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In today’s Sunday Sun …

SPRINGTIME FOR CASEY by KC from Casey The Casey Demons returned to the winner’s list in the most emphatic way possible with a 47-point victory over the Sydney Swans Reserves at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon The win under sunny skies heralded the first signs of the springtime and happy days to come and earned the Demons a week’s rest and a home Preliminary Final in a fortnight’s time. The home club was in control from the very beginning and, with all eyes on the return of AFL premiership key forward Tom McDonald after missing the most of the second half of the season with a foot injury, the crowd didn’t have long to wait to see him in the thick of the action as he opened the scoring with a behind. In doing so, he set the tone for the first half of the game with the Demons dominating but letting themselves down with poor kicking for goal. And while many in the crowd were interested to see how some of the younger brigade would fare under finals pressure it was the veterans who led the way. The opening goal was kicked by James Munro who was free kicked from outside fifty and slotted a long goal. He was followed by Mitch Brown who took a strong contested mark and kicked truly. Sydney responded with their first but Casey held sway for the remainder of the term without causing much damage on the scoreboard. The points mounted until McDonald’s late goal put them 15 points up at the first break. The pattern of point scoring continued into the second term and a dour struggle ensued. Each team managed a single goal with Brown booting his second at the end of a pass from McDonald. Casey went into the sheds at half time 17 points ahead but feeling a trifle uneasy having kicked away many opportunities to establish a much greater lead. That feeling was compounded early in the third term as the Swans made early inroads through the dangerous Ronke and suddenly the deficit was down to only 10 points before Demon midfielder, Luke Dunstan, already on fire in the first half with 16 touches, decided it was time to turn up the heat a few more degrees. Dunstan’s goal out of a pack was a team-lifter and he led the way for the team with eight possessions for the term and another goal while Brown also added a couple as they collectively added seven unanswered goals to three quarter time. One of those goals came after a hanger taken by wonder boy Jacob Van Rooyen who was playing a great game and underlining his enormous potential for the future. When the dust settled, the Demons were up by 52 points and the final term was a mere formality. Brown capped off an excellent game with five goals, Dunstan ended up amassing 38 disposals with skipper Mitch White (25 touches) and Munro rounding off the team’s dominance. The win was a triumph for coach Mark Corrigan after the disappointment of the loss the team “had to have” in the final round against the Brisbane Lions. Special mention needs to be made of Sam Weideman in the ruck who did a sterling job against Sydney’s tall timber Sinclair and Ladhams who towered over him and won the hit out count but lowered their colours in terms of effectiveness around the ball with 22 disposals and 6 marks to go with his 19 hit outs. Kudos also go to Casey’s defence led by Adam Tomlinson and Matt Buntine. Of the younger brigade apart from Van Rooyen, Taj Woewodin was impressive with his 17 disposals after taking an unnecessary big hit from Ladhams. Blake Howes and Fraser Rosman who have both missed time with injuries made impressive contributions after starting the game slowly. All in all, the Casey Demons have earned a deserved break and now lie in wait to discover which opponent they will be taking on when springtime comes. CASEY DEMONS 3.5.23 4.9.33 11.12.78 14.15.99 SYDNEY SWANS RESERVES 1.2.8 2.4.16 3.8.26 7.10.52 Goals Casey Demons Brown 5 Chandler Dunstan Munro 2 Grey McDonald Van Rooyen Sydney Swans Reserves Ronke 4 Collis Morrison Sheldrick Best Casey Demons Dunstan Brown White Weideman Buntine Munro Van Rooyen Tomlinson Sydney Swans Reserves Sheldrick Sinclair Cunningham Ronke Roberts Bell Statistics Oskar Baker 11 kicks 2 handballs 13 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 45 dream team points Toby Bedford 1 behind 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 8 tackles 79 dream team points Mitch Brown 5 goals 1 behind 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 6 marks 99 dream team points Matt Buntine 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points Kade Chandler 2 goals 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 68 dream team points Luke Dunstan 2 goals 1 behind 26 kicks 12 handballs 38 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 151 dream team points Corey Ellison 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 40 dream team points George Grey 1 goal 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 73 dream team points Blake Howes 4 kicks 10 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 47 dream team points Bailey Laurie 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 22 dream team points Tom McDonald 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 hit outs 44 dream team points James Munro 2 goals 8 kicks 7 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points Aiden Quigley 1 behind 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 50 dream team points Fraser Rosman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points Deakyn Smith 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 39 dream team points Joel Smith 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 43 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 2 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 98 dream team points Daniel Turner 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 22 dream team points Ryan Valentine 1 kick 1 handballs 2 disposals 2 tackles 2 hit outs 15 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 1 goal 2 behinds 6 kicks 11 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 4 hit outs 69 dream team points Sam Weideman 2 behinds 9 kicks 13 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 19 hit outs 98 dream team points Mitch White 1 behind 19 kicks 6 handballs 25 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 106 dream team points Taj Woewodin 2 behinds 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 63 dream team points

To compare Weid with LJ is absurd. Is Weid a bit more mobile than a lot of taller ruck men - yep That’s about where the comparison ends He has no physical presence when rucking and gets pushed away from most contests - LJ doesn’t He can’t take marks around the ground particularly contested marks - LJ does He doesn’t scrap for the ball on the ground - LJ does He doesn’t sprint ahead of his teammates to provide a link up - LJ does Do I really need to go on I’m not having a go at Sam and I think he tried hard this week in a position that may suit more than KP but to say he is anything other than a faint shadow of LJ in a rucking sense is a big stretch

Seven years from now when Clayton Oliver plays his 300th game and cracks the 10,000 possession mark AND the 5,000 contested possession mark for the first time in AFL history, people will be complaining about how old we are. Harry Petty will be ready to hit peak around then, too.

Can we just talk on the level here? We have world class facilities for high performance at two locations; these enable our players to be the best they can be. What we don’t have is a centralised base that houses our footy dept and our admin. And we don’t have a social club aspect to any location that members can go to. The first one is a genuine annoyance and the second one is a laughable pipe dream, but neither of these things are a hindrance to winning games of footy and being successful. Just thought it should be said.

2 massive things in his favour - not carrying 2 primary rucks is a comparative advantage, and his tapwork is actually quite good. Great for a forward. I don’t want Grundy at the mooted price, Meek is zero fwd craft from what I have seen, other options aren’t worth the move from where I sit… It’s a definite need for attention but I hope for Sam still. Last dice roll of course.

We don't have "world class" facilities. We share facilities with Storm, Rebels and Victory at AAMI. We have to book gym, rehab, pools, ice baths with them. We have 44 players on the list, how many are there among those 3 other clubs? And our Womens team now trains at Gosch's/AAMI. We don't have a centralised admin and we don't have that housed with the football department. We are spread among multiple offices throughout the MCG. The admin isn't even centralised there. The Casey extended facility was built for the AFLW/VFLW teams courtesy of contributions from AFL and Casey council. It is being used by our mens team when there. And no rehab/pool facility included. It ain't world class. One only has to see what Essendon currently have, and what Adelaide are plannning, to see world class.

A 197cm bloke who can ruck and play fwd is worth keeping. Sure he doesn’t excel at either but he can play a role. He might not play every week but we need help for Maxy. Big keys tend to play their best footy after 25 so I’d keep him on a small contract. Preferable to paying $700 K per year for Grundy imo. Keep some money in the kitty to snag a fwd when t Mac and brown retire

Didin't want to start a new thread so posting this here for interest, on player salaries. blake-acres Blake Acres has been offered a 2 year contract of $200k-$300k. Now Freo may be trying to save money for Jackson but the low figure took me by surprise. Not surprising that other clubs have come calling with 3 year deals of $350k. With all the big $ that get talked about sometimes we forget that many many players, play for not much in relative AFL terms.

If Weid is our second or heaven forbid first ruck next year we are really going backwards big time

I get the disappointment, but some of the comments here are way over the top. First, the Board is negotiating with Government. They cannot simply keep us updated on "where things are at" or tell us "what has gone wrong". That's a sure way to get nothing from Government. Second, the calls for Roffey or the Board to resign are wild. The club has never been as stable as it is right now. And people here want them to resign?! For what?! So the next people can come in, risk instability, and still not get it done like every board before them? No thanks. We are all disappointed, but no way would I risk the current state of the club to take a punt on a new board that claims they can "get it sorted". We're in a premiership window, nothing should be done that could jeopardise the chance of more premierships in the coming years (including destabilising the Board).

hi all the only stat that matters is winning but while we await another win reflect on this (the modern era but if we went back into our domination of the 50s and 60s this record would be even more impressive): 1987: 2 wins from 3 finals 88: 3/4 89: 1:2 90: 1/2 91: 1/2 94: 2/3 98: 2/3 (stupid Final 8 system then deprived us of a flag) 00: 2/3 (only year until last year we got a week's rest in the finals) 02: 1/2 04: 0/1 05: 0/1 06: 1/2 (we got rid of Mini-Bus Thomas from St Kilda with that one win) 18: 2/3 21: 3/3 Tallies: 21 wins from 34 finals It would seem as though we have a reason to be confident going into Friday based on these simplistic stats?

That is a very inappropriate comment.

It was lovely at Gosch's this morning for a short sharp session

I don’t see the point in regurgitating negative opinions of his calibre whilst he played for us and I think it’s pretty poor. Best of luck for the future OMac, not that you’d be reading this.

Wow. 86 and looks great. I hope he presents the cup to Max and Goody on GF day.

Weid has played a few good games for Casey rucking/forward. He played a similar style to LJ, following up and distributing with a handball. Maybe he can be the third ruckman, if we lose LJ but get another.

Interesting that Sammy Weid played 1st ruck yesterday at Casey. Maybe the club is testing out a ‘Silvagni’ style ruck/forward option as potential LJ replacement? If he goes (no idea either way) maybe this is our backup plan?

Prior to 1959 there were no cups produced. Only Flags. In 2004 the AFL allowed clubs to purchase newly minted cups won before 1959. They now receive a cup and a flag when the Premiership is won.

Yeah but any team would be if they had their own hell-scape of a home ground and got to play there so frequently, and usually not against the powerhouse clubs. And with the unashamed backing of the media, the umpires and their many feral fans (an entire city’s worth).

Also puts the narrative to bed that Collingwood are a young rebuilding side.

While not definitive about what constitutes hardest draw, I think you can discover something about how many Top 8 teams were amongst the five teams that each team played twice. By this definition, Melbourne, GWS, Stk and Essendon had the hardest draws (4/5) and Richmond the easiest (0/5). Also worth noting is how many of the teams played BOTH North Melbourne and WCE twice: Adelaide, Gold Coast and GEELONG. Finishing 2nd this year is fine IMHO. Adelaide (1) * Brisbane -(1) Carlton - (3) Collingwood - (1) Essendon - (4) Fremantle - (1) Geelong - (1) * Gold Coast - (2) * Greater Western Sydney - (4) Hawthorn - (2) Melbourne - (4) North Melbourne - (2) Port Adelaide - (3) Richmond - (0) St Kilda - (4) Sydney - (1) West Coast - (3)

Can't believe I missed that thread! (when all I do is stare at DL all day)

OD was not comparing him to LJ nor was I. I said he might be ok as a THIRD ruckman, if we got another and LJ left. Didn’t Weid ruck for us this year when Max and LJ were out and we won? No one is suggesting Weid as anything other than a third ruckman/forward if the need arises.

It was a quick blow the cobwebs out....similar to a Captain's run..there were no issues that I observed. Group was up and about in the sunshine

Best contribution I've seen from Weid for quite some time. He was outsized, but his second efforts were good. As the game progressed he made more hit outs to advantage. It seems, we get more from Weid if we aren't relying on him to mark! He is mobile and he played a good four quarters yesterday. If he remains on our list, I look forward to him getting his opportunity next year... just not as a key forward!

I was impressed by Casey’s game plan, and in particular their ‘team’ defence, which to my eye, is clearly modelled on the way our AFL team seeks to play. Transition of players into the senior team should be relatively seamless in terms of their understanding of what needs to be done in the heat of battle, and when.

There is the chance they are playing funny buggers with which rows go on sale (ie every second row to make it look more full) but it appears they are selling every row so this is what has been sold: Level 1 - All Sold (Afl Reserve, General Public, Expected MCC full Level 1) Level 2 and 2A Sold out (Afl Reserve and General Public, Expect MCC to be full there) Level 4: MCC sold out Q35-Q48 Ponsford Q29-Q30 Sold Out Ponsford Q31-Q34 rows A-BB Sold (CC-MM not on sale) Northern Q49-Q55 rows A-BB Sold (CC-MM not on Sale) Northern Q56-Q57 Sold out Southern Q11-Q15 Sold out Southern Q7-Q10 Rows A-BB Sold (CC-DD will be sold out by tonight) Southern Q1-Q6 Rows A-T sold (U-DD on sale but untouched) AFL Reserve Q15-Q19 Rows A-U Sold AFL Reserve Q20-Q27 Rows A-J Sold Q28 Sold out Reckon Level 4 is overall about 60% sold so: 35K level 1 + 10K level 2/2A + 25K Level 4 gets you to 70K I think its going to surprise people how big our crowd is (possibly north of 75K). Also people should have a look at the Bulldogs V Crows 2015 final which had 60K and the MCC was empty and most of level 4 was empty. We have sold heaps more than that game.

I find it offensive also.

Yes there are 13 Cups old Boy So as long as there is room for more, that can be home for now

Late to the party...but HELL YEAH HOW'S THAT FOR A ROUND 1 WIN! Thoughts: - Great team effort. Every single player super focused and aware of what was needed. A resilient mental game. - Lucky on that goal review, but NEVER FORGET that obvious goal that Hanks was absolutely robbed of out at Casey Fields. - Persistence in the stoppages was off the charts given the high level of pressure. Simply refused to concede clearances several times. Gritty stuff. - Pretty sure I saw Blaithin Mackin taking a really active part in the strategy chat during one of the breaks. Love that. - Great game by Birch but please put away the "tough" afters. There's a time to fly the flag and that wasn't it. - Win was all the more impressive given little contribution from Bannan and Zanker, two major X-factors and the absence of another in Goldie. - Debutants were fairly seamlessly integrated, no mean feat given the circumstances. Looking forward to seeing lots of Dees fans at the double header on Friday.

So happy to read this from the coach about Sam: “All credit to him – he was given a different role during the week and to come out and impact the game that way, he had 10 hit-outs to advantage, was outstanding,” Corrigan said. “Also his ability to help around the ground, get after it, his ability to change his role within the team was influential.”

This is Admiral Nelson , ALL STOP ( All Stop Aye eye Admiral) Lee what do you make of it? Capt Crane. Not sure Admiral last thing I recall we seemed to be heading into some sort or vortex. A Vortex?? What is that?? Ah Come on Admiral ya know when ya empty the plug and it goes round in circles?? Admiral Nelson Ah Yes sorry I havent read this weeks script! Anyway thats the last thing I recall! Capt Crane it seems like a swamp of some description that we are in but wait lets crack the hatch and take a look Admiral Nelson, Lee what is it? Looks like we have landed in this swamp and near by is a playing field of some description, but Jeepers is it wet and boggy outside. Hang on some guy with no 38 on his back has just kicked a what looks like a Gridiron ball through 2 sticks and players are attacking him from all angles all wearing the same colors, but why Capt? Lets take a closer look eh Yes and please put it on your tricorder! Admiral this isn't Star Trek, its Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea!! Admiral Nelson. Oh yes I forgot .... Sorry Irwin... I mean Mr Allen! Hey Capt there;s a strange looking bloke coming towards us. PF Gday Harry, Lee yeah I know pretty wet but its been raining solid here for days. Look dont have time to explain but gotta get a report out for the tragics at Demonland, Come with me a see the action... Demonlanders had the pleasure of watching a very good complete DEESTROYATION Today at Casey Fields! Yep bloody boggy under foot but ground was pretty good. Here is my report, and rather than go through all players I'll just give some random thoughts LUKE DUNSTAN Clearly BOG he was not dissimilar to Clarry when on song and he just was the catalyst to an impressive win, for all the talk about his disposal I thought he was very good and kicked some ripper goals MITCH BROWN Wow what a strong performance lead well was clever , took some very strong grabs and kicked 5 goals great game DEAKYN SMITH Flashy , Fearless , and very good footy smarts played a great defensive game JACOB VAN ROOYEN bookmark this, Kid will be a STAR, still Raw , but as jack Dyer would say he is "Learning the caper well" and as Jack would further say.... "Has telescopic [censored] arms" LOL.. Took a great MOTD and converted but could easily have kicked a few more goals T.MAC would be pleased to get through unscathed and set up some nice plays and will only get better DANIEL TURNER, really solid performance and repelled many forward entries. WEEDS, Forced to ruck and did a pretty good job and was involved in some nice plays FRASER ROZMAN BEST game I have seen him play, linked up well and has a very penetrating kick on him ADAM T Very good game rebounded well and was very solid JOEL SMITH Got involved and created a target getting back to some good footy TOBY BEDFORD, Fine line between doing too much and getting caught and being brilliant, a few times overan it but got better as the game progressed TAJ WOWOEDIN Watch this space will become a very good player, courageous and smart ball user KADE CHANDLER Provided us with the goal of the day but doesn't quite do enough consistently finally speacial mention to 2 Casey Players JAMES MUNRO and GEORGE GRAY, CAN BOTH PLAY and are the barometers for this team, also MATT BUNTINE calm and Composed. Thats about it Gotta Go the SEAVIEW is about to be attacked by a GIANT SWAMP CREATURE. GO DEES P.F

i think, back in mid-2021, 2022 and 2023 were the big risks with five genuine star or potential star players - petracca, brayshaw, jackson, oliver, pickett - out of contract across those two years since then, we've locked the cream away, with the only two left of those five being the youngsters, jackson and pickett, who absolutely must be in demand from other sides other players ooc at the end of 2023, in order of my perceived importance to our success over the next 3 years: may anb rivers jordon jvr howes amz mcvee deakyn smith chandler weideman can't see the elder two at the top entertaining offers elsewhere and would, in all likelihood, be looking at three year deals at the max, while the next three should, hopefully, be key players for the rest of this decade, and the next few are likely role players and great depth to have players ooc in 2024 in order of my perceived importance: lever (although i thought he signed an extension?) plugger mac sideshow bob bowey sparrow harmes laurie tomlinson lever i thought signed an extension to take him thru to being a 30 or so year but as i think he'll be the next skipper i can't see him leaving, the elder statesmen will move to yearly contracts you'd think unless they retire, while the next three are the epitome of role players one thing that i think it was montagna said that i actually agreed with is that clubs should pay their star players what they're worth, but role players can be found and developed into important but, ultimately, replaceable players i would be shocked if any of the above two years of uncontracted players will be flight risks, with the exception of the two wa boys (rivers and jvr) and the sa ones (anb and sparrow), all of whom SHOULD be in high demand in their native states, either as key players (rivers and sparrow) or as providing key leadership and setting standards (anb), or potential in a hard to fill role (jvr) tl; dr: we've signed away our best players, now it's time to lock in the leaders and the depth

Interesting tweet from the swamp: Good age bracket to be this good.

Sam's developing ruck craft may help him find a team that needs that support and be a hybrid fwd. Then he is more likely to be a starting 22.. Sadly, he will only be considered depth at the Dees.

Sam has a very long way to go as a ruck not because he can or can't ruck but because he can't impose himself around the ground. He's ok in the handball and follow up area but he just doesn't show that ability to drop back in defence and take a mark or mark the long kick out etc

Just got some Intel about Petracca at training today, left early due to a calf. No idea the severity but thought I'd share. Fingers crossed.

O Mac started the last two seasons well for the Blues until his back started playing up. Looked like he was going to hold a regular spot in the backline, according to some Carlton fans he was ahead of Young at the start of this year.

BURNT SAUSAGE TIME!!! 🤣 Yeah nah, no burnt sausages. I won’t be on cooking detail, so it’s all good. 😎

I think median age of your best 12 players would be the best indicator. Im not doing that research but that would be a good indicator… What?

Efficiency in front of goal aside (in the first half) that was a brilliant performance by Casey.

Don’t drink so much wine? It’s his favourite!

Just gotta say I can't remember a better time to support this club. All three teams are playing fantastic footy. AFLW, Casey and the seniors all cracking in with fantastic footy. Just loving what this club has created.

Being a Colinwood player, they're probably on top of his head.

We don't have a house to burn down. that's the problem