Whispering_Jack

We can expect possibly seven changes to the Melbourne lineup for the return game against Sydney with the following likely outs:- Angus Brayshaw (retired), Lachie Hunter, Jake Melksham, Daniel Turner (injured), Clayton Oliver (managed?) and Kozzy Pickett & Joel Smith (suspended). That’s a lot missing in such a short space of time but let’s not forget the David Parkin principle which says that for clubs to win flags, they need to constantly turn over new talent and he thought having five new faces in a team each year was good for the cause.

Casey coach Taylor Whitford has confirmed that Campbell Hustwaite has joined the Casey Demons for the 2024 season. Hustwaite was with Collingwood VFL for five seasons and co-captained the Pies for the last three years with another Magpie VFL stalwart, Lachlan Tardrew. He came from the Dandenong Stingrays and is still only 23 years of age. Standing at 184cm, he has been highly regarded as a midfielder and for his leadership going all the way back to his TAC Cup days. “He is the type of player who bleeds for the club he represents and if you want midfielders with grunt and tenacity, Hustwaite seems a great value option. He might not be flashy like some others, but his contested work and leadership is something clubs should take into account when considering players who could improve the culture of a club.” - Campbell Hustwaite He trained with the Magpies for an AFL opportunity during this summer’s pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) and, from all accounts, was close to winning a place on their list. I think it’s a great selection for Casey given the loss of such a great VFL campaigner in Jimmy Munro. Hustwaite should go a long way towards filling the immense void of talent and experience left by Munro’s departure and by playing with one of the competition’s strengths should do his AFL aspirations no harm.

Sorry but after investing so much time and energy into last year’s death ride of Freo only for us to use two selections on players who barely figured among the main draft contenders for most of the year, the entire death ride concept has completely lost me. As it is, I’m still very happy with our three draft selections and rather than waste time on getting excited about a plethora of irrelevant match outcomes, I prefer to sit back and watch JT show his talent and do his thing at the end of November.

Saw Taj Woewodin entering IKON Park today with Daniel Turner. Woey appeared to have a bit of a limp.

Are we in time to appeal Kozzy’s suspension?

Melbourne 5.1.31 lead Carlton 2.0.12

More VFL premierships because we won a few when there was an alignment in place with Sandringham.

After beating Melbourne, Richmond would have to be favourite in this one. Surely?

Yes - the Herald Sun is quoting Max that Clarry will play with the VFL team on Wednesday morning, the objective being to ensure that he’s cherry ripe to return and to do so over the long term. I’m good with that and hope he’s not ruled out for Round Zero. In a separate report in the Herald Sun:- WHO DIDN'T PLAY IN MATCH SIM: Tall Tom McDonald (calf), winger Lachie Hunter (calf) and Charlie Spargo (achilles) missed against Richmond but hope to play against Carlton. Harrison Petty was also absent due to toe soreness, with the Demons to monitor him in the next few days. Taj Woewodin (concussion) and Andy Moniz-Wakefield (thigh) are both expected to be available to face Carlton. WHO WILL UP THEIR MINUTES: Key men Clayton Oliver and Christian Salem both played in the back end of the seven periods against Richmond and will be watched closely as they push to play in Opening Round. Max Gawn also just played one half. WHO IS A WHILE OFF: Shane McAdam has had an interrupted pre-season and looks likely to miss the Carlton game due to calf tightness. Daniel Turner (leg stress fracture), Ben Brown (knee), Tom Fullarton (hamstring), Jake Melksham (knee) are also out. Angus Brayshaw has retired.

The all-important Pre-Season ladder

Not suggesting that it happened in this case but some sensationalist journalists with an agenda have been known to introduce quotes from “unnamed” sources simply to embellish their stories.

Melbourne supporter Titus O’Reilly covered the saying with Mick Malloy on their excellent podcast Sports Bizarre a while ago. It refers to an early Australian pugilist Larry Foley (1847 - 1917) who never lost a fight. He retired happy at 32 after collecting a purse of £1,000 (probably close to $1m today) for his final fight.

Marty Hore was first cab off the rank for the PSS period in November. Today, that period closed. All of the 2024 Pre-Season Supplemental Selection period signings

You know the footy season is approaching and it’s not just the smell of the linament, the clicking of the turnstiles or the warming of the pie oven. It’s the sullen and gloomy naysayers who have broken down over missing on the four points not on offer because it’s just the first match simulation. It’s only 18 days into February and Round Zero is the same number of days away but to some people, all is lost. Some fifty or more years ago, Melbourne played Carlton on the MCG in the last practice match of the preseason. The Dees were on fire and smashed the Blues all over the ground. Two weeks later they faced each other in Round One and the result was the exact opposite. We were March champions and April fools. I’m not even sure what the objective is of these games but, despite a few odd crunches, it appears that the injury list did not expand beyond its current level so that’s a bonus. I don’t think you can expect to get much out of today. We have no idea what the coaching staff wanted from the day, what their expectations and instructions were to the players. It certainly seemed different to last year when the better players on the ball dominated and had more game time but this time Max and Trac were used sparingly and Clarrie did his shtick in the late, late show with Salo. Jack Viney took up the form he was late in 2023. I was impressed by Caleb Windsor and Jack Billings who will add interest to the battle for a place on a wing. We got a bargain in Kynan Brown but he’s not quite ready for the physical challenges of the game right now but it won’t be long. The Kolt looked strong at the end of the endgame. JvR had his moments early - they all did until the handbrake went on after 20 minutes. Sure, there was a lot of sloppy ball use and you could probably point a finger at the defence more than the forwards (because for a long time, the ball never went into attack). But both sides had plenty of first choice players out of action and, by the time the opening siren blares to announce the start of the season, the look and feel of the teams will differ markedly. The story of the game for me was the heartwarming feeling when Clarrie slotted through the goal of the year from the boundary (pity the car wasn’t on offer) on his left foot. He might not quite be back in town just yet but Cranbourne East is only is 45 km from the CBD and that’s only 2½ km a day.

Take them all off now and bring on Clarry and the twos!

The full list of Demons missing from today’s scratch match Angus Brayshaw - illness Ben Brown - knee Tom Fullarton - hamstring Lachie Hunter - calf Shane McAdam - calf Tom McDonald - calf Jake Melksham - knee Andy Moniz-Wakefield - thigh Harrison Petty - toe Joel Smith - suspension Charlie Spargo - Achilles Daniel Turner - stress fracture femur Taj Woewodin - concussion So, with the exception of Joel Smith, I guess that makes up our first proper injury list for 2024.

I’m sure they called the equivalent game last year, “match simulation”. What’s the difference between that and a “scratch match”?

I think Sicily at Hawthorn is a little underrated in Cornes’ list and while the Bont is great, he’s not a premiership skipper like Max. Now, if only the men/women/them who once were in white would give him the proper protection in ruck and marking duels, he would be way far ahead of the rest.

Aren’t we still waiting to hear from the club as to the extent of the injury that’s kept him off the track recently?

Six years ago today, history was made when the Demons took home this glamorous piece of silverware. Three years later, we took the big one out for the men and a year later, for the women. Time for some more …

First day at school a week or so ago …

Harley Reid and George Wardlaw are currently favourites for the 2024 AFL Rising Star but there are a number of others who will make their claims during the season. With all of the talk about Melbourne’s list starting to age, it’s worth noting that the Demons have the equal highest number of players eligible for this year’s award - 13, along with Geelong, GWS Giants and West Coast. The players in question might not yet be considered leading contenders but one never knows:- Bailey Laurie Taj Woewodin Daniel Turner Caleb Windsor Matthew Jefferson Blake Howes Jed Adams Will Verrall Oliver Sestan Koltyn Tholstrup Kynan Brown Kyah Farris-White Andy Moniz-Wakefield Every player eligible for the 2024 Rising Star Award

The Herald Sun’s top AFL players rated in the AFL’s upper echelon (85+ points) Nick Daicos 94 Marcus Bontempelli 93 Toby Greene 93 Christian Petracca 92 Errol Gulden 92 Zak Butters 91 Charlie Curnow 91 Sam Walsh 90 Jeremy Cameron 90 Connor Rozee 90 Jordan De Goey 90 Sam Taylor 90 Lachie Neale 89 Jack Sinclair 89 Jordan Dawson 89 Zach Merrett 89 Luke Jackson 89 Noah Anderson 89 Touk Miller 89 Tom Green 89 James Sicily 89 Max Gawn 89 Harris Andrews 88 Jacob Weitering 88 Darcy Moore 88 Andrew Brayshaw 88 Tom Stewart 88 Tim English 88 Jack Viney 88 Nick Larkey 88 Patrick Cripps 87 Josh Daicos 87 Cal Wilkie 87 Jake Lever 87 Charlie Cameron 86 Jai Newcombe 86 Steven May 86 Dan Houston 86 Tim Taranto 86 Rowan Marshall 86 Nick Blakey 86 Lachie Whitfield 86 Caleb Serong 86 Rory Laird 85 Hugh McCluggage 85 Isaac Quaynor 85 Patrick Dangerfield 85 Stephen Coniglio 85 Dustin Martin 85 Chad Warner 85 Oscar Allen 85 Tom Liberatore 85 The obvious missing player not in the list is our own Clayton Oliver who in my unbiased opinion is at least a 95. The Herald Sun might claim that there’s merit in his omission as follows:- “Melbourne already has five players in that upper echelon of 85 points or more without Oliver, downgraded given the clear issues about his professionalism, off-field behaviour and likely late start to the season.“ If they carried out this sort of appraisal 12 months ago, Jordan De Goey would have rated around 60 on that basis - look where he is now. Clarry is already back in training with the main group at Melbourne and understanding what he can do with the footy in his hands, I have faith that he will overtake many of the above list sooner rather than later. And that’s just one point of controversy about the list.

Why not try the forgotten man, Daniel Turner, up forward?

A couple of points here:- • Daniel Turner would be entitled to be upset at being left out. • Will Verrall was not a mid-season draftee. He was taken with pick No.14 in the 2022 NAB AFL Rookie Draft.