Whispering_Jack

Right ... so we'll have two game day threads, this one being in delay and one for the people at the ground or in a state where the game's being shown in real time.

Good morning all ... I thought I'd kick things off a little early today because of it's unusual nature. We're playing a game interstate that isn't being telecast live into the Demons' home state either on free to air or Foxtel. Those who were around back when our game went national might recall a promise given to fans at the time by Ross Oakley (Commission Chairman) that every game involving a Victorian team playing interstate would be telecast live. Pig's! I suppose I could have flown to Brisbane for the day but I have work commitments so I'm stuck here and I guess I'm going to end up watching the game on one hour delay punctuated by advertising breaks after every goal (and may there be plenty of them after every Melbourne goal). The quandry is whether we have a game day thread discussing the game in real time or one that's on a one hour delay (perhaps I should come back in an hour's time to ask this question of those who are watching the telecast). In the meantime, I'm going to find an effigy of Ross Oakley and some matches.

Great effort Jordie. Cheers.

Does anyone know where we can find the final Gold Coast squad?

Apparently, it was agreed that Brendan Fevola play for his local side Narre Warren in it's opening round game tomorrow before returning to play out the year at Casey. It's a sheer co-incidence that the Scorps are playing in cold Ballarat tomorrow and the fact that there is no Casino within 100k has nothing to do with it all! All kidding aside, I watched a bit of the Casey Reserves game at Port Melbourne last week and I think Fev handled himself well and did the right thing encouraging his teammates when they kicked goals and, at times, directing them where to run etc. From a club point of view, I don't believe his presence will be a total liability. He is an AFL 100 goalkicker and I reckon he could teach our younger key forward prospects a thing or two about positioning and use of the body and kicking for goal. We do have a few in that category who can benefit from his presence and Casey has made a commitment to him for the year so there's no use complaining. Further, we are selling our young players short if we believe that by associating with him at Casey, these blokes are going to turn into psychopaths. Finally, I've stated that the MFC is not and should be a rehab clinic for people with social problems but I think it would be churlish not to have the hope that this troubled individual can overcome his problems and start leading a happy life again.

Emma Quayle reveals how Melbourne can secure Jack Viney early in Clubs strike it rich on early calls. Not boasting (much), but I'd like to award a prize to whoever finds my post from last year where I suggested that the club should avail itself of this rule to officially secure Jack Viney a year early and without having to give up a first round pick. We can see from what's been happening at GC17 that new franchises need a balance of more mature bodies and experienced players to help the younger players out in their formative years and I think Sheedy is astute enough to be able to figure this out and, among other things, use this rule to help achieve that balance with his squad. It's all a matter of learning from the mistakes of others. Incidentally, the VFL/TAC Cup Record list for the Oakleigh Chargers has Jack Viney (#20) down at 178cm 77kg. He turned 17 years of age two days ago, so from one Jack to another. Happy Birthday!

So Jack's grown 3cm from last year if the height shown on the list is correct.

Actually, I have big hopes for the Jacks this week. I hope Watts lines up at CHF, I wouldn't mind them trying Grimes in the middle and Trengove should be placed where the action is as well. Replacing?

The Round two Casey player review is now up on melbournefc.com.au

I understand that he won't get an "enforced" rest but that it will be a self-imposed one. He's a member of the leadership group and should take responsibility for his actions. In the end the club and the player will be better for the experience.

We got back into the game with a lot of hard work in the last 10 minutes of that quarter. We need to go on with it now. Do what Hawthorn did to us in the third quarter last week.

Hopefully, we won't need him to have an impact when he comes on.

How about the fact that we went up one place on the AFL ladder after the Hawks gave Richmond a drubbing last night? That's a positive move, isn't it?

Jaded. You're suspended for the next 5 minutes !

MFC Player Resource Manager Craig Lees on Twitter:- The four reserves players will be - Troy Davis Jack Fitzpatrick Jeremy Howe Tom McNamara The 15 seniors are - Matthew Bate Sam Blease Lucas Cook Michael Evans Max Gawn Neville Jetta Kelvin Lawrence Joel Macdonald Tom McDonald Addam Maric Michael Newton Ricky Petterd Dan Nicholson Jake Spencer James Strauss That's 19 Demons plus that bloke from Brisbane on display on the one ground and on the one day.

And what exacerbates the problem is that the missing midfielders Scully, McKenzie and Morton represent a variety of midfield types leaving a lot of sameness about what's left in that division.

Nobody expected Gold Coast to be an overnight sensation but tonight's performance was disappointing especially when you think that a club like the Brisbane Bears were able to win their first two games. The difference to some extent was the fact that most of the Bears team were mature bodied players with some experience who (even if they weren't great footballers) could play a bit of footy from day one. They didn't throw a dozen kids into the game first up. One week is really not enough upon which to make an assessment. The new rugby union franchise, the Melbourne Rebels, lost their first game 0-43 earlier this year but yesterday won their third game out of a total seven played so far this season. That said, it will take time for Gold Coast to find their feet but they do have a lot of advantages over GWS which I think is going to find it even harder next year. It's going to be harder to attract players to western Sydney and the draft pool is said to be weaker this year. The Giants might have to rely on an even younger group and it's going to take both of them four or five years before they are of sufficient strength to test the top sides. It does mean that some careers may stagnate and even be shortened. That's one of the reasons why I can't see it as beneficial to the long term interests of a young player like Tom Scully to accept a contract with the Giants and why the Giants need to spend their coin on more seasoned footballers. Either way, I'd hate to have to go through the tough early years and have to live in Rooty Hill as well.

Sam Blease is the first to Tweet on the game:

Yes, we do get our share of April fools around here on 1st April don't we?

The good news about this team selection from Melbourne's point of view is that our injury list is diminishing with three of four players listed as "test" being passed fit. In addition, Tom McNamara has also come off the injury list and has been selected to play in the Casey twos. Jeremy Howe is the only player listed as a "test" on the injury list not selected so Melbourne now has only six players out of action:- Robert Campbell (achilles) - 6-8 weeks Troy Davis (thyroid disorder) - ongoing Jeremy Howe (ankle) - 1 week Jordie McKenzie (groin) - 5 weeks Cale Morton (hand) - 1 week Tom Scully (knee) - 3 weeks * Casey has a couple of handy small men missing in skipper Kyle Matthews and Danny Nicholls. I would have gone if they played this on Saturday afternoon but a trip out to Casey Fields on a Saturday night is a bit of a stretch. * probably longer according to some reports.

Sorry to hear about this and I hope Belly comes good. He was a loyal member of the club for a long time and the injury puts into context some of the difficulties players experience at this level. I wish him well for a speedy and complete recovery.

Funny thing is that when I look back, I think of every game we've lost (or even drawn) as the "worst-umpired game in history".

I can't see Gotch copping that sort of bullshit from Fev. Two kicks and one handpass from an overweight oaf is not enough to earn a place in the team for round 1. Not when there's a squad of 40-50 blokes working their butts off over summer to make the first team. Fev will either play reserves or try his luck elsewhere.

Casey Scorpions and the VFL discussion on Casey Radio 97.7FM every Friday afternoon between 1 and 2pm. Casey Radio broadcasts all Scorpions home games live, so if you can't make a match tune in to 97.7FM for the best match coverage in the VFL.

I'd like to know if Fevola turned up at Casey training tonight.