casey scorp

It was an MFC intraclub, so he was red & blue. He won't even need to wash his hair to go to a Scorps game - just add a streak of white.

I saw him at the intraclub at Casey Fields on 14 Feb. I'd never seen him before, but he certainly stood out.

I think, but I'm not certain, that the only AFL players who can get the special dispensation to play VFL this week are those who are returning from injury. I don't think they can play just because the AFL club wants to get more game time into them or their skills need a bit of honing. Casey Fields this Saturday - Reserves at 11:10am and Seniors at 2:00pm. Practice match against Box Hill.

The upgrades themselves won’t increase the peak crowds. Casey Fields is likely to see NAB Challenge/Cup games for the next 2-3 years. Realistically crowds of 10,000 are the level that might attend over that time (there were 10,000 at the Hawthorn v Essendon game in 2007). It is the prospect of a low-drawing H&A match that could draw 15-20,000 which would put on a fair bit of pressure. There is no way that such a match would be scheduled before the access was improved. The exit points can’t be improved until residential development occurs on the adjacent land. That, however, is likely within the next two years as developers own all of the land and the structure planning and rezoning process is all in train.

It’s all about perception. Casey Fields is extremely convenient to metro Melbourne if you avoid the South Gippsland Highway approach. Most visitors don’t realise it, but if you take the Berwick-Cranbourne Road exit from the Monash Freeway (Mel 110 C11) it is a really easy approach. The MFC players are really happy – it’s been easier to get to (and takes less time to get to) than the previous pre-season training venue in Bulleen. North Melbourne was also one of the clubs which looked at Casey Fields (twice in fact). When Allen Aylett was the President, he was super keen. Always the visionary, he could see the opportunities of locating the club in a growth area. That was before the complex was even built, in the very early days. Ultimately the NM Board didn’t support it. NM also had a quick look again after abandoning the Gold Coast, before finalising the development plans at Arden Street, but the symbolism of Arden Street was too strong (ie with James Brayshaw standing on the steps of the NM townhall saying "NM is our home - we're not going to the GC" they could hardly go anywhere but Arden Street).

I know that social club membership gets you discounted entry to the pre-match function (usually 12 to 2:00pm). I usually go to the lunch, so I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure that social club members can also access the social room once the lunch has finished from 2:00pm during the match. The balcony gets very crowded with a lot of passionate people, and there's a great atmosphere.

I was talking to the Membership Manager for the Casey Scorps yesterday, and she told me that she had added another category – a Social Club upgrade for existing footy club members. She said that as MFC members were already considered members of the Scorps, they had the option of upgrading to Social Club for $15. I’ve checked the website, and it’s not on it. But I saw it on the form she had at the ground yesterday. The cost was only $15 for the Social Club upgrade for members (inc MFC members). Give her a call – Sally Cameron (5996 1111). It’s about half way down the table at the end of this form: http://www.scorpions.com.au/images/PDF2009/membership.pdf

The in-filled land used for carparking is a temporary carpark only. Just screening and fill material dumped and levelled out (although there is a compacted base below). Ultimately, that temporary section of carpark will become a formal properly constructed carpark and, where the old trotting track is, will be a regional athletics complex. The road network will change dramatically. Traffic lights at the current entrance, which will be a north-south arterial road crossing the current Berwick-Cranbourne Road, and entrances from that road into Casey Fields will help spread the load. It is counter-intuitive, but most visitors from other suburbs to the north towards Melbourne should enter and leave Casey Fields from the direction opposite to Cranbourne (ie via the Berwick-Cranbourne Road exit from the Monash Freeway). Rail may eventually come if the railway line is extended to accommodate the further urban growth into the Clyde area. And I can assure you that the Scorps members welcome the alignment with MFC – there is a great sense of partnership, co-operation and belonging.

A couple of good questions: 1. How did the alliance with the Saints go? The alliance with the Saints was mostly problematic for years. There was little co-ordination between the clubs, especially when Grant Thomas was the coach. It improved when Ross Lyon took over, and even more so when that was complemented by Greg Hutchison as Scorps coach (who was a St KFC influenced appointment). It was excellent during 2008. However, Hutchy ended up going to St KFC when the alignment was severed. Despite last year being ok with the Saints, I think the Scorps are anticipating a closer and more productive relationship with MFC – particularly with the long term alignment and MFC’s commitment to the local community, which are two factors which simply didn't exist in the Saints-Scorpions alignment. 2. Why did the saints let go of Casey so easily? The question that Saints fans will be asking for the next 50 years! Frankston Council offered the Saints $2 million cash for the project + a block of land opposite Frankston Park worth $1 million on which would be sited the admin centre. The building would have been worth $2-$4 million creating an asset of $3-$5 million owned by the Saints. Very attractive for the Saints, at a time when the AFL was advocating to clubs that they needed to get assets onto their balance sheets (in a similar manner to Hawthorn’s arrangements at Waverly Park). The competing proposal at Casey Fields was for a more traditional arrangement, with the training and admin facilities integrated overlooking the oval. Built on Council land – no asset for St KFC. There was an article I recall in The Age at the time, with diagrams etc. The new Saints Board made a quick decision, shortly after getting control, possibly to demonstrate that they were doers rather than gunnas. When the Frankston Park project turned turtle (as it inevitably had to because of the obvious problems – lack of parking, ground too small, project costs escalated because of two separate buildings just to name a few), St KFC wanted to stay in Frankston because that was what the new Board had announced, and there would have been too much loss of face to re-open a full investigation into all options. So a brightspark thought – use a ground called Belvedere Park at Seaford, and we can say we’re still in Frankston because we’re still in the City of Frankston. The Frankston Council agreed to increase its cash contribution to $3 million and keep its land ie still $3 million (but it also threw in $800,000 to rebuild the oval at Belvedere Park on top of that). So, that was the process in a nutshell, from everything I have read in papers and on the net having taken a close interest in it. The Belvedere Park facility is supposed to be open by May 2010, but there's no planning permit yet (awaiting possible appeals by local residents upset by increased traffic volumes etc). By this time next year MFC could be in its new facility at Casey Fields.

A few themes: • surface fantastic • road access • state of the carpark • spectator facilities • crowd size. The surface is one of the best going around which is not an AFL venue. The single road access has been that way for 3 years since the venue opened. It will probably be that way for another couple of years before a new road is built down the western side of the tennis courts and another entrance into Casey Fields is opened. It took 25 minutes for the carpark to clear after the match, and I have been caught in longer jams at the MCG and Waverley Park than that. The outer side works are starting within the next couple of weeks, and involve covered tiered spectator standing areas, toilets and a kiosk (and a scoreboard on the grandstand side). In addition, when the extension of the pavilion occurs to accommodate MFC there will be additional covered spectator standing area on the grandstand side. By next years NAB Challenge match these works should all be completed. The carpark is actually quite firm – it was just the surface that was slippery yesterday because of rain on additionally laid but not compacted material. No-one would have got bogged. I saw in the paper today that the crowd was approx 3,000, although I’m told by someone that did a reasonably careful around the ground check that the crowd was between 5,000 and 5,500. Last year’s crowd was around 6,000, and I think it was probably a bit less this year. A crowd of approximately 5,000 this year is I think an excellent result given the conditions in the morning which would have put quite a few people off taking the risk in the afternoon.

Looking at the rain radar, it looks like the heavy rain should clear by the start of the match (and maybe all of the rain).

No offence taken stevenDEMON. Gippy Dee - The Hawthorn/Box Hill arrangement is different to the MFC/Casey arrangement. It wasn't an alignment - it was a takeover. Hawthorn controls Box Hill. The Scorpions are a self determining club like MFC, and the alliance between the two is a genuine alignment between two parties. There are some great synergies, and the I think this alliance will be excellent. MFC's previous alignment with the Zebs was very productive on the field, and I hope that our new alliance can be as well. The deal between the Council and MFC is about extending the pavilion and MFC having a presence in the community. I know that the info about an early version of the proposal was on the web (Council meeting agenda 5 August 2008), and there wasn't anything about changing the name of the Scorpions. Perhaps I shouldn't have been as definite as "no" in my earlier response - I guess that anything is possible. But I would be very doubtful about a name change for the Scorps. But a great alignment coming up, as two young lists gain experience together over the next few years.

Simple really - no. Not so - actually. Springvale was formed in 1903. It hasn't merged with anyone. It changed its name to the Casey Scorpions in 2006 when it relocated to Casey Fields.

Not only is there massive population growth in Casey, the demographic profile over the next few decades is far younger at Casey than most other Councils including Frankston and Mornington Peninsula. There's also the fact that the Scorps are now aligned with MFC - it's the only facility where aligned VFL/AFL partners train regularly on the same ground. The synergies are fantastic. But probably of most significance is the actual facility of Casey Fields. It is the major sporting complex in SE Melbourne, and the Council's funds and other Government funds are set to further develop it over forthcoming years. More cricket and footy grounds, soccer pitches and an athletics complex. It truly will be a sporting mecca. And just 700 metres up the road is the new swimming and gym complex, which will open in a couple of months. Those who vist it now, and see only some sports grounds surrounded by paddocks with a virtually anonymous frontage and exposure, need only exercise some vision. In the future there will be a road running 800 metres down the western side of Casey Fields with multiple entrances into sporting complex. There will be a signalised intersection where the current entrance is. It will be a jewel sitting in a totally urban area. And that will all happen in the next 5 years or so. There is the distinct possibility of it becoming a boutique stadium for low crowd drawing interstate matches. There is also the possibility of extension of the metropolitan rail network to Casey Fields. For MFC, it really is an opportunity which opened up unexpectedly in front of it. It has that opportunity to take a hold over an area in a way that other Melbourne-based clubs haven't had for decades.

The Tortilla Cup. Very funny. I'll amend the topic.

Yes, interesting point. I recall last year prior to (or after – can’t remember which) the NAB Challenge match MFC v NM, there was a practice match of the Scorpions v Sandy. I suspect that it might be that the changing rooms aren’t adequate for all of the clubs which might be involved (ie MFC, WB, Scorps & another VFL club – particularly as the AFL clubs are using extended lists). Maybe when (if?) the extension is done, there will be more change-rooms.

I'm sure I saw a topic asking for info about accessing Casey Fields by public transport from Cranbourne Station, but when I came back it was gone. Anyway, here's the drill in case anyone else needs to know: There's a bus service (TrainLink - Route 896) which meets every train at the Cranbourne Station from 5am to 1am and goes to within 700m of Casey Fields (there is a stop at the Casey Indoor Leisure Complex). The bus stop is next to where the new $37 million Casey RACE (pool & gym complex) is being built. The bus leaves about 2 minutes after the train gets in, so don't take too long to get to bus stop. The bus takes about 10 minutes to get to the Casey Indoor Leisure Complex, and then you'd have a 10 minute walk to the ground. http://www.casey.vic.gov.au/whatsonatcasey...4&nav=promo

I know it was a win, but don't worry about the lack of coverage. Ready yourself for next week; last hitout before the real season begins - Saturday 14 March @ 2pm at Casey Fields v Western Bulldogs. See it live!

"Jeff designed the MELBOURNEfc team uniform for the Club’s 150th year, and has formalised a further three year exclusive arrangement." The 3 year exclusive arrangement may have come later than the 150th year? There's been no announcement that I recall, so maybe I'm reading more into it than there is.

How long has Jeff Banks of London been a sponsor? I can't recall having seen it before on the website, and if so, not as prominently. If you go to the Jeff Banks website (UK) and click on Australia, up comes info on the MFC. http://www.jeffbanks.co.uk/ Impressive.

Received an e-mail from the Casey Scorpions today, sent to Scorpions members/sponsors, advising that there will be a pre-match function at Casey Fields prior to the NAB Challenge match on 14 March. The teams are Melbourne FC v Western Bulldogs. The match starts at 2:00pm. Cost of match entry is $10 – MFC members’ entry is free. The function (2 course meal, and beer, wine & soft drinks) runs from 12:00 to 2:00pm, at a cost of $40. For bookings for the pre-match function contact Sally at [email protected] or on 5996 1111. Hope to see lots of supporters at both the match and the pre-match function.

Maybe SEN will have score updates from time to time (they did yesterday for St KFC v Doggies).

Street Talk.......I reckon that even if you went to Toorak and set up a camera between the pub and the TAB (I assume T'rak has both, but I don't know its characteristics) you'd get derros to interview. Standard OP for Street Talk is to target the location in any shopping centre where the derros and drop kicks pass through. Mind you, it's very entertaining all the same.

I see the ????s in the heading, so I guess that's just a hope and a punt. Let's hope you're right!!

Looking forward to seeing the Dees back at Casey Fields on 14 March.