Older demon

Taj is excellent but has dropped down the list since he tore his ACL a few months ago. He wouldn't be ready for most of 2025 and not sure if he is prone to ligament injuries

Pardon me but I am already there.

Now is not the time to change the head coach! The forward coach has been let go once out of contract. McQualter may well get the West Coast job so another assistant to replace. If you believe the press with Pert running the review then the footy manager is in the spotlight. If Richardson is let go then there is another new face. Too much change already so leave the head coach where he is and do better at assistant level.

I am unsure if the AFL have a deal with Epworth given its proximity to the G but I cannot remember a case where an AFL player has been taken to a public hospital from a game. Certainly, players land on the ED doorstep if they have an incident at home. You are correct that the ambo's determine where you go. They know what the wait times are whether a hospital is on bypass and base it on their assessment of the patient's condition and any medical handover. With my last ambulance adventure, the ambos assessed me and asked if I had private insurance and if I have a preference. I suggested the Alfred and thought that wasn't a good idea as it was at capacity and stretched to the limit. They strongly advised a nearby private hospital which is where I ended up.

The AFL report addresses the issue of suspected internal injuries " AFL Doctors Association boss and Gold Coast club doctor Barry Rigby is also an intensive care doctor. He runs the yearly briefing over rib and internal injuries for AFL and AFLW doctors so they can better diagnose broken ribs or internal trauma. He said on Monday it was almost impossible for club doctors to diagnose whether ribs were bruised or broken without a complex CT scan, with even MRI scans or a simple chest X-ray often not detailed enough. Rigby said the AFL was satisfied with the current procedures for caring with patients with rib damage. “The priority is clinical assessment but it can be quite difficult with blunt force chest trauma. You can have significant pain, but you might not have fractured a rib,” he said. “Chest X-rays are often not that good at picking up chest fractures, and they can miss a small pneumothorax, which is a contusion which causes air to escape from the lungs. “To do a CT scan, which continues a significant amount of radiation, for every player who has a bump to the chest, isn’t a practical approach to the problem. It gets back to the clinical assessment for club doctors and it can be very difficult. Clinical assessment is still the best way. There is a duty of care not to bombard players with unnecessary X-rays, that could lead to another can of worms in later years in players developing cancers. Not to mention having a CT scanner at every AFL venue with support staff just in case will come at a significant cost. As for pain relief in the photo with Trac heading off to the hospital I thought I saw him with the magic green stick which provides instant pain relief. A fair comparison is with Steven May who broke ribs against the Dogs. He didn't come off immediately, eventually was subbed off and taken to hospital. Thankfully there was no internal damage.

Caro is on the wrong line here. She and the AFLPA think they know more than some of the most highly credentialled trauma doctors in the business. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Don't they believe the reports saying he got the best of care? What are the terrible stories emerging and where did they come from? I read the report and have no reason to doubt it. The closest hospital to the MCG is Epworth a highly reputable hospital and an AFL footballer gets immediate service to a private hospital. He is cared for and only later when his Haemoglobin levels drop they suspect internal bleeding. The Alfred Trauma centre and the Royal Melbourne are the only level 1 Trauma services in the state. Once the Epworth have him in their care he is no longer under the care of the MFC medical team. Just as when he is transferred from Epworth to the Alfred because his condition deteriorates having suffered the same a blunt force trauma a car accident victim endures. Again just down the road and given the very best medical care available. I worked at the Alfred for a long time in a support area for the Trauma service I trust their medical opinion over Carolines horror stories whispered to her. Trauma management isn't for the faint-hearted. A naive public may be shocked as they have no experience of what goes on behind the scenes. Everything that has been written publicly sounds textbook. Once the bleeding spleen was discovered it was acted on immediately and procedures to stem the bleeding were successful and his spleen saved. I wish journos would stick to writing facts and leave the innuendo and opinion to gossip columnists Maybe it was a shock to Trac and his family and their expectation unrealistic with how it was handled. But he got the very best medical care available

The best news this morning is Caro has dished the dirt on Collingwood and the huge bust-up between Wright and Kelly. Not all is happy at Pie land. So good to have a story that isn't about MFC. Where are Maclure, Morris and Warner when there is a carcass to feed on? I also expect the carrion to attack Bevo & Hinkley after 2 finals floggings.

I liked Max on the radio yesterday with this quote. It sums up Maclure and Morris perfectly "I missed the memo when you could write on gossip. I thought you had to get facts."

I know the rest of the comp think he is good but only those of us who know what he does both on and off the field and have followed his career trajectory can truly understand his greatness. Multiple knee reco's and in his own words only a bad hammy or knee injury away from retirement. He get attacked every week bu just shrugs it off and gets on with the game. He is the finest captain I have seen at the dees and I have been watching since the 60's. He defends his club and love his quote on radio this week, I am sure directed at MaClure and Morris : "I missed the memo when you could write on gossip. I thought you had to get facts."

Seriously has everyone who commented here listened to the full interview? Were you already prejudiced and looking for an excuse to hang Pert and Roffey. Are they doing their job and sticking to their job decription. None of us are in a position to judge that just offer an opinion. In recent memory, Cam Schwab was vilified for getting too involved in the football department yet now when Kate clearly states she knows the lines of delineation and sticks to them. She stated that she had no recent conversation with the Petracca family. With respect to the question "has she directly spoken with Trac", and she said "No Comment" not recently because he and his amily haven't been around the club. She made it clear she only comments when she has all the information in front of her. Compare this to to the number of half-baked media blokes jumping around with their own spin looking for clicks. She said it so many times that she follows the process. That is what boards do they have a club structure that they oversee. The football department, and the leadership group etc all report to the board. She lets them go about their work. There is nothing worse than a meddling president. To be clear she made the following points Once Trac was in the trauma unit at the Alfred he came under the care of the state trauma service. This is a world-class trauma facility and they were responsible for Trac's care and wellbeing and most likely they still are. He was not under the care of the MFC medical team. They handed over once he went to Epworth and they handed over once they realised he had a blunt-force trauma injury and was treated appropriately She stated that Trac is always open to discuss his issues with her that just hasn't happened yet . He has had plenty of conversations with the team, footy department and leadership group . Is talking to Kate going to make a difference? She stated if anyone was listening that the club is in constant communication with Trac. Her last line was "We don't throw our players under the bus" when asked about culture. We don't trade them off, we work around homesickness and quoted both Kozzie & Petty being homesick with the latter signing a new contract and the former stating he isn't going anywhere. My expectation was that she would listen to Whateley's questions answer the ones that she could and fend off the ones that aren't for public knowledge. It certainly wasn't IMO a train wreck but may have fallen short of many who wanted an instant resolution and a miracle fix.

Just a question throughout all this vitriol. Does the club review it entire operation every year? Does anyone know? Who can comment on the club processes and their outcome? Each department and level at the club has to report to the board. There is ongoing data getting to the board every month to however often they meet. Does anyone here believe that the board is shocked at the season outcome or didn't know there was a problem? Boards at other clubs are determined by the skillset of the individual and their relevance to their board post. You often get invited to join a board it isn't random or open to just any applicant. Is our club process adhering to best practice? Do other clubs we could benchmark against fill their board positions the same way?

For what it is worth. The article re Trac failing the psyche test at St Kilda is still viewable on Big Footy. The article was written by the well respected late journalist Sam Landsberger (may he R.I.P.) The headline about it coming back to haunt Trac is true. Alan Richardson was at St Kilda at that time and despite the AFL banning psyche tests they did one verbally. Mc Cartin passed and despite being rated 5 pre draft the Saints went with him. Heaney was considered the best and take at 1 as an academy player. Gus was also highly rated and in the top 3. Note Gus nearly won a Brownlow later on. I won't go through the entire article it is there for public viewing but the 2 questions that stood out are "Why did the psych test reveal an eagerness for Petracca to promote himself ahead of teammates? Were there selfish traits? Petracca seemed to enjoy attention. Would his personality blend in at St Kilda?" there is more but it appears he was very much into self promotion even then

Why not have some fun and nominate who we would like to get into the club? I will nominate St Kilda and we get King, Steele and their first rounder maybe send what we get for ANB back. Maybe they have forgotten about their psyche profile. By the way has anybody got access to the paywall so we can see why they didn't pick him?

I cannot wait for Caro's next column. She nailed the situation perfectly "There is no leadership here" Wants bigger crowds and to increase his brand. She also let it drop. There is a board meeting going on tonight as we speak, and McKay's manager states he is happy at the Blues. I can only hope that CP5 isn't thinking straight and making bad decisions because he is trashing his brand. I don't think there will be any love for Christian in her next column

Note the most important line in the article is " Trac wont ask for a trade for fear of further inflaming the situation" There is tension and some bridges to repair, but if Trac doesn't formally ask to go, he stays where he is. Wasn't it a few years ago that Sam Maclure had Clarry upset with the club and heading of to Carlton (whom he barracks for). I have heard this story before. For what it is worth a former board member told me Friday night at a club function that Trac is not himself at the moment and post trauma he is very unsettled.

Haven't heard anything. He would have to be on thin ice though. The fact they played him down back for the back end of the VFL season may indicate our lack of depth with tall backs.

Of the record comment from VAFA & Casey " KFW is playing the wrong game. he is a basketballer and always will be. He isn't suited to footy" As for the others, I don't think that we will delist 9 players. AMW will get a promotion to the senior list of the Rookie B. Yze may take KFW 's rookie spot. ANB's departure creates a spot as will Smith (who I assume will not have his contract renewed). BBB has retired and Hunter is out of contract. Last year we went with 3 draft choices maybe that is all we will go for.

Mc Qualter may be contracted but is on the Eagles job's shortlist. The club wouldn't hold him to that if he gets a senior gig. We may have 2 senior assistants to replace!

Re Ollie Sestan and KFW who are both speculative picks on the rookie list. Recent changes to Rookies now allow 5 years to develop players in particular rucks. This may also include Luker who is a big strong lad. KFY is a basketballer who was sent to the ammo's to get some experience as a first ruck. I have watched him there and seen improvement. He has a decent leap and a good set of hands but clearly hasn't played a lot of footy. His family is always there supporting him and I think I read somewhere that the MFC dietician had outlined a diet designed to bulk him up. He has a great attitude. Ollie wasn't in the conventional system but is a natural footballer who if anyone noted put in an enormous pre-season. His first full preseason, and a massive change in body shape. he trimmed down, got fitter and spent more time in the midfield. One of his metrics was to get from 12 km a game up to 15km. He would go into centre bounces where he showed he was good at getting clearances. The only MFC-listed players at Casey who could get clearances were Ollie, Laurie & Pup Brown. Too many are quick to judge and I trust the club to decide which metrics he has achieved. I believe he has earned another season. Luker, well he is young, relocated and put into an elite system which would have been a massive culture shock. AMW has taken 3 years and is now starting to blossom but he started from a long way back. Just look at his early photos and his physique now. It is unreasonable to have too high an expectation of any of these 3 and each needs time to develop.

I have a particular interest in one player on the list who has missed games at Casey on a few occasions now. The medical reports are scant and on one occasion I attended a club function and asked how he was. No one knew or was reluctant to tell. By accident, I ran into him at the game and he assured me he was ok but got a concussion at training the previous Thursday and was in concussion protocols. Club officials and other players had no idea what was wrong. On other occasions, this pattern has repeated itself. I have concluded that player details or injuries are not shared amongst the playing group. They are so focussed on their own performance and well being they have no time to know all about the others. Maybe this is a strategy to limit information leaking. I have nothing but admiration for WCW attending training so often and keeping us informed. She can keep a secret as well. She is my only trusted source. She posted Monday that Sparrow was in a moonboot with a bad ankle long before the club's medical report. Re Trac, most players only had to read the papers to realise the gory details of his case study but then if I was advising the players I would recommend they don't read the papers. I can understand the leaders reaching out to Trac but hope that not everyone on the list was contacting him. I also read where he turned his phone off. Whatever happens, it will all become obvious in the passage of time so for now I trust the club to tell me what it deems appropriate to know. I stopped listening to SEN, ignore the Sun and all the AFL shows on Foxtel etc.

He has been a great servant of the club, is a wonderful human being and his shave for charity shows the character of the man. Sadly I watched him running around Saturday on the live feed. The spirit is willing but the legs can give no more. He got goals on experience and pure goal sense but he couldn't chase once the ball hit the ground. Let him do a lap of honour at halftime. As it is May looks like he will return so there is no room for BBB.

Thanks WCW your reports are a treat and your devotion is unbelievable. Out of interest do the players and staff address you by your real name or WCW? When is the next session? Thursday perhaps. I know the question was asked re Ollie Sestan but he didn't get a mention in your dispatches.

I like the whoile of club vibe. A post match team photo with everyone on the list who was on the Gold Coast and all called in to sing the song post game. This group of players are tight and love each other. No culture problems to see on field here. As Pert said all the off field stuff we have no control over. Go Dees

Based on what I have seen today Fullarton will not jump at the ball in the ruck and is flat footed in the centre. Will Verral will jump at the ball and provides a better contest. Andy MW has developed and his speed is fantastic. Needs to tighten up his disposal and misses his targets but as said earlier, is a cut above VFL. Kynan knows how to get the ball but his kicking lacks penetration and turns it ver a bit but you cannot question his competitiveness. Ben Brown cannot run. He is unable to chase as his legs just won't carry him. Once the ball hits the ground he has the desire but not the ability to chase. Not sure but think his presence limits Jeffo who hasn't seen much of the ball. HIs 3rd quarter chase down and tackle on the wing was impressive. Woewodin has the attributes. Down back there are too many Casey players and not enough MFC players to gauge the future.

Lots of clubs would be asking but from a time when clubs weren't permitted to publicy approach a contracted player the media circus and managers have spun this around completely. Look at Clarko yesterday saying they would like Viney. So the Cats and Aints would like to explore Clayton's availability. My response would be maybe your first-round draft pick, most of his salary and Max King for starters