Leaderboard

How good is it having AVB back!? Dude is a gun and has gone through a helluva lot the past couple of years, from some nasty injuries to the devastating loss of his Father (I can't tell you the whole story of what exactly happened but it's pretty messed up) To see him come back and play some great VFL footy, I am overjoyed to see him back in the seniors. He's gonna tear it up!

The new team selection thread assessment system in honour of the Demonland centre-line bug: ?Bernie Vince, Sam Frost, Neville Jetta ?Christian Salem, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis ? Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes ? Aaron vandenBerg, Jesse Hogan, Bayley Fritsch ?Jeff Garlett, Tom McDonald, ?Jay Kennedy Harris ? Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw ?(from): Christian Petracca, Charlie Spargo, Dean Kent, Cameron Pedersen, Jayden Hunt, Alex Neal-Bullen, Tim Smith, Joel Smith ? Aaron vandenBerg, Dean Kent, Cameron Pedersen, Jayden Hunt, Tim Smith ?Jake Melksham (hamstring)

Pretty sure my parents had a party when I moved to Perth at 18.

Bruce - “Geelong came out winners out of this” Except for the fact that if they lose to Hawthorn next week they’ll probably miss finals. Hope Chris Scott enjoyed that one.

Info from a contact in recruiting... Trialled at Brisbane, Adelaide, Essendon and St. Kilda before choosing Melbourne. 184cm. Likely position - half back. Lives with and best mates with Joel Smith.

An old workmate of mine used to play cricket at Maribyrnong Park when Walker was a junior. Walker was a very talented key position player who at the time had his pick of potential success in either footy or cricket. Some considered his talent comparable to Peter Wright at the same time. He came from a very cricket focused family, so footy didn't really get a look in. Clearly our recruiting team (Tim Lamb according to the article) kept tabs on him. His cricket career was derailed by injury issues, so I hopefully he can get his body right for footy. If he does, we may have pinched one. Edit: Wonder if the timing of Harley Balic's retirement had any connection with this announcement?

Six games? So some clubs dont play orher clubs? How the final ladder be in any way fair or an accurate representation of each teams true strength? Say geelong is crap but we dont get tp play them and miss our on percentage. What a sham. Daisy is spot on. Has to be each clubs plays each other once, so a nine game season. Top 4 for finals. Top 2 get a second chance.

Mark Knight is surely Australia's greatest cartoonist. The poignancy of this work is amazing - look closely and you can see Lyle's wife and kids.

Good on her. The AFL really butcher everything they do. Even with only 10 teams they can't setup a fair fixture! Laughable organisation.

The only reason there is talk about footy being dead is because the AFL has gifted teams like Carlton, St Kilda and Bulldogs Prime Time spots.

I think Saty took this photo.

Would love some details on him...height, weight, playing position etc

Spargo guaranteed 100+ games player. Probable 200 game Premiership player.

Have to give a nod to Swan's Alex Johnson. 5 knee reconstructions and 6 years out of AFL. Huge achievement to make it back. Testament to his commitment and resilience. Wish him well.

Huge week for the Dees this week in Non-MFC games. Obviously we want the Tigers to win. We need the Dons to do us a few favours in the run home and this is a huge one. The Lions are the only real chance of a team knocking off the Kangas in the run home. No brainer that we want the Crows to win. We want Sydney to win if we can win 3 or 4 games but Collingwood if we're only going to win 1 or 2. If you want to go down the rose coloured glasses route then Freo knocking off the Eagles would help out my Top 2 dream.

Four weeks to go and it’s been hard to watch some games this year but a lot of us will be tuning in for the last month. No downer this week for Richmond, Tigers by 27. Haw v ESS. Can’t stand both of them. The arrogance of ESS supporters at work have me wearing my brown and gold hat on for tomorrow. They have penciled the R23 game against Port as the game that will get them in the finals. Breust to kick 6 and Uber the Bombers back to Tullamarine. Lions v Kangas. Lions are definitely not playing for draft picks. Higgins a big out, tough game for North. The Showdown. Crows anyone? Syd v Coll. Feel good story with Johnson returning, Pies missing Howe. Can’t pick this one. Someone suggested a draw on another thread for this game so draw it is, just to confuse us even more.

Enjoy the long drive back to Geelong.

Sweet revenge. Suck it Geelong. God I despise them. Gablett missing. Oh how sweet it is! Rance is the most overrated sook in the league. He is rubbish one on one.

Phew.....Ablett screwed that one up..

There are some miserable sods on this thread. I wonder if they've had to deal with being under the public microscope while suffering from mental health issues. Lots of people lose the passion for their job, but AFL footy isn't a normal job, it has very particular pressures. I applaud Balic for being open enough to make his circumstances public. That takes more guts than venting anonymously online.

I reckon he's in serious consideration, yes his form has been poor this year but and up and firing Jayden Hunt could be the key to our road to success! If it's one game I think we can get away with him being underdone but also gain match fitness then this would be it.. For me I'd bring in Hunt for Smith.

She is the leading voice in the comp and universally admired across the AFLW and the AFL. Very compelling reasons she puts up against the 6 week/2 finals comp and against a 'conference' structured comp. She has called the AFL out on their stupidity!! I reckon either have a proper comp or don't have one at all. Daisy is as courageous off the field as she is on. So rapt she has taken the AFL on over this with no fear or favour! Go Daisy!!

I've never tackled him, so so far your theory is holding up

AvB for some reason has always hit me as a player who will be essential to us lifting the cup. There’s no logic to it, it’s just a gut feeling. On his day, he hunts and hurts the opposition and pops up for key goals in a congested forward line. Built for the intensity and agro of finals. Hope he has a huge 8 weeks of footy.

Justification for a priority pick???

This game makes me feel better. I don't know if it should but it does.

Yeah, shut your stupid face McAveney.

Bruce.....Geelong 21 points down but still in it....remember what they did to Melbourne......um yeah, na Bruce..

Oh be quiet Bruce, yes we remember what happened to Melbourne....

Surely that throw in farce must convince even the dullards of the AFL rules committee that the nominated ruck man rule is a blight on the game No nomination from either side so waste another 10 seconds and allow the congestion to increase further Just get rid of it

Richmond wasteful going forward. Remind you of anyone.

Gil tried to compare the AFLW season length with The World Cup saying "The World Cup goes for four weeks, you wouldn’t call that a Mickey Mouse tournament." I think he forgets that the world cup finals starts 30 months earlier in the qualifiers and involves over 200 countries.

Looks like a Coles bakery employee. Pass from me.

He was a bowler(although not a good one) so I assume he would have a bit of height... On another note.. last name walker, played professional cricket, played for the mfc. sound familiar??/

Garlett puts so much pressure on opposing backs. What an example of controlled fumbling last week. He never really lost control and eventually found a teamate for a goal assist.

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.

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.

I really don't rate Port Adelaide, so long as Adelaide have a flicker of hope they are a good chance this weekend.

What a load of garbage. We beat a surging Adelaide in Adelaide last weekend without Viney and Hibberd. We're a team, not a group of individuals.

Can I just add, that Daisy is probably only a shade behind Maxy in terms of being the MFC's best media performer. Insightful perspective on the game, and comes across extremely naturally on Radio and Television. Also agree with her, it's a total joke to have a 6 week competition for 10 teams... Especially if they have plans to add a further two teams in a couple more years. Women's football is perhaps one of the greatest growth areas for the AFL, I believe it's a massive part of why we have record membership numbers this year, and locally here in Tassie, it's very noticeable that the game has taken off for women's footy.

Gotta feel for the bloke. Football is a tough life that a lot of people don't seem to appreciate just how hard it can be. From all reports he is a ripper of a bloke and well liked, and he definitely had shown glimpses of some great talent, but unfortunately it hasn't worked out. Hoping he has good luck going into the future and it all works out for him.

Disagree. If not for injury he would have been well and truly entrenched in the best 22 long ago. Hes an absolute bull in the contest, tackles like a maniac, can kick a goal and marks well overhead. And hes shown he can do all that at AFL level when he made an immediate impact for us in 2015.

Yeurgh. Was there sandwiched between two EFC-supporting mates who spent the first 3 quarters scoffing at the MFC "luck" ... every goal was an arse, MFC playing above themselves, so-and-so just threw it on his boot without looking and it sailed through ... they were not impressed. Delicious. Then of course came the deluge. They didn't even celebrate, just treated it as the expected comeback and win. Smug acceptance of their rightful due. Made it very very hard to take. I don't think I liked them much before that, but I have absolutely hated EFC since.

Hiram - I hope you are not directly responding to B b o’s post above ?

He also needs to better time his high 5’s with the KPF lining up for goal so he doesn’t look silly ??

If you are tall you have to be very good. If you are any height you have to be very good. A pretty meaningless argument. Spargo's 18 and played 11 games. He's shown more than enough in that time to suggest he can emulate what McDonald-Tipungwuti, or Caleb Daniel, or a host of those other players have been capable of.

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!

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.

Casey Demons VFL training Jade Rawlings getting Casey ready at Gosch's Paddock. Professional drilling by Sam Wiedeman, Jayden Hunt, Dean Kent, Tim Smith, Dion Johnstone, Josh Wagner, Harley Balic, Tom Bugg, Pat Mckenna, Harry Petty, Oskar Baker. Declan Keilty, Mitch King, Lachlan Filopovic doing plenty of kicking and moving. Sam looking switched on. Josh strong and kicking well. Hunty clean ball use, restrained run going only 80% acceleration. Pat kicking beautiful snaps and is excited about the contest on Saturday. From kev martin