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The biggest problem with our defence is Sam Frost. We all admire the way he takes the game on, but he turns the ball over far too often and consequently is 50 metres out of position when the ball is kicked back over his head. It happened on numerous occasions on Saturday and either Brown was left on his own or Jetta was forced to cover. If you are playing on the opposition's best forward, you have to sacrifice your game and stay close. Oscar, on the other hand, is the sort of player you can build a defence around because he is (almost) always where he is supposed to be. Yes, he needs to get stronger and tougher in the contest so he can take the number 1 forward each week, but that will happen over time. Jetta is similarly dependable, but unfortunately he isn't another four inches taller. That said, we certainly didn't lose because of the back line. We lost because our midfield collectively gave it up in the last quarter.

Is this senile old coot still around? I thought the football world had collectively put him on the do not call list.

I've always been a Jack Trengove fan, so adjust for bias as necessary. I thought he was solid on Saturday, without being brilliant, which is fine given that he has barely played at this level for four years. Jack probably needs to step up a level or two to be a regular player in a full strength side, but he was miles ahead of guys like White & Wagner who have been preferred to him at various stages. Ultimately he was one of 22 who played their role, in a strong team performance. He is not a Viney who can drag a team along with him, nor a but few are. He was cool & calm in possession, did his job defensively, and didn't give me any heart palpitations. He certainly earned a second game next week, and I will be disappointed if he doesn't get it. Beyond that, he is one of a group of 8-10 players who will probably come in and out of the side as form and match ups demand. I have an in form Stretch & Brayshaw ahead of him, Vince at a similar level, and the likes of Bugg, Wagner and Vandenberg below. The likes of Harmes, Kennedy-Harris and Neal-Bullen have earned their spots on form, but could easily fall out with a couple of quiet games.

Let's be realistic here. Of our 40,000 members, how many have 11 game (or more) memberships? And how many are armchair / country / 3 game / pet members? The latter categories are not going to attend, so maybe 27K is a decent attendance on a miserable day against a club with little Melbourne support. This has long been a bugbear of mine. Report the member numbers in 11 game equivalents, then we can get a proper feel for whether our crowds are reasonable or not.

He doesn't work hard enough, plain and simple. It's not about marks, kicks and goals at this stage of his career. It's about making repeat leads; hitting packs to make a contest; chasing and tackling when we don't have possession. At present, if the ball doesn't land on his chest, he is basically a witches hat.

Hi KC, very much appreciate your work. Question - where do you see Liam Hulett at presently? Did some decent things last year, but seems to have regressed this year. Is he worth persisting with, or do you think he is in trouble?

Love those changes, with the possible exception of Pedersen coming out. If our backline struggles early it would have been nice to have the option of sending Tom back, whilst not decimating the forward line when Gawn is resting. That said his form has been declining for several weeks. The other changes are great. Good luck, Jack Trengove - I hope you have a cracking game.

Really? He's always been a poor defender. I would rather see him played up the ground, if we have to have him at all.

Another nail in the coffin for the VFL. The sooner the Victorian based AFL clubs come up with their own reserves competition, the better. It will be sad to see some of the traditional VFL clubs disappear from view, but presumably they can field a side in their local suburban competitions.

Good luck this weekend Gus, hope you make it through unscathed. I'm not expecting you back in the AFL side this year, but it would be a great result if you get there.

One of the worst threads I have ever seen created on this board, and that is saying something. Nathan Jones is the captain of the club and hence would know more than anyone what is expected of his players. If he says a player has done the wrong thing by the club and the players, then I have absolutely no issue with that. Nathan, more than anyone at this club, has the right balance of being tough and hard at the ball, and the man with the ball, without resorting to cheap shots like Vince did.

Yes, the MRP is inconsistent, but so what? If our players stop hitting blokes in the head, they will have nothing to worry about. The only reason people have their panties in a bunch is because morons like Vince & Bugg can't control themselves and instead keep throwing elbows and fists around when there is no need to do so. Bernie should take the two weeks, and spend the time working out how how he can get these acts out of his game.

It was poor form for Channel 7 to let that go to air. The guy was having a tough time, and I'm sure the last thing he wanted was for it to be screened on national television. The clubs don't have to give them access to the rooms, they choose to do so. If 7 abuse the gesture, which they have already done several times this year, don't sook when your access gets revoked.

Why does Bernie keep on putting himself in this position? Every single week he gives away free kicks and / or puts himself under MRP scrutiny for cheap shots that do absolute nothing for the team. There wasn't a lot in the Douglas bump, but it was done inside our forward line at a time when we had the momentum. A free kick was paid and (I'm fairly sure) Adelaide went straight up the other end and scored. The Betts hit was just so stupid. Yes, the impact was low, but what do you possibly achieve by doing it? If he gets suspended, he gets an extra week due to his bad record. The club should give him a further extra week for being a fool.

I can understand the Stretch omission given how poor he has been the past two weeks, but how Kent survives is beyond me. A small forward who can't kick goals from 30m out directly in front, and who won't tackle is a complete liability. Smith gets a chance to do what Wagner did last week, and play a million times better than his first game. If Adelaide get on top early, I suspect Tom might end up playing in defence at some point, as we look undersized down back at present. Hopefully Max & our midfield can at least break even and give our forwards a chance.

If this moron touched Oliver he should be banned from attending AFL games for a long, long time. Nothing that happened afterwards is even remotely relevant. How does Oliver know what that [censored] was carrying, or capable of doing to him? The club needs to get on the front foot about this, and make the moron accountable for his actions.

I thought were Carlton were the better side for the most part, and they clearly had the best 3-4 individual players on the ground but, and full credit to the playing group, we just had more composure at the key moments and found a way to get the job done. Last year we lost in a similar game by 4 goals, so mentally at least we are greatly improved from last year. With half a dozen top players to come back, we can do some damage if we slip into the top six. THE GOOD Tom McDonald - absolute star. Get a long term contract in front of him now. Petracca - last week he had a couple of moments of brilliance. This week he just willed himself in to the game. Frost & Jetta - brilliant at the back, particularly given the lack of support they received from those around them. Wagner - much improved on last week. Oliver - the only other midfielder of note. THE BAD Kent - complete liability. Weak at the ball, weak at the contest, still can't kick simple goals. Just go away. Stretch - lacks composure under pressure and has no thirst for the contest. Has regressed badly from last year. Lewis - less fumbly this week, but constantly puts teammates under pressure by not taking the hit. Melksham - remains a liability under pressure, although has some class with time & space. THE UGLY Drafting Weideman over Curnow. Oh dear.

Was hoping to see Trengove play, and I would have JKH ahead of Kent as well. Oh well, Kent gets yet another chance to do something useful. If he gets dropped again, surely that's it. Our midfield looks light on, but maybe Petracca & Vince will spend more time in.

Totally agree with the suggestion that Bugg spends some time volunteering in a hospital or similar. Also six weeks spent stacking shelves or performing manual labour, followed by training at night with a local club, might provide him with a reality check. I'd keep him away from the club for at least the first three weeks of his suspension.

I can't believe some of you people are trying to justify what Bugg did and paint him as some kind of hero. It was a disgraceful act, and he is fortunate to get away with a six week penalty. If his AFL career continues into next season, he is doubly lucky. I have no sympathy or tolerance for any player from any team who strikes an opponent to the head. The sooner these all too common actions are eradicated from the game, the better.

By my reckoning Trengove is the only player on our list with senior experience, excluding those on the LTI, who hasn't played a game this season. We knew what we were going to get from him this season, so there is nothing about his form or attitude that could be an issue. Aside from the insurance issue raised by SWYL above, why retain him? It's almost getting disrespectful to have Jack wasting away at Casey whilst guys like White play games ahead of him. I hope he gets a chance this week and then for several weeks beyond that, because he deserves a solid block of games to find his feet again.

There is no way that the AFL's manager of Peace, Love & Understanding can engage in multiple acts of thuggery on the football field and keep his job. That would be an appalling double standard and a shocking example for the AFL to set.

Of course the media are going to sensationalise events, that's what sells papers and generates advertising revenue. They went too far in one direction last week, now they are going too far in reverse this week. Essendon have copped it previously, Richmond are guaranteed to cop it next time they have a disappointing loss. Ultimately, who really cares? What does matter is members of the playing group who get distracted by the hype surrounding them, and go off drinking when forbidden to do so, or punch blokes in the face. These are the events that would really upset the coach, not what he reads in the paper each morning.

Our issues are what happens when you don't make every single spot on the list count. Consider the following: Lumumba is still taking up a spot We have two developing ruckmen on the list, both of whom are miles off playing senior football Mitch White is in his third year on the rookie list, and hasn't improved one iota since his first year (I'm a fan) but why is Trengove still on the list when the coach doesn't rate him? Same as Terlich last year JKH has done nothing in three years, gets a new contract and gives the club the middle finger by going out drinking We keep giving lengthy contracts to the likes of Kennedy, Melksham and Bugg who are not best 22 players and who have little incentive to perform until their next contract year Yes we have injuries, and plenty of them, but aside from Weideman there is zero in the way of quality young talent developing at Casey. So what's left at Casey is a group of players who have been tried and have failed over and over again, but are still on the list because we hope there will be a miracle at some point. You keep some of these because you have to, but the rest should be turned over on a regular basis.

Tom McDonald has been excellent from a playing perspective, and is ready to step up and take an increased leadership role. The only concern would be his ability to marshal the troops whilst playing deep forward or back, but he is clearly the best option remaining. Neither Lewis or Vince inspires great confidence with their recent efforts.