Whispering_Jack

The first goal after half time is very important.

Two Casey Demons have made the final squad - Campbell Hustwaite and Mitch White. VFL finalises team for SANFL representative clash

Here’s an article about the over-agers in the Coates Talent League who are eligible for the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Draft. Talent League: Over-agers start midseason push

According to Professor Wiki, the term “hubris” describes a personality quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with arrogance. Let’s not go too early on this.

The 25 man SANFL squad has been named EX-AFL names among 25-man SANFL squad for clash with Victoria

I’ve changed the title and some contentious parts of the OP. If Twodogs isn’t happy with this, we can delete the thread entirely. In any event, please be polite when talking about footballers from other clubs. They’re still human beings and it takes courage and lots more to play the game at this level.

One of the corporate sponsors of the South Metro Junior Football League which has produced a number of Demons including Angus Brayshaw, Jayden Hunt and more recently Blake Howes is the Grill’d Burger chain which has a promotion called “Mad Bunday” Members of the League which stretches from Port Melbourne to Mordialloc can join the Grill’d App and nominate their football team. If the team wins then you’re entitled to a free burger (on a 2 for 1 basis) to be claimed on the Monday after the game. Thanks to the boys on Saturday night, my wife and I lunched on a burger each. You don’t have to guess - my choice was the MIGHTY MELBOURNE (hold the bacon)!!!

I glanced at the figures on my App close to half time and we had a big lead up to then (I think it was around 17 - 8 in our favour). Since it finished at 25 - 24, it looks like Port got the rub of the green in the second half. Either way, I don’t think they can blame the umpires for the loss.

For the benefit of anyone distressed by the Speed Demon reference, it has nothing to do with the current controversy in the media and absolutely no offence was intended.

The Stawell Gift is a time honoured sprint race which is traditionally run at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampians on Easter Monday. It began in 1878 and has been run in every year since, apart from four times during WW2 and in 2020 during the Covid19 epidemic. Today, we honour former Melbourne footballer, Alf Tredinnick who won the 1902 Stawell Gift in 12.2 seconds, running off 11½ yards. Tredinnick was born in Castlemain and moved west where he played football for Rovers Football Club in the Western Australian Football Association in 1898 before moving to the Goldfields Football Association to play for Kalgoorlie from 1899 to 1900. He was an all-round sportsman who also played cricket and ran as a sprinter. As an employee of the Western Australian Bank he had to run professionally under the assumed name "Alf Hall". He returned to Victoria in 1901 and played seven games (one goal) for Melbourne during that season. He then turned his attention to winning Australia’s most prestigious running race, the In 1902 Stawell Gift. Sadly, Alf died after a short illness in 1910, still in his 30s. His obituary remembered him as "one of the best footballers and athletes in the Castlemaine district". Incidentally, apologies for the title to this thread. Of course, Melbourne were known as the Redlegs back in the first decade of the 20th Century.

There are some competing factors at play. We have to respect our opposition and expect them to come out ready to play. So we have to pick a team to win (that might sound silly because everyone has that aim at this time of year). There’s also a need to preserve your playing group and have them match fit for the long season. I wouldn’t risk Steven May this week. I would rest Jack Billings and Ben Brown and bring in Koltyn Tholstrop and Tom Fullarton. The decision on Brown would be based on consultation with the player and medical staff. Tholstrop looks ready to play at AFL level and Fullarton would fill a forward need and give Max a chop out in the ruck, allowing JvR the opportunity to spend more time in the forward line.

The Sandringham Dragons vs Oakleigh Chargers match up at RSEA Park yesterday turned out to be a fizzer with the Dragons winning 15.13.103 to 7.9.51. Best for the winners were Hotton, Ashcroft and Marshall while Jagga Smith was good for Oakleigh. Noah Yze was quiet.

FIELD OF DREAMS by KC from Casey The sunny skies and still, clear conditions that greeted fans on their arrival created a dreamlike Easter carnival atmosphere for Casey’s game against Footscray at Casey Fields. After their dreams of a flying start to the new season were shattered a week earlier with a disappointing error-riddled opening, the home supporters were given much hope with an improved performance from their team. They were treated with a high standard game of VFL football played in perfect conditions. It was Footscray’s steadiness under pressure and a huge advantage in experience that saw them run out victorious by 14 points, but what the fans saw in the Casey performance was not only improvement but also, a plethora of encouraging signs for the future. Both sides came well out of the blocks early and traded goals until Casey got on top with three quick goals to hold an 18 point lead in mid-term. The Casey rucks and midfielders opened strongly giving the forwards room to move and the goals came. In defence, Jed Adams was a key in his defensive role but when he went off injured, the strong marking Rory Lobb booted two goals and Bianco another to even the scores with the goals deep into time on. After the break, Casey dominated the first half of the second quarter but apart from an easy initial goal to Schache, his third, the Demons simply could not hit targets. Moved back to full forward this week, Matt Jefferson had a purple patch taking some strong marks but his good work was undone with wayward kicking for goal. During this period, he hit the post twice while two other shots failed to score at all. As often happens, the Bulldogs made them pay for their errant kicking at goal scoring four of the next five goals (with Jefferson finally hitting the target for the first time) to go into the sheds at half time with an 8 point lead. The Dogs’ greater accuracy in the third quarter when the Demons kicked only six behinds, saw them stretch the lead to 19 points and while Casey finally got their kicking boots on in the final term, Footscray always had the answers and held on to record a well-deserved 14 point victory. The visitors were loaded with experience at the highest level including two 150 plus AFL games players Rory Lobb (5 goals) and Melbourne premiership player James Harmes (with a game high 33 disposals), 100 gamer Alex Keath and a bevy of other names like Garcia, Jones, McNeil, O’Donnell, Scott and Spicer. By way of contrast, Casey’s only Melbourne listers with experience at AFL level were Josh Schache with 76 games across three clubs and Brisbane recruit Tom Fullarton with 19 games at the Lions. Both had good games with Schache important with four goals but in the heat of battle, the experience differential was significant, especially after Bailey Laurie and Adam Tomlinson were withdrawn from the side and flew to Adelaide to be with the Melbourne team. One of the main functions of this tier of football is to provide a good platform for an AFL club’s youth and another, to give local communities access to a high standard of sport. In this regard, the game showcased the potential at Casey for the fulfillment of many future dreams. Despite Jefferson’s missed goalkicking opportunities (he finished with 2.3 but his accuracy in the past has been sound), the game proved to be a massive confidence booster for him in terms of the way he clunked his seven marks and also, for his ground level play. His duel with fellow uncapped 2022 first round draftee Jedd Busslinger was a ripper and one can imagine similar contests in the future on a higher stage. Also impressive from that class of 2022 were key defender Jed Adams who played his best game yet at Casey, finishing with 11 disposals, rookie ruckman Will Verrall’s 25 hit outs, 19 possessions and two goals and late rookie pick Oliver Sestan (18 disposals, six tackles and a goal) whose improvement over summer has been remarkable. He crashed through packs and intimated the opposition at times in a strong display. Andy Moniz-Wakefield was good again with 23 disposals as he pushes hard for senior selection as he awaits an opening to present itself at Melbourne. Adding to the excitement was the form of Melbourne’s 2023 first-round draftee Koltyn Tholstrup and father/son pick Kynan Brown. The Kolt was again super-impressive with his strength and maturity and the classy way he gathered his 19 touches and six tackles, setting up numerous forward opportunities. The club will have to find a way to include him in its AFL plans soon. Brown was busy again and finished with 16 disposals. Much has been written about the departure of a number of Casey regulars at the end of last season. Some, like heart and soul player and hard tackler Jimmy Munro are irreplaceable but the club’s recruitment has, on this game’s evidence, been very strong. Campbell Husthwaite was again prolific in the middle, Leo Connolly, a revelation off half back (both had 24 disposals) and Mitch Szybkowski was excellent, particularly early in the game. Skipper Mitch White plugged away to be his team’s best for the day while Tyler Edwards also picked up plenty of the football. The end result was most satisfying for the fans who came to support the team over the Easter holiday. A win is not far away and could come next Saturday week against Port Melbourne. Such an outcome might not be the stuff of dreams but the promise of good times is definitely on the horizon for the Melbourne/Casey alliance. CASEY DEMONS 6.2.38 8.7.55 8.13.61 12.13.85 FOOTSCRAY 6.2.38 10.3.63 12.8.80 15 9.99 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Schache 4 Jefferson Verrall 2 Connolly Sestan Steele White FOOTSCRAY Lobb 5 Clarke Jones Spicer 2 Benendo Bianco Garcia Harmes BEST CASEY DEMONS White Verrall Edwards Sestan Hustwaite Tholstrop FOOTSCRAY Harmes Garcia Lobb Bianco Freijah Hunt Statistics Jed Adams 10 kicks 1 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 46 dream team points Kynan Brown 1 behind 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 58 dream team points Leo Connolly 1 goal 1 behind 19 kicks 5 handballs 24 disposals 4 marks 80 dream team points Paddy Cross 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 42 dream team points Tyler Edwards 1 behind 16 kicks 5 handballs 21 disposals 10 marks 2 tackles 95 dream team points Kyah Farris-White 1 kick 1 disposal 3 dream team points Tom Freeman 5 kicks 1 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points Tom Fullarton 1 behind 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 6 hitouts 70 dream team points Max Gregory 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 53 dream team points Campbell Husthwaite 11 kicks 13 handballs 24 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 94 dream team points Matt Jefferson 2 goals 3 behinds 9 kicks 9 disposals 7 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 17 kicks 6 handballs 23 disposals 5 marks 75 dream team points Ned Moodie 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 51 dream team points Charlie Peters 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 17 dream team points Josh Schache 4 goals 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points Ollie Sestan 1 goal 2 behinds 10 kicks 8 handballs 18 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 94 dream team points Tom Sheridan 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 10 dream team points Roan Steele 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 46 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 52 dream team points Koltyn Tholstrup 8 kicks 11 handballs 19 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Ziggy Toledo 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 29 dream team points Will Verrall 2 goals 7 kicks 12 handballs 19 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 25 hitouts 95 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 1 behind 21 kicks 7 handballs 28 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 118 dream team points

Correct

Q2 & Q3 2.11 6.6 The difference is right there but let’s not take anything away from either side. The Dogs had too much strength and experience - Lobb alone has 160 AFL games under his belt and Harmes has 153 AFL games and a premiership. Fullarton and Schache were the only currently listed AFL players in Casey’s team. * I think I prefer what Casey showed today in terms of future players despite the loss. * to be clear, these two were the only MFC listed players out there with AFL experience.

Don’t tell Dazzle.

Interesting that the Box Hill Hawks just beat Geelong VFA by 34 points at GMHBA Stadium with two ruckmen from last week both out (presumably in the lineup for the Easter Monday game). Ned Reeves played for Box Hill as did Finn Maginess who was close to BOG with 27 touches today.

On top of that, two of their AFLW players were done this week for drug use. Shocking culture at Sydney going back decades to Swans player Dale Lewis’ 2002 statement that 75 per cent of AFL players had tried illicit drugs. The Swans’ culture should receive saturation coverage in the media over the next week. And Wicks isn’t the only Swans player not to get a game this weekend. They have a bye.

The Herald Sun article is about the alleged fallout from an end of year trip by the team from Brizvegas to Vegas the city. It contains a hell of a lot of innuendo and very little fact about messages that have leaked out of the team’s WhatsApp group with the suggestion that the boys might have played up a little. Bottom line is the opening paragraph of the article by Sam Landsberger: ”Brisbane Lions have denied a split in their playing ranks despite holding a crisis meeting as the club deals with ongoing fallout from an end-of-season Las Vegas trip.” In other words, they’re saying that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. So, it appears that three games into the third or fourth round of the season, Melbourne might not be the only club that has deep seated cultural issues (don’t panic, I’m being facetious).

The Dandenong Stingrays’ 198 bottom aged Melbourne NGA prospect, Tarion Ah-Mu had another good day kicking three goals in a 14 disposal, 5 marks game. He also had 9 hit outs in the team’s loss to the Gippsland Power. Their other Demon NGA member Corey Giliam kicked two goals in an otherwise quiet performance. For the winners, Ricky Mentha had a quiet day, failing to bother the scorers and picking up 11 touches.

When Carlton kicked their first goal, they had 11 kicks, 10 handballs and 6 free kicks.

Has Jack Bell left? He was included on the Casey list that was issued just before the start of the season.

Let’s just stick with the hypothetical and not touch anything under investigation. This is what happened when two Collingwood players were tested positive for a substance banned by WADA.

He’ll get a week and the Tribunal will accept Collingwood’s plea that it was a football act that Pendlebury couldn’t avoid and that it be downgraded to low impact (despite Neale collapsing and suffering bruising). 😎

Does anyone remember the days when every VFL and VFA ground was near a train station?