Whispering_Jack

From South Fremantle - a strong 179cm tall midfielder. ”“South Fremantle’s Molly O’Hehir is one of those players with a glass ceiling. For a player of her size and athleticism, it is rare that she can also be a potent user of the ball and do so much damage on-field wherever she plays.”

Family day at Gosch’s Paddock

I'd be keen to turn the tables on the Dockers when we play them this year. Our performances against them were abysmal this year including the Alice Springs game when we had most of our team intact.

These were the top-ten highest paid players for 2024 according to Zero Hanger. What it shows us is how badly affected the Demons were by injury this year with Christian Petracca missing the last half of the season and Clayton Oliver coming off a limited pre season and carrying multiple injuries throughout the year.

Channel 7 opened in 1956 in readiness for the Melbourne Olympics but Australian Football was its main sport in the early days. After a bit of chopping and changing, the channel regained the TV rights and it mainly shares telecasting with the Fox Network. This doco was made in 2001 for grand final week.

The days with modern scientific coaching methods, the coaches will keep the players well hydrated and they will most certainly train tomorrow. Imagine how we would look if we called off training and all of the other clubs trained? The media and supporters of other clubs would have a field day.

Davo-27 in bigfooty has nominated 77 kids to watch next year starting with his early prediction of the top 5 prospects:- 1. Dyson Sharp (SA) (pick 1 favourite) 2. Fred Rodriguez (WA) 3. Riley Onley (VC) 4. Oliver Greeves (VM) 5. Zeke Uwland (Allies) VICTORIA Oliver Greeves 191cm Eastern VIC Thomas McGuane (Coll FS) 177cm Western VIC Lachlan Dovaston 176cm Eastern VIC Sam Grlj 182cm Oakleigh VIC Jack Dalton 177cm Sand VIC Cooper Duff-Tytler 199cm Calder VIC Felix Kneipp 177cm Calder VIC Riley Onley 194cm Murray VIC Archie Ludowyke 195cm Sand VIC Willem Duursma 191cm Gippsland VIC Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves 185cm Dand VIC Josh Lindsay 182cm Geelong VIC Louis Emmett 198cm Oakleigh VIC Giuseppe Posterino 176cm Geelong VIC Thomas Burton 178cm Western VIC Xavier Bamert 184cm Sand VIC Mitch Moate 180cm Northern VIC Jamie Gilchrist 185cm Eastern VIC Tairon Ah-Mu 198cm Dand VIC Jobe Scapin 186cm Gipps VIC Zach O'Keefe 177cm Gipps VIC Jasper Russell 176cm Dand VIC Sam Lewis 186cm Dand VIC Harry Morphet 175cm Geelong VIC Sam Allen 184cm Oakleigh VIC Ben Rongdit (Geel NGA) 183cm Geelong VIC Xavier Taylor 191cm Eastern VIC Harley Hicks 178cm GWV VIC Hunter Wright 187cm Bendigo VIC Isaac Dugdale 179cm Northern VIC Aaron Sharkie 182cm Oakleigh VIC Callum Smith 190cm Oakleigh VIC Charlie Whitehead 191cm Oakleigh VIC Kobe Williams (Haw FS/WB NGA) 185cm Western VIC Tyson Gresham 168cm Northern VIC WESTERN AUSTRALIA Fred Rodriguez 183cm Sth Frem WA Cody Curtin 197cm Clarem WA Basil Hart (Frem NGA) 183cm Peel WA Blake Kelly 182cm Swan Dist WA Marcus Cassidy 186cm East Perth WA Jadd Hill 176cm Perth WA Taj Longmuir 179cm South Frem WA Toby Whan (Frem NGA) 182cm South Frem WA Sam Swadling 187cm West Perth WA Charlie Banfield (WCE FS) 188cm Clarem WA Darcy Montgomery 191cm Subiaco WA Wes Walley (WCE NGA) 181cm Subiaco WA Koby Evans (WCE NGA) 186cm Perth WA Will York 172cm Peel WA Kaiden Summerall 179cm East Frem WA Amon Ross 177cm West Perth WA SOUTH AUSTRALIA Dyson Sharp 188cm Central Dist SA Sam Cumming 184cm South Adel SA Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier 182cm North Adel SA Noah Roberts-Thomson 180cm Sturt SA Aidan Schubert 194cm Central Dist SA Louis Kellaway (Rich FS) 182cm Sturt SA Jim Kelly 178cm Norwood SA Jesse Nye 179cm South Adel SA Lachlan Sands 179cm WWT SA Harley Barker 187cm Sturt SA Blake Thredgold 193cm Sturt SA Jeff Rozenbilds 177cm Norwood SA Will Prescott 180cm Norwood SA Josh Reichelt 180cm Central Dist SA Luke Candy 183cm Glenlg SA ALLIES Zeke Upland (GCS Academy) 178cm GCS Qld Daniel Annable (Brisbane Academy) 183cm Bris Qld Ryder Corrigan 185cm (GWS Academy?) Murray NSW Dylan Patterson (GCS Academy) 183cm GCS Qld Beau Addinsall (GCS Academy) 180cm GCS Qld Liam Hetherton 195cm Murray NSW Noah Chamberlain (Sydney Academy) 192cm Syd A NSW Lachlan Carmichael (Sydney Academy) 183cm Syd A NSW Kalani White (Melbourne FS/GCS Academy) 198cm GCS Qld Max King (Sydney Academy) 191cm Syd NSW Jack Harrison Bris QLD

Sure, that record doesn’t look good but we usually do them over in grand finals. I look forward to us repeating the dose as soon as possible.

Merbein has proved to be a great recruiting ground for the club. In addition to Harold Ball and Hassa Mann, the late Colin Sylvia also came from Merbein.

The club socials have put up some pictures of the group hard it with Saturday morning sprint training and a bit of a run as well. I wasn’t there myself but if the intensity was at the same level as last week’s Saturday session then it suggests that we have a great deal to look forward to in the coming season.

Reported in today’s Herald Sun Additional reporting in the on line edition refers to Daniel’s legal action against Heaney.

Mark Heaney has been named in an action instituted against him and the Sydney Swans over alleged sexual abuse of a trainee academy player more than a decade ago. Hopefully, the outcome will bring justice to the unnamed player as well as to former Demon rookie Daniel Hayes. I hope that Daniel is doing well and knows that he has our support and good wishes.

Damn good question Mr. Stone. While watching this morning’s session with some very astute observers on the boundary line, we were pondering over exactly where the 2025 list stands by way of comparison to the great 2021 premiership team. Here’s the team that beat the Western Bulldogs in the Grand Final at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021:- The players who are no longer at the club are Michael Hibberd, Angus Brayshaw, Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Brown, James Harms, Luke Jackson and James Jordon (sub who didn’t get on the ground). There were also a few good depth players who for one reason or another didn’t make the cut, notably Nathan Jones, Neville Jetta, Jayden Hunt, Jake Melksham, Sam Weideman, Aaron vandenBerg and Toby Bedford. A few of those were on their way out. Daniel Turner had just been drafted in the mid-season draft. Adam Tomlinson was on a long spell out with an ACL. Kade Chandler and Joel Smith were thereabouts. Are we better now? It’s hard to replace some of those premiership stars (Brayshaw, Brown, Hibberd and Jackson were instrumental), there are some question marks about some of the key midfielders from 2021; only time will tell whether the team remains as fit and healthy as it was back then. I did see room for optimism on today’s showing at Gosch’s Paddock. Kozzy was outstanding today but he’s out suspended for the first three games. Trent Rivers is maturing into an important piece in the side. They look to be the big improvers over the intervening time. You would have to be happy with the progress of Clarry and Tracc - they displayed an attitude today that augured well for their return to “normalcy” within the team. There seems to be a nice infusion of high level elite young talent from the last two drafts in Windsor, Tholstrop, Langford and Lindsay are all blue sky. Judd McVee is emerging as a quality defender. Then there were the young key forwards Jacob van Rooyen, Turner, Matt Jefferson and newcomer Aidan Johnson held their marks and moved around the ground with flair, noting that their cause was aided by the absence of Steven May and the fact that Jake Lever was running laps around the boundary. The jury’s out but I’m optimistic for a return to the finals.

The 191cm, Johnny Weissmuller comes from another sport (swimming) so I would contend, he could be recruited as a Category B rookie. His age could be a problem.

Don’t forget …

There should be a big upsurge of interest in the Casey Demons this year as we see a huge improvement in quality of the club’s VFL list. On top of that, with occasional appearances permitted for father/son and NGA players, we can also expect to see Kalani White and Toby SInnema in the colours as well. So forgive me for going early, but hopefully, the Casey team will get the full support of the senior club in 2025 - we’ve seen the benefits in the past of having both the AFL and VFL squads simultaneously competing in finals.

The 2025 Victorian summer hub squads have been released - see here. They include three MFC NGAs - Toby SInnema, Marcus Prasad (2026 draft) and our “Clayton’s NGA”, Tairon Ah-Mu who we don’t have access to under current rules.

There’s still some time to come but before too long - The Next Davey: Demons tracking 14-year-old Marley’s rise

Excerpt from today’s Melbourne Age article seem to suggest that the MFC project is proceeding - Inside the private school super-campus slated for part of Caulfield Racecourse Melbourne Football Club is working with Development Victoria to develop a business case, and the state government is yet to receive any funding proposal to consider in relation to the project. The club is estimated to require $70 million funding from outside its coffers to fulfil its plans, which include two new ovals. The Demons made it clear through the feasibility process that the club would need access to the ovals for only 17 hours a week, and the remainder of the time they would be available for the community. The club would also be responsible for oval maintenance. Scopus plans to build its own oval on the 7.5-hectare site, which is on the western perimeter of the racecourse and does not include the infield. Melbourne Football Club chief executive Gary Pert said Scopus’ news was a positive step for the club’s hopes of realising its vision in Caulfield. "We welcome the announcement that Mount Scopus Memorial College intend to be our neighbour, building a new campus adjacent to Caulfield Racecourse," Pert said in a statement. "It's important to clarify that the club and Mount Scopus sites are separate parcels of land that may result in us being neighbours in the future. "The Melbourne Football Club are currently preparing a business plan that is based on our facility and our two training ovals all being built on the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust land. “We see incredible potential in working alongside the community and community-based organisations, including Mount Scopus, to create meaningful synergies and mutual benefits for both communities and to enhance the Glen Eira area.” Pert is leaving the club at the end of the year but will continue to consult on the Caulfield project. The Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust said the Mount Scopus and Demons developments could coexist.

That would be the Scopus that produced a player who has achieved the following in the last two years after being drafted at # 3 in the 2022 National Draft - • AFL Rising Star: 2023 • Syd Barker Medal: 2023 • AFLPA Best First Year Player: 2023 • AFLCA Best Young Player: 2024 • 2x 22under22 team: 2023, 2024.

It’s been reported that among other things, the purchase will be funded in part from the sale of its three campuses around Melbourne including a substantial site adjacent to Deakin University.

The Caulfield Bears moved elsewhere6 or 7 years ago and Old Haileybury were given the lease of Princes Park on an annual basis with Ajax Juniors playing there on Sundays. Some people associated with Old Haileybury have voiced their concerns about the size of the ground and distance from their own heartland.

All Melbourne supporters and not only those who follow the Casey Demons, should be delighted with that recruiting haul. The extra depth will enable the VFL team to be far more competitive in 2025 than it was this year which will also have the benefit of helping the development of the younger MFC-listed players. Some more information on the mature aged midfielder, Hardie who is aged 27 and is 185cm tall, in this article - Delisted Cat certain he has more to offer amid reported interest from rival clubs