Jack7

Yes,they're biased but no more than Lane & Walls when Carlton plays.They are actually giving some of our guys a huge wrap. Let's keep this thread footy related only.

Gaz is just trying to take pressure off Bails,why is Gaz coaching this year if he has no passion for it? If Bails bails in 2 years,of course Gaz will coach the Dees as we have a much better list than 3-4 years ago when he wasn't interested. Gaz is a radio commentator and co-hosts a footy show that hardly anyone watches,hardly a great career. He never achieved anything as a footballer,maybe coaching will bring him the ultimate success,he at least has to have a crack at it or forever achieve nothing in our great game.

I'd like to see Flash skipper the ship for 4 seasons before Jack takes over and in the meantime Jack can develop his game and also develop his leadership in the leadership group.I spoke to Jack at the Intraclub at Casey 2 weeks ago and was blown away by his maturity and character at such a young age and just thought no wonder he captained Vic Metro,he just exudes leadership but not for another 4 years and 90 more games under his belt.Flash is the current holder of the Bluey and has done the hard yards onfield for years. Jack just needs to develop his game without the captaincy burden,he's already an onfield leader.

The right call was made on Robbo and i'm glad he won't be wasting space in our forward line this season,give those games to a youngster.I don't believe you can play Robbo and LJ in the same forward line as they both fly for everything that comes in and will just get in eachothers way and probably bang heads in mid air.The last 30 games Robbo played delivered how many goals? and when the ball hit the ground which was 80% of the time in the end,he was one of the laziest forwards you saw,he never gave chase and just looked dis-interested.Carlton and the Doggies also made the same call on him,the game passed him by and his one trick got very old and ineffective.

I don't disagree with everything the OP said,i also think our backline is ordinary at best and will leak heavily against the big boys.Warnock & Martin aren't up to it and are wasting space,they'll never get there. This weeks game against a middle rung team at a neutral venue will indicate further where we're at and if we only manage 35 tackles again and stuff all pressure,i expect another 10 goal+ hammering. I'd like to see Sylvia play a Paul Chapman role inside 50,he takes a good grab and kicks 60 off a couple of steps,he doesn't hurt teams as a midfielder and we're crying out for decent forward options.He may not hurt teams as a forward either but our forward was awful against the Dockers.It's preseason,just try something different.

Bails was talking about how last September he presented to the board for 3 1/2 hours his vision for Melbourne and where we need to be with the current list and not being able to do too much in the next couple of compromised drafts.He also dispelled Gerard Healy's rumour that Jack Watts will be out for 12 months,he said Jack will increase his training load in 3 weeks and at the moment he hasn't got the body that he needs as a key forward and that Brad Miller's body has had the luxury of 6-7 years of preseasons.Jack will be playing very soon and he'll probably roam inside 50 and let Miller and Bate take the key defenders.He also spoke about his contract being extended another season and that the board has shown faith in his vision.He said Maxy Gawn is running and should play mid year. He expects a much better showing on Friday and that the review yesterday was very scathing and each player knows where he stands and that if players need to be dropped,they will be as we have more depth and if you need to find form,find it in the VFL. Overall,a typical coaches interview.

The most disappointing part of the game for me was the 35 tackles,that's absolutely pathetic and it shows the attitude of this team,no intensity whatsoever!!! The Cats had 87 tackles to North's 85 and that's the sort of intensity we need to play with each week.The worst player in the AFL can rack up 10 tackles a game if he plays with the right attitude.Brad Scott already has the Roos playing with huge intensity,we will never play with that intensity under Dean Bailey,we were ranked 15th last year in tackling and we started this year with 35 tackles.If you can run,you can tackle.We just couldn't be bothered apart from the game last year we played for Jimmy,we had about 70 tackles and were ferocious at the ball.Look at the Saints rise up the ladder in the last 3 years,it's a result of playing a high pressure game,after their top 7 players,they're an average team but very well coached. Saints Tackling under Ross Lyon: 2007.....52 tackles per game........ranked 7th 2008.....53 tackles per game........ranked 7th 2009.....73 tackles per game........ranked 1st!!!!!!! Demons Tackling under Dean Bailey: 2008.....53 tackles per game........ranked 9th 2009.....56 tackles per game........ranked 15th In 2009,Saints were one of the highest possession teams which means they were out of possession the least and they averaged the most tackles whereas the Demons were out of possession the most and had the least tackles,the team without the ball the most,US,should be tackling the most but the Saints had the ball the most and still managed to tackle the most The high pressure/tackling game causes turnovers.If Dean Bailey doesn't address this very quickly,it will be another wasted year regardless of our new high draftees.If we just run around applying no pressure,it's game over every week!

That was my first look at Casey today and i'm very impressed,great setup and only a 32 minute drive from Parkdale.On to the game,the standouts for me were Trengove and Grimes,Trenners had so much time (i know it's intraclub) and hit targets with ease.Grimes is ready made for the midfield,can't wait to watch him blossom into a topline mid.Jones was hard at it all day as was Moloney but i was a bit disappointed in Sylvia after hearing the great preseason reports.Miller started well with some good leads and marks but faded.LJ was his dazzling self and will kick 10+ one day.Bennel moved really well and is progressing really well.Flash played the first half and was rested for next week,we know his game.Joel Macdonald looked good in patches but was caught out of position quite a bit but this will improve as he jells with the team.Scully is as tough as nails for his size and dazzled the crowd with a few nice moves through packs,it was a nice touch to see Scully & Trengove line up on the wing on eachother at the start of the last quarter,i get the impression that Scully wants to prove he is no. 1 and Trengove couldn't care less,maybe i'm wrong on that but i noticed a bit of body language after the match in the 30 minute warm down on the ground,i spoke to both when they were signing autographs and they are both great kids,Trenners told me it was a good hitout and that he was stuffed,8 day break for the NAB Cup opener next week.It was also good to see Brad Green back in the forward line and kick 3 or 4,he'll spend a lot more time in the forward line this year and his kicking was as straight as ever.I also like the look of Cheney,just something about his game.Big Jamar was crashing through packs and dominating the ruck around the ground.It was a shame Watts didn't play but he said to Gary Lyon in the half time interview that he has a quad and is 3-4 weeks away.It was fantastic to see Jim Stynes there,he's such an inspiration to everyone and just his presence made it a great day. I came away from the game thinking Grimes is well on the way to being an absolute gun who has captaincy written all over him,i know he's young but he's such a natural leader and while he won't be our next captain,i for one can't wait until he captains our great club.

8 wins,we have 6 games against Richmond,North & Freo and i don't think Port,Essendon and Carlton will be much this year and West Coast could be another win. This year is just about getting games into our young list and jelling together as a team and keeping injuries to a minimum. Watts,Grimes,Scully,Trengove,Gysberts,Tapscott,Blease,Strauss,Jurrah,Wona need 60-80 games in them before we become a force.

Thanks,i'll be there.

What's the annual cost of running this board? Whatever it is,divide it by the number of users and those who don't pay,don't use.We have enough users already. Failing that,i'm sure Kapersky and Hankook would send some coin our way for a couple of banner ads or even some of our bosses could sponsor us in exchange for a small ad. Advertising isn't ideal, but it's either advertiser pays or user pays.

Pretty hard to win a flag from 16th i would've thought.

I'm not sure about Karma but he was hit because he played for Collingwood according to the 20yo arrested. He walked past 4 others to attack his target because he is a Collingwood footballer. Kids these days can't handle their [censored],a couple of drinks and they're hammered,happens every weekend in town,these losers just shouldn't drink if they can't handle it.

Morton will be a mid until he builds the body he needs to go forward.In todays game,you need 12 mids,9 on the ground and 3 on the bench which is why the FD loaded up on mids with our first 4 picks,you can never have too many quality mids especially taking into account that we'll lose Junior,Bruce and Green in the coming years and there's always a mid or 2 injured at any one time.

After picking up Bradshaw (most likely) Kennelly,Seaby and Gary Rohan from the Falcons with their first pick, i think Luke Ball will top Sydney off because they are the stoppage Kings and Ball will be in his element with their gameplan.Brett Kirk needs to be replaced soon and Ball would be the perfect replacement and may even be a future Sydney captain.The SCG will suit Ball's game and we all know Sydney doesn't bottom out and Ball is ready to go Round 1. Bye Bye Luke

Butcher will go to Sydney if they don't take Rohan or Port with pick 8 or 9,i'd love to get him but he won't slide to 11. With our million mids,we'll take best key.

Port were desperate to trade for Ball after losing the 2 Burgoynes,so they'll take 2 kids at 8 & 9 and take Ball with 16 before our pick 18.They need a tough ready made mid now after just missing the finals this year. I'm going to pi55 myself when Port reads out his name. I also think Sydney could take him at 14 and he would suit their gameplan with all their stoppages and small ground.They've picked up Mumford,Bradshaw,Seaby and the return of Kennelly and i think Rohan and Ball would top them off.They also need to replace Kirk soon and Ball would fill that void.

Gippy,get back to me when you've learnt the difference between pessimism and reality!

Well after all this discussion about early wins v home game$$$$ We have a first 5 games that will deliver neither!!! Not only will we most likely start 1-4,but our home games are Hawks (good,we average 43k crowd) Crows & Lions (2 very low drawing home games) I'm happy with the draw overall with Geelong,Saints and Dogs once and Tigers,Freo & Kangaroos twice but the first 5 games will deliver little $$$$$ and probably one win. When i started this thread,i was hoping for early wins against Freo,Tiges,Roos to get the crowds and membership up leading into home games against other big drawing Victorian clubs.The first 5 games each year are crucial and i'd take 4-1 with little $$$ over 1-4 with big $$$,because winning games drives bigger crowds and higher memberships and more corporate sponsorship and we will pay down our 800k debt over the next few years,not to mention the confidence the players would get.I know for a fact that blokes like Beamer,Davey,Green etc. would take early wins over bigger $$$ because once we start winning,the crowds and memberships and corporate sponsorship will come.

This is really terrific news and i must admit i thought he'd go back to the kennel but they're a top 4 team with a very advanced and experienced midfield so he'd only be the cream on top whereas at the Dees,he starts with a blank canvas and can mentor Scully,Trengove,Grimes etc. for the next 10 years if he wants,putting his own stamp on an up and coming midfield.

After 2 away games.Because we have paid down most of our debt and we need early wins to build confidence and when we start winning,watch all the Demons come out of the woodwork,get the wins on the board and the finances will take care of themselves. Also,most company's in Australia carry debt including my own and while it'd be great to be debt free ASAP,we can keep paying it down over the next few years.If Schwabby knows what he's doing,he would have refinanced our debt at 40 year low interest rates and aim to pay it down in the next few years.Our debt has been reduced from $3.5+ Million to under 800k Winning games early will get the crowds through the gate Which will give Schwabby the option of paying down more debt or investing it in other areas.Winning games is a bigger priority than being debt free right now as we need to raise membership and lure more corporate sponsorhip. If,as you say we play other Victorian teams as home games,seeing that most of them are in the top 6,we'll get hammered as we're not ready to beat top 6 teams yet and once that happens,attendances will drop,membership will stall and onfield confidence will drop,the media will be calling for Dean Bailey's head and we're sitting 16th. Early wins are an absolute must,the team will grow exponentially more confident,membership keeps growing at a nice pace,attendances rise and the media are saying that Melbourne is on the rise again.I wish everyone would stop worrying about our debt,it's manageable now and we'll chip away at it in the next few years.

Totally disagree,win early away games at the G and financial success (rising membership) will follow and we still have our money making home games to follow with higher attendances due to winning earlier games.

We play Hawks at the G in round 1 without spending one of OUR HOME GAMES,can't you see this!!! I much prefer to play the Hawks at the G in one of THEIR HOME GAMES!!! It's still a HOME game for us at the G and after our first game at the G,we still have all our HOME GAMES to come. Now that's putting our club first and foremost!!! Am i the only one who thinks like this?

Just like old times when we used to smash them in round 1,should be very interesting. Buddy's out round 1 I request Dees v Tigers round 2 Carlton v Dees round 3 Dees v Freo round 4

Naracoorte is 335km to Adelaide and 451km to Melbourne.