Melon22

The setup's and game plan is exactly the same as the Melbourne side, execution from Casey players is always going to be an issue especially with our ball movement style under Goodwin. You notice that the AFL listed players direct most of the traffic at stoppages, today Kent was the main organizer of the forwards.

Went down today, was impressed by the young Casey players with Ed Morris one of the stars of the day and a leader out there for a very inexperienced Casey side. It was a much tougher test this week with some pretty motivated Hawthorn players in Sicily, Schoenmakers, Duyrea & Hartung after being dropped and very experienced VFL side in Box Hill. My thoughts on the Melbourne boys. McKenna - Made a few decision errors but was general sound with disposal before getting injured in the 3rd qtr. DJ - Struggled like most in the first half but lifted the intensity in the second, at the moment only a one effort player and needs to build fitness. Kent - Was very good and looks ready for AFL. Spencer - Dominated in the ruck against Fitzpatrick with Casey midfield getting first hands all day, spent some time forward and was competitive without hitting the scoreboard. Wagner - Looked really good from return, he wasn't the best defensively but his kicking out of the back line was brilliant. Could come back in if required. Frost - Defensively sound but had limited game time, building fitness and probably needs another week. Pederson - Better than last week and competed well in the air. Bugg - Played well and was probably the most consistent player over the 4 qtr's for Casey. Maynard - Improving, looked lively in the middle and was already much better from last week, Looking forward to what he can do this year. Filipovic - Moves well but is just getting pushed around in the contest at the moment, might spend some time in the development league if Spencer plays VFL. Trengrove - Very clean in tight, spent the 2nd half at half back and was sound with a couple of outstanding tackles. Kielty - Played forward and struggled early, went into the ruck for a few minutes and had a real impact kicking his first goal out of the ruck. Was much better after getting involved in the ruck and major contributor in the comeback. Smith - Always a star at Casey, building fitness and needs to improve his 2 way running if he wants to be considered for the AFL.

Yep, but didn't get out of first gear.

For mine Bugg, Tyson and Kent are the first in line from last week's game. Bugg didn't play as the holdover emergency but was pretty good in the JLT and was unlucky to miss out. Spencer did enough and could also come in if we decide to switch up to 2 rucks. It's really hard to judge the AFL players against VFL players in practice matches as they are very different stages of preseason. I noticed that the AFL listed pushing for selection played almost 90%+ gametime trying show fitness for the AFL. The game was played at a lower intensity due to the heat and heavy rotations. No one dominated but Tyson and Kent proved their fitness by domimating the last. Kent made a few errors but was very physical in putting pressure and made a couple of big tackles. Ben Kennedy played the full game and was OK, Trengrove looked good and is suddenly a good kick on his left. Also the next pure key forward in for me is Tim Smith - the Bull looks leaner and fitter and would be he happy for him to come into the afl side at some stage during the year.

Frost didn't line up with Bugg the holdover for the AFL game, the only Demon listed player in the back-line for Casey was Pat McKenna who didn't do to bad and was tidy with his disposal. Casey struggled in the first 3 quarters before the AFL listed players dominated the last quarter, Tyson ran the game out very well and probably had 10 disposals & 2 goals in the last quarter alone. Kielty spent the whole game in the forward line and was largely ineffectual.

It was a great game, high quality and lots of talent on display. Bushies really pushed the Dragons but too much class in the end. Scrimshaw and McGrath stood up when it mattered, McGrath performance will go down as one of the best in a GF ine the TAC Cup. Todd Marshall couldn't really run and had little impact and looked injured, while it was a shame that the younger Brayshaw got injured early on as well. Andrew played his best game last week and was putting together some really good form. Congrats to the Dragons,

Really enjoying the contest, Will Brodie will have to have a big quarter for the Bushrangers to win. Sandy just have to many classy midfielders for Murray

I have high hopes for Joel after watching a lot of Casey this year, if all goes right in the preseason I can see him getting an opportunity early next year . He has struggled with injury and was load managed early on but I have been extremely impressed by his development. He has so many AFL qualities to his game, clean hands, quick, strong over the ball and has some real X factor as well. Thinking about him and Hunt on the same half back line would be a sight to see with them both up and going.

Salem is eligible as well, he played one game in the development league as well which counts for his six. I count 19 AFL players that are eligible, it will be interesting to see how many play though. I suspect Oliver or Wiederman might be rested but we will wait and see.

Just my observations on the game It has been mentioned the Casey forward line didn't really work well last night, Box Hill's defense is very experienced and probably the best in the league. Spangher, Heatherley, Litherland, Mirra & Whitecross were able to matchup well with our ultra tall forward line. The younger forwards in Weiderman, Hullet & King got a lesson in what an AFL defense is like to play against, they didn't move enough for each other and didn't separate the Box Hill defenders. Dawes was easily our best forward for the night with Tim Smith playing a valuable role. Terlich played a half forward role and I thought he did very well, didn't seem to hesitate with the ball as much and the riskier kicks actually work better when going into f50. Good work on the coaches in mixing his game up and trying to get the best out of him, might have a role there in the next few weeks. Joel Smith is being managed at the moment but when he is on the field he is exciting, he has very clean hands and his willingness to take the game on is fantastic. His development from the first practice match of the year has been nothing short of amazing, the only thing holding him back from a monster game is time on the field. The most exiting part of the day for me was seeing Trengrove starting to get his agility back, made a few cuts in traffic that I haven't see before this year and was able to make space for himself in heavy traffic which is sign that it's starting to come together for him. Had a quieter second half which may not be enough for a game next week but he seems to be having fun out there and enjoying the contest.

Im not assuming that it is concussion for Bradshaw. I didnt see him on the field today at all, first time i noticed him he was on the bench at qtr time. If he did recieve a head knock it must have occurered very early or it was related to the last one. Enjoyed going back to TBO today brought back good memories. Good performance from the boys today, ANB was dynamic in close.

It was a hard game to watch and times as the game lacked any kind of flow, repeat stoppages with little breaks were the theme of the day. Both teams pushed the half forwards up the ground trying to isolate a small forward 1 on 1 in the wet conditions. For Casey it was Briggs while for the Blues it was Clem Smith who struggled with limited opportunities, those who frequent Casey Fields are aware it's a poor viewing ground and in a stop start game it's hard to see a lot of the in and under especially when the play was on the far side. No one's done a full player review so here's mine. Jack Trengrove - Was tough and clean in the clinches, more pleasing that when the play opened up showed his class and was able to hit targets when most were booting down the line. He is very close to an AFL game and seemed to get better as the game wore on, moved freely and he seems to be really enjoying his footy out there. Ben Newton - Was easily BOG, normally plays on a wing but played all day in the guts and was clean, tough and first to the ball all day. His first goal was outstanding, won the contested the ball near the forward pocket put on a burst to beat an opponent and snapped from a tight angle which ended up being the highlight of the day. His 4th game back from injury and is building some very strong form, really positive performance. Alex Neal Bullen - Was tough, in every scrap and niggling opponents all day which won him a couple of free kicks. Doesn't surprise me that he won our tackle count, he was a contested warrior in the clearances. Didn't get really an opportunity to show any outside run or skill which was more circumstance of the game but was very influential in the win. Jack Grimes - Sneakily building some steady form as a midfielder in the VFL, I don't think he has been the best player in any VFL game this year but always in the top 4 or 5 players. Played in the middle and was clean with his disposal and made a few crunching tackles, can't remember any bad turnovers by foot. Mitch White - Was solid and the conditions suited his style of game, he has great strength over the ball and always keeps his feet which gives him the advantage in the wet conditions. Wasn't really tested as a defender due to the dominance of Casey and won a lot of his disposals in the forward half which resulted in repeat i50's for Casey. Max King - Took a great contested mark in the first minute which he converted for a goal, was one of his better games but continues to struggle to have a impact as a forward consistently over 4 qtrs. Chris Dawes - Moved as freely as I can remember, conditions didn't suit but competed well and was rewarded with a couple of goals. It was a good return for him. He is also the easily the biggest guy at the club, I forgot how much of a barrel chest he's got. Dean Terlich - Was solid defensively but...Copy Paste from every other VFL game review. Lynden Dunn - Got a lot of the ball and ran well to support but was just OK defensively, I get the feeling that Dunny isn't that comfortable with our new zone defense and is better off in the old system. Was doing his usual of trying to start a fight and annoying the Blues forwards in the second half which is normal for him as chief instigator. Oscar Mcdonald - Another really solid defensive game from him, seems to have good positioning and was clean with disposal. Like most of the defenders wasn't put under much pressure due to the midfield dominance. Sam Weiderman - Loves the contest, really aggressive in the air and initiates body contact when he can. As good a performance as can be expected from a key forward in the conditions, building on his fitness and don't see him as ready just yet for AFL level. One thing he has to watch is he gave 3 free kicks away for sliding in the first half, 2 for below the knee contact and 1 where he unfortunately slid in and got Kieran Mcguiness high which ended his day and sent him to hospital, he could be in bit of trouble for the last one and may miss a week. Jake Spencer - Was solid all day and chucked his weight around, still working his way into form and fitness. Joel Smith - Was on managed game time, really impressive when on the field. Tough, athletic and super clean hands, looks like he could be a player.

I found this really annoying as well, doesn't make sense to me why they would remove it. Luckily there is some Youtube stuff as well to sift through.

Watched some more vision of James Parsons from the champs and wasn't really impressed, would prefer Tahana if we wanted to add more pace. His Eastern teammate Liam Jeffs is another who could be picked up tomorrow, unfortunately reminds me a bit of Jordan Gysberts as the tall midfielder with good inside skills. Ran a 2.89s 20m sprint at the combine which did shock me as he didn't look that fast on the field but has had injury issues this year. At 192cm and that quick he maybe worth a punt.

In the Academy vs the Northern Blues game I remember watching him kick to the man on the mark 5 metres away than stand still as he let his opponent run inside 50m, wasn't very impressive at the time. Definitely has come a long way since the academy games I saw him in and was impressive in the u18 Champs. Lacks aggression but has all the other tools to make it as a ruckman in the AFL, I can see him being taken before our second batch of picks as I see Gach as just about the only ruckman worthy of being drafted this year from the u18 pool based on talent.

The live bidding system does make this game a bit more intriguing, it makes sure that all the clubs still need to watch these kids closely. It's good place to see all the academy boys in one game and get a final look before the draft combine, last years game was great to watch mainly because Nakia Cockatoo lit it up.

Watched him a couple of times this year in the VFL and has proven enough to get back into the AFL, extremely athletic and seems to be playing with a higher intensity than he was in the past. Still got some issues with decision making with ball in hand but if he goes to the right system he could be really good for an AFL club. Don't think he will be on our Radar as his age and skills don't really fit a need for us but some clubs are very desperate for mature KPPs, Freo and Brisbane come to mind.

Watched him last week and was super impressed, looks like a natural footballer and as always Jack you're spot on with the talent ID. Watching that video of the 2009 TAC Cup GF brought back some memories, super amount of talent playing that day with a couple of handy underage inside mids, Tom Liberatore and Luke Parker.

I can't believe thart he is slipping as much as the phantom drafts are suggesting, he plays like a nutaral forward which is rare of somone his size. I rate him above McCartin slightly.

In my view this would be our perfect draft. 2. Angus Brayshaw 3. Christian Petracca 40. Oscar McDonald 53. Jack Lonie Rookie 2. Teia Miles 20. Brydan Hodgson

Let me describe Cale Morton the prospect to you, 190cm, runs 15+beep, sub 3 sec 20m sprint, clean hands, good decision maker and kicks 50 - 60 metres on a dime. Dominated the U18 national championships and was voted best player. These are the reasons that we took Cale Morton at 4, from the outside he looked a can't miss. I put my hand up as well as I thought he was the goods as well, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Back on topic... I'm glad to see Lucas back playing Footy, I watched him play some excellent footy in his first year at the club.

He is too one dimensional, lead up 3rd tall with little scope to be anything else. He doesn't have the strength to play KPP and consistency goes missing in games because of this fact. Plenty of other players who deserve another shot before him.

He has the size of a modern day midfielder and some game changing attributes, I can see him going 10 - 25 if the reports of his interviews are true.

For someone his size he also has a phenomenal leap, nothing like a 203cm forward jumping up and grabbing the ball at the highest point where defenders have no chance. That skill translates to the AFL extremely well and is almost unstoppable if he does it right, you only need to look at Joe Daniher and see what he has accomplished to see the kind of impact Wright could have at AFL level. I look at Fremantle who are still looking for that second tall who can also ruck, Ross Lyon is forced to try and convert Ruckman in Griffin and Clark into KPP and it just doesn't work consistently.

Ground in very poor state due to the Justin Timberlake concert, Good start to the game by the chargers but Calder dominating the last 15 minutes.