In episode sixteen of Inside Melbourne, Christian Salem joins Caty Price and Max Gawn as we break down the loss against St Kilda. We discuss Salem’s passion for the world cup (6:30), talk about how to pronounce Christian’s surname (11:00) and discover his love for Lebanese food (18:00). Special guest Jade Rawlings joins the team, to give us an update on the Casey Demons (19:00), let us know his thoughts on a team in Tasmania (27:00) along with his passion for coaching and his love for people.

CASEY coach Jade Rawlings says he couldn’t fault the approach of the players, particularly the high-profile Melbourne-listed players, who have featured for Casey this year.

Rawlings, in his first season as Casey coach, has guided the team to nine wins from 11 matches, putting the Demons second on the ladder, with only percentage separating them and top placed Richmond.

Speaking on Inside Melbourne, Rawlings said some of Melbourne’s bigger names had been exemplarity when playing for Casey.

“The attitude of the players has been first rate, whether that’s been Jack Viney, who played one game for us against Box Hill or Bernie Vince, on the weekend, as a senior player,” he said.

“Also, young players like Dion Johnstone and Oskar Baker, and a lot of varying levels of experienced players down there that have been able to gel in with our VFL-listed players.

“It’s a very transient competition – the VFL. Just as you get things right one week, you can have six changes next week. So, the capacity to really get the players to come together on game day was the greatest challenge, but it’s also one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”

Rawlings said “we’re a service provider at the VFL for the AFL”, but added that it was important to provide a pathway for the VFL-listed players.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got the players in form and they have the behaviours that are going to stack up at AFL level,” he said.

“We’ve also got to play a system that marries the Melbourne style.

“They’re the challenges, but we’ve also got a very good VFL list, who know what we’re doing and they bring in a high level of intensity and spirit, when they come in and play.

“That also makes the Melbourne players’ experience far more enjoyable."