Whispering_Jack

The final matches of the Under 18 Championships will be played today at Marvel Stadium and, like it or not, as Melbourne’s season unravels, there is a distinct possibility that the Demons will be in the running for a player like Noah Anderson - AFL No.1 draft pick fancy Noah Anderson likened to Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli For those who have access to Foxtel, the games will be televised so watch them or check your local guides and tape away. It won’t be long now and we’ll all be preoccupied by phantom drafts so in the meantime, here are the Draft Central Power Rankings: July 2019

GAMBIT by KC from Casey The opening gambit of Saturday afternoon’s game told us everything about who would be its main players and who would come out on top. The Casey Demons were eager to turn the tables on the Box Hill Hawks who beat them in last year’s grand final and then gave them a first up mauling at City Oval, Box Hill. Kicking with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening term, Braydon Preuss’ first hit out went straight to the diminutive Jay Kennedy Harris who pounced with a 70 metre shot at goal that sailed through the big sticks with just 13 seconds on the clock. That pair shared the best on ground honours with Preuss amassing 64 hit outs and 17 disposals while his roving partner-in-crime, better known as “JKH”, finished with 24 touches and three goals. Box Hill returned the favour a minute later but Casey took total control from then on. At one stage in the middle of the opening term, the Demons had been inside the 50 metre arc a dozen times to one but errant kicking kept their lead to manageable proportions. They were up by 26 points at the first break but that was pared back to 15 at the main break. The Demons whisked away in the third and then held on to a complete a comprehensive 34 point victory. The win makes it three on the trot for Casey and the second for new coach Sam Radford and it lifts the team to within sniffing distance of a finals berth. That it was achieved against one of its main rivals for a place in the top eight was particularly gratifying in light of the loss of some important players through injury and last week’s playmaker Jordan Lewis who was called up to travel to Brisbane with the AFL team. Preuss’ ruck dominance made a complete contrast to the team’s last few outings against the Box Hill Hawks and he had excellent assistance from fellow tall, Liam Wale-Buxton. Together they fed a midfield headed by the clean ball handling of JKH who reveled in the conditions. The two Coreys - Maynard and Wagner - were hard at it with their ball winning and tackling that never let their opponents get off the hook, even when they had the wind advantage. And what they didn’t attend to was looked after by Jimmy Munro who continues his fine season. On a good day for defenders, Oscar McDonald and Josh Wagner were impressive with their rebounding work, the latter was particularly outstanding. Young Demon lister Toby Bedford played his best game to date. He was especially dangerous with his ability to get loose and out on his own up forward but he also maintained pressure when the opposition had the ball. He and Mykelti Lefau were a thorn in the Hawks’ side all day, each ending with two goals. James Jordon also impressed with some solid work and his good disposal in the conditions. Mitch Gent, on return from injury, and Jack Hutchins were strong contributors among the Casey-listed contingent as was skipper Mitch White although his kicking for goal was a little off the mark. The club also welcomed new recruit Ariek Lual from Noble Park who was a stand out for a newcomer at this level. Another big game looms next week against fellow finals contenders in the Northern Blues at Casey Fields next Saturday as the team goes for four in a row. 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL Casey Demons 4.8.32 5.9.39 10.10.70 12.12.84 Box Hill Hawks 1.0.6 3.6.24 4.7.31 7.8.50 Goals Casey Demons Kennedy Harris 3 Bedford Lefau 2 Dunkley Jordon Munro Wale-Buxton White Box Hill Hawks Walker 2 Jones Lewis Meadows Mirra Moore Best Casey Demons Kennedy Harris Preuss C Wagner Maynard Lefau Bedford Box Hill Hawks Lewis Morrison Jones Brand Miles Mirra Statistics Toby Bedford 2 goals 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 82 dream team points Austin Bradkte 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 1 1 mark 1 tackle 12 dream team points Wayne Collis 7 kicks 7 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 42 dream team points Kyle Dunkley 1 goal 13 kicks 4 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 70 dream team points Tom Freeman 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 31 dream team points Mitch Gent 15 kicks 4 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 70 dream team points Jack Hutchins 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 38 dream team points James Jordon 1 goal 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 74 dream team points Jay Kennedy Harris 3 goals 1 behind 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 dis pos als 2 m arks 2 tackles 93 dream team points Mykelti Lefau 2 goals 9 kicks 1 handball 10 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 63 dream team points Ariek Lual 10 kicks 1 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 53 dream team points Oscar McDonald 15 kicks 4 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 70 dream team points Corey Maynard 12 kicks 11 handballs 23 disposals 4 marks 13 tackles 114 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 1 behind 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 1 mark 9 tackles 92 dream team points Braydon Preuss 17 kicks 17 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 64 hit outs 130 dream team points Aiden Quigley 3 kicks 1 handball 4 disposals 2 tackles 21 dream team points Charlie Spargo 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 73 dream team points Cory Stockdale 7 kicks 1 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 37 dream team points Anthony Vella 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 42 dream team points Corey Wagner 1 behinds 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 1 mark 15 tackles 114 dream team points Josh Wagner 1 behind 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 78 dream team points Liam Wale-Buxton 1 goal 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 17 hit outs 59 dream team points Mitchell White 1 goal 4 behinds 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points

It’s time to start showing the form that was expected from this team when the season started.

Casey was slaughtered in the ruck in last year’s grand final. How are the ruck duels going KC?

That’s 11 shots at goal to 1 and the one against is a goal.

The fourth round of the Australian Championships was played yesterday. Some key articles ~ Under 18 Champs Preview - Round 4 U18 champs: Vic Country downs reigning champs to stay unbeaten VIC COUNTRY 2.2 5.3 6.6 9.9 (63) SOUTH AUSTRALIA 1.3 3.6 6.7 9.8 (62) GOALS Vic Country: Weightman 4, Cahill, Flanders, Hollands, Kemp, J. Smith South Australia: Durdin 2, Mead 2, Gould, Morris, O’Brien, Sladojevic, Stephens BEST Vic Country: Flanders, Serong, DeKoning, Weightman, Ash, Kemp South Australia: Gould, Day, Hilder , Mead, Finlay, McEntee U18 champs: Allies edge Vic Metro as Green puts on 'Cripps-like' show VIC METRO 2.0 5.1 6.4 10.8 (68) ALLIES 4.0 5.2 10.3 11.4 (70) GOALS Vic Metro: Mahony 3, Bergman, Jeka, Jones, Rossiter, Rowell, Sturgess, Williams Allies: Gore 3, Ellem 2, Gulden 2, Rosas 2, Green, Oea BEST Vic Metro: McGuinness, Rowell, Mahony, McAsey, Anderson, Bergman Allies: Green, Gulden, Gore, Parks, Cumberland, Peatling

Can I presume that Braydon Preuss trained in a Casey Demons guernsey?

Sums up our season - Fremantle kicked 1.0 in the last quarter yesterday, after Collingwood's 9.0 in the last half on QB.

Public service for today’s opponents and for those fans who are looking for cheap hoodies in red and blue colours.

The “downside” of our return to winning form is that some of these top shelf draft picks will start slipping from our grasp. Good news for Adelaide which looks to have secured #1 or 2 and the locals have some good prospects - Defending U18 champions open account in thriller over WA And those juicy prospects in the Vic Metro team continue to stand out. U18: Potential No.1 pick stars as Metro post first win

There’s a preview of this weekend’s U18 championships games here.

They’re due for a fall. Hope we kick straight for once and send them home with their tails between their legs.

Interesting stats for Buddy F. He has had five kicks for four goals. No handballs and no tackles. Three marks.

No worries. This is a new innovation stemming from the coaching overhaul. Until further notice, every injury at the club will be deemed the Mystery Injury of the The Week.

Josh has 15 disposals tonight v Carlton and it’s only quarter time. #unitethefamily

I believe he’s out of contact at the end of 2019. Perhaps the Demons should consider a family reunification programme because brother Kyle looks like a long term prospect.

I really liked the look of Dunkley. He definitely has the makings of a player.

I know that at least five of those named will not be playing on Sunday but the skipper named on the bench?

Some articles of interest now that the Under 18 Championships are under way - AFL draft 2019, best prospects, players to watch: Noah Anderson, Matthew Rowell, Will Gould, Luke Jackson AFL Under 18 Championships 2019: Players to watch, fixtures, best draft prospects — Ultimate Guide Knightmare’s May and June AFL Draft Power Rankings: May June

AFL Under 18 Championships 2019: Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell star in Vic Metro loss to Vic Country

The club is moving the concept of “mystery injury of the week” to a new all time high level.

Are the Demons capable of coming out and displaying some shinboner spirit?

At least he’s not a midget.

Anyone have his 20 metre sprint time?

This is the last chance saloon if we want to be a significant player in 2019. Round 9 West Coast v Melbourne Friday 17 May, 6.10pm AWST Optus Stadium 3.55pm: All gates open As an away game, Melbourne Members cannot gain access to the match without a valid ticket. Tickets to the match can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Public transport Optus Stadium is located in proximity to the Perth Stadium train station. The precinct is also serviced by multiple bus routes. Plan your trip to the match using Transperth's Journey Planner. Car parking There is no public parking available at Optus Stadium without a permit. A limited number of spaces are available for mobility-impaired attendees. Find out more HERE. View a map of Optus Stadium HERE. TV times All broadcast info in local times. Melbourne: Seven + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Sydney: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Brisbane: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Adelaide: 7mate + Fox Footy – 7.30pm Perth: 7mate + Fox Footy – 6.00pm Tasmania: Seven + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Canberra: 7mate + Fox Footy – 8.00pm Darwin: Seven + Fox Footy – 7.30pm For all other regions and radio info, refer to the AFL Broadcast Guide. Mobile app Live scores, stats and match highlights are available at the tap of a finger in the club's mobile app. Download it for iOS or Android. Social media Match hashtag: #AFLDeesEagles Follow the club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live match coverage and a behind-the-scenes insight into match day. VFL and VFLW double-header VFLW Round 2 Casey v Carlton Saturday May 18, 12.00pm Casey Fields VFL Round 7 Casey v Port Melbourne Saturday May 18, 2.00pm Casey Fields Admission prices Melbourne/Casey Demons Members: FREE when you present your card on entry Adult General Admission: $10 Concession/Pensioner General Admission: $5 Children Under 15: Free Broadcast Live stream: Both matches will be live streamed via YouTube. SCREAM by Whispering Jack The Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch painted a number of versions of his famous work “Scream” and, every time my mind goes back to last year’s Preliminary Final at Optus Stadium between Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, each and every one of them reverberates through my mind as if my head is being pummeled by a sledgehammer. When I think of that half time scoreboard from that match showing West Coast at 10.9.69 to Melbourne 0.6.6, I feel like the man standing by the railing, hands cupping his ears in horror at the disaster unfolding at the place where, only a matter of weeks earlier, the Demons had sealed a place in their first finals series for a dozen seasons against the very same opposition. After the game, I thought time would heal the wounds and the Demons would take the result both as a character-building lesson and a stepping stone to bigger and brighter things. They were, after all, the competition’s highest-scoring team for the season with plenty of attacking targets fed by a potent midfield and underpinned by an adequate and improving defence that had recruited a top notch key defender in Steven May and was expecting the early return from injury of another in Jake Lever? What could possibly go wrong? Well, you could fill the pages of the Encyclopedia Brittanica with the answer to that question and the various solutions that have been posited by all and sundry to restore the confidence of the Demon faithful and to end the nightmares endured since the 2019 season began. Not even the last two matches with their come-from-behind, get out of gaol free, nail biting wins against Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns have put an end to the screaming fits. The most common attempt to explain the reversal from last season to now, has been centred on the team’s decline in attacking strength from one that averaged almost 105 points a game in the home and away season to this year’s output of less than 70 - a startling statistic, especially in light of the fact that week after week, they are still getting the ball inside the 50 metre arc many more times than their opponents. So far nobody, least of all, Simon Goodwin has been able to explain the club’s impotence in attack. Perhaps there is a light on the horizon after last week with Tom McDonald getting his biggest return for the season (3 goals) or perhaps they can take heart from the fact that in the space of 40 seconds at the end of last week’s game, they scored more than 10% of their entire score? But even that will need to be augmented by a lot more work on the defensive side. For much of the season, the Demons have been leaking goals too easily and the following statistic shows up the fact that they have been unable to impose sufficient pressure on opposition forwards. Since the opening round against Port Adelaide when they fell victim to sheer fatigue, the Demons have conceded 31 goals and only 9 behinds. In three of their last four games, the opposition have been deadly straight in these final quarters – St Kilda managed three straight and Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns kicked four. In between, Richmond kicked 5.4, while earlier the Cats scored 7.3 (after 6.0 in the third), Essendon 6.1 and Sydney 2.1. In other words, the pattern shows Melbourne struggling to kick goals while, at the other end, its opponents rarely miss. If Goodwin can overcome this phenomenon, made all the more difficult by the fact that the club is ravaged by injury at the moment, he will be entitled to the tag of “genius”. The fact that the club has been hit by those injuries might in fact help because he has no option but to make changes to his line up this week. Hopefully, he will find a way to ensure that, we the fans, will be screaming with delight on Friday night. However and unfortunately, I can’t see that happening this week. West Coast by 27 points.  THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Friday 17 May 2019 at 8.10pm. HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 34 wins Melbourne 17 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 1 win Melbourne 1 win Past five meetings West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 2 wins The Coaches Simpson 1 win Goodwin 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7 Fox Footy Channel Live at 8.00pm RADIO - 3AW Triple M ABC SEN THE LAST TIME THEY MET West Coast 18.13.121 defeated Melbourne 7.13.55 defeated Melbourne in the Preliminary Final, 2018 at Optus Stadium In a sad end to their 2018 campaign, the Demons were humiliated in this game, failing to score a goal for the entire first half. Angus Brayshaw and Clayton Oliver never gave up. Injury List: Round 9 Jake Lever (knee) – test Jordan Lewis (ankle) – test Corey Maynard (hip) – test Charlie Spargo (foot) – test Sam Weideman (hip) – test Mitch Hannan (knee) – 1 week Jay Kennedy Harris (knee) – 1 week Michael Hibberd (collarbone) – 2 weeks Steven May (groin) – 2-3 weeks Jake Melksham (foot) – 4-5 weeks Joel Smith (groin) – 4-6 weeks Kade Kolodjashnij (concussion) – TBA Aaron vandenBerg (foot) – TBA Neville Jetta (knee) – 8-10 weeks Guy Walker (shoulder) – Indefinite Aaron Nietschke (knee) – Season THE TEAMS