Pates

Great first quarter, but boy Brayshaw couldn't have done much worse in that last 1 minute of play! Especially after kicking such a fantastic goal!

Well this is much more like what we saw last year!

Stupid from Harmes then.

That's ridiculously stupid. Such a shame. And JKH is not AFL standard, full stop.

That's the Jeffy we love!!!

What a pitiful fist from Wagner.

We're putting good pressure on but just still letting them get a couple of easy goals.

Hannan in without good VFL form is a sign of desperation in my eyes but if he gets in the game early his X-factor could really help us. The other two ins are big for us though, getting some class into the backline will be massively important. We might start getting our team back over the next few weeks but I fear it's going to be too little too late.

I was thinking the same thing. Bet you he smashes someone from the first bounce and plays a massive game.

It's about knowing when to go and when to read how the game is going. Playing on at all costs can look bloody fantastic when it comes off but when your playing and handballing to someone running past they have to have someone to link that chain to. I feel like the best styles that we implement are whe the first few kicks in the chain are controlled with the link up players moving to position further up, I think we are lacking this first initial control as well as the execution for basic deliveries. It doesn't help that our defence is lacking in genuine quality right now, both Jetta and Salem are excellent kicks.

Wow, I can't believe the really harsh negative sentiments towards Lewis. Did we think we were getting a gun player at the peak of his prowess? Of course not! When we got him we had a vacuum of leadership and experience and he was bloody valuable at that time. Has he been in decline in the last 18 month? Blind Freddy (and Lewis himself I'm sure) would tell you he has, but guess what that's what happens! Bear in mind we got him for practically for nothing, he has done what we needed him to do for his time at our club. I feel that given our position on the ladder and that 2019 is basically shot we should look at giving games to others in his position, and he can play as an almost on field coach at Casey. That's not to say he can't play for the seniors again but I'm not sure we get what we want from him anymore. As for his suspension, bloody stupid.

Heartbreaking to hear, my deepest condolences to Brad and his boys. Very tragic.

Low impact and to be fair the GC seemed to channel Oliver's flop from last year. I feel like if that had been the first offence in the run he would've got away with it, I still feel like the reprimand system (not so much the left over points) wasn't the worst idea, two reprimands equals a suspension. He should've been gone after his second elbow. This one he had to go, I think a week was right.

Look I was another that had Preuss coming in after two weeks on the road being the sole ruckman and a particularly big game last week. I would've also liked to see him come in as Mumford is known for his physicality and Preuss would be more than able to give that back to him, but that said Max is in red hot form right now and does play his best footy when he's the only ruckman. It also gives us the option of more pace in the side. But should Smith be a late withdrawal it should definitely be Preuss that comes in for him. Wagner in for ANB I'm not exactly jumping for joy about, Nibbler hasn't been doing great but are we going to get much different from Wagner. He's looked very VFL to me.

Surely Melbourne is taking the pi55 by naming Harmes at Casey! No way is he playing VFL this week, those days are behind him. I confess I don’t see what others do with Fritch, I wouldn’t say he’s been outstanding but I also would say he’s one of our better ball users. I’m just not sure we’re using him properly. I’m cautiously optimistic about this week, but not enough to tip us.

The MFC website still says he's 1-2 weeks away, sounds as though physically he's fine it's just getting him confident in his recovery that's what holding him back. Surely Gus and Jetta would be great people for him to be chatting to, both were in a very similar position to him.

It was heartening seeing us return to the footy that made us great to watch last week. I'm not sure where that was for the first few rounds but it gives me hope that it's still there. Scoreboard pressure early is crucial, we were on top for the first 10min last week but failed to make it count, which ended up being the theme for the whole game. If Tom, Trac, and Jeffy can get on the board early, get their confidence up it could be what wins us the game. Just on Jeffy, did anyone else feel like there were more glimpses of his old self last week? Hitting the crumbs hard with pace, and looking to be creative, his finishing still isn't quite right but for the first time in a while he looked like a danger.

Heartbreaking to hear but also inspirational, I really hope he nails his first AFL goal at the G this week. I reckon the boys will get right around him.

It's a bit of a worry seeing those rugby posts in the background, where's Jumping Jeffrey and his family based now?

I like the idea of playing Pruess over Smith personally. Smith didn’t do a whole lot wrong but a massive game from Gawn last week over in the West and with Mumford inevitably going to rough Max up, I like the idea of having Pruess there not only as a tall target to go to up forward (and instruct him that if he’s not marking it must go to ground) and we have someone to chop Max out when needed and he can even go to town on Mumford physically. I’m really glad to hear they aren’t rushing Lever back and in fact will wait for him to put his name forward. In: Pruess, Lewis Out: Smith, Stretch/ANB

I kind of agree with you, if we can find a way of getting a win this week (which being at the G isn't the craziest thing ever) while we then get Adelaide who are very inconsistent right now. Get a few of the troops back and we are a shot, that said though I don't want the club rushing players back if they aren't right just to make finals this year. We did that with Viney in 2017 and it came back to bite us, just get them fit and play them when they're ready.

I'll be absolutely filthy if we do that, we need him but we need him in his right ability. He needs at least one more week at VFL and he should show that he's ready to go.

Reading that I thought you had to be a troll, I've actually had a quick look through your postings and it really doesn't look like it. I've done a knee, and you are so off the mark it's laughable so instead of scalding you how about I break things down for you. Recovery isn't just the injury itself, particularly with structural injuries like knees. A closer mark would be 6-9 months is what it takes for the knee to "heal", but that doesn't take into account the conditioning your body and in particular that leg loses. The rehab isn't a constant upward trend either, you have setbacks (and I'm 99% sure Jake had one around December that required surgery) and when you have setbacks it really slows you down. Then when you do get the all clear to start loading again you can't go all guns blazing because your muscles aren't used to it, you also have to be careful that you're not overloading one leg over the other, it's not uncommon for people to do their other knee following a return. Then you have to get confidence in your body that it isn't going to break down again, whether that's the knees or the muscles surrounding it. Then he has to return to the game, get back his natural skills, and get a feel for the pace of the game. You try doing something and then returning a year later and see if you are able to jump straight in with no problems. All that is putting aside the psychological side that plays on your mind of "will it all be ok?" Bottom line is I'm just stoked for him that he got through the game unscathed and he will go next week with more confidence.

I doubt the coaching staff were hoping for much more than get through the game unscathed and build up through the weeks. It takes time getting confidence back in your body, and picking up the speed of the game (regardless of the level) takes time as well. And for the record he hasn’t had a whole year off to prepare for his return, he has had a year off INJURED.

I remember Robbo was a terrible kick for goal but he spent an off season correcting it and became a very reliable set shot. I don’t accept that with discipline it can’t be corrected.