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CASEY FIELDS TODAY!!! Duh da da da duh Da Da Duh ( Repeat) Dar dar Dar Dah dar da da duh Dar DADADAH DAH DA DUH DA DAR DAR DAR DA DUH DA dUH!!!!!! On a Planet Far far away in another space and Time there was This weeks script/training report INSIDE BARRACKS 2 Main control Centre Newkirk "Ah Colonel just got a wire from Australia" Col Hogan "Australia ??? From who?" Newkirk "Our Aussie Ally The nefarious Picket Fence" Col Hogan" What does it say" Carter "It says need assistance urgently, need to tunnel an entrance underground can you assist?" Col Hogan "A tunnel underground" Where" Kinchloe " Needs to go from outside a place called Casey Fields under the Fence and with a hidden entrance for future use, He further says he just cannot get access into the ground and on hot days like today he needs to find a cooler spot to post his Demonland Training reports" Col Hogan "Ok Tell him to stand by we are onto it" Over and Out" LOCATION 2 INSIDE COMMANDANT KLINKS OFFICE Helga " Commondant its General Burkhalter on the phone" Commondant Klink " Put him on " General Burkhalter what a pleasant surprise" Gen Burkhalter " KLINK, The only surprise for me is that you have still got a job and as yet no one ( Except T,V Audiences and producers have wised up to your incompetence" You fraud" Com Klink " Incompetance why General I have a perfect record" Gen Burkhalter " I'll get to the piont KLINK, Our intelligence has picked up some suspicious Activity with Communications occuring between this Stalag and Australia, Somebody is trying to tunnel to the inside of the Fence to an outpost at Casey Fields" Com Klink " As you know General None has EVER ESCAPED FROM STALAG CASEY FIELDS" Gen Burkhalter "[censored] , This entity PIcket Fence isn't trying to get out... He's Trying to get in!!!" Com Klink " Trying to get in to Stalag 13 at Outpost Casey Fields" He must be stopped. Gen Burkhalter "Put your best person onto it" WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHY HE WANTS TO GET IN!" Com Klink "I'll get Schultz to double the guards" and put everyone on high alert" Gen Burkhalter "SIGH" Greetings Demonlanders on this Hot as day. Fortunately not only was the temperature hot but the Dees went through a 6 quarter full match sim of which I file the following report. REHAB/ NO SHOWS FRITTA, JOEL SMITH, JAKE M, JED ADAMS ( I THINK) SALEM INJURIES ON THE DAY Looked like LUKE DUNSTAN pinged a Hamstring during match sim. MATCH REPORT. Initially the teams were more or less Blue Team (Probable starting 18-23 Round 1) and White Team ( Probable Casey team) A few observations about this Hibbo, Dunstan, Jordan, Shache attacky, Tomlinson started in this team, Grundy and Max both were in the blue team at the start before swapping teams at Half time where we saw Max , Clarry, Gus, Harmes and one or two other regulars from Blue went to white team to even things out. PLAYER WATCH IMPRESSIONS 1 KADE CHANDLER was ON FIRE Today really looked like he wants a spot, playing in the Blue team he was heavily inlvolved in setting up play was electrifying with break away speed dish offs plus he kicked about 3 goals and was very very influential. 2 BBB He is easily the best forward we have currently runs up and down the ground leads hard judges the falling ball in contested marking and just does not miss goals. He would have had another 5 or so today 3 BLAKE HOWES What a cool customer he was today, just seems to have found a nice groove, does most things well and effortlessly and picks correct options I think he will play this year on todays performance 4 JUDD MCVEE Likewise did some very good creative work across half back wing and won his fair share of the ball in both contests and on the outside, a hard runner he is gaining in confidence each time 5 OLIVER SESTON I can now see why we drafted him , in junior footy he wouldhave been just too strong in the air and on the ground and possesses an excellent turn of speed, got caught trying to do too much on a couple of occasions but boy when he matures watch out he is not unlike Ollie Wines! 6 JAKE BOWEY Has all but sown up a hbf position I think he is a better player than Calb Daniels now and his disposal, smart descision making and mop ups are very very good. 7 SPARGY PANTS Has improved his posessions and kicked a couple of goals today and used the ball precisely and with purpose playing in the blues I think if he continues to get around 20 quality possessions he earns his keep this year 8 WILL VERALL What an athletic strong running big man he is. He contested manfully in the ruck took some grabs around the ground, dish ofs were good and his mobility and "Flair" wre very appealing will develop into a player I think . Not disimilarly DISCO TURNER Caught mey eye for the same "Flair" 9 JOSH SHACHE ATTACKY Lots to like about his , for example he took a mark today contested that a Sam Weideman would have ran under then goaled. Clever unobtrusive but can become dynamic and bob up unexpectedly and kick a few , which he did do today. Not a bad ruckman and gives his best 10 MATT JEFFERSON.Quiet in parts but then takes the Mark of the day ) In contested company and cooly converted against the wind from 45 out on an angle, when he gets it things happen and although he may not play this year gee in 2024 watch out when he gets some confidence and size/weight. Kicked a couple of nice goals today 11 (THE HOLY TRINITY) CLARRY, J.V , TRACC were just phenomenal today just scary phenomenal. 12 LACHY HUNTER Just knows where to run, how to get it, get out on the outside spearing kicks lace out to other players and will be SENSATIONAL for us. Only slight disappiontment was JVR dropped a couple of chest marks and just got caught out of position a little today HIGHLIGHT MAX VS BRODIE G ( AFTER HALF TIME) BOTH were pitted on one another and it was highly entertaining and enlightening, Max is a one hand tap ruckman and Brodie prefers two hands. BOTH are effecteive and both take marks around the ground, use the ball well and are VERY VERY FIT FINALLY GEE WE ARE FIT I MEAN REALLY REALLY FIT, NO OUT OF CONDITION PLAYERS EVIDENT AND ON A DAY LIKE THIS PIONTS TO A SERIOUS ASSAULT ON THE FLAG IN 2023 I BELEIVE! Meanwhile I have just seen a portly figure patrolling around the ground it looks like, NO IT CAN'T BE SCHULTZ with LOIUS LE BEAU SCHULTZ "Halt who goes there who are you" P.F I know you your Sgt Schultz from Hogans Heroes" How did you get here? SCHULTZ " I accidently stepped onto the set of "The Time Tunnel" and found myself here where am I""? P.F "You are in Australia a place called Casey Fields" SCHULTZ "Commondant KLINK will send me to the Front for deserting my post I will be interogated by the Luftwafer" what will I do"?? PICKET FENCE "Dont worry Schultz If Commandant Klink asks me I will say ..................... I KNOW NOTTTHIING , I SEE NOOOOTHINGGGGGGGG! Cheers P.F

There were 4 x 20 minutes quarters between teams Blue and White. It was controlled by AFL umpires. The first two quarters comprised of the probables in Blue versus the possibles in White. Blue included: Gawn, Grundy, Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw, Sparrow, May, Lever, Petty, Rivers, McVee, Langdon, Neal-Bullen, Pickett, Spargo, Brown, McDonald, Bowey, Chandler White: Farris-White, Verrall, Schache, Hunter, Jordon, Hibberd, Dunstan, Harmes, Howes, Jefferson, Laurie, Sestan, Deakyn Smith, Tomlinson, Turner x 2, Woewodin, van Rooyen, Trent Burgoyne, plus 2-3 other Casey top-ups. As you’d expect Blue dominated. At half-time they’d kicked 15 goals to one. At half-time quite a few in Blue swapped to White, including Oliver, Brayshaw, Gawn and the first choice defenders – May, Petty, Lever, Rivers, McVee and Bowey. Harmes, Tomlinson and a few others went from White to Blue. The ‘new’ White got away in the third quarter, while Blue almost pinched it in the last. Final scores for the last two quarters were 41 to 40 White’s way. Ben Brown kicked 3 goals in the first on his way to 5. He’s moving and marking very well. McDonald kicked 3 and was also good. Grundy kicked 2 and handed an easy third to Pickett. Grundy was busy and had a good game, including a nice contested mark for one of his goals. He really gets involved around the stoppages. He seemed a little sore in his leg in the third quarter but he stayed on and completed all 4 quarters, so I’m assuming it’s minor. Spargo was very good and kicked 3 goals. Chandler did well and kicked 2. I wonder if McVee has been earmarked for Salem’s position. He looked very comfortable in the back 6. Both Langdon and Hunter got plenty of it. van Rooyen had a quiet day not helped by Blue’s dominance in the first two quarters. He led well in the second and did take one good contested mark, but also dropped an easy chest mark in the last. He ended the day goalless after missing a very gettable 30 metre shot in the second. Schache was quiet early but kicked 2 goals in the second half and became a target. Viney spent some time on ball but played mainly forward in the first half. He hit the scoreboard and actually played very well from a HFF. Rivers played mainly defence but also started in the centre square a few times, as did Brayshaw. So it looks like they’re going to mix it up. In the first half the preferred centre square setup was Oliver, Petracca, and Sparrow. Jefferson kicked the only goal for White in the first half and ended with 2. He took one excellent contested mark i50 (goal), but also dropped a couple he should have taken. He looks a player. Gawn looked a little rusty but was OK. I would have given Grundy the honours, but they both won their share of hitouts against each other in the second half. They were on the same team in the first half. Gawn spent time forward but was ineffective. For me the three best players were Oliver, Petracca, and Viney, but Spargo, Langdon, Brayshaw, Bowey, Rivers, Grundy, Brown and McDonald all did well. Petracca and Oliver can both extricate themselves from very tight positions. Some of their midfield craft was superb. Both fast, big and powerful. Oliver took a nice contested mark and was completely unhindered by his thumb. It was great to see Petracca mark forty metres out in the last, dead in front, and kick truly. He was also very happy (“Let’s go boys !!!”). This was the most involved I’ve seen Sestan. He took a couple of very strong marks and got quite a lot of it. He also kicked truly from 51 metres out. He’s one of those players with a low centre of gravity. Shortish legs and a long torso in the Daicos and Jesaulenko mould. Quick ball movement was the order of the day. There was a strong wind, so conditions were challenging, but there were also some excellent pieces of play. Lots of turnovers too, as is the hallmark of the modern game. I’m sure van Rooyen will get games and he’s had a great preseason, but he may just be behind Brown and McDonald for round one. Verrall competed well in the ruck. He’s raw but didn’t look out of place. Howes was very busy and mainly used it well. Even though Hunter played the first two quarters for White I’m sure he’s in the best team. Neale-Bullen also played well early. He was playing on a wing. Dunstan pulled a hamstring. Unlike Gawn, who jogged off with his, Dunstan was in pain as he gingerly limped off. Fritsch was a no show but may have been inside. Moniz-Wakefield and Melksham were there but didn’t participate and nor did Joel Smith.

For Christ sake, this is a young kid that needs support and assistance. Not punishment. So much hypocrisy. Half the world is addicted to alcohol and drugs. Professionals, executives, celebrities snorting coke. This kid does not need to be publicly shamed. The moralising by others makes me sick. Go out and experience the real world.

Your point about "support and assistance" is well made Ernie. However, don't forget that this "young kid" is also a hero and role model for possibly thousands of younger kids. He deserves his whack.

They call McVee ''Knuckle''. I don't think it was preceded by another infamous word.

He's correct about "wasted era" if we fail to make the top four. However, I believe we are a strong chance to finish top. I am not convinced that Geelong can back it up.

Footy website themongrelpunt has reviewed Between The Flags and says "this one is the book you want as a die-hard Melbourne supporter". Check out the full review here: https://themongrelpunt.com/footy-history/2023/02/17/mongrel-book-review-between-the-flags-making-sense-of-57-years-of-heartache/

Feel sorry for him??? SORRY I Dont and here's the Rationale... Plenty do it tough and guts it out without... ah assistance. HE has got the world at his feet and dabbled!! Sorry but NO EXCUSE ! COP IT !!

Yep, the filth making sure it’s as lenient as possible under the guise of the AFL. Happened back in January, so if the member of the public hadn’t raised the issue it simply would’ve been swept under the carpet nothing to see here.

what a surprise 😲 last person i would have suspected 😉

You might not be, but I am.

So it will be Big Bald Benny Brown (BBBB).

I recall reading at the time when Melbourne drafted Judd McVee as a rookie at the end of 2021, that the recruiters were relying in part on the initial impression he made when he was part of WA’s midfield mix two years earlier in the state's Under 16 National Championships campaign in 2019. It was back then that McVee’s class came to the fore. He was regarded as a clean ball handler, an efficient disposer of the football who had a cool head. His stocks fell during the Covid19 years and he barely held on to his state spot but managed to take a place across half back for WA in what were regarded as the U19 Nationals of 2021. It’s still a way to go but hopefully, the long memory and/or faith paid in him by a Demon recruiter plus his own hard work and development will pay off in spades.

Just breaking in The Age. Ginnivan has admitted drug use at a recent Collingwood training camp. Apparently caught on film by a member of the public in quite sordid circumstances. Outed for 4 weeks but I wonder where this might lead?

Lol and a little tap on the wrist for it.

Combination Fried Rice. In my opinion, barring injury, I predict BBB to kick at least 50/60 or so goals and if he does..... you know what that means dont you?🥰😇

Jon Pierik from 'The Age' with a decent write-up of our chances. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pretty-vulnerable-how-the-melbourne-demons-hope-to-rebound-in-2023-20230213-p5ck1e.html

I suspect ''Pickett'' will tell you that all had their moments without being prolific. Jordon and Woewodin struggled in the first half, as did the whole White team. They got more involved in the second half, especially Jordon. I thought Sparrow was relatively quiet overall, while his teammates in Blue - Oliver, Petracca, Viney - won more of it.

Have I ever told you the story of the scorpion and the frog ?

Assuming an ok run with injuries we should win it this year. Never in our lives have or will we be in a stronger position to win the flag (pre season). The demographics of our top 28 players is at its absolute peak. The sheer talent is the strongest in my lifetime and arguably up there with the best teams in the history of the game. 4 genuine superstars (including Grundy) backed up by a plethora of A graders. Our list is the envy of the league. The pass mark this year is a Premiership!!!

Now we know why they made the prelim last year. That slimy little drop the knee merchant should have got a year. I hate the filth.

Still starring with the Phillip Island Bulldogs ( unfortunatley bundled out of the finals early last year) https://pakenham.starcommunity.com.au/sport/2021-10-01/pedersen-a-bulldog-through-and-through/ https://www.pisra.com.au/sport/semi-final-seniors-v-tooradin-2022

Oh, and by the way, @Demonstone, I'm prepared to hold the fort - or at least toss it around a bit - while you're on what we hope is just a (well-earned) sabbatical.

Re: preseason coverage, the trackwatching is fantastic, and we are lucky to have such dedicated supporters. Surely the club has considered the preseason media coverage as a cost benefit analysis (my ignorant view!). Outside of a few committed supporters I wonder if it stacks up from a financial point of view. FWIW I would love to see more coverage, but if it means dollars are being used elsewhere (other human resources), I can cope with what we are getting during the off season. I do understand the frustration of others but I wonder if the club have decided money is better spent in other parts of the club. Is anyone able to shed any light on this?

👏 @Bombay Airconditioning and @Allus Monk. Persistence Rules!

Yeah, I don't disagree, but I'm still quite happy for the footy world to talk up others and under rate us for now. I think we could be 1st and undefeated by half way through the season again and there will still be a question mark about us waiting for us to faid out like 2022. Don't care I'd rather we just put together another season like 2021 when everyone else thinks we're flaky, but the team beleives in itself and we march on to another flag - at the G the time!

G'day all! I was rewatching the final quarter of our 2017 Perth clash against West Coast (the McDonald match winner game) the other week and couldn't help but notice how crucial Cam Pedersen was in the final 10-15 minutes. I was prompted to reminisce a bit into his career with us, and despite never being a world beater, Cam made some very important contributions over his journey in the red and blue. To make a long story short, here are all 50 goals that Pedders kicked over the six year period that he donned the Demon jumper that I've compiled together in one video. There's some seriously impressive ones here that I had completely forgotten about, such his boundary miracle to seal the win against Carlton in 2014, and his Buddy Franklin-esque running goal against Brisbane in 2017. Plenty of clunks in-between as well! Go Dees!

Someone you wouldn't like.

He'd know about a wasted eras with his Freo experience...

I don't think we got ahead of ourselves last year, it was more injuries / fatigue caught up with us. But otherwise, I agree with his comments.

Nor Brisbane second, or Sydney third. I actually think we are better than all of these teams we ought to finish a clear 1st

In 1972, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai was asked about the impact of the French Revolution. “Too early to say,”

As usual picket, your description is both succinct and elegant.

Me too! I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for a pre-season game, and your training reports are a big reason why 😃

In 2021 all through the year I thought that we were ‘real contenders’. The season was pure joy. (throughout and obviously at the very end) In 2022 (even when we were winning games in the first half) I thought that at best we were ‘contenders’. I felt very frustrated at times. Obviously 2023 has not yet started. I hope that we again show signs early on that we once again will be ‘real contenders’. 🤞 GO DEES!!!

Thanks for the great reports guys. Just one thing to note. Josh Schache’s nickname at the club is Diesel. (As in Shaquille O’Neal’s nickname)

That starting line-up looks just about right - but I'm unconvinced with Fyfe playing as a key forward - but that doesn't mean he won't start the season there. The draw – according to AFL.com Freo have the equal hardest draw, a tough gig for a side that didn’t even make a Prelim. They have double ups against the Lions, Cats, Swans and Dogs with only the Hawks and Eagles providing some respite. Thanks to the ‘gather round' they also have 11 trips on the road as opposed to the previous 10, but they do get back to back games in SA to make it easier. The back end of the fixture will determine their fortunes with four of their last 6 at Optus, but that includes Sydney, Brisbane and Port with a trip to GMHBA thrown in for good measure. Initially I’d factored Freo into my top four calculations based on the back of their outstanding 2022 defensive effort where they gave up 1486 points. (In comparison the other top three defensive teams were us 1483 points and the Cats, 1488 points). There’s no love at the bookies though. Sportsbet has them =9th with the Dogs to make the top four at $15.00 and =9th to make the top eight at $1.91… hmmm what am I missing? 1. Well the first thing I’m missing is that Freo don’t score very heavily as @Bring-Back-Powell noted they ranked 12th last year and they just lost their leading goal scorer to the Dogs. Are they going to miss him? I’m going to say no- firstly because he’s called Rory Lobb and secondly he only kicked 36 goals anyway – that ranked him 29th in the Coleman. They simply have to find more avenues to goal. They need Treacy or Amiss to improve in a hurry, because we all know that Dogga isn’t a key forward at this stage of his career. The smalls in there are wonderful at putting on pressure and the defensive aspects, but they simply don’t kick enough goals to make up for the lack of scoring power from their KPFs. Schulz is probably the best (30 last season), but they need more out of Switkoski (11 from 14 games) and Sonny (25 from 21 games). I can understand why the brought in Josh Corbett – trouble is he averages less than a goal a game – I’d be calling for a test of his B samples if he got more than 2 goals a game consistently. 2. Well there’s not much to say about their defence. It’s superb and they seem to have all bases covered. If you want anymore evidence, a premiership defender and someone I consider quite a useful KPD in Joel Hamling couldn’t crack it for more than a single game last year…. Nothing to worry about defensively from the Dockers. 3. Nor do I think there are too many concerns for them through the midfield with maybe the exception of the wings. Darcy and Jackson in the ruck looks better than OK, Brodie, Brayshaw and Serong through the middle and probably dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe as well if he doesn’t make it as a forward. O’Meara comes in to take over Mundy’s midfield minutes – so nothing to see there either. The wings though are an issue. I’m not convinced Liam Henry is actually a gut running winger. I think they’ll give the jobs to Aish and O’Driscoll to start with, but may need to push a Jordan Clark or Hayden Young up there to provide some coverage as well. 4. Do they miss Logue, Acres and Lobb? Well two of them (Logue and Lobb) were top 10 in their B&F and they played 20,20 & 21 games respectively – so they were all key components of their best 22 – so yeah they probably do. Even if they’ve got guys like O’Meara and Jackson they think will play 22 games when available – it’s not exactly like for like. They also have Erasmus, and Sturt champing at the bit to get their opportunity. They’re crossing their fingers their former skipper can be turned into a KPF, but I think that’s wildly optimistic – I think if he was going to be any good as a key forward he would have already – just my view though. The player they can least afford to lose – well no surprises that it’s Matt Taberner. They need him to play a full complement of games this year – it’s absolutely crucial. I mentioned Treacy and Amiss – too early to consider them serious planks in the KPF structure. The issue is though that Freo supporters can hope Tabs plays 22 H&A games, but they have no right to expect it. After 10 seasons he average only 11.6 games a season and the most he’s ever played is 17 (2016). If he’s sitting in the medical rooms again for an extended period the people at Sportsbet are probably on the money (as bookies usually are). I think they will suffocate sides at home – can they win on the road – yes, but they probably don’t kick a big enough score to beat the better sides away from Optus. I’ve revised my prediction and have them 6th.

There was a period there where I was convinced, and stats sort of backed me up, that we were undefeated with "Pedo" playing, and batted about 30% with him out of the side. Absolute cult hero figure in my own brain.

Don't forget BBB's shave, everyone!

Me either, old moggies with mottled fur and dry flakey paws dont do it for me either!

Same. And don’t forget the following day is Family Day. Depending on which long-range forecast you’re looking at the top temperature will be somewhere between 20 - 35. 🤷‍♀️ But whatever the weather conditions, we’re hoping for a really big turnout. ❤️💙

Glad that his team Freo, isn't in his top 4. Don't know how on the one hand he can say 'not making the top 4 is a wasted era' then say 'premiership teams often make GF within 4 years'. That gives us 3 years. Maybe he should hold fire and see how many GF or premierships we have in 3 years!!

It'll be interesting to see how the Swans recover from their GF drubbing. History suggests they might struggle this year.

This just popped up in my youtube recommendations. It's Will Schofield of the Eagles & someone called Dan Const talking to Max. If you want to hear the story about him smoking a dart on the way to training or working at Domino's etc for the hundredth time then I've added the link below.