Whispering_Jack

Highest AFLW score ever is 7.13.55 by Collingwood last week against GWS. At half time, we lead 8.0.48 to Freo 2.3.15.

Surely they will play more interchanges and therefore give some more Casey listed players a go at this level?

We're getting close to the highest score for the competition in one half. If we can keep scoring goals and containing them, we'll go a long way to catching up and overtaking Adelaide's percentage but we're still well behind on that score ATM. But let's just win this first.

If the report is correct and the changes are adopted it will finally be a case of sanity prevailing. Blind Freddie could tell you that a region that produced the likes of the Danihers, Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly and Shane Crawford to name a few isn't really a development zone and that the Giants were never deserving of the free access to players from this region under the northern states academy concept. This year's national draft would have been a farce with three top 10 players available to one club (and possibly one more if they were able to trade into an early pick as they did last year).

TAC Cup 2017 squads revealed The lists for the 2017 TAC Cup have been finalised and can be seen here Over at the Sandringham Dragons there are some interesting names with MFC connections. Worth keeping an eye out for these players - Hamish and Andrew Brayshaw - over-age and top-age (respectively) brothers of Angus (31 AFL games for Melbourne) and sons of Mark (32 AFL games for North Melbourne from 1990-92). Sebastian Williams - 179cm 75 kg is a grandson of Don Williams (205 AFL games for Melbourne from 1953-59 and 1964-68 and member of Melbourne’s Team of the Century). “Seb’s an on-baller who can play half back/half forward and is a very dynamic athlete. He’s a nice little player.”

Let's have a big start that we can build on for once instead of having to play catch up footy.

Will the AFL bite the bullet and start taking action to make its draft a level playing field again? One club out of 18 can't have direct access ahead of the others to what could possibly be 3 of the best 10 prospects in the land. Why Greater Western Sydney should lose rich recruiting zone

Here we go again. Chanderpaul father-son duo make history

Most likely because it was way off topic, breached our rules and made a moderator angry. And now, can we not take this thread for a long walk. Please stay on topic.

Looks like there are going to be some big names taking part in that game D167 - Melbourne forward Jack Watts to play for Casey on Sunday "Jack Watts is to play a VFL game for Casey, just six days before Melbourne's season-opener, in a late bid to cement a spot in coach Simon Goodwin's best 22. Having been overlooked for the Demons' first two pre-season matches, Watts was recalled for last week's match against West Coast and was a steady performer with 15 disposals and six marks. Melbourne said on Monday that Watts would be in the Casey Demons team to play Port Melbourne at Casey Fields on Sunday morning. Watts will be joined by Dom Tyson, who missed the start of the JLT Community Series because of a knee injury. Jeff Garlett (hamstring), Michael Hibberd (Achilles) and Dean Kent (back) are also in contention to play in the game after injury-interrupted pre-seasons."

Yes Webber. We're in heated agreement. I've enjoyed watching the series to date except for the GWS game for obvious reasons (I was out of the country for the game v the Lions) and think it can only get better. There's a definite disparity between the best and the weakest players at the moment but that only highlights the skills and ability of the better players - in Melbourne's case Daisy Pearce and Karen Paxman. The thing I like about Melbourne is that we've gone for the youth and this will surely pay dividends in the future even if not this year as it adds to our depth which is pretty good at this stage anyway. Our younger brigade is so good that I'm calling us the GWS of the AFLW!

Well, here you have it. Another big preseason and not one team undefeated. Those last 10 minutes on Thursday night were the difference between first and fifth places. St Kilda 2 1 - 256 160 160.0 8 GWS Giants 2 1 - 237 178 133.1 8 West Coast Eagles 2 1 - 239 192 124.5 8 Richmond 2 1 - 278 238 116.8 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Melbourne 2 1 - 278 243 114.4 8 Adelaide 2 1 - 285 259 110.0 4 Sydney Swans 2 1 - 194 181 107.2 8 Collingwood 2 1 - 304 288 105.6 8 Gold Coast Suns 2 1 - 265 259 102.3 8 North Melbourne 2 1 - 247 262 94.3 8 Fremantle 2 1 - 243 275 88.4 8 Geelong 1 2 - 280 268 104.5 4 Western Bulldogs 1 2 - 270 263 102.7 4 Port Adelaide 1 2 - 203 204 99.5 4 Hawthorn 1 2 - 240 285 84.2 4 Brisbane Lions 1 2 - 226 281 80.4 4 Essendon - 3 - 270 306 88.2 0 Carlton - 3 - 0 175 342 51.2 0

I think that just about every match discussion about the womens' game carries with it some comment about the standard of the matches being well below those of the men. To that, I say - "well, what do you really expect? The men's AFL competition has been going for 120 years (much of it as the VFL) and before that, it was developing for about 40 years. Womens' footy has been around for a fraction of that and in many instances it was shunned by the general community that even today still regards playing the game as "unladylike". For years, boys have from a young age been encouraged and taught at home, at school and via junior clubs to play football but not so girls. It wasn't much more than a decade ago that three young girls had to engage a senior counsel in VCAT to win the right to play in a boy's competition in Melbourne's southern suburbs. The boys have had the benefit of elite pathways in the sport through the TAC Cup system and the AIS academies since the early 1990s. The TAC Cup system is only now being opened up for girls so it will take time for playing and fitness standards to rise. When that happens, there's no doubt that we will see a marked improvement in skills and an even better spectacle at AFLW level. Let's also remember the physical differences between the genders play a role and our expectations should not be measured by direct comparisons. The Gippsland Power TAC Cup squads had fitness testing yesterday and one report indicated that in the beep test, Travis Bindley had the best test out of the boys with a 15.6 while Holly Whitford scored the best of the girls with 10.1. That's a big gap and it's understandable but it will narrow in time. Unlike in other areas of life where women do outshine men, it's a big ask at present to expect complete equality in the physical area. Of course, we don't know what will happen in the future but we should, at least for the time being, cut the womens' games some slack and allow for the fact that the skills in the infancy of the game at the top level will not be the same as in the AFL and that direct comparisons are therefore not valid. I recall not long ago watching a grainy monochrome film of an early 1900s VFL match between Carlton and South Melbourne and some of the skills displayed there were quite laughable by today's standards. So who knows what the AFLW will look like in 100 year's time when the sport has had that much time to develop? In the meantime, let's enjoy the efforts of our pioneers - the Pearces, Paxmans, O'Ddeas ... and of course, the famous Melbourne names of the Cordners and Mithens as they battle away next week for the right to become part of womens' football history.

St Kilda 2 - - 179 86 208.1 8 GWS Giants 2 1 - 237 178 133.1 8 West Coast Eagles 2 1 - 239 192 124.5 8 Richmond 2 1 - 278 238 116.8 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Melbourne 2 1 - 278 243 114.4 8 Adelaide 2 1 - 285 259 110.0 4 Collingwood 2 1 - 304 288 105.6 8 Gold Coast Suns 2 1 - 265 259 102.3 8 North Melbourne 2 1 - 247 262 94.3 8 Fremantle 2 1 - 243 275 88.4 8 Sydney Swans 1 1 - 117 107 109.3 4 Western Bulldogs 1 2 - 270 263 102.7 4 Hawthorn 1 1 - 172 189 91.0 4 Brisbane Lions 1 2 - 226 281 80.4 4 Geelong - 2 - 158 168 94.0 0 Essendon - 2 - 170 184 92.4 0 Port Adelaide - 2 - 107 136 78.7 0 Carlton - 3 - 0 175 342 51.2 0

That Pies/Tigers game could play havoc with team placings in the very unofficial JTL ladder race:- St Kilda 2 - - 179 86 208.1 8 Richmond 2 - - 171 124 137.9 4 GWS Giants 2 1 - 237 178 133.1 8 West Coast Eagles 2 1 - 239 192 124.5 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- Melbourne 2 1 - 278 243 114.4 8 Gold Coast Suns 2 1 - 265 259 102.3 8 North Melbourne 2 1 - 247 262 94.3 8 Fremantle 2 1 - 243 275 88.4 8 Sydney Swans 1 1 - 117 107 109.3 4 Collingwood 1 1 - 190 181 105.0 4 Western Bulldogs 1 2 - 270 263 102.7 4 Adelaide 1 1 - 143 156 91.7 4 Hawthorn 1 1 - 172 189 91.0 4 Brisbane Lions 1 1 - 123 139 88.5 4 Geelong - 2 - 158 168 94.0 0 Essendon - 2 - 170 184 92.4 0 Port Adelaide - 2 - 107 136 78.7 0 Carlton - 3 - 0 175 342 51.2 0

... or Joel Smith?

Just guessing but I think drunkn167 might be there and, if I'm right we should get some insights from him.

Sorry but if anyone was injured as a result of last night's game we won't know about it until one of the trackwatchers at training next Friday notices that somebody's absent, hobbling on one leg or has an arm in a sling. Then, a week after that we will discover that he's out for 4 to 6.

Turnovers and poor disposal at times hurt us with Hogan's miss in the last quarter hurting us badly. We really missed a small crumbing forward who could kick a couple of goals and at least keep the ball inside our forward fifty. The WCE defenders mopped up and got the ball out of defence too easily and too often. A few things to work on but not a bad effort on the day/night.

Blew it! St Kilda 2 - - 179 86 208.1 8 Richmond 2 - - 171 124 137.9 8 West Coast Eagles 2 1 - 239 192 124.5 8 North Melbourne 2 - - 160 137 116.8 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Melbourne 2 1 - 278 243 114.4 8 Gold Coast Suns 2 1 - 265 259 102.3 8 GWS Giants 1 1 - 112 91 123.1 4 Sydney Swans 1 1 - 117 107 109.3 Collingwood 1 1 - 190 181 105.0 4 Western Bulldogs 1 2 - 270 263 102.7 4 Adelaide 1 1 - 143 156 91.7 4 Hawthorn 1 1 - 172 189 91.0 4 Brisbane Lions 1 1 - 123 139 88.5 4 Fremantle 1 1 - 139 192 72.4 4 Geelong - 2 - 158 168 94.0 0 Essendon - 2 - 170 184 92.4 0 Port Adelaide - 2 - 107 136 78.7 0 Carlton - 2 - 92 238 38.7 0

... but instead, the AFL took no steps to sanction the club in any way whatsoever after the final CAS decision found the 34 EFC players and former players guilty of an anti doping rule violation. In fact, the AFL had an immediate plan in place to lighten the club's burden during the period of the players' suspension by allowing it to supplement its list with top up players (with no assistance to other clubs that had lost players who had in the interim transferred from the EFC). Within that plan was its decision that notwithstanding that Essendon's record in 2016 would inevitably be adversely affected by the unavailability of players, most of who would be returning in 2017, this factor would not be taken into account in determining the club's position in the 2016 AFL draft. Hence, a gift of the first pick in that draft and improved position in other rounds in a draft already tainted and skewed by the academy system. Well done AFL. It was the least you could do after all those years and in particular the way your own Tribunal stuffed up the initial hearing into the doping saga.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more ridiculous this story keeps on giving.

Not sure that it's quite over but wasn't he kept out of action for a good part of 2015 (his first year at the club) by a toe injury?

Mentioned in this article about AVB's injury ~ Stress fracture rules tough Demon out for 4-6 weeks "Meanwhile, Neville Jetta is now available for selection after overcoming a quad issue, while Kent (back) will be ready to play either next week or the week after in a VFL practice match. "Jetta was not picked for Thursday night's game against West Coast, but will take the field in a Casey Demons intraclub game at Casey Fields on Friday night. "There will up to 12 senior-listed Demons players running around in that game as the club looks to prepare underdone players for the season ahead."