Diamond_Jim

Strange feeling about this game.... I am expecting a win Just feel that we have been bubbling along for several weeks and this might be the week that we click not to mention Bugg kicks straight. They may use Dunn to try and kick over the zone from the backline. We need to make Howe accountable or go round him. Hopefully it is not too close a game as the Magpie army will be there in force !!

Could not agree more. The better passages of play if anything came from Coburg. Casey were just stronger round the packs that allowed them to kick a few more goals. Amazed at the reports from frequent attendees at VFL as it it really is quite hard to get an idea of the game from fence level. I tended to move to the ends to which Casey were kicking which allowed me to follow the forward play a little better. One thing I will add is that Trengrove is definitely lacking pace. On a couple of occasions his opponent ran away from him rather too easily. Coburg is a lovely ground and it was a pity that there were not more Demon supporters there on what was a beautiful winter's day. Coburg's colours are red and blue which made for lots of red and blue in the crowd. Like their theme song to the tune of "California here I Come." Other than the craft beer and coffee neither of which I tried I was disappointed by the food offerings.... just the standard pies and hot dogs.

Is there any update on Spencer. The King was missing for Casey yesterday and their replacement ruck Gach Nyuon went down around half time. It must be a special strain of the Norm Smith curse that is targeting big men this year.

mmm they were wearing white today and that looks suspiciously like the ocean in the background. Could this be alternative/false news

sorry ... it was probably White .. number 41

Just to clarify Stretch did not stand out to me and I was expecting some good run and carry a la Hunt. That is not to say that he was not a useful close in player which I missed in the scrum of the players surrounding the pack. Ben K muscled his way around the ball but the game really lacked stand out break away play on the part of the Demons. Mitch King took a few strong marks.

A Collingwood win today would be worth lots of money to the MFC in the form of attendees on QB but my heart says I would like them to lose today.

An enjoyable aspect of the day was watching the play of Gach Nyuon a Sudanese refugee in the ruck. After being rookied and then dropped by Essendon he made an appearance for Casey today. Unfortunately an injury to his foot late in the second quarter saw him sitting out the second half. An excellent leap and a good tap ruckman. Needs to work on his awareness but there might be something there in the medium term.

JKH did have a lot of disposals. He has good body size that allows him to muscle his way around at VFL level. Dees tended to overuse the handball which could explain the high possession levels.

Just back from a very pleasant afternoon at the Courg Oval. For the hipsters they have craft beer and for the traditionalists the Coburg sponsors include the ETU and the CFMEU. Game from a Demons viewpoint was scrappy with the on ball strength of Casey finally holding sway against the Coburg Lions. Some of the best play was from the Lions while Casey seemed hard pressed to get the last handball into space. I watched Weideman closely. For the first half he played deep forward and was disappointing. Delivery was nothing spectacular but even when he had a one on one marking comp he never really looked like it. Very little leading on his part and often pushed under the ball. In the second half he was on the ball where he got a few kicks. More worrying was his missed marks in the midfield. On these occasions and in particular one midway through the last quarter he had position and hands to the ball in a small pack but could not hold on. He's not coming back soon. Hulett if anything was more impressive with a little more bulk and a seemingly better ability to be in the right place for the ball. I watched for Stretch in hope of seeing some dashing play but it was not obvious. I'll post some more observations later but all in all a pleasant day that ended with a win.

end of round 15 and we will have a good idea. Win two or dare I say three of the next three games and we are solidly on our way. Win one or none and life becomes about the draft period.

I spent a month recently in Southern India. Best to go in October to March as it is seriously hot in the other months. The jewel of India is its people... so welcoming. I was wandering down a side street in Mysore and peered in at a wedding ceremony. Next moment I was meeting the bride and groom and then invited to the wedding feast. They feed the guests in shifts, The done thing is to have around 10 courses in about an hour and then the next shift moves in. Just amazing. And then there are the pilgrims visiting the great temple cities like Madurai. It's like guys on a footy trip. Amazing fun loving people. As with most of Asia go there not expecting picture post card experiences and you will be rewarded with great experiences. Everyone has heard of chai but to me the coffee was an incredible highlight.

I like the synergy of that offer ....... it has a certain Scullyesque ring to it.

north losing seriously dents their chances of making the 8 but Richmond losing means they are only one game above us and are therefore gettable. Don't mind either result but on balance a Richmond loss would be preferred. A draw would be interesting

The Orange Men march on ..........another win ......now top of the ladder at 9 and 2

Giants have kicked goals in the last minutes of the last two quarters. Bombers 25 points down going into the last quarter.... could be a good result coming up.

As a legacy airline Air India have been struggling financially for a number of years. There are now a number of good budget airlines that are fast taking over. Air Asia which dominates South East Asia is now extending itself to India to join the existing players. My airline hint of the week.... Scoot Biz (old style business class) $500 one way to Singapore and then el cheapo to wherever you want to go in Asia. Flies daily out of Melbourne around noon.

that ground has to be one of the most perfect looking grounds in the world. I was so tempted to go there for the recent tests. My schedule did allow for Pune but the ground there was a new concrete bowl devoid of character about 20 k outside town so I gave it a miss.

That was bad luck but don't give up. I spend half of the year at least in Asia and the street food is the way to go. KL is remarkably clean from a street food viewpoint so you were doubly unlucky

food in India is pretty good actually and the winter weather is delightful. There is a whole cuisine of street food called chaats that are absolutely delicious. Think Tacos or tapas but way cheaper http://www.indiatimes.com/culture/food/11-types-of-chaat-from-around-india-that-have-won-over-our-hearts-and-tummies-231892.html

Nah.... I think it is another team trying to get away with the daylight robbery committed by Port. Also they probably want to get into the AFL budget before it is used on other things. Imagine us being paid by the AFL to play an away game against the Suns overseas. We'd be laughed at!

Heard on the radio that Essendon are considering a game in India. No problem with that but they should not be able to get away with the away game only that was gifted to Port in China. Also the Port game required a substantial AFL investment in respect of which the AFL have very quiet about its renewal for next year. Practically India during our football season is hot and traditionally the crowds do not attend sporting events other than for 20:20 cricket and to a lesser extent one dayers. Travel time to Mumbai from Melbourne is around 15 hours by direct flight so it's not insubstantial

well it seems that there are now three lock ins for the 8. Geelong, Adelaide and GWS. If Freo beat Collingwood then one can almost rule out Collingwood which means that Hawthorn, Carlton, Collingwood, Brisbane are the teams that cannot make it. Leaves 11 teams vying for five spots. One can start to pencil in Port as a probability for the 8 which means 10 for four spots. GWS v Essendon is a big game for the Bombers not to mention almost all other games in this round. It is almost good to be enjoying the bye and watching the permutations play out.

Shane Ellen In the 1997 Grand Final, Ellen was considered the unlikely hero for the Crows. In the first half he booted two goals from full-forward, playing there in place of the injured Tony Modra. He was then switched to the half-back line by coach Malcolm Blight, which proved to be an inspired move – Ellen kicked three of his five goals for the match after half-time.[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Ellen

Apparently GWS had only 26 fit players available for selection last week. Voldemort returns this week but you have to wonder if they deserve to be long odds on to beat the Bombers. Good luck to the Orange Men as it will make it just that little bit harder for the Bombers to make the 8. Not liking Port in the top 4 as it means that 3 non Vic teams are in the 8 making the finals road if we ever get there just that little bit harder.