Melon22

Hannan looks to be the emergency for tomorrow, Stretch, hunt and Weiderman all warming up.

Brand new stand that has just been finished, looks great and the function room looks great with a good view over the ground. Also best coaches boxes in the VFL by far. turning out to be a good night for footy. No wind and the ground has dried out well, should be a good game

There is actually a curtain raiser for today’s game starting at 11:05am, u18 academy Vs Kangaroos VFL. There is almost on no info on this game on the internet so they are keeping it low key but a good chance to see the top 30 players run around the G against AFL listed players. Looking forward to seeing some of the highly touted SA boys.

Last quarter was shortened to only 20 minutes, good move as both teams looked stuffed.

Casey wasted some opportunities but standard of the game is dropping a bit, very hot conditions.

Harmes, Tyson, Jetta all playing and are dominating. Casey have 3 players on the bench who haven't come on so I am expecting some players won't play the second half. About 10 or so listed players playing.

Casey Dominating play but didn't make the most of the wind in the first qtr but a flurry goals late in the second qtr as well as a goal on the siren means Casey actually won the second qtr into the breeze. Wind is very strong which is affecting the quality of the game.

It was a bit awkward on live TV, overlooking the local boy as well Oscar Allen.

As predicted by mock drafts so far for the top 10, O'Brien is the only mild surprise.

My realistic wishlist. 29 - Charlie Spargo 31 - Mathew Ling 36 - Tom De Konig 47 - Trent Mynott Zac Bailey would be a good fit but don't think he will be available.

With 5 Changes for the Roos and some list management on there part going into the last round. Only 6 listed Kangaroos Players for Werribee on Saturday, of the 6 players only 2 have played AFL for a combined 6 AFL games. Very young and inexperienced team with Casey going in with one of their strongest of the year, should be a big win for Casey to extend there home record, Casey can secure a top 4 spot with a win while Werribee still a chance for 8th spot just sitting outside the 8 on percentage..

I have to admit I am very surprised by all of the Salem talk on this thread, I didn't see him get reported and the incident where Sumner was injured I thought wasn't even a free kick at the time. You don't have replays and I didn't have the best angle but I think he will be fine from my view, just a very solid bump.. On the rest of the game, Casey dominated the contest in the first half over a very poor blues team. I was fairly disappointed with the second half thou, they stopped and limped over the line with the Blues dominating the contested ball. Luckily for Casey the Blues were very wasteful at goal and Declan Kielty was on fire as the final margin should have been a lot closer. Watts didn't do enough from my view, another week in the VFL.

1. JKH on the form over 4 weeks. 2. Kent 3. Trengrove does a lot of things right 4. Maynard 5. Weiderman

Back onto the game itself. It was probably the most disappointing game for Casey all year, fumbling, a lack of intensity and totally out worked by Port Melbourne. Casey were outnumbered in the forward line sometimes by 6 to 3 and then had players free out the back when Casey pressed forward, tell tale sign you are being completely outworked. Port Melbourne pressure was good the inability of Casey to get into any sort of rhythm was very disappointing. There were times that Casey broke through the press and they seemed that but they had no targets or idea of what to do with the ball, this caused panic with the ball carrier which led to some awful turnovers. All the Casey players were down as well and just lacked any winners on they day, Fritsch and Hutchins were the best of the Casey players. Joel Smith - Looked good on return and was one of Casey's best, lacked a bit of touch but this wasn't helped by teammates. He is probably 1 -2 weeks away from consideration but at the rate we are losing players might be chance. JKH - The best of the Dees from what I saw, was terrible in the first half but responded and looked lively in the second half trying to get the team back into it. Disappointingly though he lacked impact in the midfield as Casey was smashed by Port in close, probably the most likely to come in from the game. Ben Ken - Got the ball and effort was there in tight but an inability to have an impact with disposal is keeping him from the AFL, also doesn't spread well enough for someone with is pace. King - Liked his game, has limited minutes but his tap work is good and is a whisker away each week from taking a few contested marks. He just needs to build some strength but he looks likely. Trengrove - Has his step and agility back which is great, one of his poorer games though in terms of disposal. He displayed very good hands but tried to generate some ball movement with riskier kicks which didn't come off. Also struggled to put defensive pressure on which was disappointing. Spencer - The most disappointing on the day, looked a mile off it and Casey were beaten in the stoppages. Hasn't regained the same form yet from last year after his injury. Weiderman - Looked OK but not a great day for the forwards, he was outnumbered all day and wasn't able to impact the game. The only real criticism was that he got sucked up the ground to much leading to some of the issues going forward, gave the team a spark when he went into the Ruck. Maynard - Got a lot of ball in tight but wasn't able to generate any impact from his disposals, wasn't able to get much of the ball in transition which limited his impact. Kielty - Competed well in the air but not much influence with the ball. Johnstone - Was ok but didn't have much impact on the game, there was almost no forward pressure on the day so from that point of view was disappointing but DJ spend some time on the wing as well. Kent - Played on a wing and had a crack, needs to improve his kicking and work rate but if Garlett misses he is a chance. He doesn't use his pace as much as he should and his kicking can sometimes be way off especially in the midfield.

We have round 4 of the U18 championships on this afternoon at Etihad Stadium, both games are live on fox footy. 2.10pm Vic Country V WA 4.40pm Vic Metro V SA for Vic Metro inclusions of note are Noah Balta and Andrew Brayshaw, Max and Ben King have both been rested for the game with a short turn around for round 5 on Wednesday.

The game is being streamed on the AFL website tomorrow from 12pm for anyone interested.

The best 2 players for SA are 2 bottom agers not eligible this year says it all about this year's draft class, Lukosius is an absolute star in the making. I watched him live at the G in the academy game this year and was the best talent on the ground as a 16 year old, seems to have taken his game to another level since then. Fogarty, classic underage gun. Not sure at AFL kind of reminds me of Shannon Hurn in a way without the prodigious kick. Will head down to Punt Rd this Saturday to watch Metro V Country game, crap venue to watch footy as half the viewing area is closed. Hopefully they have opened up the outer wing again.

Went on Saturday and was extremely pleased with the Casey performance, best game of VFL footy of the year and was a high quality contest all night which was as close to an AFL game intensity that you will get. JKH - Was great in tight at the contest, he is playing as an inside mid where he is racking up the possessions Bit like ANB last year where he struggled when asked to change his role when promoted to AFL, not a big runner so Subiaco might not suit this week. Spencer - When he was in the ruck we had the upper hand in the clearances, struggled to impact the game outside the clearances though. King - When in the ruck against Tom Campbell was taught a lesson, he got his hands to a couple of big pack marks that would have turned his OK game to a good game if he had managed to hold them. Building and happy with progress overall. White - Another great game from Mitch, plays well in the zone defense scheme and has a weapon with his left foot kicks. There is no spot for him at the moment with our half backs playing well, but I would be very comfortable in being brought into the AFL team. Wagner - Another solid game with moments of class, Casey have 2 AFL quality half backs which one of the reasons the Casey have now 4 in a row. Maynard - Playing very well and consistently every week only interrupted by his concussion, playing purely as a inside mid which is a very competitive spot on the senior list. Might need to find some other positions to have a crack a game in the AFL in the short term. Johnstone - Struggled to have much impact after pushing onto the wing, when he did get the ball he produced some classy moments and put some signature pressure on the opposition. Stretch - Loved that he was able to showcase some of his class in contested situations, chance to come in from the performance. Trengrove - Loved his work across half back, great decision maker and a beautiful kick. He plays like a coach on the field, always following the team instructions on how the team wants to play. He is playing like he has full confidence with his body this year, when he was selected the same time last year he was still a but unsure but deserves a shot soon. Weiderman - Struggled to have a big impact on the game, didn't make the most of his opportunities when he did get a chance to hit the scoreboard. I Like it when he pushes up the field to get himself as involved, classy user of the ball. Hullett - Kicked an early goal but struggled against an solid Dogs backline. Kielty - Played across the backline and was OK, would like Dec to settle back for a while to regain some of the form from last year. Kent - Busy with little impact, seems like he is just trying too hard sometimes. Plays better in the AFL where there is more space to run into but his lack of tackles and pressure acts is probably costing him a game. Fritsch - The only tall Casey forward that looked dangerous on the night, looking confident and has a great left foot kick. No doubt the AFL scouts I keep seeing at Casey games will be keeping a close eye on his progress.

No, to be blunt. He doesn't have a standing leap capable of rucking and is more of a lead up style KPP, mind you he has lost some of his body weight in the off season so hopefully his agility and leap will have improved.

Not Yet, needs a good solid block of games before I would consider him. By the 4th Qtr was just about gone even after limiting his game time, in the second half his ruck work was a little bit off as well as he fatigued and wasn't able to run it out as expected. By the time he is ready Spencil and Gawn would be closing in on a return I suspect, i would pick Kielty as the next Ruckman before playing Frosty or Oscar as a first ruck.

I'll focus on the real positives of the game which were Mitch King's return to footy and Buggy dominating. Mitch King dominated the ruck against pretty much no real opposition but looked really good and got involved around the ground which was great. On the game itself I thought Casey struggled to get going in front of a tiny crowd, I fear for these 7pm starts but it doesn't seem to be getting the crowds in with the dew and the earlier rain not helping the standard of game. Bugg - Was in everything and one of the only Casey players to be clean with his disposal, while his team mates were over possessing he recognized the conditions and got the ball forward. Looked a class above all game and by a country mile the best player on the ground. Pederson - Played mostly forward and competed well but is not in the best form, not clunking any marks at the moment and would like to making more impact on the scoreboard. Trengrove - Was the tagged player this week, struggled to have an impact in the first half from the midfield but switched to half back and made a real impact with his ball use behind the play. Jack's decision making is elite and seems to try and to do the team things all the time, doesn't fumble and his athleticism seems to be getting better. Hullett - Played well in defense without being remarkable, good return for his first game of the year and will look to build form. Mcdonald - Was solid and efficient with disposal, was taken off at half time probably for Monday Nights game as an emergency. Johnston - Best game so far in the VFL including the praccy matches, only thing lacking was his finish for goals which he rushed a few times. Showed some real good composure with the ball in the F50 to setup team mates. Maynard - Really getting involved and starting to become a reliable midfielder, decision making is improving but doing better than expected at this stage. Kennedy - Really busy all day and had one of his better games, disposal needs to be worked on still and doesn't hurt as much as he should with his speed. Kent - Never really got going all night, fumbled and unable to produce his best. Keilty - Played as a Ruck Forward and is improving every week in the role, being devolped as a utility KPP for AFL level. King - The highlight of the night for me, wasn't as good in the second half but I was super impressed with his return. Got involved in the play around the ground and is running ability and athleticism for his size was surprisingly good, not afraid to kick as well and looked like old school ruck rover than a lumbering ruck man type. White - Solid game from Mitch, kicks the ball very well and doesn't lose contests often. Brayshaw - Started slowly before starting to get more involved in the second qtr before his unfortunate late hit. It was in play for those saying it was behind play, it was on the far side to where I was so hard to say how hard the contact was.

It was fairly disappointing effort but Williamstown put elite amount of pressure on for VFL level or even AFL, it was a good test and unfortunately a lot of players weren't up to the it in terms of composure with a similar problem for the AFL side. Exceptions being Trengrove and Hibberd being the only ones to make good decisions in close and show some composure, from what I saw too many fumbles and slow decision making from the AFL boys to use there superior skill in the outside. For me Hibberd is a must in for next week, Trengrove & Pederson is the next 2 but not sure who to replace.

Andrew after playing across half back for Sandy he has moved into the midfield this year, still tying to figure how to play the position. Andrew in my opinion will definitely get drafted and could go high as late first round if he has a big year, like the other Brayshaw brothers Andrew is a fierce competitor and rarely looses a 1 on 1 duel. From my observations he is an elite kick and decision maker, maybe a little bit quicker than Gus but I wouldn't consider quick for the modern game and ran a 15.02 beep test preseason which was top 10 in the TAC Cup. Hamish has come back for another year in the TAC Cup, needs to work on his kicking, speed and cleaner hands in the contest if he wants be drafted.

Went along to see a couple of games on the weekend at Ikon/Optus/Visy/Judd Park. Eastern Ranges has some great talent this year in Stephenson & Hayes as well as Sandy Dragons look the goods, the other Brayshaw brothers Andrew & Hamish played for Sandy with Hamish playing as an overage player this season. Its a good time to watch TAC Cup as after Easter school footy starts and dilutes the competition of talent. Very interesting game this weekend with the 20 years AFL academy anniversary game a curtain raiser for the Essendon V Carlton. Best 30 draft year players in the country going at on the G in April which will be a first. Team Lists here

From the last 2 weeks and the JLT Spencer has the form and just looks ultra fit, played almost the full game on the weekend with more time spent forward than usual and was OK without snagging a goal. . Smith is a chance even though a bit undersized I would be comfortable with him in the side, I wonder about his AFL running ability because he was spent in the last quarter on the weekend and wasn't able to really run defensively at all. I would personally reward Spencer for his form as he hasn't put a foot wrong.