Older demon

There is a lot to like about the new coach. He articulates better than his predecessor and appears to have a great handle on all the modern tools a coach needs in this day and age. A few close friends who have worked with him have high praise for him and think MFC have made an outstanding choice. Wants to make the workplace fun and doesn'r mind driving to Casey. He wants the players to express some flair and skill. He plans to implemenmt a contemporary game style.

I think some praise should go to the new CEO. In that 3AW interview, he spoke so well, was polite to Caro and answered all the questions with a straight bat. He left no room for ambiguity or clickbait for the likes of Caro & McClure. Trac & Clarry - King sees them in our best 25 and have long contracts. King wanted the job and was our first choice. Cop that Both he and Steve Smith were part of the process that sanctioned sacking the coach. Smith, as a board member and the CEO, even though he hadn't started yet. He wanted it made very clear that he and Smith were part of the process The panel liked King's vision for our game style. Not a lot is wrong, but some tweaks can be made to bring our game style up to modern needs. This is the advantage of having appointed a new coach active in the current footy environment. Ther IMO has to be some doubt with Buckley as he has been out of the system for a few years and he wanted to see what Tassie offered him next Tuesday Wow if he keeps this up, the journo's will have nothing to speculate about, Demonland will have nothing to gossip about, and our football club will get on with playing footy

Apart from Max, Langdon & Melk, who posted on Instagram No, I do not know. However, given that 15 AFL-listed players were playing at Casey, the list narrows so it is fair to assume most of the players from the last game.

First off, Sam Maclure is a grub. His article today shows he has no bounds for his dislike of MFC. He states that it is (in his opinion) a bad look that Clayton and Christian accepted their life memberships last night after wanting to leave last season. He fails to mention that ten years of service and 200 games get you an automatic life membership. Does he think they should not have accepted this honour?Well, both players hit that target this season. At no stage last year did Trac ask to leave. The context of last night was that Clint asked why Trac was so dedicated. His answer is "It's my job" Sam, if you view this site, you should be ashamed of yourself. You distort the facts and create chaos, and wonder if we started making up rumours about you. Trac is on the record that he is MFC through and through. He admits he wears his heart on his sleeve, but he is a thorough professional whose commitment to training and getting the best out of himself is obsessive. Another tidbit. Yes, the attendance was down last night. Last year, there were about 110 tables of 10. Last night I saw about 70 tables of 10 with lots of MFC staff and past players at tables. Maybe that is how the numbers were swelled. A chat with the Demon Army confirmed they were given 2 dates, and that last night was changed from the original. This was confirmed by an MFC official who told me the club had moved the function forward. Some players, after their exit interview, were heading off to Europe today, having booked their tickets on Monday so they have clear air and do not need to return to the club for a while, unlike having a B&F in 2 weeks, which they would have to come back to. As it is, Max and a few others had spent the last 8 days in N.Z. having a post-season wind down (alias footy trip).

The B&F is based on votes cast by 4 people (I assume coaches and Goody were thanked for voting for some players), where every player is given a vote out of 10 for every game played. Max did not miss a game, nor did Trac, while Kozzie missed 3. Any player who missed a bunch of games would struggle to appear on the leaderboard. TMac & May both were out of the team for extended periods. It would be more interesting to see the full voting list to see where players finished. Top 10 is the metric, but B&F's are compromised by games played

I was there, and I didn't get the feeling he wanted to be somewhere else. No one has mentioned the body language on stage between Trac, Clarry and others. They are mates and want to play together and play at MFC. For goodness' sake, Trac has just finished 2nd in our B&F, why on earth would the club want to trade him? He isn't the best at interviews, but neither is Kozzie nor Langford. Is anyone saying they are leaving? Perspective, he is coming off a horrendous injury, some end-of-last-season issues and some self-doubt. He embraces life, trains his butt off and comes 2nd in this year's B&F he is a keeper, and all the bulltish click bait pseudo journalists are full of it and should be treated with disdain.

Yes he was very respectful and thanked the all but instead of 5 delisting his graphic show 6 and he named Billings. Ollie Sestan was officially notified Monday but his manager told him to expect the worst over the last few weeks.

Billings has been delisted just announced by Richardson

You left out Fullarton. Spargo is a free agent, and Hore has already announced his retirement. I would keep Sestan as he transitioned to the backline his season and has shown his kicking skills are elite. He was close to selection when he did his hammy and then got a fractured cheekbone. McAdam has a year to go, but may break down again. Some on the list may have to wait till pre-season for their next contract Initially, I think the minimum is 3, most likely Hore, Fullarton & Billings

Yes it is on tomorrow night. Is anyone going to(besides me) Max to win by a country mile. Bowey, & Kozzie to in the top 5 and I hope TMac gets lots of votes

Viney not getting any younger and not ageing well. Windhager a ready-made Vieny replacement and a better kick.

Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, don't forget Hore has retired, Spargo is a free agent and has offers elsewhere. Henderson cannot get on the park and is out of contract, and I suspect he won't be offered one. That is 3 delistings, along with Fullarton and Billings. Consider that we have AMW and McAdam returning from long-term injury. Then there is our commitment to Sinnema and White, plus somehow we have to find draft collateral to recruit Windhager and Derkson (the latter we may get as a delisted free agent who could take Verral's place)

Great comeback by Casey. I bagged Laurie, but he came back and was fantastic in that comeback. Culley has the ability to be anything he has something special. AJ gave a bit when he moved into the ruck and has a red-hot go and Yze is lively. Sestan created opportunities with some pinpoint kicking and showed his worth Fullarton went forward, and I cannot remember a player being so uncompetitive. Verrel was not used at all, and I think will be delisted. All in all, there will be delistings, but unless the club has targeted players or delisted free agents, we must consider that we have limited draft picks available. 2 of these will go to Sinema and White. We know that Hore has retired, Henderson has been injured and out of contract, and I doubt will get another means. I don't think there will be as many delistings as we think. Last but not least, yet again we lose a game with more inside 50's, more scoring shots and some horrible misses running into an open goal

Fitness starting to show as Frankston stopping to a walk

I think Campbell is off injured, looked like he hurt a calf.

I suspect the last post is correct, except that Campbell will get another year as cover for Max, and Sestan deserves another, as in that quarter, he showed he can at least hit targets.

The B&F is Tuesday night, and it looks like this will be the club's final game, judging from that 2nd quarter. Their little blokes are all over ours and kicking with precision while they run and gun. Except for Culley, we look too slow and turn it over. No sign of Woewodin, Brown and Laurie is too small, too slow and turns it over. AJ looks out of his depth as well

Brilliant work, and yes, I can see the change. Just a gut feel, but has going short seen an increase in turnovers, especially from May?

Just an observation on game style and a point of difference between Casey and the senior team. I have watched a lot of the Casey games this season and note that after a point, they rarely kick long to the wing. Bonner did it once yesterday with the wind, and it came straight back and resulted in a score. For the rest of the game, Ollie Sestan took the kick in rarely kicked it long and found a short target every time and in some instances got the return possession. The commentators noted the calmness of maintaining possession down back and then moving it forward with fast play on football. Compare this to Steven May's long bombs to the left side of the ground (usually to Max with 3 players hanging off him). Whenever May starts to kick short, he tends to miss his targets and turn it over. Perhaps this is why he favours the long bomb! When Howes and Adams tried the cross-goal short, yesterday they both turned it over. It is a skill. There is a bit more risk and pressure with this kick, but Sestan nailed every one of them and set the team up for the surge forward. The ball movement, VFL level, albeit at a lower standard, was a joy to watch. Contrast this with the tortured way the senior team tries to execute this. To me, this is coaching and, to a lesser extent, player ability. I believe it allowed Woewodin to shine on one wing and Culley on the other, or in the centre. Fast movement and lots of ground play allowed the smalls to dominate, especially Laurie. I applaud the Casey coach; he has that team firing and playing a brand of football we want to see from the senior team. I would be giving Sestan a contract as soon as possible (he came off a significant injury break and did not miss a beat yesterday). Finally, I am conflicted re Laurie & Woewodin as they both showed yesterday that they have something to offer, and I ask "Are there any mature-aged players out there who are any better? Don't eject players for the sake of it unless you have a replacement who you think will do better.

Picket

Although the AFL team has completed its Casey has not, and all MFC players are available for Casey until they are eliminated from finals. The MFC players trained at Casey last night in the cold and pouring rain, and if they qualify, are happy to keep playing. I suspect, but cannot confirm, that this may be the reason why not all exit interviews have been conducted or any delisting published until all Casey commitments are finalised Kolton qualifies, and Ollie Sestan trained and is available for Saturday as well. I believe Jefferson is injured, but Casey will field a strong team.

I think if nothing else, this year has shown that age doesn't matter. Choco started the last 2 years saying that selection isn't based on your birth certificate. It goes both ways be it young or old. If your form warrants it you will be rewarded. Taylor Walker at his age is an integral part of the Crows forward line, Howe at 34 for Collingwood holds the backline together, Max at 34 has never played better, Lachie Neal is 32, Zorko is 36, Pendlebury is 37, Danger is 35, Tom Stewart is 32 Blicavs is 34, Gunston 33 the list goes on. If you are good enough and your form warrants you to play. The hope that youth and potential win games and flags is a false dawn. It is different to the past, where a youngster may be gifted a game because they are young The club has identified that it needs more players in the 25-28 range, as we have gone for youth the last few years. Those with short memories have forgotten the hole in the list, clearing the old guys, including James McDonald and co. And what a brilliant idea it was to make Grimes & Trengove co-captains. Rebuilding is more difficult than it has ever been, just look at North and West Coast in the last 3 years. List building and recruiting isn't a year-to-year thing. Recruiters have been watching players from the age of 14, monitoring their development as part of a long-term plan. Whoever the new coach is, his input into recruitment will be sought, but will be minimal. Time and time again, coaches are quoted as saying they leave player recruitment to the experts I am delighted that TMac & mewlk are back on board for another season

6 - Max Gawn 5 - Christian Petracca 4 - Clayton Oliver just kept getting better 3 - Harvey Langford ⭐️ 2 - Christian Salem 1 - Jake Bowey

On a sobering note I wouldn't be too swift to swing the axe. We have little or no draft capital to trade with. Cal and Toby will be the new blood and the lab talks about getting in more 25-28 year olds. A stay of execution and allow a new coach 12 months before making wholesale changes. It would be nice to find some players that can kick, hit a target and handball who know how to ice a close game

Please accept my thanks to Ghostwriter, Harvey Wallbanger, Kev Martin and all posters