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What posters need to remember is Andy is direct from Darwin. So no junior development pathway to speak of. And defence is not part of the footy vocabulary up there. And when he arrived he was like a stick with hair, similar to Jefferson who is also now beginning to look like an AFL player. Because Andy had not settled into a position, which is the go in Darwin also, the club has had a blank canvas to work with I believe in some closed training sessions he is thrown into the middle to give the AFL mids something different to look at. Consistency is the key for him and he is beginning to show it in a team not travelling well. As for the game Casey, which I watched live, were smashed at centre clearances and stoppages, too many got sucked in and Coburg got the ball out and were away. Also the channelling back by the mids and fwds to support the defence was poor until the last qtr

It will be interesting Ethan . In my view it was a dead set sling. If he gets off, the system is even more corrupt than we already think.

Too much hand wringing re Casey...it doesn't matter if we win VFL flags at this stage but it does matter that we develop players. It seems Jeffo is coming along nicely and AMW is playing himself into contention. Tholstrup will be ok, just a kid at the moment. We've been 3 senior players down all year (Gus, Melk and Smith) and that really takes a toll, then add travel emergencies and general injuries and the team hasn't been able to settle. We do have a ruck problem though and I'm sure the club know it. Our 2 VFL guys are struggling at VFL level and are nowhere near AFL standard.

The Melbourne Football Club have been pioneers in football we invented the game, invented the father son rule with Barassi, started the Irish experiment, got the womens game off the ground lead by Daisy who is now a team mascott, changed our name first to an indigenous one on the back of Whelan. I have a feeling we will be the first supporter base to cheer an opposition player rather than boo them when we play the Bulldogs and Darcy goes near it.

Commensurate with Casey's performance, so down a little on last weeks high personal performance mark. The naysayers will say his statistics were padded out by kickouts. Though Blake Howes appeared to be sharing that responsibility. Casey backline were under a lot of pressure from Coburg. Centre clearances were going decisively one way, particularly after quarter time. So Andy was getting amongst it and was involved in repeated attempts to get the ball going the other way. Two memorable plays he was involved with led directly to Casey goals. One an unlikely extraction from a pack and a clean pass to Matthew Jefferson. The other an outrageous fend off, after gathering the bouncing ball at pace and a long handball which resulted in a footpass to Tom Fullarton, goal. Both those plays showed he is gaining confidence and has the elusive "X" factor. IMHO he is the best uncapped MFC player running around at Casey. Where or when he gets his debut is dependent on him continuing in his current vein of form. The decision to play him in defence is sound, he is getting his hands on the ball a lot more. Plus his defensive game is getting plenty of opportunity to improve. I don't see his possible field position being limited to defence. As he is an attacking, creative player by nature.

Also Will Schofield shouldn't commentate WC games, the bias is incredible

After a slow start to the year, off an injury interrupted pre-season mind you, Jefferson is starting to hit his straps. Spent a few games back early in the season and when forward was perhaps impeded by our other talls in Brown, Schache, Fullarton, KFW and Verrall resting forward at times. He's now kicked 15 goals in 9 games with 13 of those coming in the last 5 weeks for an average of 2.6 goals a game. I think we're just scratching the surface of his potential with a seemingly solid ground level game coupled with a strong aerial game. He might not get a debut this year but I think he'll get more than a taste next year. Reckon he will pair well with JvR.

It would be too raw and gut wrenching. being so close to the action but not able to really be a part of it... Nice of the club to offer but I can understand that he would rather keep his distance for a time. We really miss him as a player but probably not half as much as he misses playing.

My thoughts AMW - Showed some spark today, when he got involved we often were able to move the ball into the f50 through the corridor. Reminds of Rivers, breaks lines, runs and carries and defends well in the air and on the ground. Ball use was not great but overall Casey did not function well as a team so my judgement is not harsh on him, he had little support. Howes - Really lacks intensity but had some moments. To be honest, i did not notice him until the 3rd quarter. Jed Adams - Puts his body on the line and had some big marks in defense today. Kynan / Sestan / Tholstrup - All 3 boys played a lot of time in the midfield but they're all half-forwards. Kolt showed the most out of the 3 today IMO. Would much prefer Kynan being stationed at HF to play the traditional ANB role. Horses for courses atm as the Casey midfield is bare. Jefferson - Looked strong, fast and aggressive today. Limited supply but i see the development. Laurie - Just not up to it. Very disappointing. 0 damage and he does not defend well. Verrel - Rucked okay, nothing notable. Fullarton - First time seeing him play in person and my worst fears were confirmed. He is allergic to contact. Did not see him affect an arial contest once. Great leap but often mistimed his jumps both in the ruck and when attempting to mark.

Chris Daniher was interviewed on the radio this week. He mentioned that Neale could still walk and that the ability to do so helps keep him positive. Amazing man the Rev.

It’s even worse to know that the AFL sanctioned it as fair play at the time Zero Penalty…..😡

Still a long way to go in his development but I've enjoyed Adams intercept marks the past couple of weeks. Looks like he's growing in confidence somewhat.

amw with a slips catch on half back, jefferson marks on the edge of the 50, hits fullarton in the pocket...goal he's a pre-season away from being able to play a key forward role at afl level, but jefferson shows a heap of promise

Perfect day at Traeger Park for the Captain’s Run. Flawless playing surface. Lots of supporters up from Melbourne. Heaps of indigenous kids cheering for Kosi. The boys looking super fit, not a knee bandage in sight.

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Unlike Daicos senior, who carries on like a two bob watch in a kind of look-at-me way when one of his kids does anything, Darcy senior behaved like a mature and serious observer of the game when his son put a dagger through the Magpies' black hearts. I loved everything Darcy junior did last night, from hitting Maynard to sealing the win. He is going to be one heck of a player and there will be a time when he gives us cause to hate him, so when that time comes I'll need to remember this game as consolation.

As they should! The AFL is a Joke 🤡🤡

The kid Reid is a terrific player - no doubt. However, his lack of experience is showing out in this game. I reckon he can expect a hard tag for the rest of the season.

Yep; surely a player with only a dozen games under his belt gets to plead the Charlie Cameron defence...

That’s got to be a suspension to Reid… Schofield is a peanut..

Are the umps out West still waiting for the AFL pigeon to arrive from Victoria with the change to the HTB info?

What an utterly woeful performance against a lowly stand alone VFL club. Jefferson showed some promise. I'll leave it at that.

Howes not getting too close to Corleone. Doesn’t want to wake up to a horses head in the bed?

Darcy should rock up to Maynard’s house

Please please have a minute silence for John Beckwith before the Kings Birthday game. 5 x premiership player Former captain during our golden era. He was a club legend. My late father said he was such a strong defender. Think Jake Lever / Steven May of his day. An absolute star.

I’d rather we hurt them on the scoreboard.

You can understand why so many can’t stand the AFL Administration. I believe that without Maynard they lose the PF to GWS ( 1 point win ) and if they did get to the GF, they lose that couple points win. The AFL imo was never going to rub him out, just like the absurd technical garbage overturn of Cripps suspension to allow him to win the Brownlow, while Ah Chee missed the finals.

Squad 42. 23 seniors. Missing - Hore, Spargo, Lever, Schache, JVR, Melksham, JS29 Unavailable due to travelling emergency - Billings, BBB CASEY Missing - Hustwaite, Connolly 10 AFL LISTED PLAYERS TODAYS SUMMARY - Overall beaten by players mixed between VFL and suburban league players backs AMW - 👏👏as a rookie listed player, he showed up others with his run, contested footy and intensity. Should get a debut soon. He's not perfect but very few are. Howes 🤨- has the style however not the intensity Just an average performance. Casey again next week Jed Adams 🤔 young and developing. A keeper for the future imv and let’s give him another preseason to build up midfield Laurie - 🥔completely AMAZED we extended his contract I would delist him Slow and tackles because he’s second to the contest forwards Kynan Brown 🤔- a good honest scrapper. Not sure where he’s future lies Tagged perhaps ? Tholstrup -👍🏻 he’s got the goods and I see him as a rotating mid/half forward (not a pure mid) and will develop more with better opportunities. Sestan 👍🏻- had some good moments but overall lacks some athletic ability to play anywhere but half forward or deep forward. Jefferson 👍🏻-shows enough to persist. Took 2-3 nice contested marks which needs to be his weekly standard. Development still in Casey this year rucks Verrel - 🥶 have to persist. He’s young and needs time. Keep or not? Not sure Fullarton - 🥶he’s a basketballer playing footy. I thought he was better. Possibly delist if he’s on a year contract. Worried about where he fits

God I hate Maynard. Wish him the worst.

Complaining about our pick #11 in the mid-season draft while in the same breath complaining that the WA kid isn't playing in our 18th-placed seconds two days later? Seems like your average Demonland poster to me.

He's from WA and was added to our list 2 full days before this match. I think he can get a pass for not having shifted his life already!

@kozzyisalegend ... joins four hours ago, has eight posts in the same thread all potting our players or recruiting. Anybody else getting a whiff of eau de troll?

Jeffo reads play well for mark and goal.

AMW might still have to wait a little longer going by Whitford’s assessment of last week’s game. The last paragraph stands out. Andy had another exciting performance and we’re starting to see some real improvement in his game. His ability to take the game on and challenge the opposition's defence was exciting. He used the ball well and was really influential in the game for us. Andy’s next steps are in his defensive consistency and reliability.”

Yes, because it's extremely likely that he'll want to leave the Dogs. Why stop at him; get Bont at the same time!

I am surprised they had Petracca playing 65% forward against St Kilda. I thought he played a normal split between midfield and forward last week. The difference with the Carlton game was that he played as a full forward. This made sense given the wet conditions and he was invisible in the midfield early in the game (and Fritsch was not effective as our deepest forward). In dry conditions, I think he is better up in the midfield and Fritsch offers us more as our primary one-on-one target inside 50.

But wasn’t Luke there working and Peter was in a corporate box on the juice? If my kid was winning games of AFL of his own boot I’d carry on however I like

That was the most satisfying non Dee’s win of the year

Just became my favourite non Demon after his superb football act on Maynard

I like the thud of his shoulder

Club prioritises winning at AFL over VFL. Imagine a few players get food poisoning whiel in Alice Springs or are carrying illness that doesn't show up until the trip. Disaster. Goody and the players always speak about how good travel is for team connection too.

Very sad news. I had the honour of meeting this absolute gentleman in the MCC members stand during our horror years. At the time I was in my early 20s, I got talking to him, I didn't know who he was, I think I complained about Bartram. A few months (or year) went by and some club media came out with him and Hassa Mann, I recognised him straight away. I hope he had a wonderful life well beyond football, my thoughts are with his family. May he rest in peace.

The Skipper. After missing this era by a long way but devoting a lot of time to studying the past and reading anything I could get my hands on, Beckwith was the guy I identified with as the true spiritual leader of those 50s sides. Would have loved these guys to see another flag or two but so happy that they got to see our breakthrough. RIP

Wine and flowers anyone?

Im sure he lived a great life and will be remembered as a Demon legend. RIP John.

The added bonus of never having his dad commentate our games would be fantastic.

Just threw out my toothpaste and went to the chemist to buy McLeans.

It’s with great sadness that I learn of Johnny’s passing. For those of us who are old enough, and were lucky enough to see Johnny play, we will never forget the key part he played the ‘golden era’ of our great Club. A childhood hero of mine, who is no longer with us, but whose memory will live forever in my red and blue heart, and in the history of the Melbourne Football Club. Vale Johnny. RIP.