Whispering_Jack

Pies goal against the run of play to take the lead but Scorps reply through Harmes and follow up with another to Nathan Paraedes.

Goal from a pack - possibly Billy but not sure. Edit: no, it wasn't Billy.

Pies go coast to coast after a Casey point to lead 1.0.6 to 0.1.1.

Must have been me. I've just arrived at OP (covering for KC - work) and the game started with Jake Spencer miskicking and then Jack Grimes followed suit.

Apart from "It's a Grand Old Flag" which we'll all be singing loudly tonight's, this is the song for today ~

I'm going to cover for KC from Casey who can't get a leave pass from work this morning. I haven't decided on my wardrobe yet but I'll look out for you Hardtack.

Will it be Nathan Jones again this year? Voting for the first round begins with the final siren. Votes on a 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis (best gets 6 and so on to sixth best which gets 1). We will select three sets of votes as the official Denonland votes for the round.

You can try this LIVE: Follow the VFL.VFL: Saturday's practice match

I think she's nailed it. From the first time I read those parts of the decision that were released, I felt there was a lack of logical consistency in the decision-making of the Tribunal which led me to think that the test it applied was not that enunciated in the Briginshaw case. Enough for me to believe that an appeal was available and that WADA should take it to CAS so that the case can be determined in accordance with the way the anti doping laws are meant to be dealt with and not in accordance with the black letter of our common law. It was said above that two members of the Tribunal played AFL football and that this was somehow an advantage in reaching a decision. Buffoons like Sam Newman are applauding the verdict but I disagree with that view entirely.

Nasher, this is the AFL where loop holes abound. Suspended players IMO shouldn't be allowed to play games while serving suspensions but because of the fact that carry over suspensions from a previous season meant that players could serve them during NAB Cup games, the AFL changed the rules to make these sanctions applicable to the next official home and away game. Therefore, practice matches are excluded. If the VFL game was an official match, Dawes wouldn't be permitted to play.

Collingwood's squad 2. Sam Dwyer 7. Ben Kennedy 15. Jamie Smith 17. Jonathon Marsh 21. Nathan Freeman 27. Tony Armstrong 29. Tim Broomhead 30. Darcy Moore 33. Patrick Karnezis 37. Brayden Maynard 38. Matthew Goodyear 39. Michael Manteit 40. Paul Seedsman 41. Brenden Abbott 44. Corey Gault 46. Mason Cox 51. Michael Still 53. Jack Hellier 54. David Mennen 56. Jeremy Taylor 57. Tim Allan 58. Ben Moloney 61. Nick Gray 63. Gus Borthwick 65. Rupert Wills 70. Jack Blair

I've made a list of players who appear to be available (ignore the numbers which are the MFC guernsey numbers):- 1. Jesse Hogan 2. Nathan Jones 3. Christian Salem 4. Jack Watts 5. Jimmy Toumpas 6. Chris Dawes 7. Jack Viney 8. Heritier Lumumba 9. Jack Trengove 10. Angus Brayshaw 11. Max Gawn 12. Dom Tyson 13. Jordie McKenzie 14. Lynden Dunn 15. Billy Stretch 16. Dean Kent 17. Sam Frost 18. Daniel Cross 19. Ben Newton 20. Colin Garland 21. Cam Pedersen 22. Viv Michie 23. Bernie Vince 24. Jay Kennedy-Harris 25. Tom McDonald 26. Christian Petracca 27. Aidan Riley 28. Oscar McDonald 29. Jayden Hunt 30. Alex Neal-Bullen 31. Jack Grimes 36. Jeff Garlett 37. Aaron vandenBerg ® 38. Jeremy Howe 39. Neville Jetta 40. Mark Jamar 41. Mitch White ® 42. Jake Spencer 43. James Harmes ® 44. Rohan Bail 45. Matt Jones 46. Dean Terlich 47. Max King ® 48. Jack Fitzpatrick I have crossed out the players who have been named for the Suns game, the 4 players currently on the injured list and Chris Dawes (suspended). That leaves 17 available. One player will probably also be held back as an emergency (my tip: Jack Grimes).

If you think it's disappointing not being on the MFC site, then consider the Casey site which has nothing about it other than a footnote in the article about last week's practice match and even then, the information given is incorrect in that it talks about an 11.00 am start. To be fair, that was probably the starring time when that article was written. Without looking though, I'm sure the Collingwood site has the information and probably an article on who's playing.

Did Mick ring him up with that news?

For most of last season, Brayshaw was seen as the player most likely to be taken with our first pick and then along came the opportunity to select both Petracca and him with picks 2 & 3. He hasn't put a foot wrong in his pre season (apart from when he got the knock on his head and was concussed) and his three practice games were impeccable. During those games he did well in the midfield and in short stints up forward (when he kicked goals) and also down back. He fairly screamed out for senior selection when others who were in the NAB Challenge teams ahead of him squandered their opportunities. He warranted selection and I hope that like all true champions, he never looks back. It's a salivating thought that in 12 months time, we will already have another player of equal or better calibre (Petracca) ready to step into the team and that's not to mention ANB and Billy Stretch. Like many, this is probably the one day in the year of greatest optimism for Demon fans.

Nothing strange. I'm still trying to work out what it means. Now let's stick to topic, thanks.

The TAC Cup season is well under way and some interesting prospects are emerging. Looks like Jake Lovett had a quiet day last week - his team is up against a tough opponent in the Falcons this weekend. TAC Cup Round 2 TAC Cup Round 2 Highlights TAC Cup Form Report Round 1 and 2 TAC Cup Preview Round 2

I know Levi Casboult's kicking is woeful but I'm wondering if this was the reason for his ommision from the Carlton team this week. They really did need a target up forward.

Let's concentrate on Angus Brayshaw and the footy folks. It's Easter, after all.

You could mount an argument for Frawley but he probably didn't have his heart in it for the liking of many. In any event, he's now a Hawk and Mitch will probably kick a bag on him whenever they play this weekend.

I hope there are plenty of Magpie fans around who turn up to support Heritier for his 200th AFL game. Their own team is playing in Brisbane and this bloke has given them fantastic service including a premiership.

That goes for the majority of us at Demonland. Good luck with the job hunting (you already have a great unpaid job at Demonland ), have a Happy Easter and let's hope it all pays dividends with a win tomorrow. Cheers

From time immemorial in sport many athletes have had to live with poor form and setbacks. Grimes needs to grin and bear it and turn things around but his predicament proves that there's more depth at the club now than at any time since he broke into the senior team which means that for the club, that's a good thing.

The point at which you know that guilt is established beyond all reasonable doubt ~ Prime Minister Tony Abbott says ASADA AFL doping scandal was overblown Happy Easter and Passover to all.

Exactly where I see a lot of Melbourne's improvement coming this year. With Garlett, JKH and Kent at the feet of tall, mobile key forwards in Hogan and Frost (with Dawes coming in later), I'm hoping our forward line gets a spark that's been missing for so long. Those games where we struggle to get 10 goals in 100 minutes of football are over. Well ... at least I hope so.