poita

Gawn has been absolutely pizzweak tonight. He needs to put on his big boy pants.

I don't mind it, and you know the AFL will love it because it is another event for them to monetise.

Given that Dunstan is our only genuine midfielder at Casey, losing Harmes would have a significant impact on our midfield depth. I'm yet to be convinced that Laurie is going to be a long term AFL player, and neither Howes or Woewodin is beating down the door, but none of these are onballers anyway. We need to be heavily investing in the midfield in this year's draft.

Eddie now having a sook about those mean old Swans picking on little Nicky Daicos. I can't imagine those saintly Collingwood players ever doing the wrong thing on the football field, even when somebody chooses their words poorly in an interview prior to the game. https://au.yahoo.com/sports/afl-eddie-mcguire-called-out-amid-disgusting-nick-daicos-collingwood-uproar-023300018.html

I don't see how Turner can replace anyone other than Lever in our preferred backline - perhaps Hibberd against the right opposition. Tomlinson should be the replacement if May or Petty are missing and the opposition has two genuine giant forwards. A May, Tomlinson, Lever combination would have been a much better fit for Gold Coast.

Casey's VFLW side finished 3rd last year, this year we are languishing in 10th. Is it just a matter of losing decent players to the expansion sides (eg the Wales sisters) and an improvement from other teams, or is there another issue? Obviously we aren't seeing many AFLW listed players in action - are other teams putting out stronger lists?

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?