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A lot of that centres around the fact that we have the least potent and least reliable forward line in the league. Conceding 8 goals against the Dons was fantastic. Kicking 9 goals was quite poor if we're being honest. That appears to be everyone's key concern at the moment.

Uphill skiing

Just enjoy each game at a time, who cares what the "pundits" think. Go dees

All that matters in the end is who wins it...opinions then don't mean s...

Not having nearly enough to do and prompted by a Demonlander who suggested we had more young players than Essendon, I checked all top 8 teams playing last weekend plus Esendon and it appears we are in a great position for the future. Sorry about the formatting Team Players under 22 22-27 Over 27 Average games Melbourne 7 11 4 89.6 Dogs 4 12 6 95.6 Brisbane 6 12 4 90.4 Port 4 11 7 98.9 Geelong 0 9 13 147.0 Swans 5 11 6 100.2 Eagles 1 11 10 141.4 Tigers 2 9 11 118.3 Baby Bombers 3 15 4 74.7 Our demographic is actually closer to Brisbane than any other club. There are of course a number of injured players at other clubs who would be in their best 22. If included, it would raise the number of older players at each club and age demographic. Moreso others than Melbourne (who would only replace Petty with Tomlinson). I dont know what it means but we are either too young, in a great position to start a dynasty or alternatively it was an interesting way to spend an hour or so.

Under the Radar is exactly where we need to be leading into September. Then we Launch ?

Over the last 10 weeks we have the following from the Federal Government. AZ is a good vaccine. People under 40 should not take it. People under 50 should not take it. People under 60 should not take it. Yesterday it is a good vaccine everyone from 20 up should gets shots and we will indemnify any doctor who gets sued when they recommended it. They wonder why take up rates are poor, it must go down as the worst public health exercise in Australian history.

Just a reminder that, since 2018, we've won more finals than Brisbane. This is complete and utter bull[censored]. We have scored the fourth most points in the league. Read that again. We are top 4 for scoring. One of the three sides above us is Essendon, which means only two current top 8 sides score more than us.

I would not back the MFC with bad money. Our history for half a century makes us a poor chance. Having said that they can keep on under estimating us.

Unlike the old ladies at Arden Street in the 70’s. North were well-known for the abundance of ‘grannies’ at their home games. But these were mostly really nice old ladies. When I was about 9, during one match, Sam Kekovich kicked the ball out of bounds on the full and the ball hit me in the head (also on the full). I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, the first thing I saw was a circle of (blue rinsed) old ladies hovering over me. One had draped a knitted blanket over me and another was trying to get me to sip a cup of tea!

They'll be a joint suicide pact at Fox footy in melbourne win the flag and I for one look forward to it

Amusing autocorrect situation ?

I hope you yelled out as you were leaving "Armageddon out of here!".

From Alan Richardson. Take a look below as Richardson reviews some of Casey’s best contributors: Ben Brown 14 disposals, 8 marks, 5 goals “We really liked Ben Brown’s game, and it’s not just about the scoring – we were pleased that he was able to get some reward with five goals, but he moved really well. He’s been building his game, his training has been positive and we’ve been expecting that form to transfer to game day and it did on the weekend. If it is that we were to make a change to a winning team, he’s done everything right.” Nathan Jones 36 disposals, 11 clearances, 6 tackles, 1 goal “Nathan Jones has had a really strong period of playing good footy for about a month. He did get a lot of the ball, but we were really happy with the way he played his role and really pleased with the way he executed. He’s always been a beautiful user of the footy and the weekend was no exception. His leadership in the VFL has been really impressive – it hasn’t been about him, it’s been about the team.” Sam Weideman 21 disposals, 11 marks, 10 hit-outs, 1 goal, 3 behinds “Sam Weideman had an impressive game, but not what you might expect. His role was to play as a high forward and a bit in the ruck. He got a lot of the footy, Weids, and moved really well. He would’ve got a lot of confidence out of having 21 touches – he missed a couple of shots on goal, but we really liked the way he went about his game. He would’ve been disappointed to be out of the team but he did what he needed to do.” Jake Bowey 26 disposals, 18 kicks, 7 marks, 4 tackles “Jake Bowey had a really strong game. He’s a really creative half-back and he’s been working really closely with Troy Chaplin on making sure he has a real clarity on what he needs to do from a defensive point of view. It’s not just about beating his man but helping others and for obvious reasons, he’s a first-year player, it’s been a work in progress. But that’s starting to come together and he’s starting to put pressure on there. If it is that we were to get someone injured, we’re starting to get really comfortable with where he’s at that he could come in and play that role.” Aaron vandenBerg 28 disposals, 8 clearances, 7 marks, 6 tackles “Aaron vandenBerg is playing good footy. He’s hitting in hard – we expect that. He’s running well, he’s helping others, he’s a bit like an on-field coach the way he supports and directs. He’s done a lot of work with Fraser Rosman who plays on the wing – Rosman is really improving. So Vanders has done well there, but his own form is heading the right way. We’d feel pretty comfortable, now that he’s been able to get a bit of continuity in his training and his games, because that’s been his challenge really. We have always said that he makes us a better team, we’ve just been worried about him being able to string training sessions together to be a really consistent performer, and he’s getting there now.”

Wow. Why so rude? Who hurt you? I don’t think I have to explain myself to you but as we both agree, everyone needs to vent from time to time. So… I do thumbs up many posts. And yes, sometimes they’re contradictory yet I thumbs up both. Reason being, thumbs up doesn’t necessarily mean you agree. It can also mean I don’t agree but I appreciate/admire the argument you’ve put forth. And what’s it to you anyways? How is it affecting you? Unless and until Andy tells me to quit acknowledging so many posts, I’ll go ahead and thumbs up the sh*t outta as many posts as I like. I really don’t understand the Pollyanna reference. But speaking of usernames, maybe yours should be shortened to just “Bitter.”

Thanks to you all for support and advice. So I have tried again on the PC about 10 times each time a little different but it was working on the PC got to payment for 2 tickets 3 times and it crashed, at least 4 other times only if I purchased the tickets. But one time I got all the way and it did not crash Woo Hoo i have 2 ticks. But this is going to be god orfull when we are looking to purchase Grand Final Tickets. Obviously I am good on computers !! Now we only have to win Go Dees

Yep. Just by a whisker - 24 yrs 9 month V 24 years 10 months. If my estimate is right, we had eight players out there from the last four drafts despite not yet giving a debut to any of the 2020 draftees. Then we've got a fat wad of 25-years-olds who don't push the average up much - Petracca, Brayshaw, Nibbler, Langdon, Lever, Harmes and Salem, and of course Oliver at just 23 years. Our only 'old' players out there against Essendon were Hunt (26), Viney (27), McDonald (28), May (29), Gawn (29) and Hibberd (31). Just 6 players taking the field aged 26 or over.

our biggest problem will be staying largely injury free increasing our scoring would be nice but as long as our defence stays strong it's not a deal breaker

We're third for average inside 50s per game, behind the Dogs and Brisbane. Essendon is 9th. I can't find average scores per inside 50, though. I'm not sure it matters much if the end argument is "we don't score enough". The end product from how we're playing is that we've scored the fourth most points of anyone. We know we prioritise time in our forward half and repeat entries, so if we have lots of inside 50s but comparatively fewer scores, but still end up outscoring 14 of the other 17 clubs, does it matter?

I love it, keep focusing on the Dogs, Cats, Lions, Port even Tigers, Eagles and Swans - anyone but us. The Dogs were the fancy until we beat them, then the Lions until we destroyed them in a second half onslaught. Now we've gone back to just strangling teams and accumulating wins. I would say if we didn't lose to the Pies the hype would be louder but that was always a banana peel game with Buckley resigning the week prior. I assume we will continue under the radar until we meet Port and if we beat them will be talked up again until we come up against another contender. Cats, Port, WCE don't really worry me, the only sides that do are Brisbane and Footscray, Footscray in particular if they get their swift ball movement going to beat our zone. But then their defense is their weakness so our forwards should more than account for them. Will be an interesting finals series, everyone is saying how open the field is but if we do go on to break the drought I think everyone will say we were clearly the dominant team in retrospect (assuming all goes to plan for the final 8 weeks of the H&A).

Related article today on the afl site: Ladder vs top 8 I think the basic trouble is that out opponents have never looked completely beaten so in any given game we never really look a major class above. Still, with 5 wins and no losses against the other finals rivals I'm not too upset! Two things will decide how we go in September; First: Can we get the forward line producing goals again? Very noticeably in the last couple of weeks we've relied on midfielders, rucks and half forwards to kick goals and that is not sustainable. Many of our forwards have been up and down a bit all season but Pickett, Fritsch and McDonald have two goals total between the three of them in the last couple of weeks. Second: How will the kids deal with the long season? Once again, Melbourne's 22 on the weekend was younger than their supposed up-and-coming young opponents. In fact, at 24 years 9 months, Melbourne were older than only... yikes, on closer inspection, only Gold Coast fielded a younger team than us in round 15. That is incredible. I'm not so much worried about it as a depth factor - we have the luxury of multiple experienced and competent players available at Casey at the moment - as I am worried about simple fatigue. Physical and mental. The wall the Demons hit to the end their 2018 campaign is still there as a warning.

A Victoria hub just as we are about to play Port would be magnificent. Go on SA, [censored] your pants and shut the border to Victoria. You know you want to. You implemented restrictions with 0 cases. Better be safe!

I really think people do not understand that the issues with AZ (and any other drug) are all about risk management. When Covid numbers are low (or non-existent), the risks associated with having the AZ vaccination are considered to be higher than catching Covid. Hence, the recommendation not to use it. When the numbers of Covid increase and ergo the chances of catching it increase, the risks associated with AZ are no longer as problematic as the risk of catching and being affected by Covid. That's when the health advice changes to recommending people have an AZ shot. That leads to two conclusions. Firstly, the AZ vaccine is still a fine product which will provide protection, albeit with a very small risk of ill effects for some people. Secondly, when you chop and change the advice - based on sound risk-based probability analysis - it can be too late, because in doing so, you've unfairly and unnecessarily trashed the brand.

I was in the MCC members sitting in front of 3 bombers fans ( not sure how Essendon fans get into the MCC area ) To be fair to them though they were fair minded about the umpiring and the game. At one point I said, what looked to me like a Harmes throw, "That didn't look much like a handball " To which they responded. " It was a handball " So, Essendon fans can be reasonable after all. They're not all bad. Only about 90% of them are terrible

Despite being top of the ladder and having a 10-0 winning record against the next 12 teams below us it appears the local media pundits are not taking us very seriously. We hear comments alluding this is the most even season and anyone can win it. Two weeks ago the Richmond premiership machine was cranking up, then it was Geelong on the march and now the Bulldogs are clear favourites again. The bombers are charging up the ladder many say and are becoming a threat despite being out of the 8. Of course we haven’t proven anything yet and many of our wins have been hard fought but there is perception we are just a side show to the real contenders. Seems there is a trend to talk up all our Victorian rivals above us. Other interstate rivals don’t get much love either. Despite our continuing success we are still regarded as a Cinderella club in Victoria. Any other opinions?

I see you're a new "member". Can I call you stiffy?

That's a sample size of two games. Against Essendon we did only score 68, which is low, but we also had 23 scoring shots, which is bang on our season average of 24.5 shots per game. The issue there being inaccuracy. Prior to Collingwood, our previous four scores were 97, 87, 95 and 94. The first two of those scores were produced against two of the best sides other than us, Brisbane and the Dogs. I am arguing that we can improve our scoring but that it's nowhere near the problem that is being suggested on here (although by clarifying your post it's clear you don't think it's as bad as I had thought you did). Well not the sentiment that we have the least potent forward line in the league. I also don't agree that our elite defence is irrelevant to considering the effectiveness of our forward line. It's essential, for context. We don't need to score big every week. Maybe some other clubs in the competition do (Essendon would be one example) because they're less capable of stopping sides scoring. In 2018 that was us. I also don't agree that scoring has been the primary reason for both our losses this season. We scored 95 points against Adelaide. The issue in both those games was that our opponents scored at a rate well higher than any of the other 12 sides we've played this year. But the key point remains: despite all of the so-called weaknesses, we have scored the fourth-most points in the league. We're 68 points behind Brisbane across 14 games, which is the equivalent of 4.86 points per game, i.e. less than a goal per game. Another metric is average scoring shots per game: Bulldogs - 27.57 Brisbane - 25.07 Melbourne - 24.50 Essendon - 23.76 Geelong - 23.07 Sydney - 23.07 Richmond - 22.64 Port Adelaide - 22.50 West Coast - 22.14 We generate the third-most shots on goal and the fourth-most points per game in the competition. If anything, these stats show me that our inaccuracy is holding us back. I agree with your final line, though. I'm confident this is a glass half full situation.

Brisbane and the Dogs just had glamour wins against apparent contenders - it's no surprise they're flavour of the month.

Same. When I was a kid my older brother took me to the footy every Saturday arvo. The only ground we wouldn’t attend was Windy Hill. He said he’d go to Windy Hill if he was to go with mates or on his own. But he said that was the only ground where he’d worry about the safety of a little sister.

I think in every match that we've played (and won) against another top team, we've gone in as underdogs. That is absolutely fine by me. No one took the Bulldogs seriously in 2016, or Richmond in 17 and a Tigers premiership in 2018 was an all-but certainly leading into September. Everything I've seen rates us as a very, very good team; no need for anymore mustard than that at this stage.

When you're chasing a premiership that's exactly what you want. You don't want hype.

Most of the teams you mentioned here have recently won flags or played well in September regularly. That's the difference.

Jaded should be fine then....

No side with Green, Ward, Hopper, Davis, Greene, Reid and Mummy will be intimidated. They are a hard nose side, their weakness last week was their lack of run with Whitfield the exception

Triple J Presenter from back in the day, Maynard.

The Bomber fans are truly the psycho chickens of AFL supporters. In the bad old days Windy Hill was the most dangerous VFL/AFL ground to visit. It was scary and far worse than Victoria Park. Makes current WC fans look like reasoned intelligent persons.

His high possession count wasn’t very damaging. Sometimes disposals aren’t everything. May was a giant out there. He is worth his weight in gold and silver!

Visited my local community health centre in Melbourne today to get a prescription for an unrelated matter. I was advised that my second Astrazeneca jab, due in a few weeks, was full-steam ahead and to ignore the false news being spread by uninformed sources. If there is a change, endorsed by the Federal government, the clinic will inform me directly. I'm happy with that.

I'd like some help understanding a play in the second quarter where McDonnald-Tipungwuti ran through the protected zone after Clarry had taken a mark (not following a player), and then doubled back as soon as the umpire called play on to tackle Clarry (still in the protected zone, behind the mark). About 6m away from the umpire in plain view. Why wasn't this 50m?

What is music to my ears is the likes of Lever and May both interviewed and both stating emphatically that they haven't achieved anything yet Whilst the start to the season has been very strong it doesn't guarantee or equate to real success when it matters - finals and a premiership Whether we like it or not the MFC will never be taken really seriously until the premiership drought monkey is removed from our back This group has the potential - it may not necessarily be this year but things change in this game quickly so take your chance when it arises Go Dees - ignore the noise - keep focused

Mmm, in poker terminology, this is quite a tell.

Delta has an R0 between 5 and 6. Without a very substantial proportion being vaccinated, the risk without lockdowns/controls/restrictions falls on very large numbers and hospitalisations. AFAICT, the calculus has not changed since last year as we don't have a large proportion vaccinated. Looking at it the other way, if you let this thing run (ref: Sweden) and lots of people die/end up in hospital (affecting provision of other services) which probably leads to stricter/long term lockdowns, what would you prefer. Not defending decisions, just laying down some probable rationale... PS: there is already an acknowledgement that once most of us are vaccinated and borders open the focus will change to hospitalisations and not new cases/case numbers.

The hysteria around this thing is unbelievable. "Cases, we have cases"!!!!!! Watch Paul Murray each night, who is now giving the numbers on how many of these cases are actually sick, or in hospital. Tip, it's bugger all. The politicians seem to be giddy over all of these new found powers to shut down your businesses and many on here seem to be excited at the thought of more lockdowns provided it's in Liberal run states. It's the pollies who are pushing the hysteria, aided by a sensationalist media writing for lemmings who read the stuff.

Possibly accentuated when not at his peak fitness Bin but i reckon he pretty much always gives this impression. While not being as agile as some of the genuine tall (very good) forwards going around like Cameron (196cm), Lynch (199cm) he is extra tall at 200cm compared to these fellas and as a result probably a tad more unco. Not as dynamic either but does seem to get the job done by getting the basics right and playing within his limits (when at or near his best...not so far this season). It is also worth noting that on 2021 season averages, after supposedly being NQR having had an interrupted pre-season, BB is sitting just behind T-Mac on goal averages (T-Mac 1.71 BB 1.67). Yes T-mac has had a much bigger impact in general around the ground in general ball getting and use as well as a pressure perspective. Tackles inside 50, pressure acts in general. The FD probably wanted a fair bit better in these areas where he is well behind T-Mac and LJ (as an aside LJ is equal 1st in the league for pressure acts as a Key Forward along with Freo's Josh Treacy!). BB ahead of Weideman on tackles inside 50 but well behind LJ & T-Mac on pressure acts. Maybe this is part of the agility aspect you are referring to. Accuracy of our KFs so far this season are... T-Mac (58.5%) , LJ (57.1%), BB (55.6%) and Weid (30%). Haven't included Mitch Brown here as he's only played one match so far.

Great move. Not only in dropping a large chunk of cash into the club for the "future fund," but getting rid of the gambling revenue. Being pokie-free is a good look for the club.

Surely aligns with plans on a home base. Something must be in the pipeline.

All I want for XMAS is seat in the bottom part of the top of the Ponsford stand. I am seriously going to go crazy if i have to watch any more live games with Daaarcy or Bwiaaan calling them.

Never a fan of the other rivers? Please, he was a gun and a fantastic servant of the club. Ahead of the game too as he was one of the first intercepting defenders.

Was Stringer quiet? He ended up with 24 disposals and kicked 1.2. I've been a big believer that on form alone this year he simply gets a new contract with the thought that he'll play majority of games potentially in the VFL much like what Jetta and Nathan Jones are doing now. Makes sense why the club is potentially looking at Brayden Maynard if all reports are true. The perfect replacement.