CASEY Demons coach Justin Plapp says this Saturday’s qualifying final clash against Williamstown at Burbank Oval is a great opportunity for some of Melbourne’s emerging players. 

Plapp said he saw the benefit of Melbourne and Casey-listed players play VFL finals last year, which helped their game in 2017.

“We’ve got a lot of players that went through last year’s finals series and we believe that they’ll learn and gain further experience this time around,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“It’ll help both our Melbourne-listed players like Declan Keilty and our Casey-listed players, like Angus Scott, Jimmy Munro, Ed Morris and Jack Hutchins.

“It’ll also be great for the likes of Mitch King, Dion Johnstone, Sam Weideman, Liam Hulett and Casey-listed youngster Bayley Fritsch. They’re all young kids developing and growing. It’s really exciting for them, as they’ve had good seasons and this could set them up for the next three to four seasons in their football.

“The exposure they get in playing strong teams like Williamstown and standalone VFL teams that have big, physical, mature bodies will be worth its weight in gold for those boys. We look forward to it and we’re excited for it.”

Plapp said the Melbourne players were eager to make an impact for Casey in this year’s finals series, after playing in last year’s Grand Final against Footscray at Etihad Stadium.

“Our players are going to be really prepared – both our Melbourne group of players and our VFL players. We have a lot of strong character kids across the board,” he said.

“Our Melbourne-listed players really want to succeed in VFL footy and in this year’s finals series. They want to succeed and get the best out of themselves, whether it’s in the VFL or AFL.

“I’ve got real confidence in them – that they’ll compete. We’ve got a mix or experienced and youth and some hungry players, so it’s an exciting time.”