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Went along today to see a very impressive Casey performance. I had a few, but here's my take on how the Melbourne players went; Mitch Hannan: Was very active in the 1st term and involved in several of our forward frays. Spent his time betweeen half forward & the midfield. Attempted to take mark of the year a few times to no avail. Did enough to keep his name in contention. Cameron Pedersen: BOG for me today. Marked everything that came his way and defended strongly. Has had a great year at VFL level. Sam Weideman: Kicked a couple of goals and played a really good first half and took some strong marks. Spent a little bit more time in the ruck in the 2nd half after King went off and kept himself involved in the game. Still tracking encouragingly. Jayden Hunt: First game back since Queens Birthday weekend and he did a few nice things without dominating. Good launching pad for a potential return to the senior team before finals. Tom Bugg: Pretty quiet game from buggy I thought. He may have got more of it in & under then I realized, but was otherwise a pretty unnoticeable game. Oskar Baker: Was playing another solid game, showing good pace, pressure and kicking a goal. Looked to do his hamstring late in the 3rd term, however spotted him on the bench running lines and trying to get back on, but looked to get ordered out of the game by the coaches. Think/hope it was only a strain or bad cramp and we'll see him back next week or the week after. Mitch King: Competed ok, but I'm still yet to see anything from him that makes me think he'll make it. To make matters worse, he then either done a MCL or Meniscus Injury to end his day, potentially season and potentially Melbourne career. Harrison Petty: Hasn't quite hit the heights of his early season form since his AFL debut, but he defended dourly and played his role in a strong defensive unit. Dion Johnston: I've liked his move to defence and he played another solid game. Think Nev's mentorship is paying off and a new 1 year deal should be put on the table for Dion. Tim Smith: Not a huge game for the Bull. He competed as he always does and played as the main ruck after King went off. Like many on our list today, played his role without having a huge day himself. Pat McKenna: Barely noticed him in the first half, but he worked his way into the game in the 2nd kicking a goal. Given the injuries he's had to overcome, it's great that he's just out there playing again. 1 year deal for me, so Guy Walker has someone to bowl to in the nets. Josh Wagner: Controlled things across half back and was assured with his ball use and always seemed to have time & space. Declan Keilty: After Pedersen I thought he was the best of the Melbourne players. Kicked a few, took some strong marks and provided a real target. Has had a great year at VFL level and unlucky not to have received a senior opportunity. He's developing well! Lachlan Filipovic: Gone for mine. Even when King went off, it was Smith & Weideman who were asked to compete in the ruck. Limited impact and doesn't get involved enough. Thought I should add, that after Pedersen I thought the next three best were all Casey listed players in Jay Lockhart, Corey Wagner & Cory Machaya. Lockhart in particular is someone we should look to draft. Nice kick, good pace and run, exactly the type we could do with. Watch this space!

Keilty was great. In the last minute he was out of position on casboult but still managed to not only get the spoil in but effevt the mark then run in front to get away from him I truly think he desrves a third year on the rookie list

So much respect for Pedo as a player. Puts in week in week out no matter the level he’s playing.

It seems to me that the outcome of last night’s game really does demonstrate how close Melbourne is to becoming one of the powers of the competition. A fortnight ago, on Geelong’s turf, we lost by 2 points in a game that took an incredible last quarter comeback effort from the home side to beat us. The Cats scored 8.0 to 3.5 in that term, finished with an incredible 16.4.100 (80% shooting accuracy for the game) and needed everything to go right for them in the dying moments to get up (including our AA ruckman to miss two important patches off the ground when Geelong scored heavily) - yes, we obviously contributed by failing to apply enough pressure on their forwards when they were rampant but there were so many little fine lines that contributed to our downfall. Fast forward to last night where the premiership favourite was the home team and the game flowed in much the same way. This time however, those little fine lines were moved somewhat. Geelong had seven shots to four and still kicked accurately but their 5.2 for the final quarter represents a 71.4% goal scoring ratio and their game score came up at 54.5% - well below the 80% they managed against us. The end result was that, against the same opposition, the Tigers won at home by 3 points while we lost away by 2 points. That tells me we’re not so far off the pace. Of course, every game is different and we appear doomed to rue the result of that game, but it tells me that on our day, we are now capable of beating anyone in the competition, which gives us plenty to look forward to in the future (naturally, at the moment, I’m looking forward only to tomorrow).

Look it’s hard for me not to be biased but I really think he can. I’ve seen him play on experienced AFL listed guys (to be fair not superstars or anything) and dominate them. He was all over Casboult today, he f’d up Buzza last week, he’s beat McKernan, T.Boyd and other good KPFs in the past. If he had played v the Saints over Petty we would’ve won I reckon I just hope he gets his chance and we can see for sure if he has what it takes at that level.

that would be a ginger snap

Keilty has drifted forward following his man down and takes a great contested mark and kicks a goal!!!!!

Just a note on Harley Balic who retired this week. Harley played his best game for Casey in Round 1 against Coburg when he starred with six goals, a performance which could have gained him a promotion to the AFL. However, it's worth remembering that was the week when Tom Bugg (4) and Dean Kent (3) got among the goals in Melbourne's win against North Melbourne leaving no place available for Balic in the team. From there however, it was a bit of a downhill ride for Harley. He was injured late in the second game against Werribee after kicking an important last quarter goal just when Casey was asserting its authority on the game. He missed the next two matches with a plantar fascia injury and returned in Round 6 against the Box Hill Hawks. He put in one or two handy performances including a 3 goal effort against Port Melbourne but more lately seemed to have some quiet patches, flashing in and out of games. Some of his last appearances for the club were played in some shocking conditions against Essendon and North Melbourne (who were kept goalless). He certainly never came near to emulating his debut display and his non-selection against Footscray was a bit of a mystery. He played against the Cats but was nowhere near his best. I suppose that the writing was on the wall and the tale of his more recent vanilla performances has now been resolved. If his heart wasn’t in it and he has lost his passion for the game, then he is doing what his right for his club, his teammates and most importantly, for himself. I wish him good luck for the future. On a side note, because Balic missed out on playing in Rounds 3 and 4 through his foot injury, every time he ran out to play with Casey, it was a winning game.

KEILTY!!!! Up forward again this quarter takes a great conteSted grab and slots it from 50

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing him sitting in the stands with the rest of the punters during September.

Keilty being moved strategically He’s staying down the scoring end all game, so being a forward with the wind and defending against the wind very clever

I sometimes listen to the podcast of oppo teams the week before and after we play them. Yeah, tragic. One of the podcasters on the Crowcast (http://www.aflcrowcast.com/) made a very accute prediction as to how the game would pan out in the week leading up: “Melbourne are a team that the way they go about their scoring is in clusters. They tend to go on five or six goal rolls and break teams with fifteen to twenty minutes of football. I’m just not sure that our defence at the moment is organised enough to withstand that kind of a surge which will inevitably come, and regardless of the midfield battle they will win their share of ball. That’s just an outcome that’s going to occur regardless of how well we play. They will win their fair share of ball and at some point, they are good enough that there will be a surge and I just have a bad feeling that surge will produce five, six, seven goals. Whether it be the second quarter or third quarter, that will put a dent in the game.” We have built ourselves a reputation for these types of surges in games but I found the accuracy of this prediction from an opposition supporter (in another state no less) fascinating. They also thought Gawn would play a critical role and raved about his rucking in the post match talking about what a privilege it was to see him live. Worth a listen if you have way too much time on your hands.

I'd go with "Lukes" Guy Walker

* Obviously Carlton will beat GWS.

Hunty did some good things but was otherwise quiet nah scott didnt play Also im a little inebriated so i didnt really focus on every player my bad

Smashing Carlton never gets old, whether at VFL or AFL level.

Even if Essendon losing was a bad result for us, it's hard not to smile knowing how miserable their supporters must be feeling right now. Another year of failure for Brendon Floggard. Watching those drug cheats enjoy finals last year (well, for 2 minutes before the bloodbath against Sydney) off the back of a compromised fixture (for artificially finishing 18th in 2016) while we missed out was insufferable and maddening. Even if we miss this year, I'll take solace from the fact the [censored] drug cheats missed too.

The way Geelong played is a bit of a lesson to us: We have lost only 3 games by more than 10 points - Hawks (67pts), Tigers (46pts) and Pies (42pts). What do they have in common? They were at the G and we played almost exclusively down the wing and the members wing at that. We still play the wing in most games and works against a lot of sides. Geelong showed that to have a decent chance against the Tigers, playing the wings plays right into their hands so other coaching tricks are needed to beat them.

Can’t be upset when pies lose

He wasn't on his own there

Peo and Keilty been great As have Hannan, White, CWagner

Carlton player reported for killing Wagner in the back after he marked it. Plus a 100m penalty Fight after the goal Casey get another free and a shot on goal

[censored] Essendrug. I hope thy achieve NOTHING

Declan Keilty takes a great mark and converts. Yes - Casey has the breeze.

By far the most interesting game this week is Sydney vs Collingwood. The 8 gets totally reshape if Sydney win, including Geelong dropping back out, and Collingwood would drop to 6th if GWS, Port and Melbourne win as they should and 7th if Hawthorn win too. If Collingwood win you would have to think Sydney are close to done.

And his twin brother too ...

Still felt very weird getting behind Richmond. Anyway, EAD Geelong.

Last nights game. Umpires. 3 votes. The media bang on about the look of the game, rule changes ect. Umpire like they did last night and we have no problem. Let them go.

Better this week than next.

We could conceivably be playing GWS for a top 2 spot in round 23.

This would have taken a fair bit of energy out of the swans. Thank [censored] that Johnson came back this week and that feel good factor is not in play against the Dees.

I need a cleansing like the one Meryl Streep had in Silkwood I'm barracking for teams that [censored] me

Great round. Hope we ruin that with a 100 point shellacking of GC tomorrow.

What a ridiculously good round of football so far. F**k off Steve Hocking and let the game do its own thing.

We can't afford Keilty to ever leave. Who's will give us VFL match reports without Drunkn?

Corey Wagner looking good to be rookied.

Always a favourite here as well. Loved his comment post match when he played against Essendon in the VFL. Said he would bust his backside to get back in the team. Would love to see him in a final with his competitive nature.

Thanks for your service Bernie. Came to us when nobody in their right minds should have bothered, and played hard, tough footy, just when we needed it. Gave the kids someone to look up to, and you should be rightly proud of a great career.

A kick for goal after the siren from Cory Machaya is on line. Quarter Time: Casey Demons 8.5.53 lead Northern Blues 0.0.0 Goals Baker Keilty Lockhart Machaya Pedersen C Wagner Weideman White Disposals C Wagner 9 Machaya Pedersen 8 White 7

Ablett missing an easy shot ( out of character) doesn't validate Hardwick as a coach, as doesn't the after - the - siren loss at Geelong validate or invalidate Goodwin. (or Scott) What I learnt last night and past couple of weeks, and as quoted by Caroline Wilson this week - " who wouldn't be afraid to meet Melbourne on the G in the finals." I believe the current line up, plus Hibberd/Vandenburg can do something this year - if we make it.

Have spent a lot of time going over our stats this week, Goodwin and King are right, we are so close it's not funny. Wins v Cats x 2, Port and STK and you know where we'd be sitting. Defence is an issue with Lever out and now Hibberd, but if we can find a way to just get it happening we can win it this year, you don't get much better opportunities. OK, I'll stop making you feel miserable @Demonland here are some positive stats for you, exciting times ahead, just need it to "click" Ranked 3rd in Handballs Per Game Ranked 2nd in Disposals Per Game Ranked 1st in Points Per Game Ranked 3rd in Tackles Per Game Ranked 1st in Hitouts Per Game Ranked 1st in Inside 50s Per Game Ranked 1st in Goal Assists Per Game Ranked 3rd in Clearances Per Game Ranked 3rd in Clangers Per Game Ranked 1st in least Opponent Kicks Per Game Ranked 2nd in least Opponent Marks Per Game Ranked 4th in least Opponent Hitouts Per Game Ranked 2nd in least Opponent Inside 50s Per Game Ranked 5th in Team to Opponent Handballs Per Game Diff. Ranked 5th in Team to Opponent Disposals Per Game Diff. Ranked 5th in Team to Opponent Marks Per Game Diff. Ranked 2nd in Team to Opponent Points Per Game Diff. Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Hitouts Per Game Diff. Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Inside 50s Per Game Diff. Ranked 2nd in Team to Opponent Goal Assists Per Game Diff. Ranked 4th in Team to Opponent Clearances Per Game Diff. Ranked 5th in Team to Opponent Clangers Per Game Diff.

Bernie has been (and still is) a terrific contributor to this club. A genuine team player who added a bit of mongrel during some tough times. Well done Bernie!!!

I think it'd be hilarious if Collingwood missed the finals from here. They won't but I'd love it. As long as they don't get the double chance...

Beautiful day down here at Casey Fields, bit of wind though. Kent is the carryover.

Rest easy. There is no way possible that Melbourne can lose today. We don’t even play until tomorrow.

Come on Febes....Scott says he does no such thing....

Some commentators do have some merit in the opinions regarding congestion and over defensively set ups, but I can't agree more with the OP, leave the game alone and fix the umpiring interpretations. Typical over reaction from the media.. Mind you most of the noise initially was from Slobbo & Ralph who are Essendon supporters when their team were 2-6 or something like that.

Put the good teams on in the prime time slots and the crap teams at 6pm on Sunday night and a lot of this would be fixed. The AFL needs to take accountability for poor Friday night games by firstly gifting Carlton/St Kilda so many games and then, mystifyingly, defending the decision. It really is amateur.

Suffer in your jocks Geelong.

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