poita

We need to be really smart here given that the core of our group is already around 27 years old. We certainly don't want to be out of our premiership window and bottoming out in the middle of compromised drafts (again). Hopefully we can bring in some serious talent this year with what is a strong draft hand, and extend that window as long as possible.

I was offered a free 3 game junior membership last week - got to boost those membership numbers anyway you can, even if we get no money from it and it is not helping our crowd numbers.

The problem is that a number of our players have history of declaring themselves right to play when they are clearly not. Most recently Hibberd and Lever against West Coast and Brown against Sydney are examples of players who have subsequently missed games by trying to play through injury. Viney and Gawn are both repeat offenders, which is why I would be treading well clear of playing Gawn before round 8. I really don't care what he can add against Richmond or North - as a supposed premiership contender I expect us to win both games with or without him. I do care how he he is travelling in August and September when he will be desperately needed at 100% health and fitness. If that means missing a few games during the year, so be it.

Surely they won't let Neal-Bullen stay unsigned for much longer.

I can't believe that we have what is presumably meant to be a feature round of football, with absolutely no marquee games. The best match ups on paper are Collingwood v St Kilda, which is hidden at Sunday twilight, and Melbourne v Essendon, which is being played as a curtain raiser. Most of the other games I would have next to zero interest in.

Given that the population centre of Melbourne is roughly Glen Iris (2 suburbs away), it is about as central as we can hope for.

Good to see a couple of Casey players were selected in the AFLW supplementary draft last night. Not sure what that means for them continuing to be available for Casey this season, but it is a good result for the program. 6. Gold Coast - Cara McCrossan (Casey Demons) 24. Richmond - Shelby Knoll (Casey Demons)

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but per the HS stats the expected scores on Sunday were something like 108 - 88 based on the shots the two teams took. Sydney definitely missed a couple of relatively easy shots, but for us to exceed our expected score by so much was very impressive.

Dees_In_October - what is the significance of the rookie list for the AFLW, both for clubs and players? I assume you are still limited to a list of 30, and the payment tiers are still in effect? Have we heard if Eliza West has come on to the senior list for next season?

Welcome to modern sport. NRL players sign and announce contracts with other teams a year ahead. Players in American sports play for one team one day, then get traded and play for another team the next day. Same for soccer. I don't like it either, but we're within touching distance of weaker teams trading out star players to finals contenders for draft picks mid-season.

No wonder driving in Melbourne is such hard work these days. Half the population doesn't have a valid license, and the other half condones this.

By my calculations, Salem has played 143 games out of 203 since he was drafted in 2013, so has basically missed 3 full seasons out of 9 even before this setback. That's not a great return, given that the games leader from that draft has played 195. He's a great player when fit, but he is missing a lot of football. If we start looking to refresh our list over the next few years, he might be a prime candidate to be traded.

No trains on the Frankston line between Moorabbin and South Yarra all weekend. That is not going to help people get to the game on Sunday. I think 40K will be a decent result, but I suspect that Sydney will be bringing close to half of those.

There has never been more blatant tanking than what Hawthorn is currently doing. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand. 17 other teams are doing everything possible to win games and the other is dreaming of a brighter future with Harley Reid. I hope the AFL gives them 11 Sunday twilight home games next year in response.

I would have played Schache if fit, has to be Van Rooyen now for Gawn. Hopefully Grundy can ruck 80% of the game, but I'm sure Ladhams will be testing out the ribs early on. May (if fit) for Petty. I'd be thinking hard about Tomlinson to do some rucking as well, as McDonald has been ineffective in the role. I also don't think its helping Tom's work in the forward line. Hibberd has to come in to take one of the mid-sized forwards. I like the idea of playing a lockdown small defender like McVee, but not sure if he is doing enough at present. Maybe McVee stays and Harmes misses out. Melksham can head back to Casey, and we need someone with more versatility in the sub role. Maybe Smith, although he's just as likely to injure himself in the warm up, or even Howes. Langdon on very, very thin ice.

Cool, let's just call it a draw and move on.

Can we sub Brayshaw off for the water boy?

We need to tread very carefully over the next few years, or a list that is absolutely primed to challenge for premierships now, becomes very old, very quickly. We have Viney, Grundy, Hunter, Salem, Harmes, Petracca, Neal-Bullen, Brayshaw, Langdon and Lever - 10 of our best side - aged from 27 yrs 0 mths to 28 yrs 11 mths. The reality is that you can't have all of those guys playing into their thirties, particularly when Gawn and May are already contracted into their mid 30s. I reckon we'll have maximum two more years with this group, then there will need to be big changes to keep us in the window, as we only have a handful of players in the 22 - 25 yrs bracket.

https://www.womens.afl/news/118851?_ga=2.230777691.518500240.1679614491-637235427.1679614491 AFLW website reporting that the following players are listed as possible VFL players for Casey this year, to a maximum of 10 AFLW listed players per round. Perhaps Georgina Fowler will also be added to that list. Alyssa Bannan, Georgia Campbell, Maeve Chaplin, Megan Fitzsimon, Georgia Gall, Tahlia Gillard, Sinead Goldrick, Shelley Heath, Casey Sherriff, Rhi Watt, Eliza West, Charlotte Wilson It would be good to see Campbell, Gall and Wilson playing a number of games, given their lack of AFLW game time this year.

Though not finishing up as a Demon, it would be remiss of us not to mention that Elise O'Dea has retired. (Co) captain of the club in 2019, twice all-Australian and multiple top 3 finishes in the B&F. She was one of the players that really drove this club forward in the first four seasons, but unfortunately the increased pool of talent meant that the game went past her in the end. https://www.womens.afl/news/113200/who-s-hanging-up-the-boots-your-club-s-retiring-players Eliza McNamara was drafted with the pick we received from Carlton for Elise, so we saw the best of her, then made the trade at the perfect time.

My heart bleeds for all the bandwagon fans of the 1980s and 1990s who are now facing the prospect of dealing with miserable, dissenting offspring in the 2020s. If ever a team deserves to be relocated to Tasmania (or Kalgoorlie), it is that one.

I get that in the heat of the action decisions are made in a fraction of a second, but this was an ill considered and highly dangerous act which deserves to be punished. I would hate to see my son cop a hit like that when he is completely open and unprotected. A two week ban is certainly not excessive, and it clearly would have been much more if Smith had copped a serious injury. I'm not thrilled about some of the other verdicts this round, or the entire process, but we can hardly complain about this one.

This is a wonderful story, and Brian seemed genuinely thrilled with the outcome. He was my favourite player growing up, and his number 7 was the first number I had on a MFC jumper in the late 80s. I'm glad there was a positive outcome.

Truly amazing effort by all involved with the club and the players themselves. Clearly this is an incredible group to be a part of and they can sense more premierships in the very near future. PS. The lap of honour last night was pretty disappointing. Surely they could have named the players and put some GF footage on the big screen.