KC from Casey

Box Hill took control after Blease's goal and added the next three goals of the quarter to lead by 14 points at the last break. Brett Lovett is speaking calmly to the players at the three quarter time huddle encouraging them to put in that extra effort in the final quarter.

Blease marks and scores to put Casey in front.

The third quarter just starting and Strauss is off the ground and standing near the entrance to the change rooms. It looks as though he was possibly only meant to play half a game.

Sorry ... Strauss who has been doing well in defence and showing no ill-effects of that shocking injury incurred last year.The Hawks continued to dominate the early parts of the term and should have been further ahead. A left foot snap from Sam Blease and a goal to Tom McDonald late in the quarter put the Scorps back in the game. The standard is lacklustre at best. Half time: Box Hill 4.4.28 lead Casey 4.3.27

Eight Demons playing - Blease, Jetta, Lawrence, Cook, Gysberts, Sheahan and Tom McDonald. The Scorps started well doing all of the attacking and scored the first two goals of the game. I missed the goalkickers because I didn't get hold of a teamsheet until late in the quarter. The Hawks eventually got on top through their ruck dominance and held on to their marks better than their opponents in an otherwise scrappy affair. Tom McDonald haddock been good in the air and Jetta and Strauss strong in defence. Box Hill on top late in the quarter and lead by 1 point at quarter time.

Saturday March 10 v Box Hill Hawks @ Casey Fields Seniors 11am Development League 1.30pm This week's VFL practice match sees the senior game between the Scorpions and the Hawks taking place as the curtain raiser to the Development League match. This will allow fans of both the Demons and the Hawks plenty of time to watch their senior affiliate teams in action at Casey Fields before heading off to Etihad Stadium for the big game at 5.40pm. This week's Inside Football features an article on the Scorpions - No favours for Dees at Casey selection [no link currently available]. The article states that Melbourne players will need to earn their places even at the VFL club's selection table and quotes new Scorpion coach Brett Lovett as saying:- "The only things we'll be looking at when we're picking a side are form and fitness. He adds that Mark Neeld's attitude is that Lovett is the senior coach should be picking those who are going well and deserve to be there. "He's let the Melbourne boys know that once they step out of the car (at Casey Fields) they have to do what's needed to be really competitive. "If their attitude isn't good enough or their form isn't good enough they'll be running around in the development (reserves) team." The article confirms that there will be no big names replacing the departing senior hands Brendan Fevola, James Wall, Michael Stockdale, Tim Mohr and Ben Waite. However, new arrivals at the club include Gippsland Power graduates Luke Thompson (Moe), Ben Eddy (Wonthaggi) and Sean Corrigan (Officer), Berwick midfielder Nathan Page, Devon Meadows's Steve Mclnnes and Noble Park 2011 premiership player Luke Bull while the club will also be bolstered by the return from long term injuries of Michael Johnson (shoulder), Ricky Plummer (knee) and Tim Smith (knee). Finally, Kyle Matthews, who returned late last season after suffering serious head injuries in a nightclub attack in March, 2010, is expected to retain the captaincy which is due to be announced at the club's jumper presentation on March 17.

According to the Cranbourne Weekly in Scorps get new spark "the Scorpions had three Melbourne-listed players available with Lucas Cook and rookies Jai Sheahan and Kelvin Lawrence taking part." Best player for Casey was former Magpie Danny Nicholls who missed most of 2011 with a stress fracture in his foot. Rian McGough, Wade Lees and youngster Aiden Lindsay were also impressive for the Scorpions.

I received this from a Port Melbourne source moaning something about them being light on for numbers. Also said that it never stopped raining out there all day. Casey Scorpions 1.2 2.2 2.2 6.5.41 Port Melbourne 0.4 2.5 2.5 2.6 Goals Casey Scorpions Clay Cook McGough Nicholls Petropoulos Tynan Port Melbourne Galea Pitt Apparently, there were three players from Melbourne's squad who didn't get a run tonight - Cook, Lawrence and Sheahan. I suggest that they might have spent some time yesterday at Casey and that the goalkicker was Lucas Cook. The Tynan named as having kicked a goal was probably Josh's brother Luke who was b & f with the Casey reserves last year.

Saturday March 3 v Port Melbourne @ Casey Fields Seniors 2pm Development League 11am The Casey Scorpions begin their 2012 campaign under new coach Brett Lovett today at Casey Fields with the toughest of all opening hit outs - a practice match against reigning premiers Port Melbourne. It will be a new look Casey as well with many of its big name players having left during the off season to be replaced mainly by local players and youngsters coming up from the TAC Cup Under 18s. Gone from the club are last year's co-captain James Wall (Williamstown), leading goalkicker Brendan Fevola (Yarrawonga Pigeons) and club champion Tim Mohr (Greater Western Sydney) along with former VFL representative player Michael Stockdale who has joined Wall at Williamstown. A few others have also left the coop and to make matters worse, two promising youngsters from the club's main recruiting ground, the Gippsland Power, Maffra's Shaun Wyatt and Traralgon's Haydn Hector both relocated to Melbourne and also joined the Seagulls. Both were in the Vic Country Under 18 team last year and Wyatt captained the Power. Port Melbourne has also lost a few players from its premiership side of last year but has worked actively to replenish its list and should have a reasonably strong side out at Casey Fields. Their hosts will be a different proposition altogether today with few Demon listed players expected to be in action as a result of Melbourne's huge list of injured and unavailable players and its large squad involved in tonight's NAB Cup game. So don't expect miracles today in Brett Lovett's first hit out as coach. The day should however, be opportune for the club's younger players to show their wares in the lead up to the opening of the season against Williamstown which is only three weeks away. I'm still up in Queensland where the weather's been on the improve since the deluge that welcomed the MFC last week but I look forward to reports from those locals and not so locals who pop in to have have a look at the games.

The Casey Scorpions have their first intraclub match for the year on Thursday starting from 6pm at Casey Fields. II'll be up on the Gold Coast visiting the folks but anyone interested and in the area who turns up, feel free to post your impressions.

The lack of off season action has been disappointing so far as I'm concerned. The club has lost several seasoned VFL players including its marquee player of 2011 and has made no apparent attempt to replace them. IMO it will leave the club weakened and not really assist Melbourne's cause either because ideally you want the players not in your AFL side to be playing with and against the highest standard players to promote their development. This is important these days as you try to develop complex structures and systems of play. If you're doing this with blokes in your VFL team and half a dozen in the team are well below standard then you're going to have problems implementing your game plan. Given also that clubs often bring players back after injury in the VFL reserves, it's important to have sufficient depth all the way through the VFL affiliate club and that's why I would like to have seen some recruiting to replace those who have left. On a slightly different note, there's an interesting story in the Dandenong paper about a local junior club linking with the Casey Scorpions to promote and develop junior talent for the club. Burras in VFL pathway Sounds like a good initiative but one would also expect the club to do something similar with a club like Cranbourne which is in its own back yard.

Caleb Tiller who turned 21 years of age earlier this week and was drafted by Carlton in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft at selection No. 80 from the Murray Bushrangers is said to have signed with Casey this week. He spent last year playing for premiers Cranbourne Eagles in the Casey Cardinia Division of the MPNFL under coach Doug Koop, a former Demon and teammate of Casey coach Brett Lovett. Standing at 189cm and weighing 75kg, he was regarded as a promising medium-sized forward who has good hands and is a reliable shot for goal with a fierce attack on the football.

Appears so. One piece of news I have won't make Mr. jayceebee31 too happy. The Yarrawonga Pigeons have signed Brendan Fevola.

Happy New Year all - I'm back from an extended break and looking forward to the coming season. The news from out at Casey is that there's very little news. No big name signings and any recruiting is likely to be from locals. The reserves competition has been renamed the "AFLV Development League" and the fixture is now out for that competition. There's still a month to go before the practice matches but for the time being its all quiet on the Casey front.

2012 Peter Jackson VFL Fixture 2012 AFLV Development League Fixture The VFL 2012 fixture has now been released. Season 2012 will kick off on the weekend of Saturday March 24 when the VFL takes centre stage; with no local leagues or AFL played in Melbourne that weekend. The reserves competition will be renamed the "AFLV Development League". The VFL site notes the following about the Casey Scorpions' fixture:- CASEY SCORPIONS Brett Lovett will kick off the season under lights with Casey Scorpions against 2011 Peter Jackson VFL runners up Williamstown in round 1 Lovett will have to wait till round 13 to face his former club Sandringham. The Scorpions' 2012 fixture:- 1. Saturday 24th March Casey Scorpions vs. Williamstown @ Casey Fields 6:00 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Williamstown @ Casey Fields 3:00 PM 2. Saturday 31st March * Coburg Tigers vs. Casey Scorpions @ Mantello Holden Oval 2:00 PM DL - Coburg Tigers vs. Casey Scorpions @ Mantello Holden Oval 11:00 AM 3. Sunday 8th April Casey Scorpions vs. Frankston Dolphins @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Frankston Dolphins @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM 4. Sunday 15th April Casey Scorpions vs. Bendigo @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM BYE - DL 5. Saturday 21st April DL - Northern Blues vs. Casey Scorpions @ Preston City Oval 11:00 AM BYE - Casey Scorpions DL - Casey 6. Sunday 29th April Casey Scorpions vs. North Ballarat @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM DL - Casey vs. North Ballarat @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM 7. Saturday 5th May Geelong Cats vs. Casey Scorpions (AFL C/R) @ Simonds Stadium 10:00 AM BYE - DL 8. Saturday 12th May Box Hill Hawks vs. Casey Scorpions @ Box Hill City Oval 2:00 PM DL - Port Melbourne vs. Casey Scorpions @ Box Hill City Oval 11:00 AM 9. Sunday 20th May DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Frankston Dolphins @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM BYE - Casey Scorpions 10. Saturday 2nd June Northern Blues vs. Casey Scorpions @ Visy Park 2:00 PM DL - Northern Blues vs. Casey Scorpions @ Visy Park 11:00 AM 11. Saturday 9th June Casey Scorpions vs. Collingwood @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Coburg Tigers @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM 12. Saturday 16th June DL - Box Hill Hawks vs. Casey Scorpions @ Box Hill City Oval 11:00 AM BYE - Casey Scorpions 13. Sunday 24th June * Sandringham Zebras vs. Casey Scorpions @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval 2:00 PM DL - Sandringham Zebras vs. Casey Scorpions @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval 11:00 AM 14. Saturday 30th June Werribee Tigers vs. Casey Scorpions @ Avalon Airport Oval 2:00 PM DL - Werribee Tigers vs. Casey Scorpions @ Avalon Airport Oval 11:00 AM 15. Sunday 8th July Casey Scorpions vs. Port Melbourne @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Port Melbourne @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM 16. Sunday 15th July Bendigo vs. Casey Scorpions @ Windy Hill 2:00 PM DL - Northern Blues vs. Casey Scorpions @ Preston City Oval 10:00 AM 17. BYE - Casey Scorpions BYE - DL 18. Sunday 29th July Frankston Dolphins vs. Casey Scorpions @ Frankston Oval 2:00 PM DL - Frankston Dolphins vs. Casey Scorpions @ Frankston Oval 11:00 AM 19. Saturday 4th August Casey Scorpions vs. Northern Blues @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. North Ballarat @ Casey Fields 11:00 AM 20. Saturday 11th August DL - Sandringham Dragons vs. Casey Scorpions @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval 11:00 AM Sunday 12th August Casey Scorpions vs. Geelong Cats @ Casey Fields 2:00 PM 21. Saturday 18th August * Collingwood vs. Casey Scorpions @ Victoria Park 1:00 PM BYE - DL 22. Saturday 25th August Casey Scorpions vs. Sandringham Zebras @ Casey Fields 2:30 PM DL - Casey Scorpions vs. Box Hill Hawks @ Casey Fields 11:30 AM * clash with MFC game EDIT: 2012 AFLV Development League ("DL") fixture has been added.

It seems at this stage that Casey haven't replaced any of the name players who have left the club since the end of the season - Brendan Fevola, Tim Mohr, Michael Stockdale etc. I believe that James Wall and Rian McGough have also left the club and it appears as if Scorps might be relying on the new MFC listed players and some locals to provide the new blood.

Casey only gets to play those MFC players who aren't selected in the AFL team and since there will be the same number of players on Melbourne's list next year the net benefit in terms of players available to Casey = zero. What Casey needs now is to top up on its own list because the strength of every VFL club is dependent on its own player depth. With two key players already missing in Fev & Mohr the Scorpions need to recruit players for 2012 if they want to improve on the past two or three seasons.

Cripes, my iPhone spellcheck surely didn't cause that so I plead guilty to committing a human error. Please accept my apology Mr. Lovett!

It's going to be a tough initiation for new coach Brett Lovell with an opening fixture against 2011 grand finalist Williamstown:- Saturday March 24: Coburg Tigers vs Northern Blues North Ballarat vs Werribee Tigers Casey Scorpions vs Williamstown Sunday March 25: Frankston vs Port Melbourne Sandringham vs Box Hill Hawks Bye: Bendigo, Collingwood, Geelong

• Practice Matches - this information was gleaned from other clubs and around the traps & needs to be confirmed. Saturday March 3 v Port Melbourne @ Casey Fields Seniors 2pm Reserves 11am Saturday 10 March v Box Hill @ Casey Fields Seniors 2pm Reserves 11am Saturday March 17 v Frankston@ Casey Fields Seniors 2pm Reserves 11am • Season proper starts the weekend after the last practice match but the VFL has not yet issued its fixture. • I'm not hearing much news from the Scorps insofar as new recruits is concerned. • Families in Casey are invited to the 2011 Casey Demons Christmas Party at Casey Fields, Cranbourne East on Wednesday, December 14 from 4pm to meet and greet the players and coaches for next year. Christmas party with the Dees in Casey

Very excited about this selection. His brother Luke is also a quality young footballer who was Casey Scorpions reseves best and fairest winner and also played seven games for the seniors. This should give him even more incentive (if it was every needed) to cement a place in the ones next year.

I personally found Denham's reported comments re Austin Wonaeamirri both offensive and ignorant of what this young man has gone through over the past few years. As a big shot reporter for the Murdoch press I can understand that he lacks the necessary sensitivity to report on Austin's situation. He certainly hasn't been up with it while the young man battled with injury after injury and then with the passing of two important life figures. To use him as part of his irrational and idiotic vendetta against the Melbourne Football Club is nothing short of disgraceful.

Here is an item which I thought might be of appeel to readers of this thread and which I plucked out of my local newspaper - Bananas are yummy, Mummy

The Casey Scorpions have lost some key players from this year's list with the departures of Tim Mohr (GWS), Brendan Fevola (?) and Michael Stockdale (Williamstown) and are yet to appoint a senior coach for 2012 but pre season training starts next Monday. I believe that the coaching appointment is imminent.

There will most probably be more than just a change of coach at the Scorps. Marquee signing from 2011, Brendan Fevola is seeking a place on an AFL club list but if he doesn't secure one, has indicated he would try his hand elsewhere - even possibly as a punter (the kicking kind, not betting) in the NFL. Well documented is the fact that the Giants are keeping a place on their list open for tall defender Tim Mohr under the non contacted by AFL clubs rule. Small defender Michael Stockdale is heading across to Williamstown and there were question marks last time I enquired about the future of James Wall and Rian McGough. We're looking at a substantial overhaul on the playing side of the Scorpions in 2012.