Whispering_Jack

It’s a slog but Luker Kentfield scores the first goal of the second half at the 9 minute mark.

The Dolphins have dominated the second quarter with 7 goals to a single goal from Jack Bell. Will Verrall is winning the ruck hit outs (he has 20) but to no avail. The forward line has been completely shut down in the wet conditions. Kynan Brown is the lead on baller for the Demons and has been a tackling machine as well as leading the team’s disposal count. Half Time Frankston 8.2.50 lead Casey Demons 3.3.21 Goals Bell K Brown Peters Disposals K Brown 13 Steele 11 Edwards Howes 10 Bell Hore White 9

Frankston dominating the quarter with 4.1.25 to nil in the first twenty minutes of the second quarter. They lead by three goals.

Qtr Time Casey Demons 2.1.13 lead Frankston 1.0.6 Goals K Brown Peters Disposals Bell 7 K. Brown Steele White 6

Casey taking a bit of time to get going after conceding the first goal. Charlie Peters scores the Demons’ first after 13 minutes. Cadey 1.1.7 leads Frankston 1.0.6. Kynan Brown showing out early for them.

Some big outs here at Casey Fields today. Ben Brown and Taj Woewodin come out of the selected side and into the team comes only one player, Brayden Laplanche who appears to be the only emergency at the ground. This is the second time this has happened this year. The other big out is our Casey correspondent KC from Casey who is out with the flu. I will cover the game with scores from time to time (but am sparing the battery so Demonlanders please feel free to help out). Dees kicking with the wind and have scored one point.

On a weekend when I wouldn’t mind seeing a Demon victory and a Lions defeat ~

If there was a surprise with the selection of the All-Australian team then the omission of Vic Metro midfielder Josh Smillie who is projected to be close to the No.1 pick in November's draft. He’s an impressive 195cm tall and recorded 16 disposals and eight clearances in the final match against Vic Metro. He also captained the Australian Academy team in two matches against VFL sides. His omission is probably for no other reason than the fact that there were so many mids in contention.

Another article from the Herald Sun on line edition which is probably only available for subscribers. This one is about the many players across the AFL who are left without contracts for next year and asks about their fate. Will they stay or will they go? Josh Barnes looks at Melbourne’s list as follows:- “Unrestricted free agents: Tom McDonald, Jake Melksham, Adam Tomlinson, Marty Hore, Joel Smith Non-free agents: Ed Langdon, Josh Schache, Oliver Sestan, Kynan Brown, Kyah Farris-White, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Ben Brown Plenty of questions around the Dees as the season carries on. Older players like Ben Brown, Adam Tomlinson, Josh Schache likely go. Ed Langdon will sign a new deal soon and Jake Melksham wants to earn one in the next couple of months. Does Tom McDonald go again? Youngster Andy Moniz-Wakefield should get a new deal, while surely Joel Smith will drop off the list. This masthead revealed last week that young backup ruck Will Verrall had committed to a new deal, while surprise forward Daniel Turner has also inked a new deal. Lachie Hunter has a contract in place for 2025.” Barnes then gives his views on which of the uncontracted players will remain at the club in 2025 as follows- Signing on: Langdon, Melksham, Moniz-Wakefield Holding fire: McDonald Going: Schache, Smith, Tomlinson Retiring: B Brown In the air: K Brown Hore Faris-White Sestan I think Kynan Brown will stay and there’s a good argument for retaining every one of the three “in the air”. Of course, there might be additional list changes as a result of possible trades and it’s Interesting that Lachie Hunter is mentioned given that he’s not getting a game at AFL, having been passed by a couple of the club’s young guns on their way up.

If you have Foxtel and if you’re tv hasn’t been affected by the outages then you can watch the replay - it’s on now.

Despite the Crowd Strike platform failure, all hands are on deck at Demonland cycling away on our backup system in the basement to ensure that its business as usual.

Latest draft order:- ROUND ONE 1 Richmond 2 North Melbourne 3 West Coast Eagles 4 St Kilda 5 Adelaide 6 Hawthorn 7 Fremantle (tied to Collingwood) 8 Gold Coast Suns 9 Gold Coast Suns (tied to Western Bulldogs) 10 Fremantle (tied to Port Adelaide) 11 Melbourne 12 GWS Giants 13 Essendon 14 Fremantle 15 Brisbane Lions 16 Geelong 17 Carlton 18 Sydney Swans END OF ROUND ONE 19 Sydney Swans (tied to North Melbourne assistance package) 20 Gold Coast Suns (tied to North Melbourne assistance package) ROUND TWO 21 Richmond 22 North Melbourne 23 West Coast Eagles 24 Fremantle (tied to St Kilda) 25 St Kilda (tied to Adelaide) 26 Collingwood (tied to Hawthorn) 27 Hawthorn (tied to Collingwood) 28 Gold Coast Suns 29 Western Bulldogs 30 Port Adelaide 31 Adelaide (tied to Melbourne) 32 GWS Giants 33 Essendon 34 Richmond (tied to Fremantle) 35 Gold Coast Suns (tied to Brisbane Lions) 36 Geelong 37 Carlton 38 Melbourne (tied to Sydney Swans) ROUND THREE 39 Richmond 40 North Melbourne 41 Richmond (tied to West Coast Eagles) 42 Melbourne (tied to St Kilda) 43 Adelaide 44 Collingwood (tied to Hawthorn) 45 Collingwood 46 Western Bulldogs (tied to Gold Coast Suns) 47 Melbourne (tied to Western Bulldogs) 48 Port Adelaide 49 St Kilda (tied to Melbourne) 50 GWS Giants 51 Gold Coast Suns (tied to Essendon) 52 Richmond (tied to Fremantle) 53 Brisbane 54 Geelong 55 GWS Giants (tied to Carlton) 56 Sydney Swans ROUND FOUR 57 Richmond 58 North Melbourne 59 West Coast Eagles 60 Fremantle (tied to St Kilda) 61 Adelaide 62 Brisbane (tied to Hawthorn) 63 Richmond (tied to Collingwood) 64 Carlton (tied to Gold Coast Suns) 65 Carlton (tied to Western Bulldogs) 66 Richmond (tied to Port Adelaide) 67 Melbourne 68 GWS Giants 69 North Melbourne (tied to Essendon) 70 Carlton (tied to Fremantle) 71 Gold Coast (tied to Brisbane Lions) 72 Geelong 73 Hawthorn (tied to Carlton) 74 Hawthorn (tied to Sydney Swans)

Just as an aside, Jessica Hull went on a week later to break the 2000m world record (an event that’s not all that often run but a world record is a world record).

The teams are in and so are the umpires. No doubt @Redleg will be pleased that we going to have the company of his favourite umpire # 25 😀

True, but Charlie’s a nice bloke so …

Charlie Cameron has won his appeal against the 3 week suspension imposed by the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night. He’s free to play against the Swans on Sunday.

Where do these jackasses masquerading as “journalists” get off with their gaslighting the Melbourne Football Club? Clayton Oliver is a little over halfway through his career and yet, has already been winner of the Keith “Bluey” Truscott Trophy for Melbourne’s club champion for an equal number of times (four) including in our only premiership season in the past six decades. We can run our club and look after our own when they’ve gone through tough times without taking advice from the clowns on that program who quite frankly need to be better at their jobs than they are at trying to be sensational. Had they been doing that, then they might have noticed how well Simon Goodwin has managed his player given the difficulties he had to face over the second half of last season and the disrupted preseason he endured this year. Clarry’s still important enough for opposing coaches to find the need to put heavy tags on him and sometimes it works. Mostly, it doesn’t because Clarry is that good. The simpletons on Footy Classified somehow managed to miss how Goody kept him on the bench in the early goings against the Bombers (he had only one touch in the first quarter). Yet by half time Clarry had added 10 possessions to his tally and by the end of the game, he had 25 disposals (75% of game time) which put him at the club’s equal third ball gatherer behind Ed Langdon (100%) and Trent Rivers (67%). Sure, his disposal efficiency was down but it was wet and someone who plays the way he does at a frenetic tempo is never going to hit every target. He gained 392 metres on the night, second only to Rivers. Not long after the siren, it was pleasing to see who Goody was embracing and slapping on the back. Clarry of course because his was a significant contribution to the team’s win. I’m looking forward to more and better from Clarry over the rest of 2024 and even more so in the years to come when he’ll be able to put in the hard yards over the summer time, add a 5th & 6th Bluey and maybe a premiership or two and we can sit back and watch Cormes and co eat humble pie over their stupidity.

This is an article written by David Johnston which appears in the Weekly Times Jim Sandral was one of the greatest players in the Ovens & Murray's 131-year history. Read about his remarkable career. Ovens & Murray: Corowa and Rennie champ Jim Sandral passes away, aged 91 Jim Sandral, one of only seven official legends in the Ovens and Murray league's 131-year history and a member of Melbourne's Olympic Games year VFL premiership team, has died, aged 91. Sandral grew up on a family farm at Buraja, north of Corowa, attended boarding school in Sydney where he played rugby league at St Gregory's College. But his return home to life on the land in 1948 coincided with the start of a truly great country football career. Sandral first played for Rennie where he earned the wrath of the umpire in his first match for wrongly wearing his rugby league boots with steel stops. After only eight matches with Corowa, Sandral was picked to play for the O&M. The long weekend carnival held in Albury consisted of three games in three days and Sandral was best-on-ground in two games and second best in the other. North Melbourne guaranteed him six games the following year, but Melbourne had the inside running courtesy of former player Ken Carlon, who had coached Rennie. Sandral flew from Corowa on a small plane for a midweek training session with the Demons in July 1955 before returning to play for Corowa the following Saturday. Although he found it difficult to break into the powerful Melbourne team, Sandral had the greatest respect for legendary coach, Norm Smith. "He was one of the hardest men you'd meet," Sandral said in 2021. "Whatever he said went. No one could backchat him." Sandral played 15 matches in 1956 including the second semi-final and grand final wins over Collingwood. Sandral didn't stay in Melbourne for the Olympics because harvest awaited on a farm near Coreen he had bought. Corowa-Rutherglen's last premiership coach and former Melbourne player Peter Tossol said he had "not met a better bloke in football" Tossol's father and Sandral lived together in the city when they were both at the Demons. "In every game I coached at Corowa-Rutherglen, Jim would walk in the changerooms 15 minutes prior to the start of the game," he said, "He would just stand at the back of the room and this presence provided so much comfort to me and the players. "He wouldn't need to say anything, but he made you feel good. "I am so sad he is no longer with us. I could always go to Jim for advice and I often did." Sandral returned to play for Corowa in 1958 and was appointed coach. He won the first of three Morris Medals the following year. Sandral played in only one grand final for Corowa in 1963 when it lost to Benalla. He was also a premiership player, coach and league best and fairest winner at Rennie. In 2013, he became the fourth legend in the O&M Hall of Fame and has been a regular attendee at the annual function that will be held again next week. His son Dennis, who played 333 matches for Corowa-Rutherglen, has also been inducted into the league's Hall of Fame. Jim and Dennis both won five best and fairests for Corowa with Dennis playing in two country championships winning teams in 1985 and 1987. The father-son duo were also picked in the O&M's Team-of-the-Century. O&M chairman David Sinclair said Sandral was a true legend of the league. "His devotion to family and commitment to the Corowa Football-Netball Club and community were limitless," he said. "His humble and selfless leadership, was inspiring. "He was a beautiful man to meet. He will be missed." Sandral had been diagnosed with leukaemia and his funeral will be held in Corowa on Thursday.

Vic Metro dominates Under 18 All Australian team

Problem is that we don’t have the #1 draft pick this year to enable us to secure Tom Scully.

The 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Boys All Australian Team has been announced:-

The 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Boys All Australian Team has been announced:-

It was actually Peter Marquis who “discovered” Max playing in a schoolboy footy grand final. Because he was also a handy schoolboy cricketer and Melbourne had that close connection with the MCC, he joined the district cricket team and the rest is history.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA THE STAR: BO ALLAN A standout top draft prospect from Western Australia, Allan missed the first game of the championships with a back injury but impressed with his power and speed through the midfield across the final three matches. The side's captain, the combative left-footer averaged 20 disposals, 3.7 clearances, 6.3 score involvements and six tackles. He also booted two classy goals in the team's third match against Vic Metro. Allan - a Peel Thunder product who has also been part of the AFL Academy this year - had primarily played across halfback in previous years. "He's an absolute beauty, Bo," WA talent manager Adam Jones said. "Just his competitiveness and willingness to crack in and lead the way. There's a huge amount of upside with him. He's only played less than 10 games on ball in his career, so for him to battle out against the best in the country was great to see. He's only going to get better and better." THE SURPRISE: JAXON ARTEMIS A rebounding defender from South Fremantle, Artemis enhanced his draft prospects with a strong championships which led to him being named as Western Australia's MVP. The 180cm speedster averaged 15.5 disposals, 5.3 rebound 50s, 4.3 intercept possessions and 369 metres gained across his four matches, providing plenty of drive forward for his side. "Through the winter program, he just got better and better each week," Jones said. "You could just see his confidence within himself growing and him going 'I can play at this level'. His running and eagerness to get on the end of it just continued to grow. His skill and execution and awareness and composure with ball in hand is outstanding. Some guys that you hope can pop and he was one that did." Supercoach Rankings Name Position Games Average B. Allan Mid 3 85.0 C. Angove Gen Fwd 4 72.3 J. Artemis Gen Def 4 69.3 C. Banfield Mid 4 60.5 M. Becker Mid-Fwd 1 30.0 T. Bell Key Def 1 45.0 H. Boxshall Mid 3 85.0 C. Burke Mid 4 95.0 M. Champion Gen Fwd 4 53.8 C. Curtin Key Def 4 49.8 H. Davis Gen Fwd 4 84.3 C. Dennis Key Def 4 68.3 J. Douglas Gen Def 4 78.3 K. Evans Gen Fwd 3 57.3 K. Gerreyn Ruck 4 80.3 A. Gulluni Gen Def 1 39.0 W. Hayes Mid-Fwd 4 75.3 T. Hiscock Key Def 3 44.0 B. Kelly Mid 3 75.7 L. Mactaggart Gen Def 3 96.0 D. Petersen Key Def 3 35.3 A. Riddle Ruck 4 80.8 J. Rigoll Mid 1 51.0 D. Roberts Mid 1 4.0 F. Rodriguez Mid 4 77.0 M. Rohr Ruck 4 50.3 L. Urquhart Mid 4 98.0 A. van der Struyf Mid 4 73.0 W. Walley Gen Fwd 1 56.0 T. Whan Mid 1 28.0

VIC METRO THE STAR: MURPHY REID All the buzz about Vic Metro's midfield heading into the championships surrounded Josh Smillie, Levi Ashcroft and Jagga Smith. However, it was Murphy Reid that upstaged that trio to take out the side's MVP award. The Sandringham Dragons midfielder was clean, composed and consistent across his four matches as he averaged 24.5 disposals, 7.3 score involvements and one goals. "He's a top-end talent in his own right," Vic Metro coach Rob Harding said of Reid. "The first game in the wet against the Allies, he was the cleanest player on the ground by a mile. He had 30-something and kicked three goals in one of the games (against South Australia). He just kept playing well consistently through this tournament. The thing I love about Murph is every time he gets challenged with another level, he meets it really quickly. He hasn't found a level that has been too hard for him." THE SURPRISE: HARRY ARMSTRONG If there's one game where you want to star during the national championships, it is the clash between Vic Metro and Vic Country at Marvel Stadium which was attended by almost every recruiter in the land. Harry Armstrong did just that. A 195cm forward from the Sandringham Dragons, Armstrong put his strong contested marking ability and accurate goalkicking on show in a nine-disposal, five-mark and five-goal performance. He also booted three goals in Vic Metro's third match against South Australia. "He's played really good school football, but that's at a lower level than Coates League or a national championship," Harding said. "He's just adapted really well through the year. He keeps building and developing his game. I watched him on Sunday, strong hands, big, strong contested marks - which is the strength that he has - and he's a beautiful set shot at goal. On a day when we weren't kicking very straight, he's the one that kicks five straight, and he gives us an opportunity to be in that game to win it." Supercoach Rankings Name Position Games Average H. Armstrong Key Fwd 3 100.0 L. Ashcroft Mid 4 99.8 A. Cole Key Def 3 55.3 J. Dattoli Mid 4 77.8 J. Dolan Gen Fwd 3 66.3 L. Emmett Ruck 2 45.5 L. Grego Mid 4 79.5 T. Gross Mid 4 101.0 L. Hofmann Gen Def 3 55.7 D. Hollow Mid 3 59.3 L. Impey Ruck 3 77.7 Z. Johnson Mid 3 59.7 I. Kako Gen Fwd 4 93.3 N. King Mid 3 67.3 A. Ludowyke Key Fwd 1 41.0 B. McKenzie Key Fwd 2 39.5 C. Moraes Mid 4 93.5 J. Nguyen Gen Def 3 57.3 H. O'Farrell Key Def 2 20.0 H. Oliver Gen Def 4 77.3 M. Reid Mid 4 130.8 P. Retschko Mid 3 67.7 C. Richardson Key Fwd 2 57.0 T. Sims Key Fwd 4 62.5 J. Smillie Mid 4 96.3 J. Smith Mid 4 134.8 G. Stumpf Key Fwd 2 41.5 L. Tovey Key Def 1 58.0 L. Trainor Key Def 4 90.8