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Beautiful mornings start though the wind picked up later in the session. Coaches approach following the warm up with invited guest and groups, to begin training. Drills with handballs and some contact work. They split into positional groups and then quickly change again to kicking and lead up work. Looking very good. Simulations had Goody or a player kick to a designated coach who brings the ball to ground. Crumbers work to spread the ball. Contests and pressure, run, quick ball and a corridor. Rehab had Jake Melksham and Michael Hibberd. Hibbo running hard laps. Thought Aaron vandenBerg would have had a better session but fumbling and not strong passes may show he is anxious. Sam Wiedeman looking great, strong hands and reliable goal kicking routine. Cam Pederson doing well and has become more vocal in structuring the defense. Mitch Hannan and Josh Wagner steady session. From kev Martin

I reckon Vanders is in this week - players and coaches formed one huddle then huge cheers, couldn’t see who for but it had to be for someone who hasn’t played for years or a debutant? - straight after that Hannam, Bugg, Kent left the track while Vanders continued training with the forwards educated guess Vanders in for Jake!

Jesse Hogan was great, looking very stong with movement and kicking.

Effectively immediately. Football is just not for everyone. Good luck Harley.

Welcome back AAron! Great reward for huge amount of rehab work and giving it everything he has in recent Casey games. He never gave up. He never gave in. I really like that about him. He is a true warrior!

Good luck to him. No point at his age to hate what you do. He has years of doing a crappy job to pay the bills ahead of him ?

AVB is in source SEN

All Garlett has to do defensively is ‘enough’ - we have no one like him offensively and considering how many inside 50s we get, he is so valuable for what he brings on offensively.

As a young boy with footy talent it's all about how you're going to be an AFL star. The further you go the greater the expectation. It becomes all about SHOULD. What you really are and want becomes submerged beneath the expectation of others. Family pride in your achievements, the admiration of mates, representing the school. Who you really are becomes secondary to the expectation of living up to the responsibility of delivering to an ever increasing number of people who have no understanding or interest in who you really are. You are a vehicle for the self gratification that others gain from their association to you. You are a brave man Harley both for persisting despite it not being what you want and then having the courage to say enough. I hope ditching this burden leads to a happy and productive life. Best wishes.

Don’t think I’m the only one having a very hard time seeing where you are coming from.

Caleb Daniel and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti are shorter than Spargo. Dayne Zorko, Paul Puopolo, Dion Prestia, Willie Rioli, Lewis Taylor, Eddie Betts, Hayden Ballantyne and Jack Lonie, amongst others, are all the same height as him. Allen Christensen, Orazio Fantasia, Jade Gresham, Billy Hartung, Jack Higgins, Rory Laird, Lachie Neale, Tom Papley, Cyril Rioli, Michael Walters and Devon Smith, amongst others, are all just one inch taller than him. Your argument that he is "too short" is completely unfounded.

Once again coming up against an overwhelming favourite who is injury free. Give me an injury riddled, gastro infested, interstate team who have to bus in due to a pilot's strike.

You obviously haven't watched the Casey games, would not like to be first Gold Coast player he tackles He is stronger, fitter and faster, his words Testimony to the rehab/fitness staff again, especially Crossy, the guys in rehab work extra hard for him Still a lot of emphasis on contested work at training

If he quit after round 2 you’d be whinging about him giving up too soon. Must have been a tough decision for the young fella, I have nothing but respect for him.

This just seems unnecessarily spiteful. He was playing a bit part anyway and the passion is gone. Likelihood of him being important to a finals campaign in that frame of mind is bugger all. Now someone currently running around in bush footy gets a spot in a VFL flag tilt, in front of an AFL club, that he otherwise wouldn’t have had. I felt palpable relief for him when I read the article. The feeling of escaping something that is holding you down is immensely liberating. I hope he finds whatever it is that makes him tick.

Goddamn. I'm going to training tomorrow just so I can give a shout out to Vanders. Go Vanders! Go Demons!

He hasn’t let anyone down Martin. He gave it a shot, better luck in his next career.

I like his username. It reminds us of the number we should be phoning in the last quarter of a Melbourne game..

TMac to kick 9 against the hapless Rance Bailey Fritsch with 5 Jack Watts spotted in the crowd looking forlorn....

i worry about the fact that so many supporters write off our players so easily, most are still young and developing and will over time get better. Bugg seems to be a reasonably good option going forward or even as a tagger, he is hard at it. yes he has missed some goals in the past but he has also kicked a few. We need to best team out on the field for the next few weeks to get us through to the finals and hopefully get some Viney and co back. To disregard his form and take others who are not doing as well in the VFL is foolish. during the year there has been a lot of people putting down frost, he has come out and done the job better than some of the newer recruits. We need to give these guys time to improve and not write them off so quickly. supporting a club also means supporting the players.

[censored] poor post in my book.

Your book has nothing in it.

He`s a young man dealing with mental health issues which have probably had a fair bit to do with his decision. There is far more to life than footy. I`d say your post is a poor effort in my book.

AVB 'should' be the in for Melksham?

Goodwin on whether Oliver or Gawn is having a better season: "If you ask Max, he would say he is contributing to Clayton's season. If you ask Clayton, he'd say he's making Max look good." ? In all seriousness, we are so blessed to have them both as Demons. They clearly have huge inate talent, and have worked their butts off to get to this level, and the Club itself deserves a great deal of credit for developing them to become stars of the competition. Fingers crossed, they will be part of a premiership team sooner rather than later.

Our injury list is one of the smaller ones in the league. Strains, bumps and bruises, especially at the tail end of the season. Ridiculous calling for heads on the back of this. http://m.afl.com.au/news/injury-list

Hmmm we were 29 pts up against Geelong and 29 pts up against Adelaide both in the last quarter. If I am reading you correctly we need to be more than 29 pts ahead going into the last....

Can you please change your photo please?

It takes courage sometimes to make that sort of call especially on the eve of VFL finals. Thanks Harley for giving it a go, and for your contributions to Casey this year. You have played a part in their success so far.

Have met him a couple of times as I work with Challenge - the not-for-profit organisation, which supported him through his first battle with leukaemia and which he has been ambassador for over the last 15 years or so. Last time we spoke we chatted about the Dees and how it seems like we are finally heading on the right track. Hope he is around long enough to see some (hopefully) finals success this year. He gave so much to the Challenge organisation and is truly one of the most selfless and giving humans one can meet. It would be a nice gesture by the MFC to do something for him and to wear a yellow armband in support of not only Jarrod, but the Challenge organisation, which he loved and gave so much for. Great guy and sending all the love in the world to both him and his family.

Wish him all the best for the future. Good on him for having the courage to make such a big decision and to look after himself.

Was their source demonland?

Another year gone because of that foot. I know some of you are optimistic, but I worry this will ruin his career. His foot is clearly struggling under the pressure of being an endurance athlete. It's a massive worry!

The number of members is the sizzle. The sausage is the amount of revenue brought in by memberships. Better metrics are total revenue and revenue per member.

I don't like the focus on percentage/a big win for this game. Let's just aim for the 4 points.

Many will have seen that Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle has made the heartbreaking decision to go into palliative care after a third battle with cancer. Jarrod is a Melbourne supporter so I just wanted to send love to a fellow Demon supporter and his family during what must be the most harrowing of experiences.

Until we prove otherwise I'll be nervous if we are not 40 up at 3/4 time!

How much did you read? It clearly states he has spoken out about mental health issues.

This will sound really shallow, but I follow him on Instagram and he just came across as a strange unit. I don't know why, but I would have put money on him not playing a game. In the end he didn't cost us much so no great loss. I just hope he finds something outside of football that he will enjoy.

This whole story is just so sad. What a brave, beautiful man and his wonderful, supportive family. I have worked in Palliative Care and he will be so well cared for with dignity and respect. My heart goes out to the whole family.

VANDENBERG outta control. Like a pitbull ready to pounce on its prey.

Sydney were 29 points up before GC rolled them and were playing very well, then GC shut them down and applied pressure. I'm not assuming an easy win here.

Dean Kent looking the goods as was everyone else. It was a high standard of training today.

You think a 25yo can’t change? You didn’t get better at your job past 25 years of age?

Gil is a saints supporter, anything is possible........

saints and carlton certainly scotching the theory that wins equates to increased memberships

Yup, just like the St Kilda game. Absolute certainties.

I think Kent gets a run. Melksham is a bigger loss than he looks on paper. We will miss him, he has been very good this season.