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Tomlinson outperformed expectations Hats off to him

We have found one in Judd McVee

Just posted in the trade thread, but thought this deserved a thread of its own. The culture that Stinear and Daisy have built over the last eight years must be absolutely exceptional. Every single premiership player (minus Daisy obviously) and all our most significant players who missed out (including McNamara and Colvin) have just re-signed en masse. Mammoth AFLW re-signing, article at melbournefc.com.au How do you spell DYNASTY?!?!?!

A shout out to Rivers - not mentioned much but played a great game IMO

Tomlinson looked so much more assured with his body than after coming back from his ACL last year. Hats off to him, I thought he was done. Wonderful to see. First game live for my two boys tonight. Great way to break them in. 😀 Carn the mighty Demons!

This is going to be my 5 week old son’s first MFC match. He’s been a member since the day he was born! I hope his lifetime of Dees supporting is more successful than mine.

[censored] yeah lads!! I'm putting my hand up, Tomlinson was bloody excellent!

The Demons took the first step on their road to redemption by thrashing the Western Bulldogs in their opening match for the season to the tune of 50 points at the MCG.

Tomlinson 19 possessions and 7 marks. Essentially Steven May stats. Massive kudos for his performance tonight and has proven to be a good insurance policy.

Disappointed Tom McDonald couldn't kick that goal to replicate the 2021 grand final ending

Some great signs. Defence was rock-solid. Tomlinson was fantastic. Had my worries about May being out but that proved to be unfounded. Tommo deserves high praise. Maxy, best ruckman of my lifetime hands down. I’ve never seen another ruckman cause as much damage, as consistently, as he does. So adding Grundy on top of that is absurd. Couldn’t ask anymore than a 50 point win!!!

First child born on Thursday so her indoctrination as a little Demon starts tonight. Winnie and Daddy will be barracking hard from the couch! Will of course be trying to be on my best behaviour… Hunter to play a blinder - Dees by 18 points.

I have it on good authority that Travis Johnstone will be presenting Bailey Laurie’s debut guernsey tonight.

Trac changed the game in the second quarter I thought. My favourite play was in the second when Grundy roved off the pack, did an underground handball to Langdon and Lingers centred it to Spargo. Spargs and Kozzie electric.

GREAT START! We were missing 4 of our top 10 but the rest of the boys stood up. Kozzie, Lever, Trac awesome. Judd awesome start. Great to see BBB get 4. Grundy worked a treat first up. BUT, what I loved was how we were still running and hungry at the end. We could easily have rested in the last 5-10 minutes. We did that a lot last year. Not tonight. We put ‘em away. Once the machine is firing. We get a few back, Grundy is full power, we are gonna be scary. Great job, boys!

No second half fadeout and we finished full of running

Tomlinson won’t be the difference if we win or lose, he’s one part of a team defence. Go Demons!!!

Regarding Ben Brown - our new game style is going to suit him to a tee. Already looks like close to the prime North Melbourne version of himself. Speaking of the game style, how good was it to watch? That was way better than how we played at the MCG last year - 10 zip included. Beats me why we bombed it to the pocket for an entire year but good on Goody for switching it up.

Fortunately you will be. Weightman out for them is huge - who is going to win the ground ball inside 50 given their other small forward option Arthur Jones is also out? The struggle defensively, so Gardiner out hurts. And they are also missing vandemeer and Rorke Smith. Don't think smith is best 22. But that still means in Weightman, vandermeer and gardiner they are missing 3 of their best 22 (though probably only Weightman is in their top 10 like all of May, Salem, Fritter and Viney). They are learning a new system. Four talls is an experiment. One not yet tested in the crucible of an AFL game, let alone against a defensive system as strong as ours. We are so well drilled we could continue to roll along even if the lights go out. We are as fit as I've ever seen any AFL team. Dees by 34

Parkrun. Check Home brewed coffee and fruit sourdough. Check. Mow lawns. Starting soon. Shower and nap. Then into the car for a 3 hour drive to watch the boys tonight, with my Dees-mad daughter. I am not sure what to expect with 4 of our best out with injury/illness, and the surface is a disgrace. But I think our better players are a cut above theirs (Bont aside) so am hoping for a 10 point win. Then the horrible 3 hour drive home. Will be a late one.

Gawn - the perfect game Petracca - prolific and unstoppable Oliver - a selfless game Pickett - offer him anything McDonald - was often bypassed Brown - finest Demon performance Grundy - will be awesome Langdon - was not dominant Hunter - will be vital Spargo - ten important minutes Brayshaw - great second half Neal-Bullen - better second half Rivers - impressive fitness level Lever - defensive general again Chandler - some important possessions Harmes - impressive tagging game Sparrow - impressive tagging game McVee - some important touches Melksham - took his chances Bowey - constantly instilled confidence Laurie - had little involvement Tomlinson - 4 consistent quarters Petty - looked nervous early

Thought Jake Bowey was absolutely excellent tonight as was Mcvee. Gee in the last quarter we were running on top of them, looked like we could have played another 4 quarters, excellent signs!!

For one bounce in the 3rd qtr, we had Chandler, Nibbler, Spargs and Laurie starting in the forward line with Max and (I think) BBB. The ball came in quickly and we actually looked quite dangerous smaller. Loved the different looks we had across all lines tonight. and loved catching up with the old man for a beer or two.

Also huge respect to Brodie Grundy. Ran in with such intense to stick up for Kozzie in that scuffle.

I remember a lot of h8 for Lever as when he was returning from his knee.....lot of knockers. I dont think ppl understand the confidence side of injury rehab. Can take a while.

Exactly, CF! There mightn’t be as many of us there tonight as we’d like, but those who do attend will more than make up for it since we have indisputably the most passionate supporters of all clubs. It’s a fact! even if based on nothing other than coz I said so. 😆

Some observations: The rucks had no influence on this game. Cats relied on Stanley and Pies on Cameron. Geelong's all ground defence was poor. They missed Stewart and his leadership. They missed Selwood and his leadership Stengle and De koning looked injured who knows how much Collingwood's domination after Howe went off was driven by emotion. I wonder if Pies will come to rue the day they let Grundy go. Last night wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of that decision. It was a mighty win by the Pies but not sure the Cats were that bad. imv Collinwood will be tested by a team with better ruckmen and better all team defence. A team like the Mighty Demons! Bring on KB Monday!!

Make the MCG our fortress. Petty to hold down back. The mids hunt them, Tracc and Clarrie feed the footy. Our transitioning is legendary. We get an extensive list of goalscorers, play a great 3rd quarter and roll on nicely. Sharp, quick, intensive. Go Dees.

I feel dirty saying it, but the Pies look hot.

Yesterday I saw a numberplate that read BBB8ON. I took it as a sign that Benny Brown was on for 8 goals tonight.

Today’s Casey Demons VFL practice match will be played in the heat of the day (commences at 2.30pm) at Skinner Reserve, Braybrook against the Footscray Bulldogs. We’ll try to bring you as much information from the game as we can (by remote). Anyone brave enough to take on the hot, windy conditions - your contributions are welcome.

Yep. Willed himself to wrest the game back. And we never looked back. A star

Kozzy is a genuine superstar now. Please offer whatever he wants Tim Lamb. Trac, Oliver and Gawn just changed the game when they decided to put their foot down. McVee is genuinely cool and calm under the heat. With more experiences and game he'll get better and apply himself with much more confidence. Jason Taylor has unpacked another gem. Good to see Benny Brown up and about. 4 snags is a good start Lever was BOG down back alongside Tomlinson and Bowey. Just an overall great team performance. Unfortunately Oskar Baker and Mitch Hannan are VFL standard footballers. Still amazed Baker got given another chance at AFL level.

Tomlinson has been good - happy to say.

All the Richmond and Carlton supporters who spent all yesterday convincing themselves that their teams were contenders got hit by a reality sledge hammer if they watched last night.

The pies are a superbly coached team. McCrae, Bolton and Leppitsch have devised a game plan the team have embraced. And they have instilled belief and confidence in the players to execute. They look fit and will be a contender for sure this year. Can't wait for Kings birthday to have a crack at this mob.

Looked like Tomo pre knee!

Loved the flexibility we displayed tonight. So many players popping up in areas of the ground where they would not normally be. For example, BBB and ANB joining the backline a few times, Maxy literally everywhere...! Not sure if it was a function of having 4 players out or part of the new willingness to rest players and mix things up, or even both

A great win when you consider we were missing our best defender, best forward and third best midfielder. Really happy with what we got from McVee and Chandler (Laurie didn’t disgrace himself either!), and hats off to Tomlinson. He was absolutely the player we saw in 2021. Oliver and Gawn are literal freaks. Gawn is Benjamin Buttoning his career. Just gets better and better with age and if the only thing Grundy does is prolong Gawny’s career by 2 years, he’s been worth every cent. Gawn is a giant of this game. Literally and figuratively.

Gawn and Petracca are awesome, don't get me wrong. But Oliver is totally underated by the so called epxerts. His hands and distribution are just incredible, BOG for mine Kozzy in the guts is just a whole new level. I'm going to miss him seeing him live next week at the gabba. He's gone for 2 to 3 weeks I reckon. He's doing what he should and playing flat out to get the best contract he can with us (I hope) Chandler - I've watched a fair bit of Casey in the last couple of years and he just tries his guts out. He's not that classy but so happy for him to finally get a real crack. Could be another Spargo for us. Our general field play is sooooo much better, working the angles, best options and staying out of the pockets, Yuesss! Ugle Hayden - a real plus for us. Really unrealiable. Naughton - Hated his scragging, pushing in the back, carrying on etc. He seemed a real Joe Daniher by the end of the game and I was enjoying his general craziness by the end. Umps - It's time the AFL considered six umpires on the field to pick up on the throwing, dropping the ball and hands in the back. How stupid is the half rule to allow forwards to push defenders in the back now? Pfft We are becoming a seriously big super power club now, they can't ignore us as snow bunnies anymore! Go Dees!

Luke Jackson was great in support of Gawn again but I don’t like his new look with the man bun.

As I said in the game day. We own a good amount of land in the doggies head! McVee is good, very good. I feel more comfortable with the ball in his hands than hard the side.

I’m calling all those Tommo non believers out. He can hold his head high tonight.

McVee showing some incredible poise on the wing there. You only want to see 1-2 elite things a game in first year players to know you have something.

McVee on the wing baulking out libba was sick.

Kozzie has drank some Byron blood pre game. Petracca is a superstar. Must admit my worries pre game was the Tomlinson inclusion. So far he and Lever have been our two best defenders.

Something new the Club is trialling this season is the use of Bay M4 for Melbourne supporters only at all Melbourne home games at the ‘G. (The adjacent bay is M3 where the cheer squad is.) It’s not officially Melbourne supporters only but it’s not listed as a GA bay on any of the sites, nor is it listed as a reserved seat area. The idea is to try to fill both bays with as many Dees supporters as possible. So if you wanna get up close and personal with the action but aren’t keen on losing an eyeball or being concussed by errant balls, come to Bay 4 where you’ll be surrounded by fellow Dees peeps. 👍🏽❤️💙

TEAM SELECTION FOOTSCRAY VFL v CASEY DEMONS 2.30pm Saturday, Skinner Reserve, Braybrook FOOTSCRAY 
5.Jedd Busslinger, 6.Charlie Clarke, 8.Jordon Sweet, 9.Hayden Crozier, 16.Toby McLean, 19.Rhylee West, 23.Buku Khamis, 26.Riley Garcia, 27.Robbie McComb, 35.Luke Cleary, 39.Cody Raak, 51.Dan Orgill, 52.Josh Chatfield, 53.Lachie Sullivan, 54.Caleb Poulter, 57.Joel Garner, 58.Luke Goater, 59.Jay Rantall, 64.Cooper Craig-Peters, 65.Ned Harris, 67.Ewan Macpherson, 68.Angus Bode, 71.Josh Patullo, 72.Jamison Ballantyne, 73.Hugo Bromell, 74.Bailey Young IN: Busslinger, Clarke, Cleary, Crozier, Garcia, Khamis, McComb, McLean, Raak, Sweet, West 
OUT: Mitch Hannan, Ethan Hunt, Josh Kellett, Charlie Macisaac, Cayden Maki, Matthew Merrett, Connor Smith, Riley Smith, Kai Stretton, Daniel Tallariti, Sam Willoughby CASEY DEMONS 
2.Jacob van Rooyen, 14.Michael Hibberd, 19.Josh Schache, 21.Matt Jefferson, 22.Blake Howes, 23.James Jordan, 26.Jed Adams, 27.Luke Dunstan, 28.Will Verrall, 29.Joel Smith, 34.Deakyn Smith, 38.Oliver Sestan, 42.Daniel Turner, 43.Kyah Farris-White, 44.Kye Turner, 45.Andy Moniz-Wakefield, 54.Roan Steele, 55.Trent Burgoyne, 56.Riley Baldi, 63.Charlie Peters, 65.Ryan Valentine, 71.Matt Buntine, 76.Tommy McRae, 78.Luca Goonan IN: Adams, Burgoyne, Buntine, Dunstan, Farris-White, Goonan, Hibberd, Howes, Jefferson, Jordan, Moniz-Wakefield, Schache, Sestan, D.Smith, J.Smith, Steele, D.Turner, K.Turner, van Rooyen, Verrall 
OUT: Tyson Barry, Jack Bell, Lachlan Benson, Heath Briggs, Jake Carosella, Paddy Cross, Tyler Edwards, Tom Freeman, Rhys Galvin, Kobi George, Kobi Grass, Max Gregory, Cooper MacDonald, Ned Moodie, Charlie Muley, Harvey Neocleous, Miles Shepherd, Tom Sheridan, Liam Tyrell, Hayden Woodhouse, Wal Wuol

We have coach replacements from Gisborne. If i leave at 4:30PM and then walk from Southern Cross station, I should arrive at 3 quarter time.

One swallow doesn’t make a spring. Geelong are entitled to back in their system from ‘22 again this year because (like us before them) it won them the flag the year before. Collingwood’s game plan gives you 2 things: A lot of look’s because they have to go fast down the middle, which leaves them very open on rebound, and One tempo. Geelong tried to match them at their game. Slow the ball down. Keep it off them. Teams aren’t going to let Daicos run around the back all year. He’s the guy that sets them up. I expect he’ll be roughed up and sat on a lot more. Let’s see how other coaches test them. I doubt many will want a shoot out.