the FD sees him slotting in. Can we play Lever, Oscar and Petty in the same side? Probably, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice Hibberd's run or even Hunt's back there. I know it's 12 months down the track, but maybe Harry plays Vince's role, alongside Lever, Oscar, Hibberd, Lewis, Hunt and Salem. It'll be fascinating and exciting to see it develop. Fingers crossed we don't have anymore injuries and Petty can come in when he's ready.

On my first sight of Harrison Petty, watching on television , I was quite impressed , seemed to have a cool head , realised he had more time rather than panicking over the pill , appeared to be a good reader of play and looks to have a Lever style air about him . Yes , I liked what I saw !

Had dinner with Robbie about 6 months before he left us. I told him his debut game was my 10th Birthday and that i was in the crowd at The Western Oval in ‘87 His eyes lit up like a kid in a toy shop... Humble Absolute Champion We talked for about 2 hours. So glad i got to do that.

He’s only 19 so I hardly think he would be frustrated at not being played at this stage. I believe our player management and development is now first class. Also I think he has just extended his contract. The days of players pizzing off at the first opportunity seem to be over.

We have a few older players who will need developing young talent to cover moving forward. Guys building careers at Casey should not be thinking ‘I am not in the seniors this week, I should leave’. How many games did Tuck play in the Hawks 2nds? if we are building a dynasty these guys should be playing the long game. They should want to be part of something pretty spectacular. we are fortunate that atm we have Casey stacked with developing talent and highly capable depth. We look very low on list cloggers ATM. We also have some great VFL talent not on our list, showing the way.

He should be ashamed of himself. Pathetic attitude and not a leaders a.hole. Wouldn't have him at my club for free. The measure of anyone, particularly "leaders" is how they respond to adversity. Lynch needs to inspire his team mates by displaying strength of character and leading by example. He should be coming from the field totally spent from running, chasing, contesting and tackling regardless of the scoreboard. Instead he seems to be thinking of next years bank balance. Poor form Tom Lynch.

It's not hard to mistake Keilty and Petty. People were talking about it last week and I made the mistake a few times yesterday & only realized when I watched some of the replay afterwards. You're right about Weideman - he moved well around the ground and wasn't being used primarily as a FF which was the case in previous games he played at Casey.

There were times when you watched Robbie play his sublime brand of football, it was almost as if time stopped dead in its tracks whether he was flying high for a mark, baulking and weaving around opponents, changing direction while bouncing the ball on either side and effortlessly kicking long goals. He mesmerized his opponents and did likewise to fans of every club, not just ours, and I only wish that he could be there in the stands tomorrow proudly watching the team of 2018 that is so much better than it was in 2014 when he passed.

Very harsh on Oskar apart from that sitter he missed he showed a lot I thought. He's doing better than Hunt.

I'm at Etihad and I'm pleased to say that the bald boofhead umpire Nichols is here umpiring tonight. That should mean he won't umpire on Monday. There's something to be thankful for.

Thoughts on our players today from my position on the far side of the ground; Tyson: At quarter time he was BOG by the length of the Flemington straight. Was clean, used it well and looked a class above. Collingwood put a bit more work into him after 1/4 time, but his first touch work was still very good. Frost: Not bad without being great. Very solid and I thought his move forward was important in giving Casey another avenue towards goal despite not hitting the score board himself. JKH: BOG for mine. His ball use and ability to create run and win his own ball was very impressive. Think he still has a future in the AFL, not sure if it will be us however. Weideman: Very quiet, although to be fair the delivery was pretty poor. His last quarter was good I thought. A couple of strong marks and competed well. Balic: Very good first term and seemed to be the main avenue through half forward. Drifted out of the game for the next two quarters, but stood up when it mattered most with 2 last quarter goals. Hunt: Didn't star, but liked what he did do. I thought his ball use was better and he really cracked in. Bugg: Very solid game through the midfield and was probably the most consistent in each of the 4 quarters. Funny that he can't miss a shot at VFL level. Baker: Quiet start, but got better as the game went on. Missed what would have been a beauty in the 2nd term, but kicked the last of the day. King: Quiet game. Got to a lot of marking contests, but couldn't seem to hang onto any of them. Petty: Very good game, and is a very promising player. He looks class this kid! Johnston: I thought about 3 weeks ago that Johnston was DOA at the exit interviews at years end, however his move to defence has been inspired. Don't write this kid off yet. Could be groomed as a future small defender IMO. Was very solid. J. Wagner: Another very solid game. Used it well, and I'm slowly starting to develop some confidence in his decision making. I feel he's being groomed for Jordan Lewis eventual replacement. Very good at this level. Keilty: Best game I've seen him play live. Multiple intercept marks and he seemed to cover the ground better then I've seen him do before. Really seems to be starting to blossom. Filipovic: I thought his ruck work was quite impressive considering he was giving away several kg's. Next thing for him to do apart from add muscle is to start to do a bit more around the ground. He is still very young though. SPECIAL MENTION Corey Wagner: Came to Casey after two years and 8 games with North Melbourne and time in the Lions acadamey before that. Looks at home amongst the AFL mids and he runs hard. Certainly wouldn't be against adding him to our midfield stocks at seasons end.

Glad to see Joel SMith back.. remember his debut game in Round 1 last season.. looked right at home before wrecking his shoulder early on. Small sample size I know, but he has what it takes. Could be a very solid Lever replacement across half back, he has the tools... cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Paul Roos

Groan. So, we are first in Contested Possession, and second in clearances and we 'need' Wines? We are 5th in uncontested possession and up until the last three weeks have not got reward for our Inside 50s rate - which tells me that we have had issues entering our forward line with the ball, not getting the ball. I love great players too, and would have loved if a different decision was made in 2012 to get Wines, but I know what kind of player I would chase. Let's see who the club chases...

I cannot watch Neile Daniher these days without tearing up. One of the most motivational men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my lifetime. 'You give up, you give in or you give it all you got'. I hope all of our boys took that in and do Neale proud on Monday.

Are you sure? Isn't it more important that we maintain our current off-field form, with someone who understands the culture and the atmosphere, than bring in someone who is determined to put their own stamp on it and effect mass upheaval? Worked pretty well when Roos handed over to Goodwin, and I think we'd be aiming for a similar "seamless" transition.