monoccular

"Cameron and Curnow were showing signs of Superstardom right from the beginning because they were elite on the ground and could take hangers. I like Van Rooyen but I don’t see that level of talent..." Tony - I must say I didn't follow either of Cameron nor Curnow in their first year on their respective lists. Did they fire at senior level in the first half of their first listed years? We haven't even had a cameo glimpse of JVR at AFL level so it is a bit hard to judge what he could achieve. I am not suggesting rushing him in early especially not this week in a massive 8 point game in a very hostile environment, but just wondering just how soon these two mentioned actually caught fire.

Sydee - Interesting thoughts re the forgotten man, Joel Smith. He has had a (small sample) history as a forward I believe in preseason games with some success. If and when he recovers from his latest injury I would think coming back through Casey as a forward may be just what is needed. He would certainly struggle to break into our defensive unit, at the moment. Tomlinson may still be regaining strength and confidence in his knee, and remains a solid back up tall defender. Perhaps it could be worth trialing him (or even Disco) as a forward next preseason.

I would be very interested in the views of our regular Casey watchers.

I would suspect that he would be more likely "to be given a try forward" than Petty who is now an essential part of our world's greatest stable defence. Maybe it could be tried next preseason, depending of course on who / what we pick up in trades or next draft as a big forward.

Maybe his groin injury was being managed.

Well I presume he wasn’t outreached very often. 🙄

van …. or fon?

Petty is an integral part of our defence. Would, just maybe, give Tomlinson a run as a forward IF we are going to experiment with someone else there

Cannot afford underprepared players in a final (unless they are Steven May)

But whose contract? Demons? Free? WCE? Or maybe North if nothing can be settled and he chooses the d(r)aft? Do they still take a team bus or just turn up on their own transport?

".... I will be interested to see how the last couple of weeks without Max will effect the stoppage setup. Max was shown a number of time watching what was going on. No ruck this last round and, while we were beaten in the tap work we broke even in clearances. there has to be a few lessons learnt out of that experience..." Max is a smart footballer, and the coaching panel are too - hopefully they will have taken "learnings" out of this and will maybe adapt their plans accordingly.

That goes without saying .... and they will NOT be given the normal protection by the umpires that most other teams get ... especially Max and Clarrie which is a disgrace. Gill, Scott, Christian .. please explain?

Those 2020 breaks were as I recall something like 3 games (albeit shorter) in a week including a game in Cairns minutes after a 4 hour (bus and plane) journey. We need to get used to getting by without T Mac - IF he gets back, match fit and ready for September it will just be a bonus.

" .... the way Weideman was able to work with his midfield was everything that Melbourne could have wanted from him in terms of outcome....." Yes, I found that bit particularly interesting coming from Mongrel Punt, a good analyst of footy games and tactics. He has quick hands in terms of getting out a useful handball - just occasionally we have seen him take some great grabs, but unfortunately that is THE factor stopping him from becoming a regular. I have no idea if that is something that can be taught / learned but I guess if it were then someone would have tried it.

“…..Jackson will probably still be injured. ..” Just wondering on what basis do you say this? Knowledge or speculation or MFCSS?

Any observations re the potential upside of Ryan Valentine?

Tomlinson must be medical sub for when the inevitable stray Hawkins elbow "accidentally" KOs May or Petty

Change for the sake of change is definitely not what we are going to see from Goody, ever.

Tough, uncompromising in the JV sense, strongly built and a booming kick. What is there not to like about him? (Unless you are a Footscray fan and remember the last minute of the 3rd and the first minute of the 4th Q 2021 GF 🤗❤️💙❤️💙)

Similarly with politics, especially in the USA currently. Media generally do as they are told, at risk of being snubbed / cancelled. Hopefully …. it isn’t Broooooce commentating on Cyyyrrrrillll. Gil gets his priorities right. “Match day experience” is far more important than a good fair game of football. Christian will do as he is told.

…. as did Majak despite never playing in the AFL team. Depth helps the entire team develop.

Oliver Langdon Petracca Brayshaw Viney Lever Many more honourable mentions A very good even team performance

SWYL - my bringing Jackson into this thread really was related to how many more weeks Sam will need to be #2 to Max - the final word was meant to be tongue in cheek. 🙄.

I thought, considering he has not been a ruckman, he did a pretty good job against a much taller and heavier regular ruck. Got a few whiteouts, a few tackles. Sadly his marking still isn't up to scratch but he wasn't outworked, usually halving the aerial contests. Just wish we were given some idea about Jackson - ready, a few weeks, already moved to Perth???

OMG if Pickett gets offered a week we should fight it right up the Supreme Court. It was a football action. But then I guess it would only be an extension of the totally biased / inept (to be kind) adjudication of everything tonight. Michael Christian is as inept and as inconsistent as the umpiring department. Lets hope the new CEO has the guts to demand a full overhaul of the umpiring department and of the MRO / MRP (probably won't though, just continues to try to sanitise and Americanise our game to "enhance the match day experience" - at the expense of the game)