MadAsHell

I'd also like to think he wont be going. I think the only way he's leaving is if he went to the club and asked for a trade. Wont be the other way round.

There is benefit in a Hawthorn win over Geelong. Means if Freo can shock Geelong the following weekend in Geelong (they do have a good record there), then it's season over for the Cats.

Oh damn! Thanks for the heads up. Vanders keeps his spot for another week then I guess.

IN: Hunt, Melksham OUT: Smith (injj), Vandenberg (omit) Pedersen to be the non playing emergency in case Gawn doesn't get up.

This. Plus with Lever coming back, we may go with three tall defenders which frees Hibberd up into Vince's role. I love Vince, but he's on his last legs for mine. Potentially. Or we could loose our next 3 and miss the finals. The point being, either way that any list changes are likely to come from the players listed....

Thought I may start this thread to open the discussion into the players some people think may not be at the club for any number of reasons next year. Having looked through our list, I came up with 14 that I think fall into this category. Not to say I don't think all 14 wont be there, but that they're the 14 most in danger so to speak and anywhere from half to 10 of them may not be there. So thought I'd lay them out and see what other people thought or if there were other players people also thought would fall into this bracket. RETIREMENTS: Harley Balic (already retired) Cameron Pedersen & Bernie Vince: Now these two may retire off their own bat, or they may get delisted. But I highly doubt either of these two will be there next year. Pedersen is probably playing well enough at VFL level to be picked up by another club as a good depth player. Bernie is on the record as saying in the media he wants to play for as long as he can. If no other club is interested, maybe he'd be happy to sign on at Casey to help develop the young guys? POTENTIAL TRADE BAIT: Sam Frost: He's contracted and I think he'll likely stay, but with Lever to return next year and both Harrison Petty & Declan Keilty on the list, will Sam or the club see the writting on the wall on look to explore their options? Personally I think he's more likely to stay then leave unless we get an offer to good to refuse. Dean Kent: Out of contract and out of favor, Dean may look to explore his options at years end. With Jeffy not getting any younger, I think think there's a potential role in our best 22 for Dean, however a combination of form and injuries haven't allowed him to cement a spot. WA boy, however I think he's either about to or has just recently become a father, so not sure if his partner is a WA or VIC girl? 50/50 on whether Dean stays or goes for me. Dom Tyson: Similar to Frost, Dom is contracted and at his best we know that he's a very good player. However, with a midfield of Oliver, Brayshaw, Viney hopefully being injury free and Jones I think still having 2 years left in him beyond this year, is there a spot for Dom in our best team? He's also too good a player to be a depth player, spending half the year in the VFL IMO. We may use Dom to try and improve our draft hand, given we have no first round pick, or he may come to us and request a trade himself if he wants to further his opportunities. Either way, as he's contracted, it will need to be a good trade. Think Dom may be more likely to leave then stay, but that's just a gut feel. POTENTIAL DELISTINGS: Tom Bugg: I'm going to be honest and admitt that I like Tommy Bugg. I see value in a depth player like Bugg and was actually surprised when Vandenberg came in for Melksham the other week, as I see that as a role that Bugg would perform well in. Having said that, I'm a realist and the lack of matches Bugg has played this year, especially in the 2nd half of the year says it all. I expect him to be delisted, but hope another team picks him up as a DFA. Lachie Filipovic: Pretty sure it was 4 or 5 out of his first 6 games in the VFL D-League last year, Lachie was named in the best, and I was thinking to myself we could have a good one here! However to say this year has been disapointing from a supporters point of view would be a huge understatement. He looks athletic and agile enough, but from the half dozen games I've watched Flip this year, he just isn't competative enough in the ruck, doesn't get involved enough in the play, and can't seem to take a mark to save himself. I know rucks take time, but Lachie looks a long, long way off. This was most evident on the weekend when Mitch King injured his knee and instead of Flip going into the ruck, Tim Smith & Weideman were asked to share those responsibilities. Will be shocked if he's still there come next year. Dion Johnston: Quite bizzare is the Dion Johnston story so far. Recruited as a small forward and was talked up heavily in his first pre-season by Nathan Jones as someone to watch out for. And although Plapp regularly sung his praises re: his forward pressure and doing the team things at Casey throughout his first season, the main thing that stood out was Dion's inability to hit the score board or get much of the ball. Things seemed to be following a similar trend early this year, until Rawlings moved Dion into a small defenders role and it was reported Dion had also been teamed up with Nev as a mentor. Now since the move Dion certainly hasn't dominated, but he's looked a lot more at home in defence and there could well be something there to work with. He's no certainty to be on the list next year, however I wouldn't be surprised if he received a 1 year extension to push his case further, and personally I'd be more then happy with that. Declan Keilty: When we recruited Declan at the end of 2016 I was wrapped that we got him as I saw a huge amount of upside in this guy. Good CHB with the ability to play forward and pinch hit in the ruck. I then thought his 2017 was a little underwhelming and was a little surprised when he was given another year for 2018. However I'm glad the coaches did as I think he has been sensational down at Casey this year. Played mainly back with a couple of stints forward, Declan's aerial game especially has gone to another level this year. Now the club may consider delisting him given Lever & Oscar seem to be the prefered options, Petty is coming through and the fact Frost is also contracted. However given Declan's versatility and the fact Pedersen will likely be moved on, I think the club will see Declan as our new Pedersen with the ability to fill holes where required. I hope & expect Declan to be given a 3rd year on the rookie list. Jay Kennedy-Harris: Like many on here, about 6 weeks ago I thought JKH was an automatic delist come years end, however he's grasped this opportunity that has come his way thanks to good form in the VFL prior and an unfortunate injury to Stretch. I conceed JKH lacks certain tricks, however he does the team things well and there's nothing wrong with retaining certain foot soldiers. I'd imagine he's played his way into a new 1 year deal if he wants it. Mitch King: Of the two young ruckman on our list, Mitch King is the more promising. He does show a willingness to compete and drift forward to take a mark and goal. He's also had injury issues in his three years at the club including doing an ACL on his VFL debut back in 2016. However despite these admirable traits, King gets monstered on a regular basis at VFL level, meaning I'd hate to see what would happen if Max got injured and Mitch came in for him in the AFL. Mitch could well make it at AFL level, however I suspect that may well be up to 5 years away, which is a big investment to make with no guarentees. I'd imagine the club is more likely then not to delist and encourage him to join a VFL, SANFL, WAFL or NEAFL team and follow his progress. Pat McKenna: Was best on ground in the 2016 NEAFL Grand Final the smooth moving midfielder/half back with good kicking skills. The talented junior cricket star has been crueled by hamstring injuries since joining the club, but in the last few weeks he's finally been able to get out on the park for Casey. Baring any major hamstring injury in the last few weeks of this season, I expect the club will give him a further 1 year deal in the same manner they gave Hunt 1 year after his initial 2 years that were hampered by back issues. Tim Smith: Has been in & out of the team this year and been not to bad when given the opportunity. Has shown that he is a very good and mobile forward at VFL level, and his aerobic capacity makes him an ideal call up for either of Hogan or Tommy Mc, should injury or suspension strike. Given the clubs eagerness to play him and name him as an emergency on a regular basis, I expect that he will also be given a 3rd year on the rookie list. Finally I thought I should briefly touch on four other players who could fall into the above category, however I suspect there's next to no chance of them leaving/being delsited/traded. These players being Jayden Hunt, Billy Stretch, Aaron Vandenberg & Sam Weideman. Apart from the fact that 3 of these 4 are contracted, I feel as though the club rates all these players far to highly and/or have invested too much for them to consider parting ways with, even if they requested a trade. Interested to hear if other people agree, or if there's others you feel may be in danger or ones that I listed above who I think will stay, but you think will leave?

Is Gach Nyuon still on the list KC? I know he was an AA ruckman in the U18's a few years back and then spent a year on Essendon's rookie list before joining Casey last year. Would think he could be an option. As for going forward, I posted elsewhere I think we should offer our 4th Round pick for either Lewis Pierce from St Kilda or Tom Campbell from the Bulldogs as a 2nd ruck option on our list.

I like the look of Tom McKenzie from Northern Knights for our 2nd round pick. Bit of a smooth mover who uses it well on the outside: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/localfooty/midfielder-tom-mckenzie-set-to-be-one-of-northern-knights-top-afl-draft-prospects-this-year/news-story/fee30e9ad40d73756b0c624e3ca9b83e Third round pick maybe Fraser Turner from Tassie to add a bit of pace maybe?

Hard to say WD. If he is picked up, I expect it will be as a rookie. He shows all the necessary tools. He spreads well from stoppages, uses it pretty well, can win his own ball and as today showed he can hit the score board. Good article on the Melbourne (Casey Demons section) about him. Rawlings speaks highly of him and reckons he belongs on an AFL list http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-06-26/vfl-corey-wagners-afl-journey His draw back is probably similr to Tyson, where can can probably only play as a midfielder. But given he was in the Brisbane Lions academy, got drafter by North and played 8 senior games in his first 2 years, there's obviously something there. I'm a big advocate for rookie listing him, as I see more upside with him then I do say Maynard. However, if we were to only draft 1 player out of Casey this year, then it should be Lockyear IMO. See a lot of Mark Baguley in him (drafter from Frankston VFL). Oh and as for King, if we keep either of our young ruckmen I expect it would be King, however I also know that if Max were to get injured next year that King wouldn't be ready to come in for him. I think we may end of trading say our 4th Round Pick for a ruckman whose currently third in line at their club, but would be physically ready to play. Think Tom Campbell from the Bulldogs or Lewis Pierce at St Kilda.

Went along today to see a very impressive Casey performance. I had a few, but here's my take on how the Melbourne players went; Mitch Hannan: Was very active in the 1st term and involved in several of our forward frays. Spent his time betweeen half forward & the midfield. Attempted to take mark of the year a few times to no avail. Did enough to keep his name in contention. Cameron Pedersen: BOG for me today. Marked everything that came his way and defended strongly. Has had a great year at VFL level. Sam Weideman: Kicked a couple of goals and played a really good first half and took some strong marks. Spent a little bit more time in the ruck in the 2nd half after King went off and kept himself involved in the game. Still tracking encouragingly. Jayden Hunt: First game back since Queens Birthday weekend and he did a few nice things without dominating. Good launching pad for a potential return to the senior team before finals. Tom Bugg: Pretty quiet game from buggy I thought. He may have got more of it in & under then I realized, but was otherwise a pretty unnoticeable game. Oskar Baker: Was playing another solid game, showing good pace, pressure and kicking a goal. Looked to do his hamstring late in the 3rd term, however spotted him on the bench running lines and trying to get back on, but looked to get ordered out of the game by the coaches. Think/hope it was only a strain or bad cramp and we'll see him back next week or the week after. Mitch King: Competed ok, but I'm still yet to see anything from him that makes me think he'll make it. To make matters worse, he then either done a MCL or Meniscus Injury to end his day, potentially season and potentially Melbourne career. Harrison Petty: Hasn't quite hit the heights of his early season form since his AFL debut, but he defended dourly and played his role in a strong defensive unit. Dion Johnston: I've liked his move to defence and he played another solid game. Think Nev's mentorship is paying off and a new 1 year deal should be put on the table for Dion. Tim Smith: Not a huge game for the Bull. He competed as he always does and played as the main ruck after King went off. Like many on our list today, played his role without having a huge day himself. Pat McKenna: Barely noticed him in the first half, but he worked his way into the game in the 2nd kicking a goal. Given the injuries he's had to overcome, it's great that he's just out there playing again. 1 year deal for me, so Guy Walker has someone to bowl to in the nets. Josh Wagner: Controlled things across half back and was assured with his ball use and always seemed to have time & space. Declan Keilty: After Pedersen I thought he was the best of the Melbourne players. Kicked a few, took some strong marks and provided a real target. Has had a great year at VFL level and unlucky not to have received a senior opportunity. He's developing well! Lachlan Filipovic: Gone for mine. Even when King went off, it was Smith & Weideman who were asked to compete in the ruck. Limited impact and doesn't get involved enough. Thought I should add, that after Pedersen I thought the next three best were all Casey listed players in Jay Lockhart, Corey Wagner & Cory Machaya. Lockhart in particular is someone we should look to draft. Nice kick, good pace and run, exactly the type we could do with. Watch this space!

Thursday night should be Brisbane v Richmond Good Friday North v us Both Collingwood & Essendon can play whoever on Saturday. Only way it can work.

Reckon St Kilda will want more for him then what he's currently worth.

Don't support St kilda or know Billings or anyone else associated with St Kilda. Also not going to dispute the stats, but if he did have 14, they were an unremarkable 14. Wasn't noticeable till the 2nd as I said, although if u were there you're welcome to give your take.

Was there today and have to say despite his figures he was very unimpressive. Didn't sight him that much early when Frankston were still having a real crack, but from about half way through the 2nd when Frankston dropped their intensity that's when Billings started to get a lot of cheap hanball receives and strutted around like a peacock. Personally I'd be more keen on taking a chance on Nathan Freeman's hamstring then Billings on their output and intensity today.

Planning on heading to Trevor Baker Oval today to watch Sandy play my home town (Frankston). Will keep a close eye on Billings to see what his intent is like.

Fair call re his confidence JR. Though I disagree re being very poor. Don't recall any turnovers or errors that cost us in anyway, and I thought he was important when moved forward.

Thoughts on our players today from my position on the far side of the ground; Tyson: At quarter time he was BOG by the length of the Flemington straight. Was clean, used it well and looked a class above. Collingwood put a bit more work into him after 1/4 time, but his first touch work was still very good. Frost: Not bad without being great. Very solid and I thought his move forward was important in giving Casey another avenue towards goal despite not hitting the score board himself. JKH: BOG for mine. His ball use and ability to create run and win his own ball was very impressive. Think he still has a future in the AFL, not sure if it will be us however. Weideman: Very quiet, although to be fair the delivery was pretty poor. His last quarter was good I thought. A couple of strong marks and competed well. Balic: Very good first term and seemed to be the main avenue through half forward. Drifted out of the game for the next two quarters, but stood up when it mattered most with 2 last quarter goals. Hunt: Didn't star, but liked what he did do. I thought his ball use was better and he really cracked in. Bugg: Very solid game through the midfield and was probably the most consistent in each of the 4 quarters. Funny that he can't miss a shot at VFL level. Baker: Quiet start, but got better as the game went on. Missed what would have been a beauty in the 2nd term, but kicked the last of the day. King: Quiet game. Got to a lot of marking contests, but couldn't seem to hang onto any of them. Petty: Very good game, and is a very promising player. He looks class this kid! Johnston: I thought about 3 weeks ago that Johnston was DOA at the exit interviews at years end, however his move to defence has been inspired. Don't write this kid off yet. Could be groomed as a future small defender IMO. Was very solid. J. Wagner: Another very solid game. Used it well, and I'm slowly starting to develop some confidence in his decision making. I feel he's being groomed for Jordan Lewis eventual replacement. Very good at this level. Keilty: Best game I've seen him play live. Multiple intercept marks and he seemed to cover the ground better then I've seen him do before. Really seems to be starting to blossom. Filipovic: I thought his ruck work was quite impressive considering he was giving away several kg's. Next thing for him to do apart from add muscle is to start to do a bit more around the ground. He is still very young though. SPECIAL MENTION Corey Wagner: Came to Casey after two years and 8 games with North Melbourne and time in the Lions acadamey before that. Looks at home amongst the AFL mids and he runs hard. Certainly wouldn't be against adding him to our midfield stocks at seasons end.

Can advise that Petty was in the warm up, so no QB debut for him. Yet to spot any of Pedersen, Joel Smith, Garlett, Hunt or Stretch yet.

Classic win/win trade that one. We got an experienced mid which we lacked who has won a B&F for us and will bring up 100 club games this year. Both teams would be very happy I suspect.

The year before GWS selected Will Hoskin-Elliott at Pick 4 and ended up trading him away for not much more then we got in our Toumpas trade. There's no certainty in drafting. Plus what we got in the Toumpas/Howe trade went towards our trade for the Oliver pick. So thank god we drafted Toumpas!?

Assuming we only take one carry over player into Queens Birthday (I suspect will be Stretch), the two inclusions for Melbourne are Pedersen & Joel Smith (as most suspect) and both Hannan & Melksham are also both fully fit for Melbourne, that will mean we have 16 AFL listed players available on Saturday. Not sure how many Collingwood have, but with those numbers I'm confident of a win.

I'm assuming by your omission of Joel Smith and Stretch that you assume Smith will come in for Lever and Stretch will be our carry over player?

Will reserve full judgement until after today's VFL game, but early thought are; Frost in to play O Mc's lock down defensive role (on Cox) and free up O Mc to play Lever's role. If one of Pedersen or Weideman has a day out they may come in for Smith. May.... If Melksham isn't fit then Bugg's form probably warrants a call up before Balic.

FINAL TALLY OF ALL 43 NATIONS TO MEDAL Rank Nation Total 1 Australia 80 59 59 198 2 England 45 45 46 136 3 India 26 20 20 66 4 Canada 15 40 27 82 5 New Zealand 15 16 15 46 6 South Africa 13 11 13 37 7 Wales 10 12 14 36 8 Scotland 9 13 22 44 9 Nigeria 9 9 6 24 10 Cyprus 8 1 5 14 11 Jamaica 7 9 11 27 12 Malaysia 7 5 12 24 13 Singapore 5 2 2 9 14 Kenya 4 7 6 17 15 Uganda 3 1 2 6 16 Botswana 3 1 1 5 17 Samoa 2 3 0 5 18 Trinidad and Tobago 2 1 0 3 19 Namibia 2 0 0 2 20 Northern Ireland 1 7 4 12 21 The Bahamas 1 3 0 4 22 Papua New Guinea 1 2 0 3 23 Fiji 1 1 2 4 24 Pakistan 1 0 4 5 25 Grenada 1 0 1 2 26 Bermuda 1 0 0 1 26 Guyana 1 0 0 1 26 British Virgin Is. 1 0 0 1 26 Saint Lucia 1 0 0 1 30 Bangladesh 0 2 0 2 31 Sri Lanka 0 1 5 6 32 Cameroon 0 1 2 3 33 Dominica 0 1 1 2 34 Isle of Man 0 1 0 1 34 Mauritius 0 1 0 1 34 Nauru 0 1 0 1 37 Malta 0 0 2 2 37 Vanuatu 0 0 2 2 39 Cook Islands 0 0 1 1 39 Ghana 0 0 1 1 39 Norfolk Island 0 0 1 1 39 Seychelles 0 0 1 1 39 Solomon Islands 0 0 1 1 Well it was a pretty successful games all up. Australia back to topping the tally with our most medals since Melbourne 2006 and England winning less gold then we did in Glasgow 2014. In fact these games Australia won more gold then England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined. While ending the games with the disappointment of loosing the gold medal games of womens rugby 7's and the netball (moment of panic in rugby, panic and shocking coaching decisions in netball which should seriously be reviewed), there were some great moments like the Boomers and our performances in the marathons. Outside of the opening and closing ceremonies the Comm Games have been quite successful. And with Birmingham to host in 2022, all of Auckland, Christchurch, Edmont and Port Moresby expressing an interest in holding 2026, it looks like the Comm Games will be around for awhile yet.

TOP 10 MEDAL TALLY EARLY DAY 11 Rank Nation Total 1 Australia 76 55 57 188 2 England 42 41 42 125 3 India 25 16 18 59 4 Canada 15 39 27 81 5 South Africa 13 11 13 37 6 New Zealand 12 16 14 42 7 Wales 10 12 14 36 8 Scotland 9 13 21 43 9 Nigeria 9 8 6 23 10 Cyprus 8 1 5 14 Plenty more gold yesterday. Three gold in the boxing, Opals got the job done despite Cambage being ejected, both the mens & womens road races, the 10m platform in the diving, Kookaburras in the hockey, as well as the squash and table tennis. Highlight of the day was the finish to the mens basketball semi final NZ v Canada. If you can find it online thdn check it out! Today we've already picked up gold in the mens and womens para marathons, and we have big hopes in Jess Trengove + Michael Shelley in the able bodied marathons, Diamonds in the Netball, Boomers in the basketball and our womens Rugby 7's team. On a side note we've passed England'smedal tally from Glasgow 2014 while they trail ours from the same games. This is also our best Comm Games result since Melbourne 2006 so far. Hopefully the tide may be starting to turn for our results heading into Tokyo 2020 after two previous lackluster Olympics and 2014 Comm Games.