Whispering_Jack
Administrators
-
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Whispering_Jack
-
After the excitement of last night’s fiasco, the AFL brings us the season’s first doubleheader.
-
No idea.
-
Ollie Greeves is a prodigious Indigenous talent at the Eastern Ranges in the Coates Talent League and Hawthorn have been working hard to get him included as one of their Next Generation Academy players - Hawks seek to add talented midfield prospect to NGA. The case of Melbourne’s NGA player Tairon Ah-Mu is different. He has parents with Samoan heritage but strangely enough, the club doesn’t have access to him under NGA rules even though the game is as foreign to that country as it is in many other countries where eligibility is available. This makes no sense, yet where are the Demons and why aren’t they trying to get this player added to our ranks?
-
Moving right along …
-
According to one of the players at last night’s season launch, it’s at Casey Fields this morning.
-
I was there last night and noticed a difference between this year’s season opener and the same event twelve months ago. At that time, the club was reeling after a torrid and well documented off season that ended with Angus Brayshaw’s early forced retirement. I noted “an undercurrent from players and officials that they are quietly seething at the poor rap, some of it insulting, they’ve received from sections of the media of late.” That mood seemed appropriate and got us through the first couple of months of the season (at one stage we were 6 wins, 2 defeats) but on reflection, this was might not have been the best approach, given that it was allowed to fester and return with distractions on every occasion when the club hit even the slightest hurdle along the road. The end was a dramatic slip out of finals contention and a massive drop into the bottom six. Last night was different with the focus both on tales of past glory through Hall of Fame and Club Legend presentations and on the leadership’s vision of a much improved season ahead. I think the mood and the narrative was focused and very positive. I’m confident that we will produce a better showing in 2025.
-
Could someone answer this question regarding the status of our two recent SSP recruits. The chart above classifies both Jack Henderson and Jai Culley as Category A rookies. Henderson replaced Shane McAdam who is a Primary listed player while Culley replaced Andy Moniz-Wakefield, a Cat A rookie. Does this mean that irrespective of the status of the inactive list player being replaced, a SSP player is automatically Category A?
The latest in the state of play in relation to the SSP ~ Lachlan McAndrew - Adelaide Matt Carroll - Carlton Francis Evans - Carlton Will White - Carlton Tom Edwards - Essendon Jaxon Prior - Essendon Isaiah Dudley - Fremantle Quinton Narkle - Fremantle Ben Jepson - Gold Coast Jai Culley - Melbourne Jack Henderson - Melbourne Josh Lai - Port Adelaide Harry Boyd - St Kilda Sandy Brock - West Coast
OK so #46 it is. Not a bad idea. His story is one of perseverance and resilience and the two blokes in adjoining lockers are going to need to follow that example in the coming year.
I'm tipping that Jai Culley gets #44 so he gets a locker next to his fellow SSP recruit Jack Henderson.
I WON’T DIE WONDERING with John Anderson From a rice farm in the Southern Riverina, Jack Henderson is a poster boy for what character, persistence and ultimately performance can achieve in the AFL. Henderson, 24, voted best afield in Werribee’s 2024 VFL grand final win, this week was added to Melbourne’s list via the supplemental selection period after being overlooked in eight-straight drafts. JA: The last time we spoke was in December and it’s fair to say you were flat about your AFL dream. JH: I was. My manager Winston Rous suggested I do extra work with a high-performance person in Geelong. That helped me and then Dom Sheed at West Coast went down for the season and then Shane McAdam got injured at Melbourne. JA: How did it play out. JH: I was at work (as an agronomist) two weeks ago when I got a call from West Coast and flew over a day later. It was such an experience. I trained all week and then played in the practice match against Richmond last Monday as a midfielder. Then I came off the field and shortly later spoke with Simon Goodwin. JA: Which led to a tough decision? JH: The hardest I have ever had to make. West Coast were brilliant to me, but I would be lying if I said the lure of being in Victoria wasn’t strong. I want to settle as quickly as possible to play my best footy and Melbourne have had a lot of faith in me. JA: Is midfield the aim with Melbourne, or high half-forward with Alex Neal-Bullen gone? JH: I trained and played in the midfield at West Coast, whereas with Melbourne it is probably high half-forward. JA: Explain the frustration at being overlooked in eight-straight drafts? JH: There were times last year when I thought there were guys going to AFL sides who I could match it with. It just kept that fire burning in me. JA: Tell us about your journey, Jack? JH: I boarded at The Geelong College, finishing in 2017 and missed that year’s draft before joining Werribee. I only did testing with Fremantle that year, but had no discussions with them so no real chance, and the same for the next two years. JA: Then you travelled to the Double Blues in the SANFL? JH: In the Covid year of 2020 I made the move to Sturt for nine games and got a bit of interest from GWS, but nothing major. In 2021 nothing. Same in 2022-23, and last year it picked up a little after the grand final. JA: You actually had a medical with Melbourne? JH: That’s when things started to get close, but the Demons only had a few selections and I missed again. That wasn’t a great time but they kept in touch with me. And Werribee coaches as in Mark “Choco” Williams and Mick Barlow have been sensational for me. JA: I can’t think of anyone who deserves their chance more than you Jack, so go get ’em. JH: I won’t die wondering, Ando, I can assure you of that.
Meanwhile, the state of play with SSP signings for 2025 is as follows* Francis Evans - Carlton Matt Carroll - Carlton Tom Edwards - Essendon Jaxon Prior - Essendon Isaiah Dudley - Fremantle Quinton Narkle - Fremantle Ben Jepson - Gold Coast Jack Henderson - Melbourne Josh Lai - Port Adelaide Harry Boyd - St Kilda Sandy Brock - West Coast * subject to a possible (but unlikely) review of the cut off date as a result of some injuries yesterday.
Shocking news for the kid. He can take example from our own Christian Petracca who also suffered a torn ACL in his first year at the club, worked hard to come back (and from the experience of some of my own family members who have undergone that surgery, it’s hard work) and win a Norm Smith, a premiership medallion and acclaim as one of the great players of our game. Good luck Jagga!
The 2025 AFL Preseason Ladder is back and the Dees are doing nicely thank you. We had to refine the system a little to cater for the Indigenous All Stars game and the three way miniseries in Queensland. We improvised for the latter game played over two periods equivalent to half a game so we awarded half points resulting in this ladder. West Coast Eagles 1 0 0 62 26 238.5 4 Sydney Swans 1 0 0 125 68 183.8 4 Melbourne 1 0 0 117 70 167.1 4 Indigenous All Stars 1 0 0 108 65 166.2 4 Gold Coast Suns 1 0 0 97 58 140.6 4 Essendon 1 0 0 77 58 132.8 4 Adelaide 1 0 0 103 79 130.4 4 Geelong 1 0 0 106 86 123.3 4 St Kilda 1 0 0 69 58 119.0 4 Brisbane ½ ½ 0 76 73 104.1 2 Carlton 0 1 0 58 69 84.1 0 Hawthorn 0 1 0 86 106 81.1 0 Port Adelaide 0 1 0 79 103 76.7 0 Western Bulldogs 0 1 0 58 77 75.3 0 Collingwood 0 1 0 58 89 65.2 0 Fremantle 0 1 0 65 108 60.2 0 North Melbourne 0 1 0 70 117 59.8 0 GWS Giants 0 1 0 68 125 54.4 0 Richmond 0 1 0 26 62 41.9 0 Note: Despite the fact that Kozzie Pickett is serving a three match suspension, he's figured in two wins to date.
The Herald Sun is reporting that the knee injury to defender Andy Moniz-Wakefield in the dying moments of the Arden Street clash is “concerning.” "The Demons fear a devastating ACL blow for the 21-year-old, who was set to play an important lockdown role in defence with Judd McVee already sidelined due to a serious hamstring injury. "Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin conceded the incident, which left Moniz-Wakefield writhing on the ground in pain before he was assisted off by trainers, looked ‘pretty nasty’. "’Obviously he's pretty flat at the moment, but we'll have to go away and get a scan just to confirm it ... it didn't look good, from a visual point of view, but we're hoping for the best there,’ Chaplin said."
Years ago, there were no interclub practice games or match simulations for that matter. They just played intraclub games with probables vs possibles contesting each other in a very friendly atmosphere. They never played such games in the month of February either, given that the season started in mid-April and training started around four or five weeks before then. Somewhere in the early 70s, they started playing practice matches against interstate clubs and other VFL clubs. I remember Peter “Crackers” Keenan playing in a game vs Port Adelaide. Nobody took the results seriously either because the good clubs rarely put their best team on the park. I recall Melbourne beating Carlton one year in a praccy match and, a few weeks later, playing them again in the opening round. We did cop a couple of injuries in the game from memory. Demon fans turned up to Princes Park chock full of confidence thinking we were a chance after their preseason triumph against the Blues and we were up by a couple of goals at quarter time. We were still ahead at half time, but just by a point or two but Carlton took control after the break and we only kicked one more goal for the game and ended up with getting thrashed by eight goals and they doubled our score. Moral of the story - don’t take practice matches too seriously and just hope for no injuries.
THE TEAMS MELBOURNE 2. Jacob Van Rooyen 8. Jake Lever 10. Daniel Turner 13. Clayton Oliver 14. Jack Billings 16. Bailey Laurie 17. Jake Bowey 19. Harvey Langford 20. Xavier Lindsay 21. Matthew Jefferson 22. Blake Howes 24. Trent Rivers 25. Tom McDonald 26. Jed Adams 27. Marty Hore 28. Will Verrall 29. Tom Campbell 30. Harry Sharp 32. Tom Sparrow 33. Tom Fullarton 35. Harrison Petty 36. Kysaiah Pickett 37. Kade Chandler 38. Oliver Sestan 39. Ricky Mentha Jnr 40. Taj Woewodin 41. Kynan Brown 42. Aidan Johnson 45. Andy Moniz-Wakefield NORTH MELBOURNE 2. Finn O'Sullivan 3. Harry Sheezel 4. Aidan Corr 5. Caleb Daniel 8. Bailey Scott 9. Luke Davies-Uniacke 10. Colby McKercher 11. Luke McDonald 12. Jy Simpkin 13. Darcy Tucker 15. Dylan Stephens 19. Griffin Logue 20. Nick Larkey 22. Taylor Goad 24. Tom Powell 25. Paul Curtis 26. Luke Parker 28. Jack Darling 29. Will Phillips 30. Charlie Comben 32. Toby Pink 34. Jackson Archer 38. Tristan Xerri 39. Finnbar Maley 41. Jacob Konstanty 44. Cam Zurhaar 46. Robbie Hansen Jnr
The opposition have a strong team in for the game - Team Selection: NORTH MELBOURNE 2. Finn O'Sullivan 3. Harry Sheezel 4. Aidan Corr 5. Caleb Daniel 8. Bailey Scott 9. Luke Davies-Uniacke 10. Colby McKercher 11. Luke McDonald 12. Jy Simpkin 13. Darcy Tucker 15. Dylan Stephens 19. Griffin Logue 20. Nick Larkey 22. Taylor Goad 24. Tom Powell 25. Paul Curtis 26. Luke Parker 28. Jack Darling 29. Will Phillips 30. Charlie Comben 32. Toby Pink 34. Jackson Archer 38. Tristan Xerri 39. Finnbar Maley 41. Jacob Konstanty 44. Cam Zurhaar 46. Robbie Hansen Jnr
Others not playing ~ Rested: Max Gawn, Ed Langdon, Christian Salem, Steven May, Bayley Fritsch and Jack Henderson Injured: Judd McVee (hamstring), Jack Viney (ribs), Christian Petracca (ribs), Caleb Windsor (skin infection), Koltyn Tholstrup (bone stress), Luker Kentfield (illness), Jake Melksham (hamstring), Charlie Spargo (Achilles) and Shane McAdam (Achilles)
Can he even play on Saturday, given that he's already played once in the pre season Match Simulation Round (do they have rules for this)?
