Dees_In_October

Round 8 vs. Williamstown Match report Coming back into the team were Borchard, Horne and Dowler, while Sherriff played her first VFLW game since the 2021 elimination final. On debut up forward was Mornington youngster Sophie Butterworth. This game was a pleasure to watch with that famous scenic backdrop down at Williamstown. FIRST QUARTER On return Borchard was quickly into the action, gathering a loose ball and kicking truly to get Casey on the board three minutes in. The forwards then combined well to set up an easy shot at goal for Williams, who converted. Casey was getting the ball forward, and deep forward, with more ease than I’d seen for many weeks. Then Williamstown started to find more of the footy and got a goal out the back halfway through the term. A quick reply came via the debutant in Butterworth who made the most of a downfield free kick with a nice set shot. A defensive lapse led to a late chance for Williamstown, but only a minor score. Casey by 11 points. SECOND QUARTER While no score eventuated, the quarter began with some of the cleanest work by Casey out of the middle for a while. A follow-up tackle from Swain at the forward stoppage opened the door for Danckert to gather. Keohane rode the tackle well and then released to Burn, whose quick kick under pressure was on target. Williamstown then trapped the ball in their fifty for much of the quarter, with the wall up. Enjoyed Burn on the mark as a Seagulls player was given an absolute age to take a set shot, yelling an exasperated “Hurry up!”, which I like to think played a part in the shank that followed. The Demons needed some composure to avoid dump kicking to get it out with more success. The inside fifties piled up and eventually Williamstown made good with their second and third goals, cutting Casey’s lead to four points at halftime. THIRD QUARTER More clean centre bounce work to start off the quarter, with Swain tapping neatly into the path of Sherriff who hit up a leading O’Neill. A scrap ensued and Casey peppered the goals for a bit, before the Seagulls did the same, with neither team able to land a blow. The pressure went up a notch, with both teams sniffing victory and having a red hot crack. The stalemate was broken after Williams cut off a Williamstown kick-in and sent a booming kick forward. Keohane was taken out of the subsequent contest and goaled from almost directly in front for a 12-point lead. The Dees then went back-to-back via Rigoni, who showed some dash out of the middle before following up inside fifty and earning a holding free kick and goal. Swain was crucial in this quarter, on the way to 35 hit outs for the game, and plenty of those to good advantage. Casey by 17 points at the final change. FOURTH QUARTER Williamstown nabbed an early goal after controlling a loose ball and pressed hard in the opening stages. Casey held up well under pressure, but with 10 minutes to play, it felt closer than the 12-point margin. Casey needed to keep attacking, but unfortunately, it was the opposition who managed to break free, with another goal out the back. A timely off-the-ball free kick was a gift, but the Dees were unable to capitalise, and it felt a little early to call it a handy point, which proved correct, as the Seagulls soon scored a point of their own, and there was again a straight kick in it. Off a last-touch free kick on the wing, with the clock ticking down, Williamstown opted to switch to the far side and eventually brought the ball all the way back inside fifty…where Swain held a crucial mark. Repeat stoppages, a nice spoil by Sherriff and the Dees were able to scramble the ball to the safety, metre by metre. And then came the sweet relief of the siren! Looks like it was nine players as first-time winners as Casey edged up to ninth on the ladder: FINAL SCORE: Williamstown Seagulls 5.6.36 Casey Demons 6.6.42 Casey goalkickers: Williams, Rigoni, Keohane, Butterworth, Burn, Borchard VFLW standouts: Hogg – 15 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles. Played a big role in defence and really led the way for her teammates. Easily the best mark in the team. Kirkwood – 14 disposals, 5 marks, 6 tackles. Crucial intercept marking and really stood up in the second half. O’Neill – 7 disposals, 2 marks. Was more impactful than the stats suggest, with strong hands and some good tackles. Danckert – 19 disposals, 10 tackles, 5 clearances. Showed off all her skills in one passage where she smothered on the wing, gathered the spilled footy, broke a tackle and then executed a one-two with a teammate before finding a free teammate by foot in the centre corridor. Borchard – 1 goal, 10 disposals, 3 marks. Was especially busy early. Rigoni (for our vested interest given her family ties) – Wearing #34, yes that’s the inverse of Guy’s #43, she played on the wing, for 1 goal, 10 disposals and 5 tackles. Switched on, quick and clean with the footy, including a tap to herself and gather at one stage. Her goal was a confident set shot from thirty or so metres out directly in front. AFLW listed: Fowler – 9 disposals, 6 tackles, 4 clearances. I’d actually noticed her dash of halfback a couple of weeks back, without connecting number to name. You can see she wants to break the lines and use her speed. Sherriff – 14 disposals, 5 tackles, 4 clearances. Still with some strapping on that arm she broke two AFLW Grand Finals ago. A little rusty at first but worked into it, running through the midfield and up forward, even a few cameos in the ruck. Next week: vs. North Melbourne (8th) Saturday 20th of May, 11:00AM Casey Fields

This one's on topic at least:

The panel preparing the verdict:

There's been a bit of list turnover and definitely some good players went to expansion sides, although I'd say a good enough core remains. I think a lot of teams have improved while we've stagnated a bit. Similar will likely happen at AFLW level next season - you really have to improve a fair amount each year to stay ahead of the pack. The gap between best and worst might widen, but it'll be tighter between the top 8 or so teams. I'd say the number of AFLW players in our recent opponents has generally been comparable to us, maybe 1 or 2 more sometimes, but not huge differences. Unfortunately, we've played the weaker teams at the beginning when we were giving more AFLW players a run. Not sure that's been to anyone's benefit but that's how the fixture's fallen. Will be interesting to see how it's approached for the remainder with AFLW pre-season starting end of May.

Round 7 v Carlton Match report Didn’t get a chance to watch this one but was pleased to see Casey get a good start, getting out to an early 14-point lead. Carlton responded, taking a four-point lead into the main change. The Blues then kicked away in the third with four goals to the home team being the only scores in that quarter. To their credit, our Demons rallied in the last, holding the opposition to four points and kicking two much-needed goals of their own. It wasn’t enough though, and Carlton prevailed by 20 points. Judging by the stats, the gap between our best players and the rest is too wide at the moment to match the opposition. There are certainly some players having a red hot crack (Fairchild with 18 tackles) and it’s nice to see some more young players getting a go at this level. The Dees were able to match Carlton for inside 50s, but I suspect that, as in previous games, many of these may not have been with the structure we would like to maximise scoring opportunities. Plenty of work to do at the halfway point of the season: 2-5 and two games outside the top six. FINAL SCORE: Carlton Blues 7.7.49 Casey Demons 4.5.29 Casey goalkickers: Smith O’Neill Fairchild Danckert VFLW standouts: Fairchild – 1 goal, 14 disposals, 18 tackles Danckert – 1 goal, 8 disposals, 15 tackles, 5 clearances Rigoni – 16 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles [Jemma is the daughter of Guy Rigoni who played 107 games for MFC 1998-2005. Turning 19 next month, the Oakleigh Chargers and Vic Metro player missed the 2022 season with an ACL] O’Neill – 1 goal, 14 disposals, 3 tackles, 3 clearances AFLW listed: Fowler – The 19-year-old played her second game in Dees colours after being traded from GWS as a delisted free agent. 10 disposals, 3 tackles. Next week: vs. Williamstown (3-4) Sunday 14th of May, 2:00PM DSV Stadium

Haha, I'm sure our fans run the full sizing spectrum!

Good point! In this instance, of course, unisex really just means men's cut, which obviously they wouldn't be using for the actual AFLW indigenous jumpers. But yeah, maybe they won't be selling them as merch. All would be simpler if they just had a size guide, but based on other NB footy jumpers I should be right with a S. Too bad for anyone wanting an XS, though I guess the Youth ones are another option.

Love it! Tossing up whether to wait and see if they release an AFLW version in a women's cut... Probably should just grab one now and hope for the best in sizing. No size guide for some reason.

From that article: "...Chandler has been involved in 24.6 per cent of Melbourne's scores this year." Impressive!

Round 6 vs. Box Hill Hawks Casey travelled further east to take on the Box Hill Hawks at Wonthaggi, in a VFLW/VFL double-header. Q1 In a bit of a theme for this season, we gave up the first goal to the Hawks, although I will say that Casey started the game looking better at the contest than last week. The question, as always, was could they keep up the pressure? A nicely placed goal from the pocket by Brooke Smith evened things up. The last part of the quarter comprised repeated stoppages in the Hawks’ fifty. Casey defended staunchly and the Hawks failed to capitalise on a few chances. Sheer weight of attacks eventually took toll though, and the Hawks got their second major just before the siren. The Hawks controlled the ball better with eight marks to one for the quarter. Hawks by five points. Q2 The early stages saw a nice defensive mark to the big ruck in Swain—more of that from her would be handy. I liked the look of #13 with a bit of dash off half back but not quite sure who that was due to weird numbering on the team sheet. Hawks had most of the play in this quarter and were able to get the ball out the back in plenty of space. Casey put in a concerted effort midway through the term to scrap and push the ball forward but was let down by some high free kicks given away to stop the forward momentum. Most forward fifty entries were shallow. Shout out to Kinnane for a nice tackle on defensive fifty, although the Hawks’ marking power down the line saw it coming back fast. Hawks by 20. Q3 From here, it became a bit of a procession, with the Hawks well on top. The Demons were a bit “kick and hope” with their ball movement under pressure. Often in the midfield we have runners in the right place on the outside, just not clean enough to get the ball to them. Midway this quarter, I was drawn away from my viewing. And is so often the case, I was unsuccessful in finding my way to the replay without being spoiled for the score, at which point I called it quits! Q4… Judging from the final score, it seems the game continued on a similar trajectory. In the last quarter there was a consolation goal, courtesy of Gall, and the Dees managed to keep the Hawks goalless, but the damage was already done. That’s four losses on the trot, and we slump to ninth on the ladder. FINAL SCORE Box Hill Hawks 7.8.50 Casey Demons 2.5.17 Casey goalkickers: B.Smith, Gall VFLW standouts: Fairchild – 18 disposals, 9 tackles, 5 clearances. Great endeavour, led the way for Casey in disposals. O’Neill – 11 disposals, 7 tackles, 5 i- 50s. Always gives a great contest and tries to break the lines—not always with success but love her gusto, really proactive. Danckert – 15 disposals, 4 clearances. Was busy and looked a little cleaner than last week. Kirkwood – 11 disposals, 4 marks. Those marks were welcome! AFLW listed Gall – 1 goal, 12 disposals, 4 marks. Some good spoils and defensive marks and took the kick-ins to generally good effect. Moved to the forward line in the second half, as has been the pattern of the season. Next week: vs. Carlton (3-3) Saturday 6th of May, 2:15PM Ikon Park

If he went, I was going to pretend to be all stoic and whatever about it, but in reality I would 100% have cried and I don't think I've done that about a player leaving, ever. Just so happy now! I mean, just look at him:

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! He just needed to get a few more spins out of the way and he was ready!

This is a bit of general question not specific to this game, but which of our players do you guys think gets the most out of himself with the least natural footballing talent? (I mean this in a complimentary way!) Thought this might generate some discussion from a different angle. Keep up the great work.

Obviously not all Tasmanians drafted will play there, but still. In recent times, especially good defensive players, for some reason: From: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-12/the-best-towns-and-suburbs-for-building-afl-talent/101055164

Round 5 v Southern Saints Match report I watched on via the live stream this week as the Demons took on the Saints in uncharacteristically calm conditions at Casey Fields. Both teams fielded just two AFLW-listed players each. A notable absence for the Demons was Burke, who has provided most of Casey’s scoring power so far in the season. Q1 Casey likely wanted a good start after a couple of slow ones but the Saints still struck early, though Casey hit back quickly with a goal through Keohane. The Saints looked more structured going forward and had more of the play and territory for the majority of the quarter. A great intercept mark by Hogg and precise pass forward at pace with five minutes to go allowed Casey to keep the ball trapped inside fifty for the remainder of the quarter. The Demons had the wall set up outside fifty, but not much to go to in the way of marking targets. There were a few late chances from a deep stoppage but only behinds resulted. Saints by 5 points. Q2 Casey spent much of the early stages struggling to exit defensive fifty, though the Saints failed to capitalise, with a poor set shot and an almost-incredible snap from the boundary. A badly directed kick-out put Casey back under pressure immediately and that was the theme of the game, while the Saints were able to lead up to the footy and find space. The Demons were outnumbered at the ball and lucky to only concede one goal in the quarter. Saints by 13 points. Q3 The Saints got it straight out of the centre again to start the quarter. Casey desperately needed to find some more composed possession to escape the Saints’ pressure (tackles 41-80 by game’s end). Casey finally with some good ball movement forward via a nice kick from Wilson and mark to Gall and then quick play on to Kirkwood, only to be stymied again at the fifty. Great back-to-back smothers B.Smith then Kirkwood showed great intent, but an excellent goal from Burke for the Saints all but sealed the deal. Saints by 25. Q4 The Saints retained the ascendancy out of the middle and a lack of lead-up forwards continued to cause issues for the Demons. Some welcome forward connection saw Fairchild take a mark but a behind was the only eventual result. Late in the game, Gall found some space and made the most of it, taking a nice mark and quickly taking a set shot with confidence. But the Saints were quick to reply—their sustained pressure throughout the game must be commended as well as their ball movement going forward. Casey had the bulk of the hit-outs in the ruck (40-26) but the Saints were clearly on top once it hit the deck (29-37 clearances), and the big ruck in Swain’s height advantage wasn’t well utilised as a target down the line. The forwards were starved of opportunity and when the ball did arrive, it certainly wasn’t on a platter. Now on a three-game losing streak, the Demons have some work to do. Hopefully experience is growing in dealing with pressure on the ball carrier and some more cohesion is on its way as the team gels. FINAL SCORE: Casey Demons 2.5.17 Southern Saints 9.5.59 Casey goalkickers: Keohane Gall VFLW standouts: Danckert – 19 disposals, 6 tackles, 7 clearances. Very busy and some strong tackling for the ex-Suns AFLW player. Woolcock – 16 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles. Worked hard in defence under a lot of pressure. Fairchild – 16 disposals, 3 tackles. Tried hard and had some good clean touches, which were hard to come by. Neal – 11 disposals, 4 tackles. Didn’t get heaps of the ball but did a lot of the heavy lifting around the contest. Kirkwood – 11 disposals, 3 tackles. Smart and hardworking, did her best to kickstart her teammates. AFLW listed: Gall – 1 goal, 5 disposals, 2 marks. Played up forward, looked a bit off the pace at times and would have liked to be more of a marking target. Wilson – 14 disposals, 6 marks. Stood up strong in defence. Moved onto the ball in the second half for some more class there, which left a gap down back. Next week: vs. Box Hill (2-2-1) Sunday 30th of April, 11.30AM Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve

Some more happy off-season news. This little one's already "played" a couple of games in utero, so surely a Demon for life, right?

Thanks for the podcast, lots of questions already, but if you get time - One aspect of our premiership year that I thought was crucial was our ability to wrest back control of games when things got out of hand. We seemed to have a real focus on playing different tempos to respond to what was happening in the game, positive and negative, i.e., capitalise on momentum when we had it, slow things down periodically when the opposition had a run on, know when to go all-out and when to take a breather and re-calibrate. Do you think that's something lacking at the moment, and if so, is it a stand-alone thing or a symptom of other issues (leadership?). Or perhaps are we prioritising something else that fits better with the 2023 game style we're trying to achieve?

Round 4 v Essendon Match report Unfortunately, another one I'm not going to be able to watch due to time constraints - and after spoiling myself on the result! The scoreline suggests another slow start, with the Bombers scoring 2.6 goals to 0.0 in the first. A stronger second quarter brought the Dees to seven points down at halftime. After a stalemate in the third, the Dees kicked 2.0 to one behind in the last, just falling short by two points at the final siren. Clearly, Essendon wracked up the scoring shots and their inaccuracy must have kept us in it to some extent. Casey shared the goalkicking load with five individual goalkickers. Would love to hear the thoughts of anyone who watched the game! ROUND 3 FINAL SCORE Essendon 4.13.37 Casey 5.5.35 Casey goalkickers: Burke Fitzsimon Keohane O'Neill Woolcock VFLW stats standouts: Burke – leads the VFLW goalkicking with 7 goals after Round 4 Fairchild – 12 disposals, 8 tackles Keohane – 1 goal, 14 disposals, 5 marks Kinnane – 13 disposals, 10 tackles Swaine – 25 hit outs, 5 clearances AFLW listed: Bannan – 20 disposals, 5 marks, 7 tackles, 9 clearances Fitzsimon – 1 goal, 23 disposals, 5 clearances Gall – 12 disposals, 7 tackles Wilson – 15 disposals, 5 marks Next week: v. Southern Saints (2-2) Sunday 23rd of April, 10:30AM Casey Fields

Not my finest hour, but I admit my mind drifted to such tactics in the long nervous lead-up to the GF in 2021. It was my over-riding memory of how Essendon won in 2000 (i.e., beat up our kids). Now, of course, I realise they were always going to win, which only made their tactics more reprehensible. And in a less desperate state of mind, I'm very glad we didn't resort to that in '21...although I know Viney for one was keen on a first bounce 'statement'. At the very least, Grand Final suspensions should be triple points, like double points for driving offenses on public holidays.

Ah yes, kind of a crucial detail I left out there! ROUND 3 FINAL SCORE Casey 3.7.25 Collingwood 6.6.42

Round 3 v Collingwood Match report I only managed to tune in for the last quarter of this one. Casey had a slow start on the scoreboard, but by the time I was watching, they were putting up a good fight and matching it with the Pies at least in intensity. A lot of turnover in players from last week to this one, so there was probably some adjustment in that sense, particularly in the midfield (taking out Gillard, West and Goldrick). But lots to build on for the Dees and good to see some more VFLW-listed players getting a run. Take away the slow start, add in some more cohesion and goalkicking accuracy, and we weren't far off it. Team stats ended up fairly even considering the lopsided start, though Collingwood had the ascendancy in tackles and marks. Strong and consistent starts to the season by Fitzsimon, Burke and Neal. Casey goalkickers: Burke 2, Bannan VFLW stats standouts: Neal – 17 disposals, 6 tackles, 5 clearances Swain – 15 disposals, 23 hit outs, 7 clearances Burke – 2 goals, 15 disposals, 5 marks Woolcock – 14 disposals, 7 tackles Keohane - 9 disposals, 8 tackles, 3 clearances AFLW listed: Bannan – 1 goal, 11 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles Campbell – 2 disposals, 3 tackles, 6 hit outs Fitzsimon – 27 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 8 clearances Wilson – 6 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles Next week: v. Essendon (0-2-1) Sunday 16th of April, 11:00AM NEC Hangar

Situations like this disturb me. Not the Collingwood bit, but the idea that you could lose four kids to other teams like that. It's a reminder to as all to remain ever-vigilant over the young demons in our lives. Yep, I came in under the supporter father&mother-daughter rule. Both passionate fans. No torn allegiances, or put another way, no choice!

For the record...

Round 2 v Darebin Match report Full disclosure, I haven’t actually watched this game, but I get the sense that the score probably tells much of the tale. Nearly fell out of my seat checking this on the train home after the men’s game yesterday! Obviously, we had a bit of a stacked team comparatively in terms of AFLW experience and likely VFLW experience as well. I’m sure that Darebin is doing what they’ve always been known for, which is developing young talent that goes onto greater things elsewhere, as we’ve seen first-hand at the Dees. So much respect for that club and I hope they remain supported in all they do. Naturally the stats are dominated by some big AFLW names, but it’s also good to see that even though there’s a drop-off after that, there’s an even spread across the rest—aside from the defenders, and we can guess why that might be the case (48-9 inside-50s). Casey goalkickers: Fitzsimon 4, Burke Bannan 3, O’Neill Lehman Keohane 2 West Goldrick Gall (Ireland can lay claim to 42% of our goals this week!) VFLW stats standouts: Burke – 3 goals, 11 disposals O’Neill – 2 goals, 8 disposals Lehman – 2 goals, 10 disposals Neal – 13 disposals, 13 tackles Kirkwood – 13 disposals, 4 marks Keohane – 2 goals, 13 disposals AFLW listed: Bannan – 3 goals, 12 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles Campbell – 10 disposals, 2 marks, 16 hit outs Chaplin – 14 disposals, 3 marks Fitzsimon – 4 goals, 21 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles, 4 clearances Gall – 1 goal, 10 disposals, 2 marks Gillard – 16 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 42 hitouts, 3 clearances Goldrick – 1 goal, 27 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 8 clearances West – 1 goal, 31 disposals, 6 tackles, 9 clearances Next week: v. Collingwood (1-1) Friday 7th of April, 12:00PM Casey Fields