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It seems like most people have covered things really well but I'll throw in my two cents. I'll add to the praise for JKH, I must have missed all of the turnovers because I think at this stage he'll make Kent/ Garlett nervous about maintaining their spots in the best 22. Sure he missed a couple of targets under high pressure but they were still generally to advantage. I'm not sure I agree about Vandeburg, I thought he was a bit clumsy even though he was in everything, he seems happy he's in the new jersey though. In regards to Keilty, he took some great marks and seemed to be getting around the ground fairly well, I would have liked to see him in the forward/ backs drill at the end ( might have missed him in there earlier when I was watching the grappling drill). One moment stood out for me as it was right in front of me on the wing. JKH had gotten away from his direct opponent (not sure who it was) and sat underneath a bit of a floater. Keilty was about 15m away jogging over to pick him up when (I think) Lewis yelled at him to go hard and that he would make it so he put the foot down and absolutely bowled over poor JKH, he hurt himself a little bit in the process but received a lot of praise for the extra effort as it spilled the ball to the advantage of his team. Oliver was a bit of a standout, there's not much of his puppy fat left on him, he looks a lot fitter so I'm a bit confused by all of the reports from dlanders and reporters saying he is under done. Another standout moment was when he was leading for a ball that missed the target and went to his opponent heading the opposite direction. They managed to get the ball away quickly and got 15m on Oliver and ran up to link after the kick. Ollie put his head down closed the space to prevent that option. His opponent didn't get used so it probably wasn't noticeable but I thought that defensive gut running in that heat was impressive. Ollie looks like he can get up a bit of speed when he get going, i think he'll run out a few more games this year. Oscar McDonald also impressed me today, he still needs to put on a bit of size but he was very competitive against the much bigger Max and Hoges. The forward/ backs drill at the end had 4 talls standing in a diamond shape about 20m apart while one player had to compete for the ball as Lewis bombed it towards them, they then had to run to the next contest and compete with all four before changing out. Everyone was cheering on Weids at the end who was absolutely spent and really only lost out to Max who shoved him aside and took it out in front. I though Oscar Mac comepeted really well in this drill. Hogan, Max and Watts were obviously all very impressive in this drill but as far as winning the ball in the air O mac and Frosty made it particularly difficult for them. The wrestling drill was a bit of laugh, it seemed they almost had to wrestle each other to the ground before leading for a short kick. Pedo struggled towards the end against Mackenna which wasn't surprising at the end of an almost 4 hour session. Garland and Watts were fun to watch. I didn't really notice many of the new boys, Hibberd seems fairly surly, I either didn't notice or didn't see Tim Smith (hard when they're in bibs/ have new numbers) and only realised who Melksham was when my mate picked out his fleuro yellow boots. I was disappointed that Brayshaw was in the rehab group, I didn't get a chance to ask why but I was really looking forward to seeing him. Dom Tyson is a top bloke who came over for a chat sweating bullets from some boxing, he looks ready to get back to the main group, we might see him in the JLT series if everything goes well for him. He seems to think they're being cautious with him and said he would be spewing if he didn't play round 1. Flippas legs are massive from his soccer days, he may need to lose a bit of weight off them or build his upper body to match. Either way I can see him being a decent tap ruckman in the future because he'll be very hard to move off of the ball. Watts and a few of the boys enjoyed the fact I was wearing his Skwosh shorts. Hogan signed my little girls hat but she doesn't get the concept of a signature and thought he should put her name on it. Her words were "But now it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to him." It might be worth something one day. That's about it for the moment, sorry for the late post, hopefully it gets you through your Monday, questions are welcome. P.S I didn't go through and edit, hopefully it's not a tough read

Hoo boy this one's a doozy. Disclaimer; I have a great sentimental love for Casey Fields, so my view will be very biased, as well as being quite angry at peoples comments. Firstly I will say I very much enjoy every game I go to watch at the ground, but then again I'm usually up in the function room ordering drinks from the bar and watching the game from the balcony so I can't really comment on the viewing experience. Now, the real stuff. I have been to almost every VFL playing ground. Apart from the purpose built stadiums (MCG, Ethihad, Simmonds etc.) and maybe Punt Rd, the wind at every ground is terrible! Compared to Whitten Oval, Trevor Barker, Windy hill, etc, Casey Fields is probably the most tame of the wind producing grounds. Yes some days it does get pretty bad, but I have seen shots for goal at some grounds where the ball comes back over the kickers head! To use this as a reason to 'Nuke it' and call it a terrible place is absurd, footy is a winter sport, you have to play to winter conditions. Seriously, look up some footage of Whitten Oval games. The Footscray players know that when kicking to one certain end of the ground they have to dribble the ball along the ground because any highish kick will not go anywhere, and that's almost every bloody game. Casey might have bad win every 3-4 games, but never that bad. As for the players, Casey is their home. The know the conditions to a T, which really aren't bad. The home advantage they have is enormous, I'm pretty sure they only lost 2 game at Casey last year, the first Williamstown game when they were flying (which was actually a really well fought match) and that slog of a game against Collingwood where the WVFL match beforehand had destroyed the ground. The travel distance is a problem for some players, but given a choice I'm pretty sure most of them would choose to play the majority of the reserve games at Casey. I do agree that some extra grandstands would be amazing, especially behind the goals on the northern side of the ground which is where the majority of the wind comes from, but the facilities they have are great! Newish dunnys, and up and down stairs bar, a canteen and usually a sausage sizzle. That's more then a lot of the other grounds have to offer. You can't expect the VFL to offer AFL level class for playing conditions and supporter comfortableness, that's just absurd. For a VFL ground, Casey does a damn good job at providing what it does. The players know this, and it helped them destroy so many teams there last season. Just look at these numbers: Casey v Frankston - 179-35 Casey v Northern Blues - 125-18 Casey v Box Hill - 83-76 Casey v Port Melbourne - 86-51 Casey v Sandringham - 92-46 Casey v Essendon - 129-43 Casey v Werribee - 151-46 7/9 Wins at Casey Fields is pretty damn fantastic. And almost all of these wins where absolute monsters. You can't deny the numbers. Casey is a great ground, it has its issues, as does all VFL grounds, but that is what the VFL have to work with.

It's not bad to play, but it's terrible for watching. They only have the one stand and it's almost always reserved for officials and players' families. The parking is a disgrace, the facilities are a joke and it takes an hour to get out again. If they are going to put games on there then either the club or the AFL need to put some money into upgrading the facilities and putting in proper stands.

Apologies for the lateness of this effort. Really enjoyed yesterday morning's session. Much of what I observed confirmed what we've been consistently told by our track watchers over the past couple of months. I apologise in advance for the eclectic nature of what follows. Structurally, can I just say, I love the way the coaching staff divided the session into 4 quarters with the clock clearly simulating match conditions. This is not new but seems to be of increasing focus.The session was very much game sim driven and the large crowd appreciated that. The coaching staff really impress me. Transitions from drill to drill are sharp. Preparation was never found wanting. Feedback was delivered swiftly but they never lingered too long. Heart rates were always maintained. Crossy was fantatstic with the rehab group but this is news to nobody. The level of onfield leadership seems to have gone to another level. I love watching our senior leaders instructing small groups with line managing assistants watching on to ensure the appropriate messages are being delivered and then engaging only when necessary. The vibe in the team is excellent. They're driving each other, challenging each other. Viney and Gawn excelling in this area. The physicality is good. An occasional skirmish is a healthy sign. The gameplan is definitely being drilled into this team. As mentioned by the Melbourne-based reporters, the play on, quick ball movement is evident. The metronome app confirmed that the accompanying music was maintained between the 120 and 125 beats per minute range and the style of play seemed to mimic the tempo. I'd like to think our coaching staff are this switched on. Let's just pretend that this was indeed an intentional decision. Disappointing that five key members of our best 22 are in the rehab group. Hibberd, Jetta, Tyson, Brayshaw and Kent all look close to resuming and certainly got a solid workout in the hot and steamy conditions. Oscar McDonald and Sam Weideman are building nicely. Whilst still some way from AFL key position size they've both taken obvious and considerable steps towards adding the necessary kgs. More importantly both are attacking training in a really focused way. You sense they feel they belong and know that there are spots in our best 22 waiting for them to consolidate. Jay Kennedy-Harris was an absolute standout for me. He looks really fit and his one touch play was great to watch. His hands are beautiful and he brought a real energy to the session. Aaron vandenberg seemed to be everywhere. Only saw him turn it over once. One of the real positives of the session was the quality ball use I observed from players with a question mark in that area. vandenberg used it really well as did Harmes and Hunt. Hunt was the other highlight for me. He's been a favourite for some time but this session confirmed everything we outsiders have been hearing on Demonland. His linking player is critical and the team is clearly being coached to look for him. His line-breaking pace was electric as always but his disposal at the end of these runs was pleasingly efficient. Neal-Bullen made some mistakes unfortunately, as did some of our first and second year players. Billy Stretch will play round 1. Hogan looked great. His kicking routine, for me, however, is all over the place. At one stage, he was practicing his routine during a short break and his run up looked exactly like last year. 5 minutes later during game sim his routine looked completely different. What was consistent, however, was the outcome. He wasn't missing many today. I don't care what the routine looks like to be honest as long his efficiency returns to 2015 levels and we don't have to discuss it on here every second week when he misses a couple! Of the newcomers, Pat McKenna impressed me. He's a really good size and battled manfully against Pedersen in a really demanding contested/wrestling/leading/repeat effort drill. He looks almost as tall and almost as strong as Pedersen. We have some really options in defence now. Pedersen, as advertised, is noticeably fitter but still very broad and strong across the shoulders. It's great to see but also raises the question why it has taken this many pre-seasons at Melbourne to get to this point. Like others, Maynard just looks a player to me. It's like he's entering his seventh or eighth pre-season. Hulett took some nice grabs and the Casey graduates both looked at home. I was keen to isolate Jack Trengove to see if I could notice any discernable improvement in his speed and acceleration. As others have noted it's difficult in training to do so but at one point when he really put his foot down to find space it appear he did so with more ease than last season. Wishful thinking perhaps. The real highlight for me was a few tackles. Jack Watts received ample congratulations when he brought down the skipper trying to exit the defensive footy. The boys really do love him and Melksham brought down Hogan in impressive style earlier in the session. Pedersen pulled off a Watts and ran down Harmes when he was trying to clear the ball also. Great to see our key position players doing the less glamorous things at the tail end of a gruelling three hour session. At the end of the session Oscar McDonald and Billy Stretch seemed to be receiving some extra praise. Maybe they both received the Goody Fifty. Morale within the group was clear for all to see. Autograph signing and the mingling with the kids is always awesome. The kids and the families keep coming back and this part of the day must play a huge role. The Maroochydore camp and this open session is turning into a nice little tradition. Happy to respond to any questions about any individuals you might have.

From the Day 6 preseason diary Even the rehab group, which trained on the oval next to the main group, had its best skills session of the pre-season. Mitch King, the developing ruckman, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Casey’s opening round last year and missed the rest of the 2016 season, is set to complete some drills with the main group next week. In about two weeks’ time, King should be in full contact with the group. Dom Tyson, who hurt his knee in Melbourne’s pre-Christmas camp, is set to ramp up his contact work next week. Angus Brayshaw, Neville Jetta and Michael Hibberd are now all set for the camp’s last big training session on Tuesday, after coming through strongly in rehab.

I used to care what Lyon thought about the MFC. I don't anymore.

For Robbo: Yes it does matter. The medal is now not just a piece of tin. It is now a real collectors item simply because of the rarity of its 'provenance'. And he is still the official winner on the EFC website. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/player-profile/jobe-watson For them nothing has changed and the AFL is condoning the lie. Its an insult to the history of the Brownlow and to Mitchell and Crotchin. Jobe must give it back and his name expunged from all records not just an asterisk beside his name.

31,422 ? This is over 5,000 up on membership numbers at the same time in 2015!

lol yeah but there's a big difference between how a player feels he is going v how he looks compared to the rest so I was just curious

I had a trivia question on the weekend. Name the AFL player that returned their Brownlow? I answered that it has not happened, he still has it. People don't get it, The cheat should be banned from the AFL until he returns his ill gotten gains. He is a drug cheat not a hero.

I think that's what has impressed me over the past couple of years, it's our ability to know where we have some deficiencies, then we go out and do something about it by targeting specific players. Examples; When Frawley was on the way out, we had to make sure we got maximum return, which netted us Brayshaw, while we went searching for a replacement, which was why we chased Frost. We did all this while playing Frawley up forward, which meant we could still spend a season developing our backline without him in it. Not long after that we realised that we needed better foot speed and kicking coming out of half back. We chased Melksham to do this, and in turn, Hibberd as well. We got both our targets. There are other, lower profile examples (Bugg). I didn't include Lewis because that was out of left field. We did all that while stocking up on the best "top end talent" available. What the football department has done over the past 3-4 years has been simply incredible.

Don't take this the wrong way Jrono64, I loved your work. But my favourite bit was the story about your daughter and her newly signed hat.

You could just give him a call no?

Brisbane didn't mind it...

Mrs Frankie was under the weather, but received a leave pass, fired up the Frankie-mobile, got my passport stamped at Warrigal Rd, and wandered off to Casey fields. Some observations 1. Don't park in the Field - got bogged, drenched 2. All the players - both sides - unarguable commitment to the contest, not one shirked the issue. Would have put some of Melbourne AFL players to shame in our athletic-stick-figure phase 3. Each side had about 3 players with OK or better skills. Even before the rain, more that half of both teams were not up to scratch - not surprising - most of them are very good athletes, and brave, but not footballers. Most middle school teams would have more skill. 4. The deluge came. At 3/4 time out coaches came out with whiteboards etc, and each line coach was waving arms in the air, making meaningful zone/positions/advanced stuff movements. 5. What they needed was a coach saying "It's very wet, the ball is a piece of soap. Move the ball forward immediately you get to it. Don't look for the handball or the short kick. Keep your structure up forward and don't be sucked up the ground." 6. There was no such coach. 7. We got spanked. I will reserve my thoughts about Casey Fields for when I have emerged from hypothermia and the Frankie-mobile emerges from under its three in layer of mud. 8. We need a coach who will coach to our strength. We need better skills. Sigh.

Went too Pros - Lewis - like a gift from God JKH, Stretch, Trenners, Maxy, McKenna, Oscar and Keilty( kid has something),Harmes, Hunt, Watts ,JV,and Pedo. And Chunk always. and AVB, Bugg. ANB won the coaches award for the session. Like the work being put in too last line of defence to clear the ball out. Fast ball movement evident. CONS Jesse just looks to slim Fast ball movement really exposes poor foot skills. Bernie and Hibberd's mows awful.

Thankyou to Goodvibes. Reports such as yours make for a wonderful read at this time of year. This report below is sourced from a poster known as Brady over at Demonology "So I headed to Maroochydore this morning expecting the boys to have a pretty solid session, and it definitely was.Over 3 hours out in the 30+ degree heat. I would have left just before midday and they still hadn't finished up. The sessions started with some standard kick to kick and lane work before they got into some 12 on 10 full field match stuff. There was a group of 10 on the sideline in a resting group. The two teams would go full tilt for 3-4 minutes before one would swap with the resting team. Two players wore orange bibs and would always be on the attacking side to create an outnumber 10 to 12. The countdown timer on the scoreboard was set to 25 minutes and they went at it until it was up. Over on the other field was the rehab group which today consisted of Tyson, Kennedy, Kent, Spencer, Jetta, Wagner, Hibberd and Brayshaw. Not sure why a few of them were in this group but maybe they were just being managed or have a little niggle or two. They were doing laps at a pretty good pace to start with before moving into some 100m runs / sprints They then a little later moved into boxing. Out on the main field the group went into 15 v 15 full match play. Goodwin would kick the ball to a player in the back pocket then it was on. They went at it until a goal or point was kicked. The ball moved at a very good pace. You can definitely identify the game plan now. This went on for another 25 / 30 minutes, before the team headed into the cool room for 15 minutes, I think this was a "half time". As Brendan McCartney walked into the rooms he said to all of us supporters watching "don't worry guys, we aren't done with them yet, they've got another 60 minutes of hard work to go, you'll see some tired boys out there soon" he wasn't lying. They came back out and the mids split and did some boundary throw in work while the forwards and backs did some contested work inside forward 50, with the forwards trying to stop the backs getting it out. Once this finished I decided to head off as it was stinking hot in the sun but I heard one of the coaches say they had around 25 minutes to go "the last quarter" A very big session! Some individual performances I noticed - Lewis - well as everyone already knows, this guy is all class. He will add a level head out there, calm under pressure and time after time hit the target to a leading Hogan or Weideman coming out of the forward 50. Looking like he has dropped a kg or two. He will add a huge amount to the team. Oliver - He was in everything. In the match simulation he would of been one of the leading possession winners out there. Used it well too. I think it could be a good year for him to come. Knows how to find the footy. Petracca - Beast! I am so excited to see this guy out there this year. He moves so well and was another who racked up the possessions today. Played across half forward and pushed up into the midfield. He could absolutely dominate a couple of games this season. I really believe that. Others who caught my eye were Bernie, Hogan, Weideman (who has definitely put on a few kgs) Gawn who just did his thing. JKH got a lot of the ball but would have turned it over or shanked the kick probably 50% of the time. He needs to fix this if he wants any chance of making the 22 this year. Anyway, overall, having come and watch the boys train at Maroochydore the last 3 years. I can honestly say this has been the best I have seen them train. That might be to do with the time of year it is as we are only weeks away from games but there was such a positive vibe around the group and they went at it full tilt. You can tell they are ready to get stuck into the 2017 season now. Cheers and Go Dees!"

It was a glorious morning down at Maroochydore fields. I decided to take my shirt off to get a bit of sun on the rig. I've been doing yoga on the beach every morning so I'm in pretty good shape, it's probably why Spencer was staring at me. The players did some drills with the ball, Petracca looked tired, I told him if he took his shirt off it would be easier. I spoke to Pedo about his weight loss, he said he just stopped eating the freshly baked cookies that Watts brings in to every training session. Hogan kicked the ball at the goals, he used his opposite foot a few times. His stutter wasn't as prominent. I spoke to Macca who said they've put a device on Hogan that electrocutes him whenever he stutters or his body language appears negative. I asked Goody if it was a hard decision to delist Crossy. He didn't say anything and just walked away, he's a bit of a jokester like that. I joked back by yelling out to him that I was going to unfriend him on Facebook. I have to leave now, D & G have a sale on pants, I hope all the 32 regulars haven't sold out.

You're not suggesting that Roos lied to us when he said he didn't know Frawley was leaving are you? But your point is well made. We've been methodical and successful with our list management since Todd Viney took over. That, and the fact that Jason Taylor hasn't put a foot wrong.

Sorry, I don't know what is the problem? The surface at Casey is simply first class. The conditions for viewing...similar to the same as at Box Hill, Footscray, Princes park, Holden centre, Punt Road etc. These are 2nd level locations for the 2nd level ( VFL) sides. Environment....dependant upon what comes from the sky...there is no such thing as a rain belt outside mountainous areas. What's worse? Try North Ballarat in winter, or Williamstown on a windy day, or North Port after a storm.

Freeman with the first TD!!! I'M IN THE MONEY!!! Woot!

Jesse made an interesting comment on Goodwin: “I can’t fault him so far, he’s been unreal and it will be good to see what he’s like in a game situation and see if he can keep his cool like he does at training.” http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-02-05/hogan-aims-to-be-a-leader-in-attack Even tho Goodwin has been around a few years he will still get a honeymoon period so I reckon he will keep his cool, at least in public. Behind closed doors I suspect the players will get his wrath when warranted. A short but good interview. Jesse sounds like he is maturing rapidly, that he aspires to become a leader of our young forward line. Good on him. I think he nailed the benefit of recruiting Hibberd ("...older half-back that we haven’t had for the last few years...") and Lewis ( “...has been a wealth of knowledge and his experience is something money can’t buy.")

Mr leg our seconds team seemed to win quite well there in recent years. All the loss yesterdays says to me is that we were the poorer of the two sides. Both teams had to play in the same conditions. The lions were up to the job of winning and we were not. The simple fact is that yesterday the Lady dees were inferior to the lions.

Nuke the joint.

FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW by Georgina on the Outer In a game of firsts, the new AFLW Demons side lowered their colours to the Brisbane Lions in what became a scrappy tussle. But this was the game that had firsts and more firsts. The first ever game for a womens team playing for the Melbourne Football Club. The first ever game played at Casey Fields for AFL championship points. The first time an AFL level game had to be stopped due to the danger of lightning strike! And it was entertaining to boot! The first quarter was played mostly in idyllic conditions in front of what must have been a crowd of 10-15K. The locals turned out in their droves with kids in tow, and demonstrated why the MFC investment in the Casey alignment is starting to pay off. The Melbourne supporters also turned up in their droves, but what was truly surprising was the strong contingent of women supporters for both sides. Girls who obviously play the game at lower levels, but were there just the same. All in all it was an impressive start, but the Demons squandered their chances. While conditions were conducive to a free running and quick ball movement the Demons took advantage. Daisy Pearce was simply a class above anyone else on the field, but we only have one of her. The ball finished up multiple times in the forward line, but the forwards simply weren’t there, didn’t play in front or couldn’t kick relatively simply opportunities when they presented. Despite multiple attacks the Demons had 4 behinds to show for it while the Lions with barely a single forward thrust scored a major. Then the storm hit. Lightning and thunder struck overhead, and the field umpires took the players off the field. Rather wisely it would seem as the skies turned black and the torrential rain began. All was not lost during that period as the crowd on the other wing was entertained by the security guard trying to put on a poncho while the wind and rain tried its hardest to remove it from him. A few renditions of The Village Peoples' “Macho man” helped him along, but it was finally one of the mothers in the crowd who showed him where his head was supposed to fit. Unfortunately, too late, because the rain then stopped following a 10 or 15 minute delay and all returned. But the Melbourne side seemed unaware that the ground was now drenched, with a slippery cake of soap substituting for the ball. They continued to try to play dry weather football, handballing and kicking short. It didn’t work time and time again, while Brisbane simply scrambled the ball forward to their advantage. Melbourne then helped the situation with two 50 metre penalties for running over the mark, both which resulted in goals. And that became the difference between winning and losing. Mel Hickey tried everything to lift the side around the packs, and Daisy was moved forward to try to provide some spark, but it was to no avail. Elise O’Dea and Karne Paxman put in more than creditable performances, but there were simply too many Melbourne players who barely troubled the statisticians. At least, the Demons are only a game out of the top four let's hope that they go into next week's game against Collingwood with more than one goal in mind which is what both teams achieved at the weekend. This was a great first game, the result may not have been what we wanted, the conditions weren’t the best, but let's remember that Paul Kelly (the singer, not the footballer) one said that "from little things, big things grow". This competition has a great future, and it is hoped the fans continue to support it in full. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.4.10 1.4.10 1.4.10 Brisbane Lions 0.0.0 2.0.12 2.1.13 4.1.25 Goals Melbourne Grierson Brisbane Lions Campbell Frederick-Traub Gibson McCarthy Best Melbourne Pearce Paxman O'Dea Hickey Brisbane Lions Virgo Bates Frederick-Traub Kaslar Randall Crowd approx. 6,000 at Casey Fields

We've selected some really poor players with first round draft picks and we've done some dumb trades previously, but Kelly for Tyson and Salem ain't in either of these categories. In fact, it was a super astute trade.

What often isn't mentioned is how other teams go at the SB runner-up really hard. All we ever seem to hear about are the teams who go after the SB winner. So Atlanta can expect stronger opposition next season - in any given game. They'll need to be ready. However, Atlanta have got a really good roster and they're a high scoring team but, that NFC South division could be on for young & old. The Panthers will be dirty about how they played this season and the Saints & Tampa are both very capable on any given Sunday. Rather than stewing on the loss the focus has to go onto simply winning the division next season - as it should always be. It's as simple as that. These sort of losses can galvanise or fragment. Strong leadership will be needed and if that happens, the Falcons will bounce back.

Cheers macca. Happy to share. NFL can be the easiest to shut down at times but it seems that the play callers try and trick and trick and trick until they trick themselves out of the easiest and best option.

Sorry JV that is awful. I finished re watching the second half and I'm still dumb founded at the turn around by the Pats. Brady will get a lot of accolades but I think belichick is the MVP. To adjust the way they did being down 28-3 is huge. Atlanta had done enough on defense but we're on the field a lot on in the first half and the more plays you have the more belichick can uncover a weakness.

Yeah, because that's always been the argument, hasn't it, Ethan. Here we go. Let's try this. Radicalised Muslims (tiny minority), peaceful Muslims (vast majority). You won't find many people/anyone arguing that fundamentalist Islam is a good thing. But what also happens when you blindly go into countries and bomb them, is that they tend to lead to proving what the fundamentalists are saying about the war-mongering Americans and the West. It creates radicalised pockets of the Muslim world that wouldn't be otherwise and the killing and terror continues. Not to mention that every time, historically, forces have invaded the Middle East, it has created a vacuum for a much more radical Islam. When Reagan had the CIA operating in Afghanistan and helping the resistance to overthrow the Russian occupation, as soon as the Russians left, the same forces that the Americans had trained formed the Taliban and came back to get the Americans. Every time you bomb places mindlessly, you create more terrorists. It's actually that simple. It's the major reason why the Right kept saying Clinton was going to cause World War 3, because she had a fascination with bringing down the al-Assad regime in Syria. He, by the way, is a bloodthirsty tyrant, as bad, if not worse than Saddam. As was his father. Anyhow, the Americans under Obama fought Syria by proxy, but even if they'd overthrown al-Assad, that would only have created a vacuum for ISIS to take control. But now that Trump's in power, everyone on the Right is okay with an invasion in the Middle East or a war in the South China Sea. Hypocrisy central. Oh and Trump cosying up to the Russians is insane, as they've been backing al-Assad's regime in Syria and Syria's mortal enemy is Saudi Arabia, who is probably America's closest ally in the Middle East. It is not going to end well.

What the...? Invading a a country is "communication and friendship"? Are you proposing "eye for an eye" with my Nephew-in-law who works as an electrical engineer for a major company and who happens to have been born Muslim? ive no problem with "eye for an eye" if you get the bad guy's eye, but I'm not that impressed when you get his neighbour's (ie invading Iraq was about the worst piece of idiotic warmongering I've seen in my lifetime; all it did was ramp up fundamentalism)

Yeah you're not wrong. A large, properly built grandstand would do wonders for the ground. I wonder if because the addition of the AFLW games and JLT games there, if the City of Casey is looking into investing in one. I doubt it, but it would be pretty great to have as a windbreaker as well.

I just don't get it... You have the ball on your own 20 yard line, you call 3 run plays and kick the field goal!! Why get fancy & call pass plays. Just run 3 times, take time off the clock & make it a 11 point lead with 4 minutes to go.. Baffling

Werribee has a little stand and better protection, PP and Punt Rd are much better. Coburg is better with a much bigger hill. Williamstown has a grand stand, Trevor Barker Oval has a stand and is a much smaller ground so much easier to see. Windy Hill has grand stands and Ballarat has a social facility. No ground is as exposed and all grounds have raised areas to give you a chance of seeing the game. Casey is the worst ground in the VFL for actually seeing the game which is what spectators go to do. It might be ok for the few who get to stand where Drunkin does but for the rest it's just terrible. As for playing conditions I'm not sure it's worse than a lot of the grounds but others are better. Why the Casey boys haven't planted a few trees around the ground is just silly. I'll go there because I like watching our team play but it's awful. Thankfully the burgers are great!

I reckon Jack's breakout year was due in no small part to the arrival and mentoring by Brendon McCartney. He seemed to spend a great deal of time with Jack last year and it wouldn't surprise me if he was told to treat Watts as a special case/project when he arrived at the club. To be honest, I think Watts should have arrived well before now, but I'm happy he is at last getting there.

Except the RFC don't want to share and do not have to so where does that leaves your plan? Also the MFC are trying to establish a following in the Casey region it is a little hard to do that playing games at Richmond.

I wont be settled until it's litreally impossible for them to come back

This is gonna be hard for the Pats to come back. Atlanta can just play the effective run game and hold onto the ball.

Spot on both teams were on the same ground in the same conditions. One adapted and the other good soundly beaten.

Well argued 'Drunkn'... The only problem I have with the ground apart from location is that if you are not so lucky to be watching from the balcony I don't find it to be a very good viewing ground from a spectators point of view.

Handy ...as they are the Casey Demons now

when you look at those numbers, the biggest differential is the 18 months age gap that tyson has on kelly. also interesting that whilst dom makes 1 more 'clanger' per game, his actual de% is higher, and obviously as an inside player dom's clearances are slightly higher and kelly's i50s are slightly higher. both are very, very good players - easy to argue that kelly's ceiling is higher, but i think the trade in and of itself is a classic win-win.

Trump Enterprises is the latest rumour.

I like demons. I don't give a crap about scorpions.

They played in "alternative" conditions apparently

Welcome to the Oval Casey-fields. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face. You can check any time you like, But you can never leave.

Classic Col Sylvia move.

What i will add is that we missed a golden opportunity to sign Darcy Vescio as a marquee playee. Daisy was the right decision but the decision to sign Mel Hickey who is 30 years old was poor. Darcy is also from my hometown and i have seen her player for years and she is a dead set freak. You only have to see the way she turned it on friday night to see what a superstar she'll be. She is the type of player that will bring fans through gates and her along with Daisy would have been the perfect face for MFCW. I am also very bias as her father is my neighbor and best mate who is currently helping me renovate my house.

After the last decade i wouldn't be advising any MFC players to strike for more cash they have already been overpaid