SCORPIONS ON TOP by Ice Station

[Demonland 64,416]

The Casey Scorpions had little trouble in disposing of Essendon VFL at Casey Fields on Saturday night after leading from go to whoa and finishing up scoring a mammoth 20.9.129 to 6.7.43. The Scorpions boosted their percentage and the win saw them return to the top of the VFL ladder where they are locked together on 12 wins with Williamstown and Collingwood VFL in the fight for a top two spot.

One of the most pleasing aspects for Coach Justin Plapp would have been the evenness of his team with significant contributions from his AFL and VFL listed players. They were in control from the very beginning and were relentless all night with their strong pressure around the ball.

Forward Liam Hulett kicked the first of his three goals early in the match and was followed by Tim Smith and later in the term by Christian Salem. The Bombers were kept goalless and were 22 points in arrears by the first break. Midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen was busy early with 13 touches in the opening term on his way to a match total of 37. 

Hulett was in the action again with another goal early in the second term before the Bombers broke through for their first but the Casey onslaught continued. The Scorps were winning well at the stoppages even in the absence of Jake Spencer with second gamer Oscar McInerney getting his share of hit outs as well as possession of the ball around the ground. The Scorpion utility players were running riot with Viv Michie and Ben Kennedy picking up a swag of disposals, as did Matt Jones.

The third quarter belonged to Jay Kennedy-Harris who was in everything and booted three goals for the term. Both he and Salem, who have had injury interrupted seasons returned to their best form and more of the same will have them knocking on the doors of the Demon selectors. By three quarter time, the lead had been stretched to 70 points and the team coasted in the final term but still threatened to win by over 100 points before settling on an emphatic 86 point win.

The Scorpions are being well served by some of the more established Demon listers who are finding it hard to break back into the side. They include veteran defenders in Lynden Dunn, Colin Garland and Dean Terlich and former co-captains Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove who have been prolific ball gatherers.

Mitch White and Joel Smith were both solid while Hulett finished with three goals but it could have been more.

The Casey recruiters should be congratulated for their judgement in the past few seasons. Skipper Jack Hutchins and Jim Munro were solid. McInerney and Declan Keilty held the rucks together and small men Ed Morris and Angus Scott were pressing and Dylan Collis continued to impress notching up 29 possessions.

The Scorpions gave highly rated Gippsland Power prospect Ben Ainsworth an opportunity to show his wares and he did not let the team down. He displayed great pace and booted two goals from limited opportunities which demonstrated why he is expected to be selected in the top five in November's draft.

Casey next meets Werribee who still harbour hopes of making the finals in what looms as a tough contest.

Casey Scorpions 3.5.23 8.6.54 15.7.97 20.9.129

Essendon VFL 0.1.1 2.3.15 4.3.27 6.7.43

Goals

Casey Scorpions Kennedy-Harris 4 Hulett 3 Ainsworth Salem T Smith 2 Grimes McInerney Morris Neal-Bullen Scott Terlich White

Essendon VFL Coghlan Eades Heppell  Holmes  Redman  Stokes  

Best

Casey Scorpions Kennedy-Harris Salem Grimes Hutchins Neal-Bullen McInerney

Essendon VFL Carboni Holmes Heppell Simpkin Langford

Statistics 

Lynden Dunn 15 disposals10  kicks 5 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 71 dream team points

Colin Garland 17 disposals 12  kicks 5 handballs 2 marks 3 tackles 65 dream team points

Jack Grimes 1 goal 1 behind 34 disposals 16 kicks 18 handballs 8 marks 3 tackles 128 dream team points

Liam Hulett 3 goals 2 behinds 11 disposals 9 kicks 2 handballs 4 marks 1 tackles 68 dream team points

Matt Jones 31 disposals 17  kicks 14 handballs 8 marks 103 dream team points

Ben Kennedy 27 disposals 16  kicks 11 handballs 6 marks 4 tackles 105 dream team points

Jay Kennedy-Harris 4 goals 24 disposals 17 kicks 7 handballs 7 marks 2 tackles 119 dream team points

Viv Michie 33 disposals 20  kicks 13 handballs 4 marks 4 tackles 115 dream team points

Alex Neal-Bullen 1 goal 37 disposals 15 kicks 22 handballs 3 marks 7 tackles 133 dream team points

Christian Salem 2 goals 23 disposals 14 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 6 tackles 105 dream team points

Joel Smith 21 disposals 6 kicks 15 handballs 5 marks 4 tackles 79 dream team points

Dean Terlich 1 goal 1 behind 16 disposals 7 kicks 9 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles 75 dream team points

Jack Trengove 1 behind 32 disposals 8 kicks 24 handballs 5 marks 14 tackles 143 dream team points

Mitch White 1 goal 21 disposals 13 kicks 8 handballs 8 marks 3 tackles 97 dream team points

The Development League team had an excellent win over the Northern Blues with Max King returning to form with three goals.

Casey Scorpions 4.2.26 6.6.42 9.7.61 11.9.75

Northern Blues 1.1.7 1.2.8 2.6.18 4.8.32

Goals

Casey Scorpions Max King 3 Freeman 2 Anderson Baker Ferreira Hannon Stockdale Wilson

Northern Blues Corboy 2 Bolger  Peet 

Best

Casey Scorpions Moncrieff Briggs Hillard Gordon Max King Wyatt

Northern Blues Stevens Declase Aujla Roos Cripps Barrettu