Whispering_Jack

The NAB Boys League is no more. The sponsor for both the boys and girls elite competitions has changed. The Boys League starts on Saturday and promises to be just as productive if not more so than last year. This is the fixture for the Coates Talent League Boys 2023

I really thought that I might be able to avoid this death ride stuff but, on Sunday afternoon/evening, I found myself drawn to the St Kilda vs Fremantle game and was actually trying to will St Kilda to the 4 points. In the end, the willing side of things was unnecessary because the Dockers lost it all on their own with an insipid display against a depleted outfit operating on 50% rat power. I’m sure the Freo brains trust is searching for answers but it looked to be quite simple - their depth is being sorely tested. Fremantle traded heavily in order to fit Jackson onto their list. They traded away Blake Acres (Carlton), Rory Lobb (Western Bulldogs), Griffin Logue (North Melbourne), Lloyd Meek (Hawthorn) and Darcy Tucker (North Melbourne). They also lost David Mundy to retirement. Apart from Mundy, none of the players the Dockers lost were household names but each of them individually was a player who gave the team additional options in terms of placing and performance. The Dockers’ gains during the trade period were Jackson and Jaeger O'Meara. On Sunday, the latter was okay and promises to be handy but Jacko was sluggish and presented no danger to the Saints. I question his fitness. Fyfe appears to be a shadow of his former shadow. it was only game one but they were, along with the Hawks, the round’s biggest losers.

The rules says it’s high impact if it can cause damage to the victim even if, in actuality, it did not. On that basis, the club needs more to sustain an appeal and the visuals are pretty damaging on the face of it. Hoping that Jack Viney is fit and ready to play on Friday night to offset Kozzie’s absence.

Toby Greene playing his heart out for the Giants who are down to one on the bench.

Correction ½ & 5½.

When you take on a team that’s over stacked with tall timber what better than the rain predicted in tonight’s weather forecast?

Time to rock n’ roll Demons!!!

To answer any queries about Casey this weekend (it will be hot)!

The AFL is looking at changing the rules concerning drafting of Next Generation Academy players. Clubs push for more access to own NGA talent amid review AFL clubs are pushing to return to a smaller protected band for the draft, with the view that the current limit to the top 40 is far to restrictive for clubs. However, any potential changes to more draft access for NGA players will not apply to the 2023 intake.

More than 400 of the top underage footballers from 12 Coates Talent League clubs across Victoria converged on Maribyrnong College on Saturday primarily to show off their athletic traits. Players were put through a series of five tests, consisting of the standing vertical jump, running vertical jump, 20m sprint, AFL agility test and Yo-Yo test. Only a few results are currently available but one of the standouts was Gippsland Power forward-midfielder Zane Duursma – brother of Port Adelaide’s Xavier and nephew of Demon Jamie Duursma who played 33 games for Melbourne in the late 1980s.

Chris Cavanagh with his preview of AFL Draft 2023: Top prospects, father-son, Academy players Included is this pen picture of father/son prospect Kynan Brown who did some preseason work with the club:- “Kynan Brown (Oakleigh Chargers) – A ball-winning midfielder who can also go forward and impact the scoreboard. He is a father-son prospect for Melbourne, as the son of Nathan Brown who played 146 games for the Demons from 1998-2007. Featured in the under-17 Futures game last year.”

It could be a massacre but, based on the selected side, not what you might have been expecting when you posted. Looking at Casey’s ‘outs’, the selectors have taken out all MFC players from last week as well as seven of the top Casey regulars. Skipper Mitch White was also missing last week and is still out - as is Finn Emile-Brennan.

Thanks for that. Now can somebody with good eyesight identify the goalkickers?

Sounds like the new coach has to work on some discipline issues early in his coaching stint. There were too many slip ups in that brief resume, any one of which could have been avoided and might have changed the result given that it was a 1 point game in the end. Poor form of Schache given he’s fighting for a place at AFL.

The team: R.Baldi, M.Buntine, T.Burgoyne, P.Cross, K.Farris-White, T.Freeman, L.Goonan, G.Grey, M.Hibberd, B.Howes, M.Jefferson, J.Jordan, A.Moniz-Wakefield, J.Munro, J.Schache, O.Sestan, D.Smith, R.Steele, A.Tomlinson, D.Turner, K.Turner, J.van Rooyen, T.Sheridan, R. Valentine, W.Verrell

Death, taxes and Western Bulldogs leading the free kick count by 23 to 12 in Round 1 vs Melbourne.

My major criticism of the merger of the Casey Scorpions into the property of the Melbourne Football Club was the destruction of the club that was once a separate entity with a heart and soul of its own. If the Casey Demons was still a club that treasured its community involvement in the local area and its wider catchment, there would be so many additional benefits accruing. One of those things would be the fact that there would be no shortage of supporters coming to games and telling the world how their local team was traveling and which of their players was doing well and which was having a bad day - even in practice matches. Instead, we get nothing.

AFL news: Max Gawn on playing injured in finals, Brodie Grundy and what Lachie Hunter will add to Melbourne Article in today’s Herald Sun tells the story of how Max Gawn was initially ruled out of last year’s semi final vs Brisbane due to a painful hip injury – only to win a last-minute reprieve. A couple of scans on the day before the game earned him a reprieve just as Jacob Van Rooyen was poised to make a shock finals debut against the Lions in his place. After feeling good and playing well in the first half (the Dees led by 22 points at the main break), it all “came caving in during the second half” and Max struggled to see out the game. “It was certainly in my head space as the game wore on. But I tried to stay in the moment as much as I could,” Gawn said. “I was doing quite well to stay in the moment in that game to make sure our team didn’t know there was anything wrong. We had five or six guys in the same position that game.” We knew that the Demons were in dire straits on the night and it’s been debated and discussed before but we knew we were going into a cut throat final at way under full rat power. We rolled the dice and lost.

Basically, the now 21 year old made the seniors at South Croydon as a 19 year old in a season affected by Covid lockdowns but 2022 was his breakthrough year kicking 45 goals for the club. During one of the finals attended by Max Gawn who came to watch former teammate Matt Jones, he left a lasting impression on the Demon skipper who alerted the club’s scouts and, as a result he’s secured a contract with the Casey Demons.

Max had a hand in getting Tom Sheridan to Casey - EFNL 2023: South Croydon’s Tom Sheridan earns VFL contract with Casey

State of play before tonight:-

Not sure as to the cause but most likely sports related (bowler at cricket and played footy).

Diagnosed with suprascapular neuropathy which ended his sports career, left him with maximum 50 per cent of shoulder movement for the rest of your life and around three years of health coverage. Covid19 made access to health carers problematic. He was not able to work and his situation with care was becoming more and more difficult. Ultimately, contacted by former Dees teammate Kade Kolodjashnij, who had himself been forced into premature retirement because of concussion effects. He put him onto an insurance expert who reviewed his situation and now has more full insurance and access to specialists. He is hopeful of securing better treatment for a better outcome for himself.

The story of Guy Walker, a serious cricketer, who was drafted as a rookie a few years ago but unfortunately spent his time as a Demon on the injured list. Former AFL and Big Bash League player Guy Walker opens up on life-changing disability claim

I think we should protest to the AFL for abandoning the 8th period of Friday’s SIM when we would have had the wind advantage. Cost us valuable percentage.