James ‘Jimmy’ Munro admits he’s been fortunate to not suffer many injuries during his VFL career with Casey. That made last weekend harder for the Demons heartbeat.

The midfielder affectionately known as ‘Moose’ was forced to sit out of Casey’s Round 22 top of the table clash with Brisbane last weekend. He is the first to say he isn’t a good watcher when it comes to seeing his Demons play on the TV.

“I was devastated to miss the trip away,” Munro told Casey Media. “After the past couple of years you hold onto everything. To travel to the Gold Coast earlier this year was unbelievable. Instead for this trip I was sat at home around the pool watching the game with my partner Shelby.

“I’m lucky I haven’t had to watch Casey play heaps and sit out with injury. I’m certainly a nervous watcher – I pace and snack, I reckon I went through plenty of Arnott’s biscuits, because I’m a huge fan of Mint Slices and Tim Tams.”

It’s easy to see why Munro has become a cult figure that is revered by everyone at Casey. After playing for nearly a decade at Casey Fields, Munro has become a critical member of the Demons’ push for an elusive VFL premiership.

Yet Munro’s stellar campaign 2022 campaign hit a snag in Round 21 when he hurt his ankle during the Demons’ tight win over Carlton on a wet and wild day at Casey Fields.

“I copped a kick to the inside of the ankle, which caused it to drift to the outside and roll underneath,” Munro said. “It swelled up like a beach ball straightaway.”

But that didn’t stop ‘Moose’. Munro was seen limping at half time, but came out in patches during the third quarter to try and prove his fitness. In his great mate and Casey captain Mitch White’s 100^th VFL game, Munro wanted to help his side win for Whitey.

The ankle injury caused Munro to miss the Round 22 blockbuster, where Brisbane ended Casey’s 17^th game winning streak and denied the Dees an unbeaten home and away run. Munro is adamant he has pulled up well from the week off, and gave an optimistic view on his chances to play in Casey’s Qualifying Final against Sydney on Saturday.

“The ankle has pulled up pretty well now,” Munro said. “It certainly gave me a bit of grief for a bit. It’s hard to gauge how bad of an injury it is as I do carry on.

It’s welcome news for Demons fans. Munro has been a barometer in the middle for Casey this season, linking superbly with Melbourne recruit Luke Dunstan and White to create a formidable centre bounce trio. The Demons’ engine room played a critical role in boosting Casey to its 17-1 win-loss record in 2022. The 17-game winning streak even shocked Casey’s experienced leaders in White and Munro.

“I can comfortably say I’ve never had 17 wins in a row in any sport I’ve ever played,” Munro said. “It’s been a great year. Saying that, that season is now done and a new one begins.

“No one really cares how many wins you’ve had heading into this weekend now. I know it’s a cliche, but for us it’s one week at a time. You don’t know who you play after this Saturday, so you can’t plan any further ahead than the next game.”

Munro is adamant he isn’t looking ahead. Yet he’s also constantly allowed himself to imagine breaking Casey’s drought and finally winning a VFL flag with the Demons.

Casey has come agonisingly close on two occasions, losing VFL Grand Finals in both 2016 and 2018 to Footscray and Box Hill respectively. Munro played in both of these games, and the losses still burn. The vision of finally winning a VFL flag is enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“Some people say they don’t think of that, but the idea of winning a VFL flag with Casey has crossed my mind every day for years,” Munro said. “I’ve had plenty of dreams about winning the premiership and I wake up in tears.

The elusive premiership would cap off a terrific year for both Munro and Casey. Upon reflecting, Munro says White’s recent 100^th game is one of the many favourites from this season. But he also points to the constant development of young players like Miles Shepherd, Corey Ellison and George Grey as standouts that always make him smile.

Seeing these young players work hard on their skills every week gives Munro a sense of satisfaction when they continue to take giant steps at VFL level. With the return of AFL interstate travel this year giving younger players more opportunities for Casey, Munro says the ever-changing landscape in 2022 has created a competitive training environment that Munro had never seen before at Casey Fields.

When this brimming talent is matched with the finals experience of Munro and White, ‘Moose’ is very excited to be returning to cut-throat footy this weekend.

“In many respects, I’ve been very fortunate with the calibre of players I’ve played with at Casey,” Munro said. “I’ve been able to play in a few finals series now.

Although Munro is a well-known VFL name for his intensity around the ball and his fun-loving nature, he is also an astute observer of the game. Munro says Casey’s opponent in Sydney in many ways plays a similar brand of footy to the Demons, both at VFL and AFL level. He’s looking forward to resuming the rivalry with the Swans on Saturday.

“We both play lots of contested footy, have good ruckmen and great tall forward and defender stocks,” Munro said. “It’ll be a tale of two teams playing good contested footy.

“Some of the players at Casey have already started joking that it should be called the Will Collis Cup, as he used to play for us and now it’ll be good to face him on Saturday.”

Munro is satisfied with the position Casey is in heading into the finals. Although he doesn’t believe in the theory that a loss is necessary to prepare the Demons for finals, he says Casey had learnt plenty from last week’s loss to Brisbane.

He also acknowledges that finishing on top of the ladder and getting a double chance isn’t a must to win the flag. He knows that all eight members of the top eight have cause to dream of lifting the cup aloft. But Munro, in typical ‘Moose’ fashion, believes his Demons can triumph.

“I think we’ve seen well and truly in the past few years that teams can come from the bottom half of the eight and win it,” Munro said. “Having a double chance is important, but we know it’s not everything.

“There’s a lot of competition there, from Brisbane, Sydney and Southport to the other members of the top eight. I hope our strengths will prove too much for the others.”

The Demons’ finals campaign kicks off this Saturday when Casey faces Sydney in a Qualifying Final at Casey Fields from 1.10 PM.