DemonDave

Well Ive just seen the Viney incident on Before the Game, looked worse than I remembered at the game, agreed Wojo is gone. Of the Demons players: Blease - great last half where his running to space and with the ball in his hand was a feature. Took a half to get into it though, hardly noticed him in first half. One more above average game next week and he'll get a callup I suspect, we sorely his need line breaking leg speed in the seniors. Fitzpatrick - As previously mentioned the real eye opener for me. Was the focal point up forward whenever he was there, lead hard and repeatedly all day, kept working hard when the ball was on the ground and also toiled away sufficiently when pinch hitting for the resting Spencer. The first time Ive seen him look comfortably above most VFL listed players out on the ground, very pleasing game. WIll I believe get a game next week at the expense of Sellar or Dunn. with the bonus that he'll be a more viable relieving ruckman than the aforementioned. Jurrah - Started off well, went in and out of the game as to be expected, but glimpses of the magic werent far from the surface. 1 maybe 2 more weeks at this level and he'll be back in, didnt do enough for mine just yet to earn a birth. Davis - Beaten by his opponent Kersten in too many contests, and also made a few questionable play switches in the last line, not his best game.Seems a little bit too much of an 'in-between' height for mine also as a defender. Bennell - Another very good game from Bennell, his confidence levels seem to be very high at the moment,taking the game on, initiating runs and forcing teammates to run to spaces that he creates, he was a great livewire creating presence off the half back line Couch - A sold game,was in and under where you would expect a player of his ilk to be. Disposal when inside 50 left a bit to be desired, his obvious one-paced approach wont give the selectors enough variety to what theyve already got, so I think he will remain playing for the Scorps for the time being. Nicholson - Busy without being a standout, I suspect he had a run with/stopping role this week. Never one that stands out for mine, although his pace is still there. Lawrence - Ever enthusiastic, he doesnt have enough of an impact with his limited stats, needs to work harder further up the ground to earn his own ball. Spencer - Up against Orren Stephenson who gave his midfield great service, Spencer was serviceable. Tried hard and provided a presence around the ground which was pleasing. Kicked a goal too which was good to see. Cook - OK game, kicked a couple and looked OK when he lead at the right times, but the focus of our inside balls was predominantly Spencer. Will be good for the run, hopefully can build his confidence up and be able to lead with a bit more authority. Petterd - A very good second half for Ricky P. Was running around doing as he pleased off a HFF/wing. Has too much class for this level clearly, will come under consideration for next week against the Hawks Sheahan - Did a few nice things, seems to read the play well and has a good height about him. Still needs to put on a bit of muscle but I can see a future for him in the red and blue. First time Ive seen him play in any form. Probably broke even with his opponent on the day. Taggart - Didnt notice the Scotsman that much ,although it was a good show of faith in his ability that he did start a lot of times in the centre square. Will be keen to watch him improve over the year at Casey and possibly push for a 'Grimes/Fitzpatrick' game in Round 24. Watts - Workrate was reasonable, but is the kind of player you can never really tell how hard he is pushing, has a certain laconic nature about him. Despite the stats and four goals, I still dont think he did enough, as harsh as that sounds. General consensus around us in the Melbourne bay was the same, he simply needs to show more urgency and hunger. Will he get a recall next week? 50/50 really, depends if the match committee saw it the same way I did. No for me. Viney - What an eventful debut! Having seen him play in under 18s last year I knew what to expect from him, and the stepup in level provided no problems for the young tyro. He reminds me of Luke Power, tough, short, continually finds the ball and loves the contest. Crunched into two Cats players in the third quarter, dusted himself off and ran off while both Cats lay stricken. Was everywhere around the ground, helping out down back, pushing forward. This kid will be in the starting 18 come round 1 next year, there is no doubt about that. I thought they may have only given him a half or so given he has missed quite a bit with OP, but his intensity did not wane all afternoon until he was hit by Wojinski. A debut to remember for all the right and wrong reasons. A very solid win for Casey with a very good squad, so no real surprises in a way. Also thought that Riseley, Lees and McGough played well of the Casey listed players Will give our percentage an enormous boost too, given it was barely over 100!

The hit on viney was fair from where I sat. He was on the end of a chain of ever slowing handballs, the last forcing him to stop dead to be able to take it, wojo had momentum and justifiably nailed the stationary target. No case to answer for mine. There would be no way I'd pick watts on todays efforts, cruised through the game, is far too good for this level but the insatiable appetite for the contest wasn't quite there for mine. His stats flattered him. Best game I've ever seen fitzpatrick play, he certainly seems to have improved in quantum leaps, would be a big chance to get a call up. One goal in particular where the ball went over his head, he turned and grabbed it, arched the back to gap his opponent and then took on and beat a second oncoming opponent to run into goal. Had great agility for a big man, and also puts his body into making contests, crucially playing in front more often than not.

I think Ive watched Chris Bosh pop up about 50 times now, strangely hypnotic! Grab Office Space on DVD, its a cracking movie from the mind of Mike Judge, who bought us Beavis and Butthead. Revolves around life in a cubicle in the workplace and the frustrated employee comically reaching boiling point, a classic!

Fifteen listed Demons plus Viney in that side! That makes Gawn, Green, Jetta, Martin, MacDonald (slated as non-playing first emergency), Strauss and Tynan (plus rookies Williams and Evans) as the only listed players who arent suiting up this weekend, thats a good sign! Given the now greatly reduced injury list I'd expect our performances at both VFL and AFL level to improve accordingly. A couple of premiership players on the wing for the Cats in Wojo and Byrnes! Also see they have 17 listed Cats players named, but apart from those two very few senior games experience in their lineup.

Club allocation went on sale 2 weeks ago. Got in then, thankfully!

I'll be there bright and early! Lets hope for a better result than last year in both games (one we're not allowed to mention). Also looking forward to seeing for the first time Rory Taggert and the possibility of Jurrah and Viney running around!

Haha thats a classic scene from "Office Space" theyve borrowed from there! I think the Knicks are doomed in this series regarless. I've seen the Rhondo incident, and fair enough he got a suspension, you cant aggresively bump up to the ref like that. The pressure is well and truly on the ageing Celtics to get one last playoff series out of the Dads Army trio of Pearce,Allen & Garnett.

Shocking news for Rose and the Bulls. Thats two teams in the playoffs now without their top banana for the entire playoffs (Rose/Bulls & Howard/Magic). just hoping the Spurs can avoid any first round stumbles like last year!

As much as this game style has been proven a success by Colingwood, it is frustrating seeing players on their own in the middle of the ground, screaming out for the ball, and players with the ball, clearly under and following instructions, hug the boundary and kick to a contest. Who is more culpable here, the guys in the middle of the ground not being in the right position (wide) or the guy with the ball that ignores the free man. Bail was on his own many a time tonight in the centre but was largely ignored.

Plenty to like about tonight, albeit not with the result we wanted. Four quarters of effort for the first time this year (despite not scoring in the last it wasnt for lack of trying. The Saints also got a couple of dubious frees that pushed them deep forward despite the umpire not paying many frees for long spells) We broke even in the disposal count for the first time this year, when we've been conceding 100+ more disposals every week previously. Tommy Mc had a great learning game on Riewoldt. A couple of his disposals early were astray again but then he gained composure and confidence. THats what I've been waiting for, in the preseason games the last two years he'd shown that sort of assuredness but it had not surfaced at senior level. Morton and Bate, both much maligned on here were good tonight. Conditions suited Bate, and Morton really kept at it, his run was good. Garlands job on Milne. Was outstanding. Similarly Rivers on Stanley. McKenzie for the second week in a row takes a big scalp. Has created himself a niche role amongst a midfield group of plodding burrowers. Improved performance from the previously underwhelming Bail. Jamar 55 hitouts dominated. Also got a few taps directly to Moloney like the good old days. The coaches passion and involvement in the coaches box. Is this the first time we've seen such animation from him? A bit of a return to the Grimes of old. Racking up stats, reading the play beatifully and putting his body on the line It wasnt all good. Sellar is an absolute liability. Has not shown a single thing in his senior games. 4 games for 31 disposals. Cant wait till Martin to be fully fit again Dunn. Mercifully subbed just as he made his first meaningful contribution of the night. Surely on the chopping block along with Sellar this week. Watts. Poor game. Trengove -plods along nowadays doesnt he? It was obvious last year that players were blowing past him but he was playing OK. This year its even more obvious when he's out of form. The coaches timing of the substiute. It was obvious as early as the second quarter both Dunn & Sellar were offering nothing and are too similar, the trigger shouldve been pulled earlier on bringing Sylvia in Get back Clark, Frawley, Martin and Jurrah back (for Sellar, Dunn, Macdonald and Tapscott) and we'll be pretty close to best 22.

An interesting parallel to our tanking accusations of the past few years I read in an article just now within an NBA game review: "Utah is due Golden State’s first-round pick in the June draft, so long as it falls outside the top 7. The worse the Warriors’ record, the better the odds they lose the pick. Perhaps not coincidentally, Golden State started five rookies, becoming the first NBA team in the modern era to do so. After ending the season 23-43, Jackson denied intentionally tanking for a better draft choice, but didn’t deny that he was OK with the outcome. “In the middle of it, we are trying to win,” Jackson said. “Now that it is over, we are pulling for a higher pick.” " Sound familiar? Apologies if it doesnt belong in this thread, just found the analogy startingly reminiscent

One more week on the track for Jurrah before his return: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/134183/default.aspx Great to see Cook back from injury for his first game of the year and first draft pick Rory Taggert in for his first VFL game of his career. 14 Demons players listed in that squad, clearly our injury list is shrinking, finally!

Every coach has to hold a mandatory midweek presser after training. And are also obligated under the media laws to be at the post-match press conference. Its just that we've had a lot more newsworthy events happening that means people pay more attention to our pressers than, say Brendan McCartney, who it seems is flying well under the radar of scrutiny. That old lunatic Sheedy was on at half time of the Anzac Day game, any bit of free advertising for your club out there cant be ignored. The nervous twitch in Neelds right eye becomes more noticeable the more he is on...

And the 3rd quarter in overall scoring contest was a draw. So if thats the best we've got, against lowly Footscray, then we are indeed in for a grim year. There was genuine passion and a sense of inflated urgency from the crowd on Sunday, but the players skill level and cohesiveness did not match its ambition.

Article from Todays paper says Jamar is a prime target for clubs like Cats and Pies that are close to a flag but dont have an A-grade ruckman, Seems a plausible scenario, and in a way i wouldnt begrudge a player this chance, given his free agency status https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Melbourne+faces+uphill+battle+to+keep+Mark+Jamar&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvnsuo&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=_V-XT8r0Gs6hiAfgyYWfCg&ved=0CDEQqAIoADAA

Snap. I just saw RR's comment with the exact same query!

Will the same standards apply to Liam Jurrah when he's fully fit again then? Given he defied team orders and was drunk when injured? Will be an interesting test case for our match committee. Or will it quietly slip under the radar?

Dunn had two posessions upto 3/4 time! I dont care how well someone was playing as a negating role, and I'm pretty certain where I was sitting that Davey was on Murphy for at least the first half. He and Sellar were both liabilities for the greater part of the night, and highlight our current malaise that they simply are too slow and dont have enough tricks to be a modern forward. Why Tom Mc wasnt at least tried for part of the game up forward to stretch an already wafer thin Bulldogs backline leaves me flummoxed.

They have an australian URL: http://www.opel-australia.com.au/flash.html So possibly plan on having a presence here separate to the Holden branded GM products.. Great,great news if so! Well done to the Admin for getting three sponsors in a this climate...

Why is there a picture of Dustin Fletchers car in this thread? I heard he bought it off the showroom floor new too back in the day....

Great news! Not one but two photoshop efforts on that photo of Jack in the pic in that article. Can they make his hair blonde and give him a tatt in the next article about or BOJ sponsor?

I read this article on the train, and then had to reread it again just to make sure i read it right. What an utterly pointless column-filler. The general concensus around the football community is this draft is the strongest there has been in some time, hence we and the Bulldogs both activated our compensation picks. Not only that, so too did Richmond, Brisbane and GWS. Are they all tanking as well? To say we are already deliberately losing games right now is an insult to our current ineptitudes.

Amazing how the game changes so quickly nowadays. Flicked over by luck didnt realise the game was on. A completely different looking Melbourne side that day. For starters, a crowd shot cut to our President and CEO. Messrs Gardiner and MacNamee respectively. Playing that day that are now departed were (I think): Robbo, Wonna, Miller up forward McLean, Bruce, Junior, White onball Carroll, Bell, Warnock down back, Probably others i missed too. A great game to relive!

Maybe I was watching a different game to you. Rivers played on and restricted Vickery to a handful of posessions did he not? Tom McDonald to my eye was playing on Miller.

Its funny, as I had a thought along similar lines. Looking at the number of players on other teams lists that have come from us, I wondered to myself how many of them would be getting a game right now (obviously ignoring the fact we got picks/players for them): Scott Thompson (yes) Brock McLean (yes) Darren Jolly (yes) Simon Buckley (maybe) James McDonald (yes) Tom Scully (yes) Kyle Cheney (maybe) Cameron Bruce (yes) Brad MIller (yes) Addam Maric (no) Obviously only hypothetical, and it wouldnt even automatically make us a better side (as we wouldnt have gotten players/picks for the deals we made to get rid of these players). Feel free to disagree, but right now I wish we still had a swathe of experienced players...