Whispering_Jack

Melbourne v St Kilda at Casey Fields, 3.10pm AEDT THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: L.Birch 9 G.Colvin 32 HB: S.Heath 30 S.Lampard 8 S.Goldrick 23 C: E.McNamara 22 T.Hanks 5 C.Sherriff 18 HF: T.Harris 7 K.Hore 10 J.Parry 19 F: D.Pearce - C 6 M.Fitzsimon 24 Foll: L.Pearce 15 E.Zanker 29 K.Paxman 4 I/C: B.Tarrant 20 M.Caris 21 E.West 11 A.Bannan 16 S.Scott 12 Emerg: L.Magee 26 A.Brown 28 IN Heath Lampard Scott Sherriff OUT Brown (omitted) Magee (omitted) Mithen (AFL Protocol) Petrevski (omitted) ST KILDA B: T.Lucas-Rodd 18 R.Ott 20 HB: B.Jakobsson 8 J.Van Dyk 36 H.Priest - C 14 C: M.McDonald 1 T.White 29 C.Phillips 35 HF: D.Guttridge 5 K.Shierlaw 12 R.Dillon 25 F: A.Richards 22 J.Vogt 10 Foll: L.Cutting 26 N.Xenos 27 T.Meyer 34 I/C: L.Burke 30 O.Vesely 23 A.Burke 3 R.Watt 7 I.Shannon 11 Emerg: R.Saulitis 13 E.Friend 16 IN: Meyer Richards Shannon Watt OUT: Exon (injured) Greiser (omitted) Saulitis (omitted) Woodward (omitted)

The team heads out to Casey Fields for its first home game of the season for the Pride Round. Please give them your support!

THE TEAMS MELBOURNE B: L.Birch 9 G.Colvin 32 HB: S.Heath 30 S.Lampard 8 S.Goldrick 23 C: E.McNamara 22 T.Hanks 5 C.Sherriff 18 HF: T.Harris 7 K.Hore 10 J.Parry 19 F: D.Pearce - C 6 M.Fitzsimon 24 Foll: L.Pearce 15 E.Zanker 29 K.Paxman 4 I/C: B.Tarrant 20 M.Caris 21 E.West 11 A.Bannan 16 S.Scott 12 Emerg: L.Magee 26 A.Brown 28 IN Heath Lampard Scott Sherriff OUT Brown (omitted) Magee (omitted) Mithen (AFL Protocol) Petrevski (omitted) ST KILDA B: T.Lucas-Rodd 18 R.Ott 20 HB: B.Jakobsson 8 J.Van Dyk 36 H.Priest - C 14 C: M.McDonald 1 T.White 29 C.Phillips 35 HF: D.Guttridge 5 K.Shierlaw 12 R.Dillon 25 F: A.Richards 22 J.Vogt 10 Foll: L.Cutting 26 N.Xenos 27 T.Meyer 34 I/C: L.Burke 30 O.Vesely 23 A.Burke 3 R.Watt 7 I.Shannon 11 Emerg: R.Saulitis 13 E.Friend 16 IN: Meyer Richards Shannon Watt OUT: Exon (injured) Greiser (omitted) Saulitis (omitted) Woodward (omitted)

The AFLW Pride Round has taken a bit of a hammering after Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs all recorded a number of positive cases within their squads. As a result, the Suns/Lions and Bulldogs/Blues games have been cancelled. Carlton will now play Brisbane at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday night while the Suns and Bulldogs will sit out the round altogether. That’s two weeks in a row for the latter. The shape of things to come?

Is the tyranny of distance keeping our track watchers away? Training Gallery: January 21

Melbourne confirms guernsey numbers for 2022

The point is that a person’s choice of sport is not necessarily dependent upon how much money they make from their participation. It could be as simple as the enjoyment of the game or an individual not wishing to live in the shadows of their parents achievements.

I’m finding it difficult to reconcile many of Knightmare’s shifting views on some players. This is where he had Jacob Van Rooyen in his 2 April, 2021 power rankings:- “10. Jacob Van Rooyen Van Rooyen appears to to be the most advanced key forward in this year's draft crop. Van Rooyen kicked 19 goals from 10 WAFL Colts matches last season. Van Rooyen's aerial marking and contested marking are his weapons and give him the future scope to switch into defence. Possessing a strong and advanced body for his age, Van Rooyen has good one-on-one capabilities and importantly for a forward applies forward pressure capably.” A month later he dropped out of the May power rankings (possibly due to his bout of glandular fever) but he was back on 8 June, 2021:- “17. Jacob Van Rooyen Among the most advanced key position players in this year's draft crop, Van Rooyen has recently returned from a battle with glandular fever. Van Rooyen's aerial marking and contested marking are his weapons and give him the scope to switch into defence. Possessing a strong and advanced body for his age, Van Rooyen has good one-on-one capabilities and importantly for a forward applies forward pressure capably. Following his 24 disposal, three goal performance against East Perth, Van Rooyan earns a position inside the top 20.” Despite booting 24 goals in the final six games of the colts season and displaying some consistently good form for the WA Under 19s in both defence and up forward, he has dropped out of favour from being “the most advanced key forward in this year’s draft” to an outsider for an AFL debut in 2022 and possibly 2023.

Tiernan Stynes has just been selected in the Victorian Under 18 Basketball team for this year’s Australian championships. The pendulum seems to be swinging in favour of the sport of basketball.

FoxSports have an article - What every delisted and retired AFL player has planned for 2022 These snippets on a club by club basis are of interest as far as the Melbourne Demons and Casey Demons are concerned ~ BRISBANE LIONS Brock Smith (delisted) – TBC, but likely to play in the VFL and has been linked to the Casey Demons. {Note: Brock Smith 20 189cm 92kg “Brock Smith was selected at Pick 33 at the 2019 NAB AFL Draft and is a defender who can play both defensive and offensive roles. The Gippsland Power Captain can also provide offensive run rebounding off the half back. Smith is known for his terrific character and ability to defend various opponents.”} FREMANTLE Reece Conca (delisted) – Player Development Manager at Melbourne (AFL) GWS GIANTS Matt Buntine (delisted) – Casey Demons (VFL) and Caulfield Grammarians (VAFA) {Note: Matt Buntine 28 189cm 85kg Matt Buntine was selected by the GIANTS at pick five in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft and made his AFL debut in round eight, 2012. The defender, from the Dandenong Stingrays in Victoria, was named in the GIANTS’ emerging leaders group before the 2014 season and joined the official leadership group in 2016 for a season. A knee reconstruction in 2017 interrupted his career before he fought back into the side, playing in the 2018 finals series. Buntine is studying a Bachelor of Education, completing a coaching course and has ambitions of becoming a PE teacher post-football.“} HAWTHORN Tom Scully (retired) – Will continue his work in the police force 😵‍💫 MELBOURNE Austin Bradtke (delisted) – TBC, but was training with Frankston (VFL) prior to Christmas and took part in match simulation. Kye Declase (delisted) – Werribee (VFL) Marty Hore (delisted) – Given permission to train with North Melbourne (AFL) over summer in the hope of being selected in the SSP Neville Jetta (retired) – Development coach and VFL player at Collingwood (AFL) Nathan Jones (retired) – TBC, but has been linked to a part-time role at an AFL club Jay Lockhart (delisted) – Southport Sharks (VFL) Aaron Nietschke (delisted) – Central District (SANFL) Aaron vandenBerg (delisted) – Old Xaverians (VAFA)

It was North Melbourne that played at Coburg (in 1966). Also, I left out the great Kevin Joseph Murray MBE is because he’s still with us so he doesn’t yet qualify as a “ghost”.

My fondest memory of a suburban football ground is that of the old Brunswick Street Oval, a picturesque ground with ancient grandstands and a brick fence. It was the scene of one of my first games which, despite being in the midst of a golden era for the Demons, turned out to be a narrow loss to the Lions which had previously been called the “Gorillas”. That was in 1957 when my cousin and I walked to the ground from Brunswick where we lived across the Merri Creek. Times were different then - we were just short of our 10th and 8th birthdays respectively. As the reigning premiers, it was a shock to lose to Fitzroy who had finished well down the ladder in 1956 but we always had trouble with them, particularly at their ground. Soon after, a rivalry began between the clubs because we were coached by Norm Smith, they by his brother Len. The ground was small and by the late 60s was no longer fit for purpose as a VFL ground and the Lions became nomads, moving to Princes Park (twice), the Junction Oval, Victoria Park, the Whitten Oval and eventually when they were forced to merge with the Brisbane Bears, to the Gabba where they tasted success but not as Fitzroy. The real Fitzroy lives and still plays at the Brunswick Street Oval in the Amateurs. They play in the same Division as my club and it’s always a thrill to head out there for a game against the Roy Boys. There’s only the old grandstand left, part of the brick wall, lots of trees around the perimeter, one of the best canteens in the Ammos and a friendly atmosphere. Perhaps the ghosts of some of their greats like Haydn Bunton Sr., “Butch” Gale, “Chicken” Smallhorn and Bill Stephen still lurk around the old grand stand happy in the knowledge that they couldn’t kill off the old Fitzroy.

2022 Melbourne numbers — 
1. Steven May 3. Christian Salem 4. James Harms 5. Christian Petracca 6. Luke Jackson 7. Jack Viney 8. Jake Lever 9. Charlie Spargo 10. Angus Brayshaw 11 Max Gawn 12. Toby Bedford 13. Clayton Oliver 14. Michael Hibbert 15. Ed Langdon 16. Bailey Laurie 17. Jake Bowey 18. Jake Melksham 19. Fraser Rosman 20. Adam Tomlinson 21. Jacob Van Rooyen 22. Blake Howes 23. James Jordon 24. Trent Rivers 25. Tom McDonald 26. Sam Weideman 27. Luke Dunstan 28. Majak Daw 29. Jayden Hunt 30. Alex Neal-Bullen 31. Bayley Fritsch 32. Tom Sparrow 33. Oskar Baker 34. Deakyn Smith 35. Harry Petty 36. Kysaiah Pickett 37. Kade Chandler 38. Mitch Brown 40. Taj Woewodin 41. Judd McVee 42. Daniel Turner 44. Joel Smith 45. Andy Moniz-Wakefield 50. Ben Brown

He was a truly wonderful gentleman. Friendly and always willing to get into a conversation about footy. I remember him once at Trevor Barker Oval Beach Road Sandringham when Melbourne was still affiliated with the Zebras. I got there early and we were watching this gangly young ruckman, Stefan Martin who had come down to play VFL after a year with Old Haileybury. Scotty was fascinated by the fact that Martin had scored a 99.75 in his VCE and we discussed why someone with those qualifications would want to play in the VFL ressies. He was great company for a while before wandering off into the rooms to get a scoop that would enable him to come up with another one of his punchlines. A real character. Condolences to his family.

MELBOURNE 1.0.6 6.3.39 7.6.48 8.6.54 RICHMOND 2.1.13 2.1.13 4.1.25 6.2.38 GOALS MELBOURNE Bannan Harris Hore 2 Paxman D Pearce RICHMOND Brennan Lavey 2 Conti Dargan BEST MELBOURNE Zanker Paxman Birch Hanks West RICHMOND Lavey Brennan Conti Seymour INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil RICHMOND NIl REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil RICHMOND Nil CROWD 1,517 at the Swinburne Centre

Dees going bang, bang, bang.

Yeah, nah. The one handed mark was nice and deserved some kudos but the thing about him that’s impressed me is his record over a few seasons and his performances that we were able to witness over a few WAFL Colts and WA representative games. We all acknowledge that he has a fair way to go. The beauty is that at Melbourne in 2022, his chances of getting a well rounded football grounding are so much better than the chances Jack Watts had 12 or 13 years ago.

Bigfooty’s Knightmare believes that JVR is a long term project ~ “With Melbourne's player development and all things firing though - from coach/veteran leadership/buy-in from the playing group, JVR can be a good piece in a few years if developed in defence.” “He's not going to play in 2022, and maybe not 2023 either.” I responded by agreeing that there’s no hurry to push him into an AFL debut given that he’s at the premiership club but pointed out that he’s physically ready to play against men. Which is what he has already done at WAFL level early in 2021 when he played 5 senior games with Claremont before succumbing to glandular fever. He also kicked plenty of goals for their Colts and the WA Under 19 championships later in the season. This didn’t dissuade Knightmare who answered:- “JVR was great during the U19 Champs in defence and was capable v Colts opposition but struggled in the WAFL at League level and showed he isn't ready to play against AFL opposition. There is a difference between playing at a level and playing well. I fully expect Melbourne's at the moment superior player development and everything that factors into it will help fast-track JVR in his development comparative to if he landed with another club, but he's not going to have an Aaron Naughton kind of first season as a point of comparison.” It’s an interesting debate. I see JVR as a future KPF and a likely replacement for the current key forward incumbents. He should be a fixture at Casey this year but the way things are going with Omnicron, I wouldn’t discount the possibility of seeing him at AFL level in 2022. From all reports, JVR’s efforts at WAFL Senior level were reasonable. He was impressive on debut with two goals and was affected by tonsillitis and glandular fever in his next couple of games but still contributed. He came back after missing several weeks and kicked just one goal but wasn’t 100% in his fifth and final senior game. He then went on to kick a bag of goals in the WAFL Colts and the WA Under 19s and also showed in one or two games that he can be handy in a key defensive position. We have a handy, versatile prospect on our hands.

We were blessed not to suffer the injuries the Bulldogs had, both going into and during the game. In fact, it looked like a bit of a disaster scenario throughout the competition with the number of injuries (including serious ones) across the games. I don’t know if there are any theories concerning the injuries but I wonder if it’s due to the fact that the game is still not the natural game of players from early childhood as it is with many boys. I see a lot of the women not attacking the ball directly or instinctively and therefore being caught wrong footed and swiveling around. Obviously, things will improve as we get the benefit of the large growth in junior footy for girls from the grass roots levels. Anyone else have any views?

Thanks to Dees In October there’s a comprehensive report on the round one victory here.

For those not watching the game ~ MELBOURNE 3.0.18 4.6.30 5.8.38 6.10.46 WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.1.1 1.1.7 3.4.22 3.4.22 GOALS MELBOURNE Hore 2 Gay Harris Sherriff Zanker WESTERN BULLDOGS Blackburn Huntington Toogood BEST MELBOURNE Zanker Hore Hanks Gay Mithen WESTERN BULLDOGS Blackburn Bennetts Fitzgerald Lamb Lochland INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil WESTERN BULLDOGS Cranston (lower leg) Huntington (knee) Snell (ribs) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil WESTERN BULLDOGS Nil CROWD 2,571 at VU Whitten Oval

Judd McVee, Jacob Van Rooyen and Taj Woewodin on an Instagram photograph that appears to have been taken at an airport. It looks like they’re taking their first flight into Demonland. Good luck lads!

In other words, the Harry Potter series had sold millions of books as well as numerous other sources of finance including a number of movies and you think this thread was more popular?

And a number of Bolands have played for Parkdale Vultures in the VAFA.

Mystery solved …