Whispering_Jack

2022 NATIONAL DRAFT ORDER AND SELECTIONS 2022 AT END OF SEASON ROUND ONE 1. North Melbourne 2. West Coast Eagles 3. GWS Giants 4. Essendon 5. Adelaide 6. Hawthorn 7. Gold Coast Suns 8. Port Adelaide 9. St Kilda 10. Carlton 11. Western Bulldogs 12. Richmond 13. Fremantle 14. Sydney Swans 15. Brisbane 16. Collingwood 17. Sydney Swans 18. Geelong 
 ROUND TWO 19. Richmond 20. West Coast Eagles 21. GWS Giants 22. Essendon 23. Adelaide 24. Hawthorn 25. Gold Coast Suns 26. West Coast Eagles 27. St Kilda 28. Carlton 29. Western Bulldogs 30. Richmond 31. Gold Coast Suns 32. Melbourne 33. Brisbane 34. Gold Coast Suns 35. Sydney Swans 36. Geelong ROUND THREE 37. Western Bulldogs 38. West Coast Eagles 39. GWS Giants 40. Essendon 41. Melbourne 42. Collingwood 43. Gold Coast Suns 44. Brisbane 45. St Kilda 46. Geelong 47. Collingwood 48. Collingwood 49. Hawthorn 50. Melbourne 51. Geelong 52. Gold Coast Suns 53. Port Adelaide 54. Geelong ROUND FOUR 55. North Melbourne 56. Port Adelaide 57. GWS Giants 58. Essendon 59. GWS Giants 60. Geelong 61. Hawthorn 62. Carlton 63. Melbourne 64. Carlton 65. Western Bulldogs 66. North Melbourne 67. Gold Coast Suns 68. Melbourne 69. Brisbane 70. Gold Coast Suns 71. Sydney Swans 72. Fremantle ROUND FIVE 73. North Melbourne 74. West Coast Eagles 75. GWS Giants 76. Essendon 77. Adelaide 78. Hawthorn 79. Gold Coast Suns 80. Port Adelaide 81. St Kilda 82. Carlton 83. Western Bulldogs 84. Richmond 85. Fremantle 86. Melbourne 87. Brisbane 88. Collingwood 89. Sydney Swans 90. Geelong

Forty years ago today …

I can’t wait till 2030 when the average age of our team edges close to that of Geelong today and we’re in contention again.

… and this

Instead of the dross they’re putting on live at the G, watch this

Won by Hugo Ralphsmith. What happened to Kade Chandler?

Draft guns shine as North prospect seals Vic Metro's U18s title Vic Metro 3.3.21 4.4.28 7.8.50 12.8.80 Vic Country 2.4.16 5.7.37 6.8.44 10.13.73 GOALS: Vic Metro: M. Gruzewski 2, C. Clarke 2, H. Sheezel 2, M. Jefferson 2, K. Windsor, J. Petric, C. Harvey Vic Country: A. Cadman 3, H. Reid 2, N. Long, J. Binns, B. Humphrey, J. Konstanty BEST: Vic Metro: W. Ashcroft, E. Tsatas, M. Jefferson, J. Weddle, L. Hayes, A. Davey Jr Vic Country: O. Hollands, H. Reid, J. Clark, A. Cadman, J. Konstanty, O. Murdoch Larke Medal: Will Ashcroft (Vic Metro) Metro comes up clutch to claim Vic bragging rights

Cadman goes alright. Looks a footballer.

The equivalent in points to pick 3 doesn’t make an offer, equivalent in the real value of the player at the present time. The club used pick 3 to select him and with it came risks as to whether he would improve, be injured and yes, even as to whether he would succumb to the risk of flight which was always there. The club’s investment in Jackson paid off, he improved immensely and is now a premiership player with a long future ahead of him as a top player in a position where the number of players at the elite level is limited. To me, that makes his current trade value much greater than the points equivalent of the number at which he was selected three years ago.

According to the little paper, Adem Yze is now the front runner for the Bombers’ gig. It will be a tough job but I think he’s up to it.

Finally, the last game of the NAB National Championships - and the decider between Vic Metro and Vic Country. It’s winner take all as both sides are undefeated. Teams named for 2022 NAB AFL National Championships U18 Boys decider Highlights from my point of view are:- • Melbourne FC NGA player Finn Emile-Brennan is in the Vic Country side; • Seven players from the NAB League Premier team will feature in the Vic Metro team: W. Ashcroft, H. Sheezel, C. Mackenzie, O. Hotton, C. Clarke, J. Anderson and T. McMullin along with B. Hempel who is an emergency. …. and a preview from Rookie Me Central Preview | 2022 AFL U18 National Championships – Vic Country vs. Vic Metro

It’s still open to the club to rookie him later in the year if he’s not taken by someone else.

Doug Nicholls played some reserves matches for Carlton in 1927 but did not play a senior game. Some of the trainers there refused to attend to him because he was an Aboriginal. He subsequently joined Northcote in the VFA and was a member of their 1929 premiership team. In 1932, he joined Fitzroy Football Club and in 1935, he was the first Aboriginal player to be selected to play for the Victorian interstate team.

No. This is far more serious than the Essendon drug saga. And furthermore, it shouldn't be politicised by relating the issue to "cancel culture". If an investigation verifies these allegations then it's absolutely one of the worst scandals in the history of our game. I was fortunate enough to meet the then Pastor Doug Nicholls, one of our first Indigenous footballers when I was at school in the early 60s and he told us of his experiences when he first came to play at Carlton and was treated as sub human. We should accept no excuses for that conduct even if it happened in the late 1920s but today, it borders on criminal. Anyone connected with this has no place in the game.

Has there been a definitive statement from the club about the injury?

Definitely more demanding aerobically than it used to be ten years ago because coaches at this level try to emulate some of the tactics and strategies of the AFL whereas back then, it was kick ball, mark ball and the most adventurous piece of play was to just switch play across the ground. It’s far more sophisticated nowadays. Also, the fact that he ended up playing seniors meant that he had to put in extra work to be fit enough just to play out a game. Late in the season, it became quite difficult for the younger players in the team but I think that’s to be expected. That younger brigade who played ½ a season of Under 17 football last year went from playing 4 x 20 minute quarters against 16 year olds to playing 4 x 30 plus minute quarters against men at senior level. It’s a challenge and will hold them in good stead next year.

I don’t think in those conditions, the number of possessions is necessarily the arbiter of how the younger players, particularly the talls, performed in those conditions. In the cases of both Turner and JVR, there were plenty of instances of them doing the 1 per centers like tackling, shepherding, punching the ball and tapping it away from opponents, second efforts, a lot of which didn’t appear on the stats sheets. JVR in particular, showed how much of a monster he’s going to be when he fully matures. Can’t wait.

I can empathise with you on your club’s issue with grading. The concept of grading is excellent because it should ensure that teams in each division are as close as possible in ability but it doesn’t always work out that way.

Should be more competitive but the top half of C is not far behind the level of the bottom half of B. I’ll miss your ground in 2023. It’s a nice facility and the folks in the canteen are very welcoming.

It’s AJAX but, from talking to others at games, it was common to quite a few clubs.

I think community football is currently at the crossroads and I base this on some experiences I had this year following the suburban club that my family has been involved with for decades. This was the first season since prior to the Covid pandemic where the game was allowed to proceed to completion at grassroots levels but the effects were still evident in a number of ways. One of my grandsons who was restricted to about half a dozen games of junior footy in 2020-1 as a result of the cancellation of one season and lockdowns in the next decided along with a few of his mates to try out at Under 19 level to balance their VHS studies (he turns 18 late this year) at their club whose seniors play in VAFA B Section. As it turned out, a number of former senior players had made the decision to retire or take the season off in order to travel - some had completed their studies and others simply wanted to take the first opportunity in a few years for a break from work in the almost post pandemic period. Similarly, with many potential Under 19 level players having just finished secondary studies wanting to concentrate on getting jobs, having gap years or to travel for part of the time, there weren’t enough numbers for an under 19s. The result was that my grandson and a few other teenagers doing their preseason, suddenly found themselves candidates for places in the senior team in Round 1 in B Section. The club played a number of teenagers during the season and, all things considered, they were pretty competitive. The team lost players to injury and more travel plus a couple of retirements around mid season but they battled on. My grandson played 12 games and was out injured in four (there was an odd number of teams in the section requiring two byes and a 16 match season - also partly due to Covid). He was given a few tagging roles and was named in the best players on quite a few occasions. Despite us being in the second highest section of the VAFA and with a number of teenagers playing reasonably well at that level, we never saw any talent scouts at our matches. Was that due to a lack of money available to finance recruiting or simply that nobody was interested? This wasn’t an issue for our club but, in speaking to others from other VAFA and suburban clubs, what we experienced was happening across the board. Every once in a while, there might be a surprise result and the explanation was health and safety issues, work requirements, trips north, to the snow or overseas, retirements and the like. There isn’t the same level of commitment as there used to be at this level – perhaps with another year, things might return to normal.

No change after week three of the finals.

This in the Age ~ Revealed: The AFL’s draft assistance package for North Melbourne

RAINING PREMIERS by KC from Casey If the threatening dark grey skies that loomed above Ikon Park before the VFL Grand Final didn’t provide a sufficiently inhospitable reception for our visitors from sunny Queensland, the rains that bucketed down after quarter time certainly did. For years, the Casey Demons have welcomed opposing teams at their home fortress with rain, hail, wind and frosty conditions and it was just Southport’s luck that they met those conditions head on in the VFL’s big dance. They suited Casey’s skillful players backed by a couple of hardened veterans of the competition right down to the sodden ground. Both during and after the deluge, the Sharks struggled. They were held to a mere two goals after quarter time while the Demons piled on eight to march away with the flag to the tune of 38 points. In truth, the Casey Demons would most likely have won in any weather conditions as they demonstrated throughout 2022 when they won 20 out of 21 games played, ironically losing their only match in balmy South East Queensland to the Brisbane Lions a month ago. But they were never going to lose this one. For starters, they were a team replete with 16 AFL-listed players of varying levels of experience and size backed up by two lion-hearted hard nosed performers in captain Mitch White and the brutal hard-tackling Jimmy Munro in the midfield. Both the skipper and the trusty Munro have been at the wheel in previous unsuccessful premiership campaigns but played in losing grand finals in 2016 and 2018. On Sunday, they were indefatigable in their attack on the ball and their opponents. White (29 disposals, 13 tackles) was a fitting recipient of the Norm Goss Memorial Medal for the best afield in the VFL grand final while Jimmy Munro was close behind with 21 touches including a goal plus an incredible 17 tackles. With those tackle counts, they wore down the solid-mature bodied Southport outfit and allowed players of the calibre of Luke Dunstan, Toby Bedford, Kade Chandler and Oskar Baker to create enough regular forward thrusts to break the game apart. In the end, it was the brilliance up forward of Jake Melksham who kicked the opening goal to add three more in the final term to ice up the game. Mitch Brown was another experienced hand up forward who contributed a couple of goals. Premierships are rarely won without having a superb defence and here, Casey excelled through the agency of Adam Tomlinson, Joel Smith, Daniel Turner, Matt Buntine, Corey Ellison and rookie Judd McVee. They were certainly helped by the conditions but, after the first break they were so miserly that they hardly let the wind and rain through and warmed the hearts of coach Mark Corrigan and the fans. Special mention needs to be made of the continuing emergence of Sam Weideman as a ruckman. He held his own against a much bigger opponent and his mobility around the ground was crucial to Casey’s effort in denying the Sharks the first use of the football. Although they weren’t prolific ball winners on the day, the likes of Jacob Van Rooyen, Taj Woewodin and Bailey Laurie all showed enough to suggest that there’s a lot more in store for the Demons from players of their calibre. And there ended a brilliant season from the Casey Demons with the first flag under the new banner of a century old club. Long may they reign. CASEY DEMONS 2.2.14 4.5.29 6.8.44 10.10.70 SOUTHPORT SHARKS 3.3.21 3.5.23 4.5.29 5.8.38 Goals Casey Demons Melksham 4 Brown 2 Bedford Laurie Munro Woewodin Southport Sharks Townsend 2 Johnson King Pescud Best Casey Demons Bedford Melksham White Munro Dunstan Weideman Southport Sharks Woodcock Boakye Joyce Townsend Crossley Manteit Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 19 kicks 6 handballs 25 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 82 dream team points Toby Bedford 1 goal 2 behinds 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 7 tackles 84 dream team points Mitch Brown 2 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 11 disposals 6 marks 64 dream team points Matt Buntine 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 35 dream team points Kade Chandler 12 kicks 11 handballs 23 disposals 8 marks 7 tackles 107 dream team points Luke Dunstan 24 kicks 7 handballs 31 disposals 4 marks 9 tackles 128 dream team points Corey Ellison 5 kicks 1 handballs 6 disposals 6 tackles 43 dream team points George Grey 7 kicks 7 disposals 5 tackles 44 dream team points Blake Howes 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 3 tackles 22 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 1 behinds 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 45 dream team points Judd McVee 12 kicks 2 handballs 14 disposals 2 tackles 47 dream team points Jake Melksham 4 goals 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 96 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 4 kicks 4 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 30 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 14 kicks 7 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 17 tackles 128 dream team points Aidan Quigley 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 38 dream team points Joel Smith 1 behind 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 52 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 68 dream team points Daniel Turner 6 kicks 1 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 35 dream team points Ryan Valentine 2 kicks 1 handball 3 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 5 hit outs 18 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 41 dream team points Sam Weideman 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 35 hit outs 101 dream team points Mitch White 24 kicks 5 handballs 29 disposals 3 marks 13 tackles 135 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points

On this day in 1964, we beat the Black and Whire. Relive it in those two colours and enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66S5m6o_j3M