spirit of norm smith

KENTFIELD !!!! Mark of the year. Huge speccy!!! Huge.

Free kicks Dogs 11. Demons 4. Umpires clearly having a one eyed view so far !!

20 minutes in. 9 inside 50s 😭0.3 Finally. First goal. Laurie to Hardie. Clever snap. 👏👏 AJ. Kentfield. Sestan. All looking good so far.

Anyone know why Woey and Billings are missing today ? @KC from Casey ? Personal circumstances? I really wanted to see Woey jnr today. He was very good against Tigers VFL two weeks ago and showed more play on footy & run (which I’d tell him to do over and over again).

Max is a true leader of the club with humility and compassion for others. Well done to Max, Trac, the players and all at the Melbourne footy club. The family is part of the club. Supporters are connected. The loss of Jack 💔must have and still is devastating for the family. Hope they enjoy a good day at the footy 💙❤️

Great idea. I’m in. We all support Clarry and want him to be healthy and happy.

Harry McKay kicking the sealer from the boundary. Excellent goal. 👏👏👏👏 Just got home. Watched the game from the top tier of the members with two mates who are Blues supporters. They enjoyed the moment. That is what footy moments are about. I actually hope Harry enjoyed it too. We all have our struggles and I thought it was good for him. Overall I also thought Saints were brave. They’ve got some good youngsters too.

CASEY DEMONS B: D. Smith (54), J. Adams (26), B. Howes (22) HB: R. Bonner (52), L. Kentfield (44), L. Bryce (73) C: K. Brown (41), M. Hardie (55), P. Cross (64) HF: O. Sestan (38), T. Fullarton (33), J. Henderson (43) F: B. Laurie (16), A. Johnson (42), R. George (71) R: T. Campbell (29), J. Culley (46), R. Baldi (56) INT: J. Gatt (76), J. Craven (75), C. Peters (63), C. Doultree (61), W. Verrall (28) 23rd Player: J. Craven (75) EMG: K. Windsor (66), T. Sruk (53), C. Lewis (70), T. Freeman (67), B. Laplanche (68) 12 MFC LISTED 11 Casey listed Injured. Lever. Hore. Petty. Viney. Mentha Managed. Melksham. Mystery. Billings. Woey jnr. (Not AFL emergencies)

Agree - I thought we left the mysteries behind. Woey and Billings were fit and healthy last time we knew !!

It wasn’t a knock but more that interviewing is a skill. Constructive only intended. Good to get to know the players and like to hear more “Andy interviews”.

Andy. Not quite Parkinson interview quality just yet. Some rambling questions. Good intent. Let’s get to know the players more off the field. Harvey Langford. Quality young man. Composed responses. 👏👏👏👏

Run and run and 1%s and run and skills Pressure and Pressure and defensive run and intercept marking

Jeffo, Fritsch and Spargo. Form not warranted their selection. Like to see 5 goals and 10 tackles from these 3 combined. That’s par. We’ll see on Saturday afternoon.

Likely off season… Retire. Billings. Melksham. Delist. Fullerton. Hore. McAdam Retire likely Tmcd* Tom Campbell* Ruthless. Spargo.

Extremely disjointed article. I think they just pickup random out of contract players.

Team selection Ummmmm Don’t panic.

McGuire calls for Dees president Green to 'put the phone down'Eddie McGuire and Tom Morris debate Melbourne president Brad Green's criticism of the media. This is the same 💩Eddie McGuire 💩who in June 2016 did this … Collingwood Football Club president Eddie McGuire has ruffled quite a few feathers with his latest joke, and it's not just the so-called "PC brigade" that's upset. McGuire is copping it for making a "joke" on radio about drowning female sports journalist Caroline Wilson. AFL spokesman Patrick Keane weighed in on Twitter overnight, writing that the on-air comments "could be seen as supporting violent attitudes to women and was clearly inappropriate." He said the AFL had only become aware of the comments on Sunday. The "joke" in question was aired on radio station Triple M last week, when McGuire was talking about the Big Freeze at the 'G, an event where celebrities plunge into ice to raise money for MND. "I reckon we should start a campaign or a one-person slide next year," he said. Caroline Wilson, I'll put in the 10 grand straight away, make it 20, and if she stays under, 50." Others in the studio had a good laugh and former AFL coach Danny Frawley even offered to hold her underwater. McGuire then suggested people stand around Wilson and "bomb" her. Surf Life Saving Australia posted on Facebook on Sunday night that it was "disappointing to see high-profile media identities make light of drowning", which killed 102 people on Australia's coastline last year. Sports writer Erin Riley drew attention to McGuire's comment in a column pointing out that it was made just days before the weekend match between the Bulldogs and the Cats to support White Ribbon. McGuire's comments went unnoticed by most last week, but Riley wrote a damning piece which has put the Collingwood Football Club president in the spotlight. "These are some of the most high-profile men in football joking about hurting one of football's most prominent women," Riley wrote. "So much of our discussions about violence against women acknowledge the importance of language and of attitudes in shaping the way men think about women."

thanks to Andy, @binman and@george_on_the_outer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️rating again Love the Pod Great to hear all the positives about Max Gawn. Our champion. Our hero. Our captain. In great form. Like a red wine, he gets better with age. Kade Chandler. Having an excellent year The four musketeers- Windsor, Kolt , Lindsay and the Bison aka Langford. Jack Viney. Unbreakable. Set him a task and he delivers. Melksham magic. He’s kicking is a highlight and he created goals as well as kicked them Really enjoying most of the stats but again can overreach in analysis imv Agree with George re Fritta - he’s so frustrating with his lack of defense, zero tackles and his lack of the simple 1%s like a shepherd or a block. He stays in thanks to relationship with Goody George also will need to take medication after he talks about Max’s kicking. I can feel his BP rising as he talks. Anyway great stuff once again. Informative and entertaining. Cheers to all 🍻

@roy11 well said. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order. They pretend to care then pile on the vitriol. I support Brad Green in his comments. And Jay Clark extorts volume about the Cats culture. How Oliver can be like Bailey Smith? Cats culture !! Jack Steven, Tyson Stengle, Tanner Bruhn. Three bad examples all seemingly forgotten. Phoenix Foster said many young players at Cats are alienated from the elite class. Nothing said.

The AFL top 25. Again by staff writers (aka faceless dribblers) Gawn squeaks in now at number 10. Wow. I’d say he’s the MVP in the league for the past 3 weeks. He’s behind Cameron 7, Warner 8 and Serong 9. That’s insulting. He’s twice the player of these blokes.

Jay Clark is a GEELONG supporter!! That’s the word on the street. His article is clearly biased.

@binman did you suggest (on podcast 28 April) that Gawn should be rested v eagles and Tom Campbell be promoted (after his 3/4qrr game at Casey).

By JAY CLARK 💩💩💩💩 “Clayton Oliver would look over the fence at what could have been. The fresh start at Geelong. The chance for more premiership success. The renewal and resurrection of Bailey Smith. There was a belief last year that Oliver was the missing link in the Cats’ premiership quest this season alongside Smith, but now he is in danger of falling by the wayside at the Demons in their push into a new era. One of the best ballwinners in the game a few years ago has polled only one AFL Coaches Association vote, averaging 28 touches and seven clearances across seven matches in 2025. The coaches’ trophy is an award he has won twice, but Oliver’s drop-off over the past 24 months is as steep as anyone’s in the game. And for this once blistering onballer, the slow walk towards what feels like another inevitable trade request has taken its toll on the player, as much as everyone at Melbourne has lauded his commitment and involvement over the past year. Oliver, 29, is a much better teammate, the Demons all say, after some serious talks and guidance in recent years, and captain Max Gawn deserves much of the credit for helping keep his mate on track. They play chess before games and on Monday night had a sauna together at Gawn’s house, the skipper said. And while the club is adamant Christian Petracca is staying, the door is clearly more open on Oliver and the prospect of off-loading his $1.2 million-a-year salary for a key forward in the exchange period. But as things stand, the Dees would be lucky to get even one first-rounder for Oliver, as that ship may have sailed – unfortunately for everyone – last year. It is no secret that when Oliver travelled down the highway to Rhys Stanley’s farm last year after Melbourne dangled him as trade bait, the midfielder saw, and wanted, a future down the coast. But now he is stuck, to a degree, as harsh as it sounds. Or at least he could be stuck, pending how hard Melbourne is prepared to keep him at the club for next season, and how much of his bumper wage the Demons would be willing to pay to send him to Geelong in return for a middling draft pick. At the heart of any Oliver trade is an important sliding scale. The more of his wage the Demons are willing to pay, the better the draft return they would expect from the Cats. If the Demons don’t pay any of his seven-figure wage, the Cats would likely either reject the deal entirely, or offer up a late pick in the draft to absorb all of his money. And the Cats might have the most disciplined pay structure in the game, meaning if Melbourne are at all interested in off-loading Oliver they will likely have to chip in several hundreds of thousands of dollars at least, like Collingwood did on Adam Treloar. The dump kick at Melbourne is ineffective and out under the “new way” to play under Simon Goodwin. Precise ball use is king in 2025. That hurts Oliver’s style and role, and he remains no certainty to stay in the senior side this year as first-year jet Harvey Langford’s growth continues. He’s the future, clearly, Langford. And the club has re-signed hard nut Jack Viney for four years, so he is locked in. Oliver is the expendable one. There is a real prospect Oliver may not keep his spot this year pending his form and it would be difficult for a four-time best-and-fairest winner to head out to suburban grounds in the VFL in his prime. If that does happen this year, the shoulders will slump and trade regret will hit overdrive as the Cats hunt another top-four berth. Oliver missed the trip west to play West Coast on Saturday night as part of a mental health break, but is expected to return to training on Tuesday and play this weekend after a breather. The mature way the Demons and Oliver have handled his time off last week is to their credit. But Oliver’s future is clouded, and there is a chance, too, he is stuck now. At least this trade period, the clubs will have had time to thrash out a deal, and that work will ramp up now, if in fact Geelong still wants him”.

Clayton Oliver’s future examined: The reduced price, what the Cats could offer, and the lurking SaintsClayton Oliver would be looking at the Cats wondering what could have been, writes Jay Clark. Now, the Demon is at risk of falling by the wayside if he can’t find a suitor, but what would he cost? Jay ClarkChief Football Writer Follow @ClarkyHeraldSun

Gerard Healy 💩💩💩💩💩💩still as arrogant as he was when he took the $$$ and walked out of the Dees to go to Sydney