Whispering_Jack

Report from Paul Amy of Leader Newspapers ~ The Casey Scorpions power into the preliminary final, defeating Footscray Bulldogs by 70 points

They do take a while to develop but we would be on the look out for young ruckmen to develop in the shadow of Max who is going to be around for a while. Perhaps Jake who will be 27 by the start of next year, is not quite right for our needs going forward in comparison to a 22/3 year old ruck? That might allow us to get involved in trading for another midfielder to bolster our stocks which, despite our promising young brigade, were exposed in the last couple of rounds.

It certainly does sound like premature speculation on the part of the author. Nevertheless, nothing would surprise during the trade period and with some clubs desperate to build on their ruck stocks, it's not inconceivable that someone might make a play for Jake over the next month.

The top ten trade and free agency stories for the next month or so are predicted in this article from Fox Sports and noticeably Melbourne is not included in the speculation. Possibly, someone forgot about Michael Hibberd but that could be because everyone seems to think that he's virtually a done deal. That deal will cost us a second round pick which leaves us with little currency given that pick 1 was traded to Gold Coast last year. And of course, nobody's talking about Jesse Hogan and Nat Fyfe - Trade and Free Agency: The top 10 trade stories to look out for this October Here are the top 10:- • JAEGER O’MEARA Possible Destinations: Essendon, St Kilda, Carlton, Hawthorn Likelihood: 100% • TRAVIS CLOKE Possible Destinations: Western Bulldogs, Richmond, North Melbourne Likelihood: 100% • TOM ROCKLIFF Possible Destinations: Adelaide, St Kilda Likelihood: 50% • BRENT HARVEY Possible Destinations: Retirement Likelihood: 50% • DION PRESTIA Possible Destinations: Richmond Likelihood: 100% • DAVID SWALLOW Possible Destinations: North Melbourne Likelihood: 25% • BRETT DELEDIO Possible Destinations: North Melbourne, Gold Coast Likelihood: 10% • TOM MITCHELL Possible Destinations: Hawthorn, Carlton Likelihood: 60% • HAYDEN BALLANTYNE Possible Destinations: West Coast, GWS Giants, Geelong Likelihood: 80% • CALEB MARCHBANK Possible Destinations: Carlton, St Kilda, Essendon, Collingwood Likelihood: 50%

Scott marks and goals.

Lead out to 25 points after Weideman's third.

The Weed gets his second. Lead out to 13 points.

AFL Draft Central is a good resource for the current crop of draft picks. This is a link to some of its footage - 2017 AFL DRAFT PROSPECTS

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER (as at current ladder positions after round 23) ROUND ONE 1 Essendon 2 Brisbane Lions 3 Fremantle 4 Gold Coast 5 Carlton 6 Richmond 7 Greater Western Sydney (received from Collingwood) 8 Gold Coast (received from Melbourne) 9 Port Adelaide 10 St Kilda 11 North Melbourne 12 Western Bulldogs 13 West Coast 14 Adelaide 15 Greater Western Sydney 16 Hawthorn 17 Greater Western Sydney (received from Geelong, via Carlton on trade) 18 Sydney Swans ROUND TWO 19 Essendon 20 Brisbane Lions 21 Gold Coast (received from Fremantle) 22 Gold Coast 23 Carlton 24 Gold Coast (received from Richmond) 25 Collingwood 26 Melbourne 27 Gold Coast (received from Port Adelaide) 28 Brisbane Lions (received from St Kilda, via Collingwood on trade) 29 North Melbourne 30 Western Bulldogs 31 West Coast 32 Greater Western Sydney (received from Adelaide) 33 Greater Western Sydney 34 Hawthorn 35 Geelong 36 Sydney Swans ROUND THREE 37 Essendon 38 Geelong (received from Brisbane Lions) 39 Fremantle 40 Gold Coast 41 Carlton 42 Richmond 43 Collingwood 44 Melbourne 45 Port Adelaide 46 St Kilda 47 Brisbane Lions (received from North Melbourne) 48 Carlton (received from Western Bulldogs) 49 West Coast 50 Adelaide 51 Greater Western Sydney 52 Hawthorn 53 Geelong 54 Sydney Swans ROUND FOUR 55 Essendon 56 Brisbane Lions 57 Fremantle 58 Gold Coast 59 Western Bulldogs (received from Carlton) 60 Richmond 61 Collingwood 62 Melbourne 63 Port Adelaide 64 St Kilda 65 North Melbourne 66 Western Bulldogs 67 West Coast 68 Adelaide 69 Greater Western Sydney 70 Hawthorn 71 Geelong 72 Western Bulldogs (received from Sydney Swans) ROUND FIVE 73 Essendon 74 Brisbane Lions 75 Fremantle 76 Gold Coast 77 Carlton 78 Richmond 79 Collingwood 80 Melbourne 81 Port Adelaide 82 St Kilda 83 North Melbourne 84 Western Bulldogs 85 West Coast 86 Adelaide 87 Geelong (received from Greater Western Sydney) 88 Hawthorn 89 Geelong 90 Sydney Swans ROUND SIX 91 Essendon 92 Brisbane Lions 93 Fremantle 94 Gold Coast 95 Carlton 96 Richmond 97 Collingwood 98 Melbourne 99 Port Adelaide 100 St Kilda 101 North Melbourne 102 Western Bulldogs 103 West Coast 104 Adelaide 105 Greater Western Sydney 106 Hawthorn 107 Geelong 108 Sydney Swans

The TAC Cup finals start in earnest today This preview from AFL Draft Central:- TAC CUP FINALS PREVIEW Here's a look at the weekend's games:- TAC Cup Finals Week 1: Teams / Preview My game of interest is the first Elimination Final between the Sandringham Dragons and the Eastern Ranges, mainly because of the Brayshaw brothers but also because I was a friend of the late uncle of one of the Dragons players, Ashley Krakauer. 1st Elimination Final Sandringham Dragons vs Eastern Ranges Sunday 4th September, 2016 IKON Park at 11.30 AM Sandringham Dragons B: K Beveridge D James L Murphy HB: A McGrath A Sakeson R Hayward C: H Burt O Florent J Scrimshaw HF: T Taranto H Mclean H Brayshaw F: A Krakauer I Morrisby M Williams FOLL: L Filipovic W Setterfield C Lyons I/C (from) T Maloney Q Montanaro G Lok J Trew C Larkin A Zimmerman K Nissenbaum 23P A Brayshaw Eastern Ranges B: T Hollins H Nolan H Stanley HB: A Cerra J Hannon T Short C: J Ross D Clarke N Lane HF: J Maibaum K Keppel J Garner F: C Brown S Hayes J Stephenson FOLL: N Mullenger-Mchugh J Begley J Gallucci I/C (from) J Lynch J Haynes J McCormack M Stavrou K Doueal T Jacotine J Burleigh 23P D Moore

So from the team that lost by one point, Casey's changes are effectively:- In: M Jones Grimes Kennedy Salem J Smith White Out: Bugg Pedersen

Carlton supporters have been saying for some time that both Marchbank and Tomlinson were signed, sealed and delivered. Sounds like they had some inside information.

Tell 'em they're dreamin'

Last weekend was a bit like the bye weekend but with two games played between teams that didn't make the finals. That being the case, perhaps it might be the right spot for the Demons to start looking for recruits in view of their current draft position and the fact that our second rounder might be required in a trade for Michael Hibberd. SCOUTING NOTES: TAC CUP BOTTOM FOUR ROUND

Should never have let him go in the first place.

I have no information whatsoever other than I heard the commentators on SEN's drive home programme saying that Rockliff was something of an enigma at Brisbane and they might consider letting him go elsewhere in the quest to play in finals etc. and I'm not sure that we have much to offer the Lions in terms of players and we certainly don't have draft picks ATM but I'm just throwing it out there. A matter of days before he was picked up by the Lions in the 2009 Pre Season Draft, I was watching him at Melbourne's pre season training where he was an invitee. Regular Demonland poster Redleg was there too and we both thought he would make a good selection either in the PSD or the rookie draft where we had pick 1 in both. History tells us that at the same time, the Demon recruiters were looking at an exciting indigenous forward - Liam Jurrah - who was starring in the NTFL. They went to Darwin, saw him, liked him and drafted him as #1 in the 2009 PSD. We still had a chance to get Tom Rockliff with our first pick in the Rookie Draft. There were only six live picks in the PSD that year and Richmond was always going to take Ben Cousins with pick 6 so Melbourne missed on getting Rockliff by one pick. We took Jordie McKenzie with our Rookie Pick 1 and he turned out a handy player for a while but Rockliff has gone on to bigger and better things - club captaincy at the Lions, two B & F's and an All-Australian. Still, there's talk of strains in the relationship. Perhaps he might want to come home to Victoria? As I said, we don't have too many bargaining chips and the Lions might stand firm if he wanted to go but at 26 years of age, he might well fill a bit of a void at the club and give us some additional leadership qualities. Well, that's my trade outsider for the moment.

The Bulldogs are likely to have the services of Jake Stringer who will be eligible to represent them because of a rule that allows players whose AFL clubs are in the finals to represent their VFL club during the bye round if they did not play AFL in the previous week.

The finals schedule has come out and the Scorpions' game is on Saturday v Footscray but not televised. That's a good sign because Casey seem to do better when the cameras are not around. PETER JACKSON VFL LEGENDAIRY FINALS SERIES SENIORS Saturday September 3 QUALIFYING FINAL 1 – Casey Fields 2pm: Casey Scorpions v Footscray QUALIFYING FINAL 2 – IKON Park 2pm: Collingwood v Williamstown ELIMINATION FINAL 1– North Port Oval 2:40pm: Geelong v Essendon* Sunday September 4 ELIMINATION FINAL 2 – North Port Oval 2:40pm: Port Melbourne v Sandringham* *Channel 7 AFL VICTORIA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE Saturday September 3 SEMI FINAL – Casey Fields 11am: Box Hill Hawks v Casey Scorpions Sunday September 4 ELIMINATION FINAL – North Port Oval 11:30am: Port Melbourne v Williamstown UPCOMING FINALS Seniors Saturday 10 / Sunday 11 September, North Port Oval: Semi Finals Saturday 17 / Sunday 18 September, North Port Oval: Preliminary Finals Sunday September 25, Etihad Stadium: Grand Final Development League Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 September, North Port Oval: PreliminaryFinal Saturday September 17, North Port Oval: Grand Final

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER (as at current ladder positions after round 23) ROUND ONE 1 Essendon 2 Brisbane Lions 3 Fremantle 4 Gold Coast 5 Carlton 6 Richmond 7 Greater Western Sydney (received from Collingwood) 8 Gold Coast (received from Melbourne) 9 Port Adelaide 10 St Kilda 11 North Melbourne 12 Western Bulldogs 13 West Coast 14 Adelaide 15 Greater Western Sydney 16 Hawthorn 17 Greater Western Sydney (received from Geelong, via Carlton on trade) 18 Sydney Swans ROUND TWO 19 Essendon 20 Brisbane Lions 21 Gold Coast (received from Fremantle) 22 Gold Coast 23 Carlton 24 Gold Coast (received from Richmond) 25 Collingwood 26 Melbourne 27 Gold Coast (received from Port Adelaide) 28 Brisbane Lions (received from St Kilda, via Collingwood on trade) 29 North Melbourne 30 Western Bulldogs 31 West Coast 32 Greater Western Sydney (received from Adelaide) 33 Greater Western Sydney 34 Hawthorn 35 Geelong 36 Sydney Swans ROUND THREE 37 Essendon 38 Geelong (received from Brisbane Lions) 39 Fremantle 40 Gold Coast 41 Carlton 42 Richmond 43 Collingwood 44 Melbourne 45 Port Adelaide 46 St Kilda 47 Brisbane Lions (received from North Melbourne) 48 Carlton (received from Western Bulldogs) 49 West Coast 50 Adelaide 51 Greater Western Sydney 52 Hawthorn 53 Geelong 54 Sydney Swans ROUND FOUR 55 Essendon 56 Brisbane Lions 57 Fremantle 58 Gold Coast 59 Western Bulldogs (received from Carlton) 60 Richmond 61 Collingwood 62 Melbourne 63 Port Adelaide 64 St Kilda 65 North Melbourne 66 Western Bulldogs 67 West Coast 68 Adelaide 69 Greater Western Sydney 70 Hawthorn 71 Geelong 72 Western Bulldogs (received from Sydney Swans) ROUND FIVE 73 Essendon 74 Brisbane Lions 75 Fremantle 76 Gold Coast 77 Carlton 78 Richmond 79 Collingwood 80 Melbourne 81 Port Adelaide 82 St Kilda 83 North Melbourne 84 Western Bulldogs 85 West Coast 86 Adelaide 87 Geelong (received from Greater Western Sydney) 88 Hawthorn 89 Geelong 90 Sydney Swans ROUND SIX 91 Essendon 92 Brisbane Lions 93 Fremantle 94 Gold Coast 95 Carlton 96 Richmond 97 Collingwood 98 Melbourne 99 Port Adelaide 100 St Kilda 101 North Melbourne 102 Western Bulldogs 103 West Coast 104 Adelaide 105 Greater Western Sydney 106 Hawthorn 107 Geelong 108 Sydney Swans

There's an article on the Box Hill v Casey game by Paul Amy of the Leader Newspapers ~ Box Hill Hawks farewell Iles, Casey Scorpions say hello to finals which might provide us with a clue to the Pedersen omission for the Carlton game. Amy discusses the long list of MFC players available for the Scorpions' finals campaign and then says, "But the Scorpions will have to do their premiership bidding without Cam Pedersen, who was among their best against Box Hill, his former club. "He slotted three goals — one after taking a ripper mark, another after converting from a tight shot in front of the terraces — but he played with a shoulder injury and will go in for surgery, an indication that he’s in Melbourne’s plans for 2017." The suspect shoulder may well be the reason that he wasn't played in those two final games.

I guess the simple approach would be to say that this is a young team and that they tired noticeably at the end of the season but we've also seen the younger players rested at strategic times during the season. Why have they tired so badly in comparison with the Essendon youngsters? In future, I don't think we can continue tolerating the situation where the team constantly fails miserably when the time comes to step up to the plate. Our performances against fellow 2015 bottom sixers Essendon, St Kilda (twice) and Carlton have been unacceptable. Yesterday, we dragged ourselves into the mire. If the signs were there that our younger players were flagging it might have been an idea to give some of our veterans like Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn or Col Garland a game that might have been a farewell to some very loyal servants who went through tough times for the club.

A bit of an anticlimax this week after the Demons' "19th nervous breakdown" in a must win game against the Blues. There will be no trip down the highway today for me (enough of those dreary rides back into civilization after a loss) but a nice surprise like last year will do me (and Roosy in his last game) fine. At this time of year, it's been usual to look forward to trading and drafting but the circumstances (limited trade bait, no high draft picks) mean that that's out of the question as well. Our Aussie cricketers? Say no more. Not even watching the EPL because it's not on Foxtel these days. Does anyone know when the darts season starts?

That would be right so Kennedy is eligible and Oliver becomes eligible if he plays today. The question is whether all of those players will actually be available as some might need surgery or even to be rested in order to fulfill organised pre season training programmes for next year. Whichever way it pans out, I think we can expect Casey to field very strong teams and, for once (because it's never happened since the alignment began with Melbourne) they might even win a finals game.

Fantastic news. I've followed Jack since his days at Sturt and I'm glad the club has shown faith in his recovery.

And Dank keeps on giving ... Dank promises to drop bombshell allegations involving current and former Gold Coast footy players.