Beach Road Bazza

My son Kevin now has the Kingswood and it's proudly sitting in the front yard of his Cranbourne home minus one wheel. I'll be back later in the year and might have a crack at trying to make it roadworthy. Anyone buying?

Greetings all. Having resided up here in sunny SE Queensland since my retirement two years ago, I've remained a staunch Demon but I also have a soft spot for the new local crowd down the road at Carara where a magnificent new stadium is being developed in readiness for GCS's game v Geelong later this year. None of this prevented me from enjoying the Dees' 15 goal demolition of the newbies on Sunday. Conditions were warm, humid and uninviting for a physical game like footy and it was inevitable that mistakes would be made by both teams. I'm amazed that some people are hypercritical of a team that recorded such an annihilation - Ablett or no Ablett. Which brings me to the question of the Suns' first win. I was watching the Marngrook Footy Show on the Thursday night before the game and Norf Melbourne's Matty Campbell was on the panel. He was the only panelist to tip GCS to win their first game on Sunday against us because "Melbourne don't travel well." I hope that we all remember this comment when the Dees play Norf next month. Matty C was partly correct. The Suns did win their first game at the weekend (I don't count the small handful of games won last year in the VFL because they weren't named the Suns till late in the year). They have a reserves team in the new North East Australia Football League and, after two losses, they finally came up trumps at the weekend. Gold Coast Suns 2.4.16 4.10.34 9.15.69 16.16.112 defeated Aspley 1.5.11 8.7.55 10.10.80 11.13.79 Goals Gold Coast Suns S. Day 3, N. Ablett 2, L. Patrick 2, J. Gillbee 2, H. Bennell , R. Liddy , J. Stanlake , H. Jolly , M. Lock , J. Daye , L. Moss Aspley M. McKee 3, J. Brain 2, C. Buchanan , B. Backwell , D. Roy , J. Wagner , S. Stavenuiter , A. Laskey Best Gold Coast Suns J. Gillbee, H. Bennell, S. Iles, S. Day, J. Crawford, T. Hine Aspley B. Colch, M. Hutchinson, S. Brittain, M. McKee, J. Linton, S. Stavenuiter

I met a Perth businessman at a breakfast this morning. His son played in the WAFL Colts against both Michael Evans and Kelvin Lawrence during the season and he described both of them as "guns" who both have big upsides and could end up having the same impact as Jordie McKenzie. Evans had some injury problems earlier in the season but is a quality footballer. Lawrence was particularly impressive late in the season and during the finals after barely being in Peel Thunder's sights at the start of the year. Obviously the recruiting staff were on the lookout for players who had escaped under the radar but who have the potential to become good AFL players and that's one of the things the rookie draft's made for.

This is from a recent article in the Gold Coast Bulletin -SA star warms up for AFL draft on Coast. Gold Coast media manager Greg Price is quoted: Really, if he's looking for experience at VFL level, he need look no further than Michael Newton who spent the better part of the past five years learning the ropes in that competition. In his early days he was in the shadow of Nick Sautner, then he had his share of injuries and lately has been swinging from AFL to VFL. If given a regular spot in the Gold Coast side, he would surely kick at least 65-70 goals up here. I think that's exactly what they're looking for to bolster their young kids moving up the ranks. I wouldn't be surprised therefore, if the Gold Coast named him among their first five draft picks in the forthcoming rookie draft.

A filthy day for Casey Scorpions but good for interstate visitors like myself. The problem was that all over the ground it was a case of more experience and harder, stronger bodies winning the day. Casey had only three Melbournefc senior listed players available to play and Casey also played a lot of first gamers. Hopefully, the team will get stronger as the season goes on. Seniors Casey Scorpions 2.3 4.5 4.10 8.15 (63) Sandringham 9.4 12.9 19.13 25.16 (166) Goals Casey Scorpions Jurrah Matthews 2 Liddle MaCreadie Robertson Wall Best Casey Scorpions Maric Valenti Matthews Wall Matheson MaCreadie Reserves Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 11.7.73 15.12.102 Sandringham 4.5.29 8.10.58 14.14.98 19.16.130 Goals Casey Scorpions Moore 5 Collins Vernon 2 Bolton Crespin McNamara Mildren Sykes Virtue Sandringham Eddy Waller 4 Harektuku 3 Johnston Jones Stanley 2 Connors Ferraro Best Casey Scorpions McNamara Patti Virtue Vernon Panozza Healey Sandringham Stanley Simpkin Waller McGarry Dean Harektuku

CJ was certainly in form at Sandringham for a good few weeks earlier in the season when he was struggling for a place in Melbourne side. However, it should be noted that, at the same time, there were several other candidates for promotion, the most notable being Simon Buckley who was playing a similar role as a flanker/winger with the Zebras. Buckley got the nod first, for whatever reason I do not know but it would have been line ball. In any event CJ got his chance and played reasonably well at AFL level for the first time in his career and only really for a couple of games. However, I wouldn't say that this entitled him to be stamped automatically as an AFL player. On balance, judging from the games he played with Sandy and with Melbourne, I don't consider the manner of his outburst to be justified although he was certainly entitled to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Good luck to him!

Hi Demonlanders. I'm settling in well up north and have already had visits from WJ and Finks (remember him?) Just a note to let you know that the VFL fixture is out today and the first game for Casey is against Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval. Hopefully, my son Kevin will be on duty for Demonland that day to bring you his report on the game. Story - 2009 VFL fixture announced. ROUND ONE - SUNDAY, APRIL 12 Sandringham vs. Casey Scorpions Trevor Barker Beach Oval 2:00 PM ROUND TWO - SATURDAY, APRIL 18 Casey Scorpions vs. Port Melbourne Casey Fields 7:00 PM ROUND THREE [ANZAC ROUND] - SUNDAY, APRIL 26 Frankston vs. Casey Scorpions Frankston Park 2:00 PM ROUND FOUR - SATURDAY, MAY 2 Coburg Tigers vs. Casey Scorpions ABD Group Stadium 2:00 PM ROUND FIVE - BYE ROUND SIX - SUNDAY, MAY 17 Casey Scorpions vs. Box Hill Hawks Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND SEVEN - SUNDAY, MAY 24 North Ballarat vs. Casey Scorpions Northern Oval 2:00 PM ROUND EIGHT - SUNDAY, MAY 31 Casey Scorpions vs. Geelong Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND NINE - SUNDAY, JUNE 7 Casey Scorpions vs. Werribee Tigers Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND TEN [sPLIT ROUND] - SATURDAY, JUNE 13 Northern Bullants vs. Casey Scorpions Vi$y Park 2:00 PM ROUND ELEVEN - SATURDAY, JUNE 27 Williamstown vs. Casey Scorpions Burbank Oval 2:00 PM ROUND TWELVE - SUNDAY, JULY 5 Casey Scorpions vs. Bendigo Bombers Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND THIRTEEN - SUNDAY, JULY 12 Casey Scorpions vs. Frankston Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND FOURTEEN - SATURDAY, JULY 18 Collingwood vs. Casey Scorpions Victoria Park 1:00 PM ROUND FIFTEEN - SUNDAY, JULY 26 Casey Scorpions vs. Coburg Tigers Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND SIXTEEN - SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 Geelong vs. Casey Scorpions Skilled Stadium 10:40 AM ROUND SEVENTEEN - SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 Casey Scorpions vs. North Ballarat Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND EIGHTEEN - BYE ROUND NINETEEN - SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 Casey Scorpions vs. Williamstown Casey Fields 2:00 PM ROUND TWENTY - SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 Box Hill Hawks vs. Casey Scorpions Box Hill City Oval 2:00 PM Casey will host a night game v Port Melbourne in April so I hope nobody's afraid of the dark! The article confirms the new alignment between Melbourne and Casey although no official announcement has been made by the clubs. Cheers

An interesting pointer on the vflfooty site if the Demons are to throw in their lot with the Casey Scorpions is the analysis of Liston Trophy Votes by one poster who worked out the percentages of votes polled by players for AFL affiliate clubs - Bendigo (Essendon) - 67% Box Hill (Hawthorn) - 53% Casey Scorpions (St. Kilda) - 93% Coburg (Richmond) - 69% Collingwood - 75% Geelong - 94% North Ballarat (North Melbourne*) - 38% Northern Bullants (Carlton) - 69% Sandringham (Melbourne) - 41% Werribee (North Melbourne*) 49% Williamstown (Western Bulldogs) 30% * partial alignments Of course, the percentages are partly affected by injuries to AFL listed players but the heavy contibutions of the St. Kilda listed players in the Casey team would suggest that some strengthening of the Casey list might be required if the alignment is to produce competitive teams which are so necessary for the development of the younger players on AFL lists these days.

Thanks everyone - all much appreciated. It's not farewell or good bye though. I will try to post from time to time and hope that 2009 is a better year for the Dees. One request I have is where do you get some good Chinese tucker on the Gold Coast?

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support over the years particularly Andy, WJ and people like Ice Station Zebra who filled in for me on occasions when the Kingswood broke down or I couldn't do reports from the games for some other reason. Thanks also to the people at the Sandringham Football Club and the various supporters including the late John Carroll and Brian McKenna who have all been so helpful and forthcoming with their information and opinions over the years. You might be aware that my wife Mavis, son Barry Junior and our dog Whistler are all moving north to take advantage of the warmer climate. We've both retired and Barry Junior has some exciting career opportunities in the cabaret field. If you're into TV you might catch a glimpse of him in a forthcoming episode of the new series The Strip (as long as the programme doesn't get cancelled in the interim). Our other son Kevin Charles is staying on and has agreed to be one of Demonland's reporters if the mooted union with Casey Scorpions takes place. He was due to move into his new lodgings in the Cranbourne area last week but when he arrived there he discovered the doors had been shuttered up and some of the locals were roaming the streets wearing gas masks. As a result of this unnerving experience Kev has been looking for alternative accommodation and it looks like he'll be right for the start of the next pre season. I myself will also be keeping an eye on Demonland but from a vantage point a lot further up north and I hope to be able to do a wrap up on the Sandy b & f coming up shortly and come back from time to time when I hear some news about the Dees, the Zebs or even the Scorps. Finally some snippets from Sandy for those still interested:- Skipper Peter Summers missed out by one vote on a JJ Liston Trophy win for VFL best and fairest. He finished with 15 votes. The unluckiest player in the competition however, was our own Shane Valenti who polled 13 votes from 10 games (he missed another 10 games while playing for the Demons) and he would certainly have won had he played a full season with the Zebras. Valenti was promoted from the rookie list initially to cover for David Neitz when he went onto the long term injury list. Melbourne's long injury list was one of the reasons for Sandringham's fall from grace in 2008, the first time Sandringham has missed the finals since 2001. Zebras general manager John Mennie was quoted in the VFL Record last weekend as saying that the club was "hurt with the unusually high number of Melbourne players who suffered long-term injuries, including captain David Neitz, Jared Rivers, Brock McLean, Brent Moloney and Aaron Davey." The Zebras also paid "the ultimate price for not being able to win any of the nine games they lost by three goals or less", he said. Andy Lovell has been reappointed as coach for season 2009 while Greg Hutchison, who this year coached St Kilda's old affiliate the Casey Scorpions (who bowed out of the finals last week), will remain with the Saints' coaching staff. No appointment has been made with regard to the Scorpions coaching position for next year. Finally, and this will upset WJ and Scoop Junior in particular, dual Sandringham premiership defender Chris Lamb has announced his retirement and several other Zebra stalwarts are considering their futures. We're settling the sale of our house tomorrow and will be on our way north at the weekend. Thanks for all the memories, go Dees, go Zebs and (ahhr...) go Scorps?

Over for the Zebs now. Box Hill by 34 points. Sandringham 2.4.16 5.6.36 10.10.70 13.16.94 Box Hill Hawks 5.3.33 8.5.53 13.7.85 19.14.128 Goals Sandringham Gribbin 4 Lockwood McConnell Summons 2 Gilchrist Gilder Gileno Box Hill Hawks Bayliss 4 Smithwick 3 Cross Hill Hoegel O'Sullivan 2 Angelopoulos Nye Shore Taylor Best Sandringham Johnson Cleeve Gribbin Williams Dean McConnell Box Hill Hawks Cross Warby Bull Hill Smithwick Bayliss

He came into the side last night as an emergeny replacing Stephen Gilham (virus). Simply highlights the absurdity of the VFL's decision to allow both he and Taylor to play for the Box HIll Reserves.

Just to make things worse Box Hill have gained permission for Simon Taylor and Cameron Stokes, both with a fair amount of senior AFL experience this year to play for Box Hill. For those interested, here are the details of the game:- VFL Reserves 1st Semi Final Box Hill vs Sandringham Sunday 7 September at 10.20 am TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne Melways Ref: 57 C1

Just to clarify the issue of eligibility for the reserves in finals. If someone has played 8 senior games during the season, he must have played 6 reserves games to qualify. The following players qualify:- Kyle Cheney - will play, Jack Grimes - unlikely to play because, having played with the MFC the club will be anxious to get him into the 2009 pre season asap, Tom McNamara - has a hamstring injury and has been ruled out at least for this week, Jake Spencer - ruled out because of glandular fever, Isaac Weetra - will play Trent Zomer - will play

Sandy trail by 25 points at 3 qtr time.