Demon Dynasty

Wow the umps / AFL tried their best to win that one for the filth and still failed!! They even through in a 50 but ignored Collingwood player running straight through Hore's protected zone with no oppo in sight that she mightve been chasing

That was the most enjoyable game i've been to (aside from witnessing Spargo's agonising dislocation) since Moose's 150th at Trevor Barker oval back in mid 2023. And before that the flag at Princes Park against South Port. The more i think about my time attending Casey games the more i realise how much more i prefer my experience there vs AFL. I actually no longer enjoy the whole game day nonsense at that level any longer. I truly feel the essence and purity of the great game is significantly lost at that level both on and off the field.

If he can play like that after a fair lay off he may not be too far off regardless DS. A good does of Burgo sure but isn't it partly on the player to push the envelope from his side too?

Yes that sounds about right Earl

Kolt had some pretty key moments today. That was the best i've seen him play at either level after quarter time. His link up work, B lining the pill on occasions and work in getting inside out (and in particular going corridor where possible) was very nice to watch. More movement, less fumbles and more one touch instinctive clean gives.

Haha always. The tater cakes are better at Casey though imho 💪🏼

Thought Sesto was fab today. He's an elite kick and used that asset to cut a swath through the gulls and help us move the ball effectively and efficiently off HB. He also attacked a number of loose ball contests at ground level aggressively, knocking the ball forward and occasionally breaking up their chains with some good body work. Surely he's worth persisting with. A possible replacement for Salo at some stage or an alternate look down back when we don't need a third tall or medium tall?

Horrid shoulder dislocation Spargo. Still out. Going inside to fix

4 goal breeze to Willy's end....give or take

Yes thats true. Mostly a solid game. It was more than just that kick though and just this game. Very proficient at this level at times but then undoes the good work a bit with disposal at times. Agree to disagres on that part of his game (in general).

Mentha coming along very nicely indeed. Him Sesto & TC (as a Max managed option at times) surely get a number of games at senior level in 26

TC take a bow son. Sesto was fab in much of the 2nd Loved Bill's desperation spoil deep in defence too Commitment over the ball and willingness to chase / tackle was first class. Keep bringing the heart & second effort we saw in that 2nd and we're on track

This is why Bill doesn't quite make the grade. So many horrid field kicks for turnovers through the middle, even at this level

Wind gone from across ground to Willy's end now. 2 to 3 goal breeze at times

Hopefully just warming up. That was nice connection through Kolt & Culley there

No thanks. Bog average

Yep that's fair

Is Whitford any chance of being looked at as a candidate? Has good pedigree / experience in winning flags with Nth Launceston, the senior assistamt during the 2022 flag for Casey etc and getting them into the finals from nowhere this season. Has got the Casey boys well sorted. Almost everyone knows their role on the day. They are desperate and run in waves for each other on the sling shot turnovers. Defend extremely well in most cases as well. Could do alot worse imv.

Team & Player Ratings H&A Season 2025 vs H&A Season 2024 That's a wrap folks. Big Max the clear No.1 for the season and deservedly so. Clarry makes up some lost ground on his 2024 shocker to claim 2nd place. Still a long way off his best from 2023 and prior. Eg; 2023 5.00 2022 5.32 2021 5.25 Salem winds back the clock to pip Tracc, just, for third place. Culley finishing in the top 10 is worth noting, albeit off a smallish sample size of nearly four matches. Kozzy, Bowey, Chandler and Turner with the most notable ranking improvements on their 2024 seasons. Probably not a great season to compare against though so need to temper the enthusiasm a little here. A positive to take into 2026. The Team Rating is just over 5% up on the horrid 2024 season. But that assumes the top 22 players are playing in the side each week which of course is not always going to be the case. 2025's Team Rating was also 2% up on the flag Team Rating of 2021. Again, you don't always play the best 22 rated players every week for various reasons so it's a far from perfect science. It's going to be an interesting off season and year ahead. Hopefully some good news on the training ground front also!? Season Team Rating % Change vs 2025 2021 67.23 -2.18 2022 69.48 1.09 2023 69.86 1.64 Player 2025 Rating 2025 Rank 2024 Rating % Change vs 2024 2024 Rank Change in Rank vs 2024 Max Gawn 4.528 1 4.132 9.6 2 1 C Oliver 4.136 2 3.364 22.9 6 4 C Salem 3.855 3 3.421 12.7 4 1 C Petracca 3.833 4 4.476 -14.4 1 -3 J Bowey 3.733 5 2.755 35.5 13 8 S May 3.636 6 3.741 -2.8 3 -3 T Rivers < 3.378 7 3.391 -0.4 5 -2 K Pickett 3.311 8 2.433 36.1 16 8 J Culley 3.240 9 - - - - Jack Viney 3.203 10 3.178 0.8 7 -3 Ed Langdon 3.067 11 3.089 -0.7 9 -2 T McDonald 2.972 12 2.967 0.2 11 -1 K Chandler 2.916 13 2.223 31.2 22 9 H Langford > 2.889 14 - - - - D Turner < 2.690 15 1.393 93.1 32 17 J Lever 2.672 16 3.103 -13.9 8 -8 X Lindsay < > 2.591 17 - - - - J McVee 2.563 18 2.816 -9.0 12 -6 B Howes < 2.475 19 2.341 5.7 20 1 B Fritsch > 2.456 20 1.746 40.7 29 9 T Sparrow 2.307 21 2.517 -8.3 15 -6 C Windsor > < 2.280 22 2.275 0.2 21 -1 J Billings* 2.100 23 2.430 -13.6 17 -6 J Melksham > 2.078 24 1.850 12.3 27 3 C Spargo (vs 2023 Rating) > 1.978 25 1.886 4.9 29 4 J V Rooyen 1.952 26 2.026 -3.7 24 -2 H Petty 1.921 27 1.701 12.9 30 3 J Adams* 1.900 28 - - - - J Henderson < 1.726 29 - - - - H Sharp > < 1.716 30 - - - - K Tholstrup < > 1.681 31 1.898 -11.4 26 -5 T Woewodin* > 1.600 32 2.052 -22.0 23 -9 A Johnson 1.416 33 - - - - M Jefferson < 1.056 34 - - - - T Fullarton 0.925 35 - - - B Laurie* > -0.200 36 2.425 -108.2 18 -18 Team Rating 68.73 65.17 5.5 Top 6 23.72 22.53 5.3 Bottom 6 14.67 14.04 4.5 * Played less than two full matches < Subbed out at least once or more > Subbed in at least once or more Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Like the three signings. AMV, well he was already on track as we witnessed. Shocking luck with that shizen tackle. We really won't know if he's the same zippy HB interceptor that we witnessed until his return. Culley seems like a natural and was not fazed at all by the step up to AFL. Alot of work ahead but could be very handy or even quite special going forward. Mentha is a big WIP but appears to be finding his feet at VFL level in the last part of this season. Will he be capable at the next level? Who knows. Too early to tell but does show glimpses of genuine speed and talent.

Agree, plenty of tackling machines about. Viney needs to find half a yard of pace in that first 10 meters to be worthy of a significant CB gig from here. If he can't find that we would be much better served persisting with the likes of Culley or looking for other options. The pace might serve him to distribute the ball with alot more polish. Vs at present, a black belt in ball butchering as he is almost always under the pump as soon as he grabs the pill. Not writing him off completely but to me his days as an effective impact inside mid are, at best at the crossroads and at worst he is potentially gawnsky.

This sums it up in a nutshell and what many have been crying out for years post 2021. You can't have Viney & Clarry in at CBs at the same time. It's a recipe for a belting out of the middle and even at around ground stoppages. Watching the oppo waltz away so easily and win so many clearances with Max being the best tap ruck in the business is the definition of football insanity. Yet we persisted with it for three more seasons after it was past its used by from approx 2023 onwards. It'll be interesting to see what a new coach feels about this during 2026 (assuming the two players in question remain team mates).

Round 24, 2025 MCG - Magpies vs Demons And so ends the season that wasn't. Langford goes BANG!! What a game from the young rookie and against a highly rated opponent. Let's take a peak at his night to remember... 24 effectives at an incredible 92.5% efficiency, 2 contested marks, 1 one percenter, 2 clearances, 3 rebounds, 3 inside 50s, 1 tackle, 7 score involvements, 5 intercepts, 665 meters gained (the most of any player on the night with the next best, Joss Daicos @ 572), 1 goal and only 3 turnovers 👋 Scoring Efficiency Magpies Demons Disposals Per Goal 31.55 36.00 % In50s Goal 21.20 20.00 Conversion % 40.70 52.40 Average Attributes Collingwood Attribute Melbourne 188.7cm Height 187.4cm 89.1kg Weight 87.0kg 29yr 0mth Age 26yr 9mth 173.3 Games 135.2 Total Games Played Collingwood Attribute Melbourne 2 Less than 50 5 8 50 to 99 4 6 100 to 149 4 4 150 to 200 2 3 200 or more 8 Player Rating Rank 2024 Season Rating % Change vs 2024 H Langford 5.225 1 - 0.00 C Salem 5.150 2 3.421 50.54 C Oliver 4.800 3 3.364 42.69 S May 4.650 4 3.741 24.30 Max Gawn 4.450 5 4.132 7.70 C Petracca 3.700 6 4.476 -17.34 J Bowey 3.625 7 2.755 31.58 T Rivers 3.475 8 3.391 2.48 J Viney 3.200 9 3.178 0.69 T Sparrow 2.775 10 2.517 10.25 D Turner 2.775 10 1.393 99.21 K Chandler 2.725 12 2.223 22.58 B Fritsch 2.525 13 1.746 44.62 J V Rooyen 2.475 14 2.026 22.16 T McDonald 2.250 15 2.967 -24.17 J Culley < 65% 2.125 16 - 0.00 B Howes 2.000 17 2.341 -14.57 K Pickett 1.875 18 2.433 -22.93 Ed Langdon 1.850 19 3.089 -40.11 J Melksham 1.700 20 1.850 -8.11 J McVee 1.650 21 2.816 -41.41 H Petty 1.600 22 1.701 -5.94 H Sharp > 13% -0.200 23 - 0.00 Team Rating 66.60 65.17 2.19 Top 6 27.98 22.53 24.17 Bottom 6 10.68 14.04 -23.97 > Subbed out TOG % > Subbed in TOG % Stats courtesy of footywire.com and wheeloratings.com

The oppos know that all they have to do is hang in there, pressure pressure and run the game out and we'll [censored] it up often enough for them to capitalise and win. Talk about flakey. It doesn't get any more flakey than this team right now. Just too many dumb, poorly skilled footballers that continue to hand the ball back to the oppo on a platter for the easy turnover goals and can't capitalise on fairly basic chances in front of the sticks. Chances that most other clubs make and the better ones do so on the bit. We make the basic simple things look so hard and [censored] up too many straight foward opportunities far too often. That includes constant bombing instead of finding short targets when nothing is presenting inside 50. They've had this mantra of kicking / bombing the ball deep in straight lines in an attempt to lock it in for a hopeful repeat entry or shot at goal for years and nothing's changed. How often do you see space for forwards to lead in to or for kickers to make forwards lead in to but instead we miss kick it to no man's land or bomb on top of heads. Surely the new coach has to have 'stamping this putrid [censored] outta their psyche / play book' on the top of his 'Major changes' list!!

And there goes the year and flag that was 2021. In an instant we've gone from looking unbeatable, to almost always a chance to now being one of the worst skilled weak under pressure teams in the AFL. The new coach will need to be a magician to turn this around but even more than that, he'll need plenty of assists, including a whole lot of trading out of the chaff and trading in of some quality ball users with poise, confidence and finishing skills. Especially forward of centre. The same goes for those around him including the fitness crew. And no point tinkering around either. This will need a massive change across many levels and lines over at least three to four seasons if we're to get back to being a team that can win these sort of matches and start vying for finals once again. As Macca so beautifully said about 6 weeks ago....it's time to DRAIN THE SWAMP!