Demonland

THE LOSEST EBB by KC from Casey The Casey Scorpions ended their most disappointing season in recent years with a 17-point home ground loss to Coburg on Sunday. The Scorpions, who have been VFL finalists in every season since the inception of the alignment with the Melbourne Football Club but the loss at the hands of stand-alone Coburg left them 15th on the ladder, ahead only of Bendigo which has disbanded now that the season has come to an end. To that extent, the club has reached its lowest ebb. The opening of the game was scrappy and not conducive to scoring. Indeed, it was not until the opening quarter had passed its halfway mark that the Scorpions scored the first goal of the match through Jake Best. However, the momentum shifted late in the term with Coburg booting three goals in time on (including one on the siren) to take a two goal lead into the first break. The Lions looked to be in control early in the term but a change came over the game with another momentum shift brought about by some strong play from midfielders Aidan Riley who was a prolific ball winner and Demon rookie James Harmes. The Scorpions played inspired football kicking five goals on end including two to second gamer 194cm Joe Fisscher from Old Haileybury who finished with three on the day and, when skipper Evan Panozza drifted forward for a goal, Casey suddenly held a 13 point lead. However, Coburg managed to regroup with two goals in the moments before the main break including another goal on the siren which leveled the scores. The third quarter was an arm-wrestle with neither side being able to assert itself. When the siren sounded at three quarter time, the Scorpions had their noses in front by two points. That scenario continued for the first ten minutes of the final term until the visitors broke through with three consecutive goals to hold a 17-point lead late in the term. Fisscher's third goal provided a faint glimmer of hope before a Coburg reply put the result beyond doubt. In the aftermath of the game comes the news that Melbourne and Casey are having talks this week over the future of senior coach Rohan Welsh whose two-year contract has expired. Welsh has had a frustrating year with injury woes affecting the make up of his VFL list and also limiting the availability of AFL listed rucks and key position players. The silver lining is that a number of young locals in Ed Morris, Bryce Rutherford, Angus Scott, Jake Thomas and Fisscher have been given the opportunity to show their wares at senior level. However, the fact that the Scorpions plummeted from finalists to the lowest placed of the ongoing VFL teams in 2015 suggests that there is a lot of work to do in its preparation for the future. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 9.7.61 10.9.69 Coburg 3.2.20 7.4.46 9.4.58 13.8.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher 3 Best 2 Blease Harmes McKenzie Panozza Petropoulos Coburg Hill 3 Cooper Uysal 2 Carnell Clark Featherstone Saad Thomas Younan Best Casey Scorpions Riley Harmes Petropoulos Kennedy-Harris Fisscher Georgiou Coburg Venditti Thomas Uysal Saad Featherstone Hartley Statistics Dom Barry 1 behind 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 44 Dream Team Points Sam Blease 1 goal 22 disposals 18 kicks 4 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 77 Dream Team Points Mitch Clisby 1 behind 18 disposals 8 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 72 Dream Team Points Michael Evans 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 59 Dream Team Points James Harmes 1 goal 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 77 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 12 disposals 8 kicks 4 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 54 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 87 Dream Team Points Max King 8 disposals 3 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 15 hit outs 50 Dream Team Points Jordie McKenzie 1 goal 1 behind 27 disposals 12 kicks 15 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 91 Dream Team Points Dan Nicholson 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 62 Dream Team Points Aidan Riley 39 disposals 16 kicks 23 handballs 3 marks 10 tackles 142 Dream Team Points James Strauss 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 75 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott 1 behind 1 disposal 1 kick 1 mark 2 tackles 15 Dream Team Points (injured in first quarter) Dean Terlich 23 disposals 15 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out Dream 92 Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 20 disposals 13 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 82 Dream Team Points After a slow start the Scorpions' development team recorded a runaway five goal victory to avoid the wooden spoon. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 6.4.40 10.6.66 13.10.88 Coburg 3.2.20 6.5.41 7.8.50 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Lang 4 Rennie 3 Anderson Del Papa Murray Russell West Wyatt Coburg Cleary 3 Anderson Bzenic Lindon Ryan Saad Best Casey Scorpions Lang Waters Shiels Jackson Corrigan Drew Coburg Totino Ellard Cleary Robinson Saad Thomas

The Casey Scorpions ended their most disappointing season in recent years with a 17-point home ground loss to Coburg on Sunday. The Scorpions, who have been VFL finalists in every season since the inception of the alignment with the Melbourne Football Club but the loss at the hands of stand-alone Coburg left them 15th on the ladder, ahead only of Bendigo which has disbanded now that the season has come to an end. To that extent, the club has reached its lowest ebb. The opening of the game was scrappy and not conducive to scoring. Indeed, it was not until the opening quarter had passed its halfway mark that the Scorpions scored the first goal of the match through Jake Best. However, the momentum shifted late in the term with Coburg booting three goals in time on (including one on the siren) to take a two goal lead into the first break. The Lions looked to be in control early in the term but a change came over the game with another momentum shift brought about by some strong play from midfielders Aidan Riley who was a prolific ball winner and Demon rookie James Harmes. The Scorpions played inspired football kicking five goals on end including two to second gamer 194cm Joe Fisscher from Old Haileybury who finished with three on the day and, when skipper Evan Panozza drifted forward for a goal, Casey suddenly held a 13 point lead. However, Coburg managed to regroup with two goals in the moments before the main break including another goal on the siren which leveled the scores. The third quarter was an arm-wrestle with neither side being able to assert itself. When the siren sounded at three quarter time, the Scorpions had their noses in front by two points. That scenario continued for the first ten minutes of the final term until the visitors broke through with three consecutive goals to hold a 17-point lead late in the term. Fisscher's third goal provided a faint glimmer of hope before a Coburg reply put the result beyond doubt. In the aftermath of the game comes the news that Melbourne and Casey are having talks this week over the future of senior coach Rohan Welsh whose two-year contract has expired. Welsh has had a frustrating year with injury woes affecting the make up of his VFL list and also limiting the availability of AFL listed rucks and key position players. The silver lining is that a number of young locals in Ed Morris, Bryce Rutherford, Angus Scott, Jake Thomas and Fisscher have been given the opportunity to show their wares at senior level. However, the fact that the Scorpions plummeted from finalists to the lowest placed of the ongoing VFL teams in 2015 suggests that there is a lot of work to do in its preparation for the future. 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 9.7.61 10.9.69 Coburg 3.2.20 7.4.46 9.4.58 13.8.86 Goals Casey Scorpions Fisscher 3 Best 2 Blease Harmes McKenzie Panozza Petropoulos Coburg Hill 3 Cooper Uysal 2 Carnell Clark Featherstone Saad Thomas Younan Best Casey Scorpions Riley Harmes Petropoulos Kennedy-Harris Fisscher Georgiou Coburg Venditti Thomas Uysal Saad Featherstone Hartley Statistics Dom Barry 1 behind 11 disposals 4 kicks 7 handballs 3 marks 2 tackles 44 Dream Team Points Sam Blease 1 goal 22 disposals 18 kicks 4 handballs 2 marks 1 tackle 77 Dream Team Points Mitch Clisby 1 behind 18 disposals 8 kicks 10 handballs 6 marks 2 tackles 72 Dream Team Points Michael Evans 15 disposals 7 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 59 Dream Team Points James Harmes 1 goal 1 behind 17 disposals 10 kicks 7 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 77 Dream Team Points Alexis Georgiou 12 disposals 8 kicks 4 handballs 6 marks 1 tackles 54 Dream Team Points Jay Kennedy-Harris 1 behind 25 disposals 15 kicks 10 handballs 3 marks 4 tackles 87 Dream Team Points Max King 8 disposals 3 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 15 hit outs 50 Dream Team Points Jordie McKenzie 1 goal 1 behind 27 disposals 12 kicks 15 handballs 3 marks 3 tackles 91 Dream Team Points Dan Nicholson 15 disposals 10 kicks 5 handballs 4 marks 2 tackles 62 Dream Team Points Aidan Riley 39 disposals 16 kicks 23 handballs 3 marks 10 tackles 142 Dream Team Points James Strauss 17 disposals 11 kicks 6 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 75 Dream Team Points Luke Tapscott 1 behind 1 disposal 1 kick 1 mark 2 tackles 15 Dream Team Points (injured in first quarter) Dean Terlich 23 disposals 15 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out Dream 92 Team Points Jimmy Toumpas 20 disposals 13 kicks 7 handballs 2 marks 2 tackles 82 Dream Team Points After a slow start the Scorpions' development team recorded a runaway five goal victory to avoid the wooden spoon. 2014 AFL Victoria Development League Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 6.4.40 10.6.66 13.10.88 Coburg 3.2.20 6.5.41 7.8.50 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Lang 4 Rennie 3 Anderson Del Papa Murray Russell West Wyatt Coburg Cleary 3 Anderson Bzenic Lindon Ryan Saad Best Casey Scorpions Lang Waters Shiels Jackson Corrigan Drew Coburg Totino Ellard Cleary Robinson Saad Thomas

I assume there will be a full drug test prior to the game. Too soon?

It was a brief 10 minute or so burst inspired by that little Harvey pest that made the difference. MELBOURNE B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta HB: Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Jack Grimes C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross HF: Rohan Bail, James Frawley, Cameron Pedersen F: Dean Kent, Chris Dawes, Jack Watts FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson I/C: Matt Jones, Jordie McKenzie, Aidan Riley, Christian Salem EMG: Sam Blease Dan Nicholson Dean Terlich NO CHANGE NORTH MELBOURNE B: Luke McDonald, Scott D Thompson, Lachlan Hansen HB: Shaun Atley, Michael Firrito, Aaron Mullett C: Sam Gibson, Andrew Swallow, Levi Greenwood HF: Nick Dal Santo, Robbie Tarrant, Brent Harvey F: Aaron Black, Drew Petrie, Lindsay Thomas FOLL: Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington I/C: Leigh Adams, Ryan Bastinac, Brad McKenzie, Robin Nahas EMG: Liam Anthony, Ben Brown, Trent Dumont IN: Brad McKenzie OUT: Liam Anthony

I think I may have solved the double posting issue which was occurring if you were writing a post in the Fast Reply box. If whilst you were writing that post another poster made a post a little floating drop down box would appear at the top of the page alerting you to the fact that another post had been written since you last saw the thread and if at this time you posted something the post would not appear to be posted and you would hit post again thereby causing a double post. I changed a setting in the back end and it appears to have fixed this issue. If you are continuing to make double posts then please let me know and let me know what you did that made the double post occur. Thanks.

I'll be in again.

Our correspondent William from West Perth was at the game. Here's his story as told to Whispering Jack You could have been forgiven if you thought that the Melbourne bus had arrived at Patersons Stadium well into the time on period of the first quarter because, by the time the Dees started playing, the Eagles already had a score of 4.1.25. When Melbourne did arrive the team was downright embarrassing. On the long Subiaco ground, they picked their tallest side for the year but they never really gave the big blokes a chance. You would have thought that they might have put in an effort to move the ball quickly in their direction to take full advantage of their height but instead they stumbled and fumbled and persisted in moving the ball sideways until they turned it over or gave away a stupid free kick. With the West Coast Eagles still in the hunt for a finals place and percentage always likely to play a part in deciding their participation, it was unlikely that they were going to take this game easily. They outsmarted the visitors at every turn and were doing so even before the game started. As already mentioned, Melbourne had selected a top heavy side for this ground and that played into West Coast's hands. The decision to omit giant Nick Naitanui with 179cm running defender Adam Carter left another mismatch in favour of the home side that had its run and spread down pat on the night. As a result, they had no trouble dealing with their tired, slow, disjointed and out-of- form opponents. They pulled up in the end content with a 66 point win and a perfect lead up to the final round. What can I say about Melbourne? Well, one thing it did well was that it furthered its case for a priority pick. On that performance, the odds on a favourable decision would have improved. Playing his 150th game, Bernie Vince stood out like a beacon. He kicked the team's first goal late in the opening quarter with a great snap and never stopped working on his way to picking up 34 possessions. Daniel Cross did the job on Matt Priddis and the club's two most reliable players for the season, skipper Nathan Jones and another 2014 newcomer in Dom Tyson worked their butts off as did Rohan Bail. There were unfortunately however, too many who weren't up to it on the night. They played without skill, thought or heart and once again, the match statistics said it all. They had more disposals, won the contested possessions, hit outs, stoppages and were close in the clearances but once again lost by more than 10 goals. What they lacked was the ingredient that makes the game exciting and is the icing on the cake that generates scores these days - plenty of running and spreading and smart play. These things add excitement to a game and enthusiasm to a team which is something the Eagles had plenty of and the Demons had none on the night. Melbourne1.1.7 3.3.21 5.4.34 8.5.53 West Coast 6.1.37 9.5.59 16.9.105 18.11.119 Goals Melbourne Fitzpatrick 2 Bail Dawes Howe Pedersen Tyson Vince West Coast Kennedy LeCras 4 Darling 3 Hill 2 Cripps Gaff Lycett McGinnity Shuey Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Tyson Howe Bail West Coast LeCras Masten Gaff Shuey Hurn Mackenzie Injuries Melbourne Garland (knee) West Coast Hutchings (thigh) Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nick Naitanui replaced by Adam Carter in the selected side. Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Craig Fleer, Luke Farmer, Matthew Leppard Official Attendance 35,083 at Patersons Stadium

Our correspondent William from West Perth was at the game. Here's his story as told to Whispering Jack OUTSMARTED by William from West Perth You could have been forgiven if you thought that the Melbourne bus had arrived at Patersons Stadium well into the time on period of the first quarter because, by the time the Dees started playing, the Eagles already had a score of 4.1.25. When Melbourne did arrive the team was downright embarrassing. On the long Subiaco ground, they picked their tallest side for the year but they never really gave the big blokes a chance. You would have thought that they might have put in an effort to move the ball quickly in their direction to take full advantage of their height but instead they stumbled and fumbled and persisted in moving the ball sideways until they turned it over or gave away a stupid free kick. With the West Coast Eagles still in the hunt for a finals place and percentage always likely to play a part in deciding their participation, it was unlikely that they were going to take this game easily. They outsmarted the visitors at every turn and were doing so even before the game started. As already mentioned, Melbourne had selected a top heavy side for this ground and that played into West Coast's hands. The decision to omit giant Nick Naitanui with 179cm running defender Adam Carter left another mismatch in favour of the home side that had its run and spread down pat on the night. As a result, they had no trouble dealing with their tired, slow, disjointed and out-of- form opponents. They pulled up in the end content with a 66 point win and a perfect lead up to the final round. What can I say about Melbourne? Well, one thing it did well was that it furthered its case for a priority pick. On that performance, the odds on a favourable decision would have improved. Playing his 150th game, Bernie Vince stood out like a beacon. He kicked the team's first goal late in the opening quarter with a great snap and never stopped working on his way to picking up 34 possessions. Daniel Cross did the job on Matt Priddis and the club's two most reliable players for the season, skipper Nathan Jones and another 2014 newcomer in Dom Tyson worked their butts off as did Rohan Bail. There were unfortunately however, too many who weren't up to it on the night. They played without skill, thought or heart and once again, the match statistics said it all. They had more disposals, won the contested possessions, hit outs, stoppages and were close in the clearances but once again lost by more than 10 goals. What they lacked was the ingredient that makes the game exciting and is the icing on the cake that generates scores these days - plenty of running and spreading and smart play. These things add excitement to a game and enthusiasm to a team which is something the Eagles had plenty of and the Demons had none on the night. Melbourne1.1.7 3.3.21 5.4.34 8.5.53 West Coast 6.1.37 9.5.59 16.9.105 18.11.119 Goals Melbourne Fitzpatrick 2 Bail Dawes Howe Pedersen Tyson Vince West Coast Kennedy LeCras 4 Darling 3 Hill 2 Cripps Gaff Lycett McGinnity Shuey Best Melbourne Vince N Jones Cross Tyson Howe Bail West Coast LeCras Masten Gaff Shuey Hurn Mackenzie Injuries Melbourne Garland (knee) West Coast Hutchings (thigh) Changes Melbourne Nil West Coast Nick Naitanui replaced by Adam Carter in the selected side. Reports Melbourne Nil West Coast Nil Umpires Craig Fleer, Luke Farmer, Matthew Leppard Official Attendance 35,083 at Patersons Stadium