Demonland

POLISH AND DEMOLISH by K C from Casey The Casey Scorpions put on a polished display in gloomy conditions at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval to demolish Sandringham by 65 points on Saturday. Apart from an earlier arm wrestle during which the home team kicked three goals to two in the first half of the opening term, the Scorpions held the ascendency throughout the match despite a latter flutter when the Zebs kicked two goals in the shadows of the half time siren to get within 18 points. As has often happened in the season to date, Casey produced the goods in the all-important "premiership quarter" when it exerted enormous pressure across the ground and kept the home team goalless while kicking three goals four behinds. This set up a slashing final term wherein the Scorpions coasted to win by more than ten goals. Sandy was held goalless from late in the second term until after the 15 minute mark of the last. Max Gawn led the forwards with some strong marking and four goals (and won plenty of hit outs) and the beanpole ruckman overshadowed young up and coming future start Jesse Hogan who also was good in the air and on the ground. Sam Blease and young Jimmy Toumpas were exciting while Tom Couch, Danny Nicholls and James Magner collected plenty of possessions in a dominant and matchwinning midfield. Youngster Mitch Gent also had a big game and is showing noticeable improvement on a weekly basis. Rory Taggert is another youngster whose performance would have gladdened the hearts of Demon fans. Like many others at the club his advancement has been hindered by injury - in this case a debilitating back problem. He was dangerous all afternoon and booted four goals. He has talent but might not make the step up until later in the season. Casey meets Collingwood on Saturday in the preview of the big Queens Birthday fixture at the MCG. A big crowd is expected at Casey Fields. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dominic Barry 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles Sam Blease 14 kicks 2 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 10 tackles 2 goals 2 behinds Mitch Clisby 15 kicks 10 handballs 25 disposals 8 marks 5 tackles Tom Couch 22 kicks 11 handballs 33 disposals 1 mark 13 tackles 2 behinds Troy Davis 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles Max Gawn 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 9 marks 1 tackle 35 hit outs 4 goals 3 behinds Tom Gillies 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles Jesse Hogan 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 1 goal 1 behind Neville Jetta 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 6 tackles 1 goal James Magner 19 kicks 8 handballs 27 disposals 11 marks 8 tackles 1 goal 1 behind James Sellar 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 9 marks 1 tackle Jake Spencer 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 24 hit outs 1 goal 3 behinds Rory Taggert 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 4 goals Jimmy Toumpas 13 kicks 9 handballs 22 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles Josh Tynan 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 12 tackles 1 goal Casey Scorpions 4.3.27 9.6.60 12.10.82 18.15.123 Sandringham 3.2.20 6.6.42 6.9.45 8.10.58 Goals Casey Scorpions Gawn Taggert 4 Nicholls 3 Blease 2 Hogan Jetta Magner Spencer Tynan Sandringham Dennis-Lane 4 Lee 2 Curren Michaliades Best Casey Scorpions Nicholls Blease Sellar Couch Gawn Taggert Sandringham Shakallis Dennis-Lane Cockie Saunders Dunell Lee In the development league, Casey started slowly but a good fightback in the third term saw the Scorps ahead at the final break before the home side fell in by 3 points. Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 2.1.13 5.3.33 6.5.41 Sandringham 2.2.14 3.3.21 4.7.31 6.8.44 Goals Casey Scorpions Boland Hill McInnes Matthews Riseley Rosier Sandringham Taylor 2 Batson Howes McKay Teirnan Best Casey Scorpions Lindsay Hill Pollard Riseley Anderson Roberts Sandringham Taylor Teirnan Maitland Williams Ong Coates

After the game, the coach explained: ''If the criteria was to have won 12 games by now, I don't reckon we would have taken Jesse Hogan at pick three and we sure as hell wouldn't have taken a kid that had two hip operations at pick four.'' He wasn't telling us that his arithmetic is poor or that his employers were idiots who can't count either given that he was commenting after just the 10th game of the season but that Rome wasn't built in a day. The problem is that when I visited the Italian capital city a few years ago, I saw a lot of ruined buildings and I'm worried that, at the pace with which the Melbourne is developing at the moment, the MCG might well look a little like the Colosseum when the Demons are next able to cope with the Hawks. Well, enough with the poor attempts at sarcasm. The fact was there to see that despite Melbourne's best efforts, the team was monstered by a far more experienced and accomplished outfit which had more depth and was therefore able to overwhelm a young opponent early and without a great deal of trouble. The best indicator of that was the difference between the playmakers of the respective teams. Brad Sewell (who could easily have been a Demon today but that's another story) picked up 31 disposals for the game and, in doing so, was in balance an attacking force for his team having a hand in setting up so many scoring opportunities in his team's easy win. Of course, he had plenty of classy midfielders around him as back up. On the other hand, Nathan Jones got his hands on the ball 28 times and while it was a tremendous effort on his part, his work was often the stuff of defending against the odds, under packs, under enormous pressure and just getting his team out of pickles caused by others making simple skill errors. Were he a Hawk, he would almost certainly have been best on ground but as a Demon, he simply didn't have the luxury of 21 others around him working their butts off as he does. One bright light was the performance of Chris Dawes who provided a target up forward and a glimmer of what might have been had Mitch Clark stayed healthy for more than just the first four weeks. James Frawley and Colin Garland were grand defenders and will form part of a terrific defence one day when Rome starts developing a suburban sprawl and Jeremy Howe showed his potential at times. Dean Kent is a keep as well. Other than that, there wasn't enough class and the work rate was still below what is expected to remain competitive with the lower ranked teams, let alone a premiership contender. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.7.13 5.10.40 6.12.48 Hawthorn 3.9.27 12.10.82 14.14.98 21.17.143 Goals Melbourne Davey Dawes Evans Howe Kent Watts Hawthorn Breust 5 Roughead 3 Franklin Hill Puopolo Smith 2 Birchall, Burgoyne Grimley Lewis Simpkin Best Melbourne N Jones Dawes Frawley Garland Howe Terlich Hawthorn Sewell Lewis Breust Puopolo Burgoyne Birchall Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Umpires Hay Farmer Mitchell Crowd 28,546 at the MCG

PROGRESS VOTING ROUND 10 85. Nathan Jones 67. Colin Garland 59. Matt Jones 55. Jeremy Howe 42. Dean Terlich 40. James Frawley 39. Jack Viney 31. Colin Sylvia 26. Jack Grimes 24. Aaron Davey 23. Shannon Byrnes Michael Evans 16. Max Gawn 14. Chris Dawes 12. James Magner 11. Luke Tapscott 8. Mitch Clark 6. Lynden Dunn Tom McDonald 4. Jordie McKenzie Jack Trengove Jack Watts 3. Mark Jamar Dean Kent 2. Rohan Bail David Rodan 1. Sam Blease

Game over. Let's move to Post Match Discussion

BUILDING ROME by The Oracle After the game, the coach explained: ''If the criteria was to have won 12 games by now, I don't reckon we would have taken Jesse Hogan at pick three and we sure as hell wouldn't have taken a kid that had two hip operations at pick four.'' He wasn't telling us that his arithmetic is poor or that his employers were idiots who can't count either given that he was commenting after just the 10th game of the season but that Rome wasn't built in a day. The problem is that when I visited the Italian capital city a few years ago, I saw a lot of ruined buildings and I'm worried that, at the pace with which the Melbourne is developing at the moment, the MCG might well look a little like the Colosseum when the Demons are next able to cope with the Hawks. Well, enough with the poor attempts at sarcasm. The fact was there to see that despite Melbourne's best efforts, the team was monstered by a far more experienced and accomplished outfit which had more depth and was therefore able to overwhelm a young opponent early and without a great deal of trouble. The best indicator of that was the difference between the playmakers of the respective teams. Brad Sewell (who could easily have been a Demon today but that's another story) picked up 31 disposals for the game and, in doing so, was in balance an attacking force for his team having a hand in setting up so many scoring opportunities in his team's easy win. Of course, he had plenty of classy midfielders around him as back up. On the other hand, Nathan Jones got his hands on the ball 28 times and while it was a tremendous effort on his part, his work was often the stuff of defending against the odds, under packs, under enormous pressure and just getting his team out of pickles caused by others making simple skill errors. Were he a Hawk, he would almost certainly have been best on ground but as a Demon, he simply didn't have the luxury of 21 others around him working their butts off as he does. One bright light was the performance of Chris Dawes who provided a target up forward and a glimmer of what might have been had Mitch Clark stayed healthy for more than just the first four weeks. James Frawley and Colin Garland were grand defenders and will form part of a terrific defence one day when Rome starts developing a suburban sprawl and Jeremy Howe showed his potential at times. Dean Kent is a keep as well. Other than that, there wasn't enough class and the work rate was still below what is expected to remain competitive with the lower ranked teams, let alone a premiership contender. Melbourne 0.3.3 1.7.13 5.10.40 6.12.48 Hawthorn 3.9.27 12.10.82 14.14.98 21.17.143 Goals Melbourne Davey Dawes Evans Howe Kent Watts Hawthorn Breust 5 Roughead 3 Franklin Hill Puopolo Smith 2 Birchall, Burgoyne Grimley Lewis Simpkin Best Melbourne N Jones Dawes Frawley Garland Howe Terlich Hawthorn Sewell Lewis Breust Puopolo Burgoyne Birchall Injuries Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Hawthorn Nil Umpires Hay Farmer Mitchell Crowd 28,546 at the MCG

6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...

Five minutes before the start and thankfully, scores are level.

YOU GOTTA SUPPORT THE TEAM by George on the Outer It was Jerry Seinfelds response to a question from Elaine what compels a seemingly normal human being to do something like that? So what would compel a seemingly normal Melbourne supporter to turn up and watch what could only be described as a massacre in the making? You guessed it: Now I know this is meant to be a preview but we first look at the recent history. Round 7, 2012 Melbourne 6.13 (49) Hawthorn 15.25 (115) Round 18, 2011 Melbourne 12.6 (78) Hawthorn 20.12 (132) Round 2, 2011 Melbourne 12.5 (77) Hawthorn 16.26 (122) Round 20, 2010 Melbourne 12.6 (78) Hawthorn 15.9 (99) Round 1, 2010 Melbourne 8.13 (61) Hawthorn 17.15 (117) Well theres nothing in that recent history which would inspire anyone the only common factor seems to be that Melbourne are only capable of 18 to 20 scoring shots on goal in the whole game! Phew! I thought that Mark Neeld's presence caused us to stink but it seems that we have been consistently on the nose for a long time before that, and I didnt want to dredge too far back into the past against Hawthorn, lest I come up against a certain preliminary final match in the late 80s! We do, of course, live with eternal hope. We could find someone in the side who has the same intestinal fortitude as Ben Watson in this clip: Also note we would struggle to have ANY recent pictures on the walls at the club if we used the Patriots criteria. And Watsons comment stuff like that doesnt take a whole lot of talent rings particularly with what is lacking at Melbourne today. Its all about effortits all the fans need, but they are being starved of any sort of hope until the players decide that they are prepared to put in THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Sunday 2 June 2013 at 3.20 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 81 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 40 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 15 wins The Coaches Neeld 0 wins Clarkson 1 win MEDIA TV Fox Footy 3 live at 3:00pm RADIO TBA THE BETTING Melbourne $23.00 to win Hawthorn $1.00 to win THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 15.25.115 defeated Melbourne 6.13.49 in Round 7, 2012 at the MCG The Hawks managed double the scoring shots while Melbourne's performance, like most of those against this club in particular, was a blight on the game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Lynden Dunn James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Cam Pedersen Colin Garland Centreline Jack Trengove Michael Evans Matt Jones Half forwards Luke Tapscott Jeremy Howe Rohan Bail Forwards David Rodan Chris Dawes Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald James Strauss Emergencies Daniel Nicholson James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss In Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald Cam Pedersen David Rodan James Strauss Out Shannon Byrnes (wrist) Neville Jetta Max Gawn James Magner Daniel Nicholson HAWTHORN Backs Ben Stratton Brian Lake Brent Guerra Half backs Josh Gibson Grant Birchall Sam Mitchell Centreline Isaac Smith Luke Hodge Liam Shiels Half forwards Brad Hill Lance Franklin Jordan Lewis Forwards Paul Puopolo Jarryd Roughead Luke Breust Followers David Hale Brad Sewell Shaun Burgoyne Interchange Kyle Cheney Taylor Duryea Sam Grimley Jonathan Simpkin Emergencies Max Bailey Michael Osborne Shane Savage In Grant Birchall David Hale Out Max Bailey Jack Gunston (calf) Prediction: We will run Buddy into form, Jordan Lewis will get blisters from the leather, Luke Hodge to break the bones in his foot from kicking the ball too often and the scoreboard to have not enough zeros to match the stats for the Hawks unless they use the zeros from our side of the ledger! Hawks by 15 goals.

It was Jerry Seinfeld’s response to a question from Elaine “ what compels a seemingly normal human being to do something like that?” So what would compel a seemingly normal Melbourne supporter to turn up and watch what could only be described as a massacre in the making? You guessed it: Now I know this is meant to be a preview but we first look at the recent history. Round 7, 2012 Melbourne 6.13 (49) Hawthorn 15.25 (115) Round 18, 2011 Melbourne 12.6 (78) Hawthorn 20.12 (132) Round 2, 2011 Melbourne 12.5 (77) Hawthorn 16.26 (122) Round 20, 2010 Melbourne 12.6 (78) Hawthorn 15.9 (99) Round 1, 2010 Melbourne 8.13 (61) Hawthorn 17.15 (117) Well there’s nothing in that recent history which would inspire anyone … the only common factor seems to be that Melbourne are only capable of 18 to 20 scoring shots on goal in the whole game! Phew! I thought that Mark Neeld’s presence caused us to stink but it seems that we have been consistently on the nose for a long time before that, and I didn’t want to dredge too far back into the past against Hawthorn, lest I come up against a certain preliminary final match in the late 80’s! We do, of course, live with eternal hope. We could find someone in the side who has the same “intestinal fortitude” as Ben Watson in this clip: Also note we would struggle to have ANY recent pictures on the walls at the club if we used the Patriots criteria. And Watson’s comment “ stuff like that doesn’t take a whole lot of talent” rings particularly with what is lacking at Melbourne today. It’s all about effort…it’s all the fans need, but they are being starved of any sort of hope until the players decide that they are prepared to put in … THE GAME Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG Sunday 2 June 2013 at 3.20 pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 74 wins Hawthorn 81 wins At MCG Melbourne 35 wins Hawthorn 40 wins Since 2000 Melbourne 5 wins Hawthorn 15 wins The Coaches Neeld 0 wins Clarkson 1 win MEDIA TV – TBA RADIO – TBA THE BETTING Melbourne $TBA to win Hawthorn $1.00 to win. THE LAST TIME THEY MET Hawthorn 15.25.115 defeated Melbourne 6.13.49 in Round 7, 2012 at the MCG The Hawks managed double the scoring shots while Melbourne's performance, like most of those against this club in particular, was a blight on the game. THE TEAMS MELBOURNE Backs Lynden Dunn James Frawley Dean Terlich Half backs Jack Watts Cam Pedersen Colin Garland Centreline Jack Trengove Michael Evans Matt Jones Half forwards Luke Tapscott Jeremy Howe Rohan Bail Forwards David Rodan Chris Dawes Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar Jordie McKenzie Nathan Jones Interchange Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald James Strauss Emergencies Daniel Nicholson James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss In Jack Fitzpatrick Dean Kent Joel Macdonald Cam Pedersen David Rodan James Strauss Out Shannon Byrnes (wrist) Neville Jetta Max Gawn James Magner Daniel Nicholson HAWTHORN Backs Ben Stratton Brian Lake Brent Guerra Half backs Josh Gibson Grant Birchall Sam Mitchell Centreline Isaac Smith Luke Hodge Liam Shiels Half forwards Brad Hill Lance Franklin Jordan Lewis Forwards Paul Puopolo Jarryd Roughead Luke Breust Followers David Hale Brad Sewell Shaun Burgoyne Interchange Kyle Cheney Taylor Duryea Sam Grimley Jonathan Simpkin Emergencies Max Bailey Michael Osborne Shane Savage In Grant Birchall David Hale Out Max Bailey Jack Gunston (calf) Prediction: We will run Buddy into form, Jordan Lewis get blisters from the leather, Luke Hodge to break the bones in his foot from kicking the ball too often and the scoreboard to have not enough zero’s to match the stats for the Hawks….unless they use the zero’s from our side of the ledger! Hawks by 15 goals…..

Seems to be back to normal this morning.

I'm finding the site unusable at the moment. I'm on a Mac Desktop with Telstra. Also unuseable on by iPhone with Telstra. Can other also experiencing problems report what device you are using as well as your ISP. Also let us know if your aren't experiencing issues and what ISP you are on. Not sure if that information will help but you never know.

Go for it. Let me know if you need any cash for the server upgrade.

I never usually have any issues even when it is post drubbing and the non regulars are all on board. The past few days the site has been slow as dog balls on both my desktops at work and home (both with Telstra. Work on broadband. Home on super fast cable). My phone is connected to the cafe next doors wifi and they are on optus and the site seems to be working fine. So I jumped on their wifi from my desktop and it's also snapier. Also seems faster on my iPhone on 3g with Telstra. Not sure what that tells you. Are there any issues server side?

It took about 10 or 15 second to load this page from the homepage. Still feels slow.

Wow. I didn't realise we were running that slowly. I thought it was just Trengove under an injury cloud slow ...... I kid cause i love.

No not the Demons, this website. Is anyone else experiencing slower than normal page loading? I am getting this both at work and at home. Nasher? This is a great time to plug our Subscription and Donation tabs under the Demonland Banner at the top of the page. Donations and Subscription revenue go to covering costs of maintaining the site and I always make sure that Nasher is compensated for his time and hard work on keeping the back end running smoothly.

You can post links to articles providing they are relevant to the discussion or topics relevant to the board and this community. If the articles are not your own copyrighted content then we would prefer that you not copy the whole article but perhaps quote a line or 2 with a link to the original article.

is this still a problem? Sorry for not getting back to you sooner but I've been on holidays.

It was taken off because the issue's been dealt with elsewhere. Thanks

About 12 months ago. A year before that, the Hawks exposed us in the third quarter of their game on the MCG which set the standard to this very day. MELBOURNE Backs James Frawley Jared Rivers Clint Bartram Half backs Jack Grimes Colin Garland Cale Morton Centreline Ricky Petterd Brent Moloney Jack Trengove Half forwards Nathan Jones Mitch Clark Jamie Bennell Forwards Jeremy Howe Colin Sylvia Aaron Davey Followers Mark Jamar James Magner Jordie McKenzie Interchange Rohan Bail Matthew Bate Jack Fitzpatrick Tom McDonald Emergencies Lynden Dunn Joel Macdonald Luke Tapscott In Jamie Bennell Jack Fitzpatrick Ricky Petterd Out Lynden Dunn James Sellar (calf) Luke Tapscott HAWTHORN Backs Benjamin Stratton Stephen Gilham Brent Guerra Half backs Matt Suckling Ryan Schoenmakers Grant Birchall Centreline Jordan Lewis Sam Mitchell Brendan Whitecross Half forwards Luke Breust Lance Franklin Isaac Smith Forwards Michael Osborne Jarryd Roughead Cyril Rioli Followers David Hale Shaun Burgoyne Brad Sewell Interchange Paul Puopolo Shane Savage Liam Shiels Clinton Young Emergencies Kyle Cheney Bradley Hill Broc McCauley In Stephen Gilham Clinton Young Out Jarrad Boumann Luke Hodge (knee)

From a team point of view the highlight of Casey's win against the top team Geelong on its home turf at Simonds Stadium was its ability to bounce back from a bad loss last week and a poor opening quarter this week to get to within eight points at half time, then boot 11 goals in a sensational third term before holding steady to win in the face of a dramatic finish from the Cats. However, from a club (and I'm talking about the senior member of the alignment) point of view, the highlight was the performance of 18 year old Jesse Hogan who the Demons picked as an under age recruit in last year's GWS mini draft and to a lesser extent, that of Jack Fitzpatrick. Both youngsters booted five goals each which, given the Demons collectively managed to amass only six at Paterson's Stadium later in the day, was a revelation. Scorpions coach Rohan Welsh told reporters after the game: "(Jesse's) a key forward and is obviously going to be very exciting for the Melbourne Football Club. "He's aggressive, strong and quick, (and) they're pretty hard to come by. He knows areas of his game he needs to improve, but he's got that level head on his shoulders." Hogan did more than kick five goals. He was always dangerous in the air and around the ground. He controlled the forward line when it rallied to come back in the second quarter, was breathtakingly strong and a catalyst in the third and finally, helped down in defence when the Cats clawed back to within five points point late in the game. Fitzpatrick was also superb mainly as a forward but also did well in the ruck. He combined with Jake Spencer to help the team dominate at the stoppages, especially after ¼ time. At that stage Casey was goalless and trailled by 19 points despite having one more scoring shot. The defence, led by Cam Pedersen, Troy Davis and Joel Macdonald tightened up and with Tom Couch, David Rodan and Danny Nicholls controlling the midfield battles, Casey skipped out to a 44 point lead at one stage late in the third quarter. In the final term, Geelong came back strongly but again it was Hogan and Fitzpatrick who came to the team's rescue, each with a goal. The former also went down back to execute a few timely saves and the latter doing well with his speed around the ground and his ruckwork. In the end, Casey returned to the winners list and, on a day when it was brought to its knees on the other side of the continent, Melbourne found a star or two. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dom Barry 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle - nice game on a wing but didn't star. Sam Blease 4 kicks, 3 handballs, 7 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 0 goals, 2 behinds - suffered a knock late in the second quarter which saw him off for the day but only had minor impact before that. Mitch Clisby 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals, 3 marks - provided good run off half back Tom Couch 12 kicks, 17 handballs, 29 disposals, 1 marks, 10 tackles - returned to the scene of his father's triumphs and was one of Casey's best amassing a lot of possession. Troy Davis 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle - solid in defence. Jack Fitzpatrick 10 kicks 1 handballs 11 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles 25 hitouts, 5 goals - dangerous up forward with five goals and provided excellent back up in the ruck. Jesse Hogan 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles 1 hit out, 5 goals, 1 behind - to quote a local identity from Geelong who has now passed on, "fair dinkum unbelievable". Dean Kent 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 13 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 2 hit outs, 1 goal - kicked the team's first goal in the second quarter but otherwise subdued. Joel MacDonald 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles - very strong in defence and close to a call up for the Demons. Cameron Pedersen 18 kicks, 9 handballs, 27 disposals, 11 marks, 1 tackle, 1 goal - another top game and surprising he was overlooked in favour of Gillies who was emergency for the Dees. David Rodan 13 kicks, 13 handballs, 26 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 0 goals 2 behinds- contributed strongly in the middle. Jake Spencer 4 kicks 8 handballs 12 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles 42 hitouts - rucked strongly and comfortable at this level but can he take the step up? Rory Taggert 8 kicks, 10 handballs, 18 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles 1 goal, 1 behind - bobbed in and out, worked and tackled hard and kicked a goal. Josh Tynan 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals, 1 marks, 7 tackles - has been struggling so far and this was just a fair game. Casey Scorpions 0.6.6 5.8.38 16.8.104 18.11.119 Geelong Cats 4.1.25 7.4.46 10.7.67 16.11.107 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Hogan 5 Best Hughes 2 Kent Pedersen Smith Taggert Geelong Cats Vardy 4 Murdoch 3 Corrigan Kersten 2 Bathie Condy Cowan Eardley Hartman Best Casey Scorpions Hogan Rodan Couch Pedersen Fitzpatrick Spencer Geelong Cats Vardy Selwood Gleeson Corrigan Condy Murdoch The development league team couldn't match top side Williamstown which it has now played twice at this early stage of the season. Casey Scorpions 2.2.14 3.5.23 5.6.36 7.11.53 Williamstown 3.3.21 9.6.60 13.11.89 16.13.109 Goals Casey Scorpions Fowler Lindsay 2 Anderson Irwin Stark Williamstown Flack 4 Bench Bugeja Deery 2 Conway Greenwood Heatherington Johnstone Mead Morris Best Casey Scorpions Lindsay Troutman McInnes Drew Long Godfrey Williamstown Wyatt Flack Johnstone Symes Gallucci Woods

FAIR DINKUM UNBELIEVABLE by Corio Boy as told to Whispering Jack From a team point of view the highlight of Casey's win against the top team Geelong on its home turf at Simonds Stadium was its ability to bounce back from a bad loss last week and a poor opening quarter this week to get to within eight points at half time, then boot 11 goals in a sensational third term before holding steady to win in the face of a dramatic finish from the Cats. However, from a club (and I'm talking about the senior member of the alignment) point of view, the highlight was the performance of 18 year old Jesse Hogan who the Demons picked as an under age recruit in last year's GWS mini draft and to a lesser extent, that of Jack Fitzpatrick. Both youngsters booted five goals each which, given the Demons collectively managed to amass only six at Paterson's Stadium later in the day, was a revelation. Scorpions coach Rohan Welsh told reporters after the game: "(Jesse's) a key forward and is obviously going to be very exciting for the Melbourne Football Club. "He's aggressive, strong and quick, (and) they're pretty hard to come by. He knows areas of his game he needs to improve, but he's got that level head on his shoulders." Hogan did more than kick five goals. He was always dangerous in the air and around the ground. He controlled the forward line when it rallied to come back in the second quarter, was breathtakingly strong and a catalyst in the third and finally, helped down in defence when the Cats clawed back to within five points point late in the game. Fitzpatrick was also superb mainly as a forward but also did well in the ruck. He combined with Jake Spencer to help the team dominate at the stoppages, especially after ¼ time. At that stage Casey was goalless and trailled by 19 points despite having one more scoring shot. The defence, led by Cam Pedersen, Troy Davis and Joel Macdonald tightened up and with Tom Couch, David Rodan and Danny Nicholls controlling the midfield battles, Casey skipped out to a 44 point lead at one stage late in the third quarter. In the final term, Geelong came back strongly but again it was Hogan and Fitzpatrick who came to the team's rescue, each with a goal. The former also went down back to execute a few timely saves and the latter doing well with his speed around the ground and his ruckwork. In the end, Casey returned to the winners list and, on a day when it was brought to its knees on the other side of the continent, Melbourne found a star or two. HOW THE DEMONS FARED Dom Barry 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle - nice game on a wing but didn't star. Sam Blease 4 kicks, 3 handballs, 7 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 0 goals, 2 behinds - suffered a knock late in the second quarter which saw him off for the day but only had minor impact before that. Mitch Clisby 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals, 3 marks - provided good run off half back Tom Couch 12 kicks, 17 handballs, 29 disposals, 1 marks, 10 tackles - returned to the scene of his father's triumphs and was one of Casey's best amassing a lot of possession. Troy Davis 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle - solid in defence. Jack Fitzpatrick 10 kicks 1 handballs 11 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles 25 hitouts, 5 goals - dangerous up forward with five goals and provided excellent back up in the ruck. Jesse Hogan 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles 1 hit out, 5 goals, 1 behind - to quote a local identity from Geelong who has now passed on, "fair dinkum unbelievable". Dean Kent 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 13 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 2 hit outs, 1 goal - kicked the team's first goal in the second quarter but otherwise subdued. Joel MacDonald 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles - very strong in defence and close to a call up for the Demons. Cameron Pedersen 18 kicks, 9 handballs, 27 disposals, 11 marks, 1 tackle, 1 goal - another top game and surprising he was overlooked in favour of Gillies who was emergency for the Dees. David Rodan 13 kicks, 13 handballs, 26 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 0 goals 2 behinds- contributed strongly in the middle. Jake Spencer 4 kicks 8 handballs 12 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles 42 hitouts - rucked strongly and comfortable at this level but can he take the step up? Rory Taggert 8 kicks, 10 handballs, 18 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles 1 goal, 1 behind - bobbed in and out, worked and tackled hard and kicked a goal. Josh Tynan 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals, 1 marks, 7 tackles - has been struggling so far and this was just a fair game. Casey Scorpions 0.6.6 5.8.38 16.8.104 18.11.119 Geelong Cats 4.1.25 7.4.46 10.7.67 16.11.107 Goals Casey Scorpions Fitzpatrick Hogan 5 Best Hughes 2 Kent Pedersen Smith Taggert Geelong Cats Vardy 4 Murdoch 3 Corrigan Kersten 2 Bathie Condy Cowan Eardley Hartman Best Casey Scorpions Hogan Rodan Couch Pedersen Fitzpatrick Spencer Geelong Cats Vardy Selwood Gleeson Corrigan Condy Murdoch The development league team couldn't match top side Williamstown which it has now played twice at this early stage of the season. Casey Scorpions 2.2.14 3.5.23 5.6.36 7.11.53 Williamstown 3.3.21 9.6.60 13.11.89 16.13.109 Goals Casey Scorpions Fowler Lindsay 2 Anderson Irwin Stark Williamstown Flack 4 Bench Bugeja Deery 2 Conway Greenwood Heatherington Johnstone Mead Morris Best Casey Scorpions Lindsay Troutman McInnes Drew Long Godfrey Williamstown Wyatt Flack Johnstone Symes Gallucci Woods

PROGRESS VOTING ROUND 9 70. Nathan Jones 59. Matt Jones 56. Colin Garland 54. Jeremy Howe 39. Dean Terlich Jack Viney 31. Colin Sylvia 26. Jack Grimes 25. James Frawley 24. Aaron Davey 23. Shannon Byrnes Michael Evans 16. Max Gawn 12. James Magner 11. Luke Tapscott 8. Mitch Clark 6. Lynden Dunn Tom McDonald 4. Jordie McKenzie Jack Trengove Jack Watts 3. Mark Jamar 2. Rohan Bail 1. Sam Blease Chris Dawes

Fremantle set out to teach Melbourne a lesson in their clash at Patersons Stadium and the Dockers well and truly did this from the first minutes of the game. It started when the usually reliable Michael Barlow errantly passed the ball coming out of defence directly into the waiting arms of Jack Watts for Melbourne's first goal. From that brief but painful beginning for the home team, the Demons took the lead from their hosts and stumbled, fumbled and turned over the football to their opposition gifting away goal after goal to give them leads of 40 and 71 points respectively at each of the first two breaks. Surprisingly, Melbourne won the premiership quarter and narrowed the deficit by a few points in the third before the inevitable fall off at the end which resulted in a thumping defeat that filled the heart of the faithful with enough pain and provided the club with a further dose of humiliation. It was a result which almost certainly will hasten the end of the coach's career. One senses that the silence coming from both the Board and the newly appointed and temporary CEO points to the fact that the end will inevitably come shortly and all that remains to make it complete is the bean counting on the final settlement and the finalisation of the name of the fill in coach. That will be a sad day for the club because Mark Neeld has had the unenviable task of changing what for lack of a better description can be termed "the club's poor culture". This is something that requires more time than seems available to him as the naysayers gain the ascendency in the debate about his future. Other than that, there's not much to write about this game from a Demon perspective although I continue to be impressed with Jack Trengove, a young man who has been given a job that would be difficult on many other older and more experienced shoulders. He has carried himself well both off the field and now on the field this week and he must become one of the club's spearheads for its ultimate revival. I loved Jeremy Howe's work especially given that he looked gone going for the obligatory weekly mark of the year after suffering a tunneling attack from a Docker opponent. The two Jones boys worked hard but for most of the rest, it's the failure to work hard that again brought the team undone. That, and the lack of progress under Neeld is testament to the fact that the Board and CEO will most likely act soon to put an end to the pain. But will that course of action be the pain killer? Melbourne 1.1.7 2.2.14 5.3.33 6.4.40 Fremantle 7.5.47 13.7.85 15.11.101 19.16.130 Goals Melbourne Howe Trengove 2 M Jones Watts Fremantle Ballantyne Mzungu 3 Crozier Mayne Pearce 2, Barlow Crowley Fyfe Hannath Ibbotson Mundy Silvagni Best Melbourne Howe Trengove N Jones Magner McKenzie M Jones Fremantle Mundy Fyfe Barlow Ibbotson Pearce Mzungu Injuries Melbourne Dean Terlich (ribs) Fremantle Nil Changes Melbourne Nil Fremantle Nil Reports Melbourne Nil Fremantle Silvagni in the second term for rough conduct on N Jones. Umpires Hay Farmer Fisher Crowd 32,950 at Subiaco.

Great stuff AJ except for one minor thing. He's turned 18.