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Times have changed. Only got oranges in my day

Bump, just in case, to save us starting a new thread! 34 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 intercepts, 81% disposal efficiency. As good as any medium or small defender's game can possibly be. 152 Supercoach, for those who monitor that as a loose indicator. Nobody even close on the numbers this week, so he should now become only the second player to be nominated for Rising Star after already having a premiership medal. (I asked SwampThing on Twitter and he confirmed Richard Hadley, who, incredibly, not only was in his third season, but had ONLY played finals in his second season.)

I mean, Luke Beveridge has had significant media training too...

I simply cannot cope with the thought that Max Gawn, who can be talked about among our greatest all-time players, might end up not even being our best current ruckman. But, seriously, can we give a nod to the big man here - he was working incredibly hard to wear down Witts in particular as well as Chol, both in ruck-wrestling and covering them around the ground. This was letting Jackson spend a surprising amount of time on ground being comparatively fresh and lurking menacingly (if someone that affable can be menacing) in dangerous places. Pretty phenonemal little stat - we had two ruck players who played 84% and 83% time on ground. Last week it was Jackson on field for 86% of the game and Gawn was out there for a mind-boggling 97% time on ground. I don't think there's any ruck combination out there who could go with them for sheer time and endurance, and then there's the talent package as well.

The pessimism isn't my editing. From 'Bomberblitz': I think the Dees will be a bit flat coming back from the GC on a six day break. If we bring today’s effort, we should give a good account for ourselves, but the Demons will do enough and win by 3-4 goals We haven’t been 0-3 since 1967 we are going to get completely obliterated no matter who we put on the park. heppell on fritsch is the stuff of nightmares For gods sake, can someone please just start a COVID outbreak at the hanger so 38 players are in health and safety protocols and the AFL call the game off? Going to be brutal. Oliver and Petracca are going to get 50 touches each and Brown will kick 10. merrett out only takes the margin from 60 to 80 points Who cares whos in…we have a bottom six that should be in the vfl but are playing so…Dees will smash us. With our unbelievable decision that we are so good we don’t need to use taggers, Petracca must be really looking forward to this week’s game. His main concern would be leather poisoning. ANNOUNCE HS PROTOCOLS FOR MELBOURNES BEST 22. The most hopeful comments: I think the Dees will be a bit flat coming back from the GC on a six day break. If we bring today’s effort, we should give a good account for ourselves, but the Demons will do enough and win by 3-4 goals. We’ll see. We beat them in a great Friday night game at the MCG in 2019. Lost narrowly in a dead rubber game for both clubs (at Metricon) in 2020 and then pressed them deep into the last quarter in our game last year before eventually going down by 11 points. Some questionable decisions also went their way in the second half. We know they’re a terrific team but I don’t think we are going to be overawed. From 'Bigfooty': Just want to see us be competitive and have someone run with Petracca. Cant believe Truck's comments about not tagging Neale. Horror draw to start the season but doesn't seem we were ready for the season anyway. There's a real stench about the team, which to me, has come out of nowhere given how positive last season was. Old habits are back, unfortunately. This will be a big loss and will effectively kill off the season It’s the stench of having sky high expectations, the second most difficult fixture in the league, and a team full of babies expected to pull off a miracle. I think we’ll go okay this week. I kind of hope shiel is out for another week so we get to see a pure midfield game from caldwell. If lever doesn’t play again this week the game will be a lot closer than many predict. I'm not all doom and gloom like it seems so many others are here, we're still a very inexperienced team who only beat one top 8 team last year, playing Geelong, Brisbane and Melbourne to start the year is no free ride even though the effort in Round 1 was poor. Like it's been mentioned already we won several key areas on the weekend so if we bring a similar output and convert a bit better there's no reason we can't compete and finish within 5 goals. To their credit I didn't see any disrespect. Probably just grudging respect. A bit of humour here and there was refereshing.

Don't undersell ANB's leadership qualities either. He is a player with a 'team first' ethos which has been the making of the current team and he keeps others focussed on the task at hand when the game is still to be won. He's been through the real hard times, improved his game to another level and, though he'll have a quieter game, he never throws in the towel.

Jacko's manager...

Watched the while game and gave an assessment on some of the players. Mitch Brown: That was some performance. He could have easily kicked 9 but missed a few gettable shots as well. He seriously clunked everything that came his way and was a clear BOG. Right now he's putting enormous pressure on Tom McDonald who let's be realistic, hasn't fired a shot since before last year's finals. Brown should be rewarded for that performance alone but we know our coaching staff don't operate like that. Sam Weideman: Yeah look it wasn't a good performance at all. He played like a bloke that accepted defeat pretty early. His body language was pretty poor and he had no impact on the game. Truly amazed that he's in his 6th year in the system and yet still struggles to take a contested mark with his frame. It's only round 1 but the signs don't look good for him this year. Jacob Van Rooyen: I know we need to temper expectations on first year players but bloody hell he was impressive. Can take a serious clunk and works really hard. Could have kicked 5 but missed a few. On today's performance he's way ahead of Weideman and no doubt will make his debut this year. He's a big lump of a lad and his forward caft is impressive for a first year player. Another who'll keep the pressure on Tom McDonald and could impact at AFL level instantly especially with his big frame. 8 marks 13 disposals to go with his 3.2 is a great debut at AFL level. Get excited. Taj Woewodin: He's so classy and clean with ball in hand. Has great poise and provides overlap run. At times there was a few sloppy passages until he came in and cleaned it up with his calmness with the ball. He'll play AFL this year if he keeps that performance up. Blake Howes: I really like his game today. He like Woewodin was clean and has good awareness. He had 16 disposals to 3 quarter time and was on his way to a 20 plus game plus but I think he was rested in the last because I did not spot him at all. Could be a carry over for next Friday night? Bailey Laurie: it was a solid game for Laurie. It's his first real competitive game since last year after a pretty lengy injury lay-off. Full pre season now and played well i thought and was classy with his ball use. Still getting use to the tempo of senior footy but I think he'll develop into a fine half forward who is a great ball user. 20 disposals, 5 tackles and kicked 2 goals playing midfield and half forward. Deakyn Smith: Pumped him up pre game and said he'll put pressure on Jayden Hunt if he plays well and he didn't disappoint. One touch player who was clean out of defence and took some really good strong intercept marks. 21 disposals and was named in the best for Casey. Andy Moniz Wakefield: Never seen him play until today and thought he was good at times. He definitely hunts the ball in the front half and likes to put body pressure on as well. It'll be a a development year for AMW, but I thought he too showed good touch and adjusted pretty well to his first senior footy at VFL level. Hard nut also. Jake Melksham: He should not, and no way near senior selection based on today's performance. He is cooked and I could name 7 other players who are ahead of him based on today. He should only player if we are affected by Covid this year. Oscar Baker: sloppy and butchers the footy too often for my liking. Put him in the Melksham/Covid category as an emergency need.

I can't speak for others, but I can't watch the footy without sound. I've tried muting, and it simply doesn't work for me. It feels as if I'm watching it in an air lock. It's not just the crowd noise, it's all the other ambient noise, not least the ball being kicked. I've also tried turning the volume down and listening to a radio feed. That is better than no sound, but only just. It always falls out of sync and the sound is variable. But good to know muting works for you.

He will sign

For any of us that for so long had to hang our hat on that one measly win at Windy Hill where Billy Bennett went nuts isn't it a delight to see their fans so demoralised at the thought of facing us this week. I hope we don't let them down.

Well FMD Bowey got it this week! They went output over hype. Well done little ginger. You can hang up this useless nomination next to your shiny premiership medal.

merrett is a huge loss for the gliders

I’m not sure they are increasing in frequency, @Cards13. What used to be called a “high ankle sprain”, they were viewed from the outside like standard sprains, but took longer. It’s just how they’re reported now that makes them seem more common. Essentially it’s an injury to the ligament that holds the bones together (tibia/fibula) that form the ‘mortice’ grip for the talus (articulating bone of the ankle). Sometimes need surgery, but either way take longer to accommodate to weight-bearing. Impossible to prevent in Australian footy, whereas ‘stirrup-lock’ taping is a good prevention for standard sprains (lateral ligament or talo-fibular ligament). On the Petty injury, it seems likely his calf corky lead to an acute posterior compartment syndrome (bleeding into the connective tissue ‘bag’), which puts other tissues at risk. This would have been released - the ‘bag’ is slit - and thus needs time to heal, with care not to over-work the blood-flow and re-pressure the bag. Not common, but not complicated. Just needs time. Good to see he and Lever back out there.

Just a little post to acknowledge, that I love that when I think about Alex now, he is forever a premiership player. I get a warm little glow.

ADVANTAGE CASEY by KC from Casey The Casey Demons held all of the advantages over their rivals from Sandringham as the teams played off in the long-awaited VFL season opener on Sunday. For starters, they were playing on their home turf and secondly, they outnumbered their opponents 16 to 9 in AFL listed players which, at this level, is enormous. They also were well above the Zebras in class and general preparation for the contest and this was reflected in the way they took charge of proceedings after a slow beginning and romped to an 83-point win that sees them sitting comfortably on top of the ladder after Round 1. Veteran forward Mitch Brown led the way with seven goals for the day, including three in the second term, that should put him in contention to join his key forward namesake with a senior berth against his old side Essendon on Friday night at the MCG. He moved well, marked strongly and proved a handful for the Zebra defenders. He was aided and abetted up forward by recruit Jacob van Rooyen who booted three goals for the day in an outstanding debut at the club. After the break, with the visitors tiring, it became a case of how far the Casey lead would extend by the end of the game. The home side was well led by seasoned VFL campaigners in Mitch White and Jimmy Munro whose efforts helped create team dominance in every sector of the ground. The game also underlined the club’s great depth with Luke Dunstan showing that he isn’t far off a return to the AFL in his new colours despite the fact that the Melbourne midfield is a formidable place to break into. Toby Bedford who sat on the sidelines as substitute in the sticky conditions on the Gold Coast on Saturday night shook off the Zebras with pace, poise and three goals. Youngsters on debut in Blake Howes and Taj Woewodin were excellent and Deakyn Smith showed definite signs of improvement with a strong display in defence. Bailey Laurie who was rarely sighted last year due to injury and a truncated VFL season looked the goods up forward with a lively two goal performance. Rookies Judd McVee and Andy Moniz-Wakefield are also likely prospects for the future. The Demons will take their home ground advantage into Round 2 when they play the Bombers’ VFL team next Saturday at Casey Fields. CASEY DEMONS 4.2.26 11.5.71 16.8.104 21.14.140 SANDRINGHAM 2.3.15 5.3.33 6.7.43 8.9.57 GOALS CASEY DEMONS M Brown 7 Bedford Van Rooyen 3 Laurie White 2 Chandler Dunstan Weideman Woewodin SANDRINGHAM Carey Geary Henness Kent Kyle Lohmann McHale Ryder BEST CASEY DEMONS Brown Munro Van Rooyen Dunstan White Smith Bedford Baker SANDRINGHAM Ryder Windhager Connolly Owens Heath Geary Seaton STATISTICS Oskar Baker 18 kicks 5 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 87 dream team points Toby Bedford 3 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 91 dream team points Mitch Brown 7 goals 3 behinds 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 14 marks 2 tackles 155 dream team points Kade Chandler 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 1 mark 25 dream team points Majak Daw 1 behind 7 kicks 1 handball 8 disposals 3 tackles 22 hit outs 59 dream team points Luke Dunstan 1 goal 20 kicks 5 handballs 25 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 113 dream team points Corey Ellison 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points Tom Freeman 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 33 dream team points Luca Goonan 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 62 dream team points Blake Howes 1 behind 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 58 dream team points Bailey Laurie 2 goals 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 86 dream team points Judd McVee 1 behind 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 83 dream team points Jake Melksham 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 53 dream team points Bryce Milford 6 kicks 7 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 51 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 44 dream team points James Munro 13 kicks 13 handballs 26 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 97 dream team points Aiden Quigley 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 8 dream team points Fraser Rosman 8 kicks 2 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 41 dream team points Deakyn Smith 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 1 tackle 91dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 4 hit outs 68 dream team points Mitch White 2 goals 1 behind 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 94 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 12 kicks 6 handballs disposals 8 marks 1 tackles 84 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 3 goals 2 behinds 11 kicks 1 handball 12 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 2 hit outs 98 dream team points

Very proud of ANB. He has made himself a good footballer with hard work. and he can run hard all day

Perhaps we all disrespected Gold Coast too much before the game. I thought GCS were very impressive with lots of up-and coming talent.

they need to go to the supplement-ary draft.

Now I'm well aware of how silly this sounds but there was a moment in the 3rd quarter that kind of summed Weideman up for me. He was on the bench waiting to come on for Rooter (their nickname for Van Rooyen) & play was stuck on the other half of the ground. He yelled Rooter a couple of times. Loud, but not loud enough. Rooter didn't hear it and stayed on for probably 2 minutes longer than he should have. Sam yelled twice and then stood with hands on hips, defeated. Meanwhile, two players for Sandy were rotated (whilst play was still on the far wing) after their counterparts were far louder and more intense in demanding rotation, whilst they were down by 60. It's stupid I know, but it was just a really stark contrast at the ground. I like the kid and hope he can find some intensity. My honest opinion is it's going to take a trade to make it happen. His biggest strength as a junior - flies at the ball with long arms - is his biggest weakness as a senior. Applies no body, wants to use reach only. Block, buffet or engage Sam and you've won the contest. JVR was far more dynamic, intense and hardworking at the ground, despite clearly not quite having the fitness for it and 6 years less in the system. I worry for Sam - looks a footballer, seems to think he is a footballer, engaged to be married and approaching his prime, but his career has been a bit of a non starter really

Did anyone see a touch of David Swartz and David Nietz about him last night??? Get him in offer him a 750-850 per year deal over 5 years! WITH BONUSES!! 1 Training scribe behind the Fence with the one and only Picket Fence 2 A night of unbridled indulgence at Uncle Bitter Manor in Romsey 3 A guest appearance as chief Moderator and lord high executioner on Demonland! C'mon Big fella.. all excellent deals! Sign here son!!

The 2022 bombers are the 2019 Demons, they've come off a finals campaign with blistering offense, but average defense exposed by the best sides, have misread where they're at, and now they're going to need to re-set and get their defending a bit stronger before they're a serious finals threat.

Oh my lord that is beautiful from Bomberblitz... long may they be down the bottom, I hope it is a generation.

This is quality reading, what a difference a year makes! I still find it so strange to listen to analysts, commentators and football fans talking about how good we are instead of: 'when we they going to sack their coach' or 'who will they pick up as their number one draft option'... So good.

On the topic of the margin, and not scoring much in the last quarter or so, a mate made these really good points: Just after the beginning of the third qtr, we had 10.1, then we reverted to type and finished with 12.10. And at least 3 of those 5 points in the last were easy shots We actually had more scoring shots in the 2nd half (12-10). It's funny, good conversion often is interpreted as playing well, bad conversion - playing badly. And yet a lot of the times the only difference is just that - conversion. Which can be quite random at AFL level - you might miss by a half a metre or hit the post - the next time you might squeak one in.

Nice! To be honest on yesterday's performance alone you couldn't split Van Rooyen, Woewodin and Howes on the day All 3 showed they are ready for AFL action if needed. Van Rooyen for me would be my first pick personally because how physically ready he is and just thought his performance was a stand out from a position point of view. The club is in bloody good hands with these kids coming through!

I think it’s fair to say not a single member of Demonland saw that one coming… well done ANB on not just resurrecting a career but cementing a spot in the best 22 of the reigning premiers. A magnificent turnaround.

I’ve been working on the broadcast for AFLW all season, and both sadly and happily will be working on this game as well. The team has been in a clear upper echelon of the competition so I’m hoping they bring that on the day. There’s a part of me that wishes it was at Casey for the fact it’s a fortress of ours, MCG is a neutral venue. The Lions are a very good team as well but hopefully Harris pulls out a massive game against her old club. It’s free entry so everyone get there, they are a part of us and they’ll be counting on loud Dees fans that missed out on last years mens premiership to help them get over the line and into the Granny!

If he doesn’t get the nod this week the panel have zero brain cells. What a gem we’ve got here!

Doubt he plays but this shot was from today's training. You aren't wearing footy boots kicking a footy around if you are not close to playing. Hopefully hes back playing competitive footy in the next week or 2 at either VFL level or AFL.

Wow, 9 games for 9 wins, two rising star nominations and a premiership! Gotta be some sort of record

I know it has been mentioned here many times but if you had the option of muting the commentators while still having the crowd noise, umpires and Gawnie saying ‘that’s ruck craft big boy’ then I’d take it every single time.

I don't disagree with too many of their comments although I do wonder if they have seen us play this year. I don;t think we have been that impressive so far. Conceded an 8 goal run against the dogs and labored against the Suns. We are beatable with the right mindset although their greatest weakness (lack of forwards) offsets our weakness (loss of first choice defenders). Hopefully the supporters pessimism is shared by their team and they don't have the belief needed to turn us over

It is weird. When I was watching the game against Gold Coast and I kept thinking we are not playing great footy, and then the commentators would gush about how clean we are and what quality we have across every line, I suddenly realised what a spoilt brat I've become that I am complaining about a win because we didn't play quite so well.

I agree with some of their comments that this won't be some dead rubber. Their effort against the Lions was much improved. They will probably struggle to kick a winning score, but I don't think they will just roll over. At 0-2 the pressure is mounting on them, and after a hard road trip with a 6 day break, and given we are not known to go hard early on the season, this could well be another close game. Besides, we don't smash sides... unless it's September 🤣 I just want to see an improved performance going inside 50 so we can get some decent output from our forwards.

Definitely potted him over the journey but he has developed into a seriously reliable role player who is now uber consistent. Not only that, is a man of substance and you can see how invested in the club he is. A fabric player now and hope he ends up a 200+ gamer for this club.

Reliable, relentless and resilient are words I think when thinking of ANB. Ultra consistent now, relentlessly runs up and down the field and no matter how gasping for air he is he will go again and again and again. Kudos to him and the coaches, you wouldn’t trade him for many now.

Yep, I am a prejudiced fan of Gus ... but still, I reckon I saw him 'save' us several times - and reliably, too - getting our intercepts sorted and preparing several forward presses that moved the ball to 'unexpected' locales on the field where 'space-makers' had made the effort to receive, unhindered. That is what Gus brings ... he sets up plays.

He’s fixed his fumbles, that’s been the big improvement for me.

I don't want March headlines, I want September headlines. March is a fool's playground. September is when the big boys come out to play.

TBH I'm pretty happy with the way we are perceived now. We are the benchmark, we'll have to do something pretty spectacularly bad or good to get the spotlight. Other teams like Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon (for different reasons) will get the spotlight for their changing fortunes (both positive and negative). 'Still Awesome' is not a great headline. We will get plenty of headlines when someone beats us though, you can take that to the bank.

@Its Time for Back to Backhas been busy in conversation with the Membership department this morning: 54,164

I doubt Christian Petracca, who has significant media training, would openly joke about LJ's contract on TV with him there if he didn't believe he was going to sign. I still believe he will sign, but there's a lot of negotiating still to be done.

Keith Greig was a sublimely-skilled wingman. Perhaps the only player even vaguely comparable to Robbie. Greig would also be inches taller than Bowser

To another level?

Seeing Jacko live for the first time was incredible. The kid is developing at light speed. If our youngsters continue to grow at the current rate we are in for multiple flags. I reckon the Taylor/Lamb combo will be revered in years to come. So many hits.

Yep. Bloody good one too Brad Hardie won his Brownlow in a similar role. Back then you were playing on knackered resting rovers so running off them was no great challenge. A couple of handy types playing permanent forward stitched him up though. I think Brian Wilson kicked 7 or 8 on poor old Brad while Leigh Matthews monstered him for a lazy 11. Keith Greig may have gone to a half back flank towards the end of his career but won his two Brownlows playing on the wing. Decent player. Probably the second best winger of his era.

I just can’t believe how this guy has turned his game around. A couple of years ago he was my number 1 delist and now he is a fixture in our team and deservedly so. Well done ANB.

It’s hilarious to me how some of you still believe goody will make a bunch of changes after a win