CRASH START FOR CASEY by KC from Casey

You could tell almost from the moment the teams ran out onto the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval yesterday that it was going to be a hard day at the office for new Casey coach Peter German.

His Scorpions included no less than five first gamers and no more than three AFL senior list players and a handful of Demon rookies. Lined up against them was an impressive array of experienced St. Kilda listed players (9 senior and 4 rookie listed players) and hardened VFL premiership players including multiple Frosty Miller Medallist Nick Sautner, skipper Peter Summers, Andy Biddlecombe, David Gallagher and Rod Crowe.

It really was a case of the men against the boys as German's Scopions crash started at Sandringham.

The home side piled on the first six goals of the game before a rare foray forward resulted in a goal to Russell Robertson. Captain Kyle Matthews snaffled another but the Zebras were well in control in the middle and regained the ascendancy with three more goals to make it nine for the opening quarter and a lead of 43 points as the teams went into the huddle for the first time.

Sandringham retained its dominance through the second quarter to keep its iron grip on the game with a massive lead of 52 points at the main break.

As if things weren't already bad enough for Casey, the Scorpions lost their best defender in Alex Silvagni during the second term with what looked like a bad rib injury. James Wall, Addam Maric and Matthews were all working hard and newcomer Pierce Liddle was finding space and doing some nice things on debut but there was little they could do to stem the tide. The now rampant Zebras were full of confidence as they pushed to a 93 point lead at three quarter time.

In the final quarter the team rallied for a while with a brilliant angle goal to Matthews followed by another to newcomer Ben MaCreadie but Sandy was finishing strongly and kept up the pressure. Liam Jurrah took a nice mark and kicked his second goal but at the other end Sautner was proving dominant and his eighth goal, kicked on the final siren, gave the home side a 103 point victory.

Despite the crushing loss, Casey will gain some satisfaction from the performance of its new boys and will improve as it regains some AFL players due to return from injury in the coming weeks and the young team gains familiarity and begins to play with more cohesion. In the meantime, the team has a tough task next week pitted against first round winners Port Melbourne on Saturday night under lights at Casey Fields. The seniors game starts at 7pm.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Liam Jurrah - kicked 2 goals and showed some nice marking touch but was too often caught behind. While it is clear that he has a number of tricks in his football kit bag, there's a lot he still has to learn about the game - in particular he needs to apply himself as much when he doesn't have the football as he does when he's in possession. This is something he would not have had to worry about in an environment where there's so much less pressure inCentral Australia and even in the NTFL but he will need to learn about it as he takes a crack at the big time.

Jordie McKenzie - showed some nice attributes, noticeably quick hands, but was often lost as the Sandy midfield surged ahead and he made a few mistakes. Will learn.

Addam Maric - had a busy day roaming far and wide to get kicks and often received close attention which, while it made life hard for him on the day, will hold him in good stead in the coming weeks as he makes the transition back to AFL football. Really, on yesterday's performances, Maric is the only realistic possibility of promotion from the Melbourne contingent in this game.

Russell Robertson - kicked a goal and took a hard knock early but had little assistance in terms of quality delivery from further downfield (nor should he expect it if and when he returns to the Demons) and was often double teamed and generally struggled. The good news is that he continued to receive good game time.

Jake Spencer - beaten in the ruck and around the ground but worked hard all day. Definitely showed some signs of promise for a 203cm big man but he's on a very long learning curve.

Shane Valenti - had a tough initiation as a Casey player against his old club and looked flat early as he struggled to keep up with the pace and to shrug off his tags. To his credit, he worked his way back

into the game in the second half to finish among his team's best players.

Trent Zomer - one of three Casey defenders given the task of trying to curb Nick Sautner. All three failed.

Casey Scorpions 2.3.15 4.5.29 4.10.34 8.15.63

Sandringham 9.4.58 12.9.81 19.13.127 25.16.166

Goals

Casey Scorpions Jurrah Matthews 2 Liddle MaCreadie Robertson Wall

Sandringham Sautner 8 Lynch 3 Crowe Eddy Heyne 2 Begley Clarke Fisher Gallagher Gilchrist McEvoy Summers Tregear

Best

Casey Scorpions Maric Valenti Matthews Wall Matheson MaCreadie

Sandringham Sautner Miles Paterakis Armitage McEvoy

Casey Scorpions reserves toiled manfully after a slow start and went down by 28 points to Sandringham. Tom McNamara led the defence well while 194cm De La Salle recruit Matt Moore booted five goals at full forward.

Casey Scorpions 1.2.8 7.4.46 11.7.73 15.12.102

Sandringham 4.5.29 8.10.58 14.14.98 19.16.130

Goals

Casey Scorpions Moore 5 Collins Vernon 2 Bolton Crespin McNamara Mildren Sykes Virtue

Sandringham Eddy Waller 4 Harektuku 3 Johnston Jones Stanley 2 Connors Ferraro

Best

Casey Scorpions McNamara Patti Virtue Vernon Panozza Healey

Sandringham Stanley Simpkin Waller McGarry Dean Harektuku

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Rhys Healey - in only his second game after a lay off with a back injury, he showed out with poise and balance.

Daniel Hughes - playing his first VFL game since 2007, Hughes saw out his allocated half a game and took some nice marks. Also turned over the ball a couple of times but will hopefully get better as he regains touch.

Tom McNamara - another player returning from injury, McNamara played a half last week and built on that performance yesterday. Defended solidly and went forward to kick a nice goal.

James Strauss - a hesitant start for Strauss in his first hit out after suffering an ankle injury during the pre season.

Matthew Whelan - played about half a game and appeared to be limping when seen walking to the rooms at the end of the game. We'll see how he pulls up in the next day or so.

Sounds like they were pretty undermanned.

Disappointing after some good praccie games from the Scorps.

Saw this vid on you tube:

Surely the saints would have had a good idea about the benefits of a move to Casey, due to their association with the Scorpians, yet they pulled out.

My question is why did they pull out? What can we see that they didn't?

(PS: Don't judge Cranbourne by this video because Sam's Street Talk just goes up to mentally disabled old men and women like Ray and makes an entire town look stupid. That was not the intention of putting this video up. Sam Newman could spend a couple of hours in any town and make it look like a bad area. Cranbourne is not like that in reality.)

On the Melbourne listed players …

Rhys Healey (reserves) – He was really in-and-under and got his hands on the ball, although he got caught at times. Rhys' work-rate was really good and he got involved in the play.

Daniel Hughes (reserves) – Daniel only played half a game. He played up forward, but he was OK when he was on the ground. He won a bit of the ball, so hopefully he'll gain a bit more game-time and push up for senior selection.

Liam Jurrah – Liam got off to a slow start and was asked for an effort at quarter-time and he did that. He ended up kicking two goals and could have actually had four or five. Liam is still coming to terms with the VFL, but athletically, he's shown he's got great vertical leap and agility.

Addam Maric – He played one of his better games in terms of being able to cover the ground and win a bit more of the ball. He took a step forward.

Jordie McKenzie – Jordie had a run-with role and struggled a little with that early on. He got caught out a little bit with the step-up in pace from TAC Cup level, but as the game went on, he improved. After the game, he was pretty sore, after being in many tackling situations. He certainly puts his body in and he'll be better for the run.

Tom McNamara (reserves) – Tom played well. He was one of our better players in the reserves. He started to show some dash and defensive attributes. He's a chance to be elevated this week.

Russell Robertson – 'Robbo' was restricted with opportunities. He was playing at full-forward and spending his time closer to goal. The supply wasn't that good and Sandringham did push numbers back and block up his space in front. He led hard and kicked a goal and also had another couple of shots. He's making progress back towards the player we know he can be.

James Strauss (reserves) – 'Straussy' was out injured for three or four weeks before this match. He got caught out a couple of times. He's got to adapt to playing against stronger men, but he had modified game time, so hopefully he can play a full game this week.

Jake Spencer – Jake rucked OK, but could probably do a little bit more around the ground so he can have more impact on general play. He's still learning the game in many ways.

Shane Valenti – He was paid close attention, as he normally does, but he worked hard at the bottom of the packs and set-up teammates on the outside.

Matthew Whelan – Matty was like Hughes, playing only half a game in the reserves.

Trent Zomer – Trent played in the backline. He's played most of his footy up forward, so he's still coming to terms with being a consistent defender. We put him up forward for a little while and he struggled with lack of supply. He's still got to continue developing his consistency.

Seniors

Casey Scorpions 2.3 4.5 4.10 8.15 (63)

Sandringham 9.4 12.9 19.13 25.16 (166)

Casey Scorpions

Goal Kickers: K.Matthews 2, L.Jurrah 2, B.MaCreadie, J.Wall, P.Liddle, R.Robertson

Best Players: A.Maric, S.Valenti, K.Matthews, J.Wall, J.Matheson, B.MaCreadie

Sandringham

Goals: N.Sautner 8, T.Lynch 3, R.Eddy 2, R.Crowe 2, N.Heyne 2, B.McEvoy, C.Begley, P.Summers, L.Fisher, D.Gallagher, S.Tregear, X.Clarke, R.Gilchrist

Best: X.Clarke, N.Sautner, L.Miles, T.Paterakis, D.Armitage, B.McEvoy

Reserves

Casey Scorpions 4.5 8.10 14.14 19.16 (130)

Sandringham 1.2 7.4 11.7 15.12 (102)

Casey Scorpions

Goals: M.Moore 5, B.Vernon 2, D.Collins 2, T.Crespin, T.McNamara, B.Sykes, J.Bolton, T.Mildren, S.Virtue

Best: T. McNamara, S.Virtue, B.Vernon, E.Panozza, R.Healey

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

On the Melbourne listed players …

Rhys Healey (reserves) – He was really in-and-under and got his hands on the ball, although he got caught at times. Rhys' work-rate was really good and he got involved in the play.

Daniel Hughes (reserves) – Daniel only played half a game. He played up forward, but he was OK when he was on the ground. He won a bit of the ball, so hopefully he'll gain a bit more game-time and push up for senior selection.

Liam Jurrah – Liam got off to a slow start and was asked for an effort at quarter-time and he did that. He ended up kicking two goals and could have actually had four or five. Liam is still coming to terms with the VFL, but athletically, he's shown he's got great vertical leap and agility.

Addam Maric – He played one of his better games in terms of being able to cover the ground and win a bit more of the ball. He took a step forward.

Jordie McKenzie – Jordie had a run-with role and struggled a little with that early on. He got caught out a little bit with the step-up in pace from TAC Cup level, but as the game went on, he improved. After the game, he was pretty sore, after being in many tackling situations. He certainly puts his body in and he'll be better for the run.

Tom McNamara (reserves) – Tom played well. He was one of our better players in the reserves. He started to show some dash and defensive attributes. He's a chance to be elevated this week.

Russell Robertson – 'Robbo' was restricted with opportunities. He was playing at full-forward and spending his time closer to goal. The supply wasn't that good and Sandringham did push numbers back and block up his space in front. He led hard and kicked a goal and also had another couple of shots. He's making progress back towards the player we know he can be.

James Strauss (reserves) – 'Straussy' was out injured for three or four weeks before this match. He got caught out a couple of times. He's got to adapt to playing against stronger men, but he had modified game time, so hopefully he can play a full game this week.

Jake Spencer – Jake rucked OK, but could probably do a little bit more around the ground so he can have more impact on general play. He's still learning the game in many ways.

Shane Valenti – He was paid close attention, as he normally does, but he worked hard at the bottom of the packs and set-up teammates on the outside.

Matthew Whelan – Matty was like Hughes, playing only half a game in the reserves.

Trent Zomer – Trent played in the backline. He's played most of his footy up forward, so he's still coming to terms with being a consistent defender. We put him up forward for a little while and he struggled with lack of supply. He's still got to continue developing his consistency.

Seniors

Casey Scorpions 2.3 4.5 4.10 8.15 (63)

Sandringham 9.4 12.9 19.13 25.16 (166)

Casey Scorpions

Goal Kickers: K.Matthews 2, L.Jurrah 2, B.MaCreadie, J.Wall, P.Liddle, R.Robertson

Best Players: A.Maric, S.Valenti, K.Matthews, J.Wall, J.Matheson, B.MaCreadie

Sandringham

Goals: N.Sautner 8, T.Lynch 3, R.Eddy 2, R.Crowe 2, N.Heyne 2, B.McEvoy, C.Begley, P.Summers, L.Fisher, D.Gallagher, S.Tregear, X.Clarke, R.Gilchrist

Best: X.Clarke, N.Sautner, L.Miles, T.Paterakis, D.Armitage, B.McEvoy

Reserves

Casey Scorpions 4.5 8.10 14.14 19.16 (130)

Sandringham 1.2 7.4 11.7 15.12 (102)

Casey Scorpions

Goals: M.Moore 5, B.Vernon 2, D.Collins 2, T.Crespin, T.McNamara, B.Sykes, J.Bolton, T.Mildren, S.Virtue

Best: T. McNamara, S.Virtue, B.Vernon, E.Panozza, R.Healey

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

Looks like Maric is right up for selection this week against Richmond. I hope he plays.

Darn right, I hope Maric plays, genuine goal scorer.

If he doesn't play, very unlikely we'll be able to win.

I'm still on the Zebras mailing list so I thought you might want to read what they're saying about the game from Sunday:-

Hello Zebra fans,

With round 1 out of the way, the Mighty Zebra juggernaught is off and racing with a very impressive win over the Casey Scorpions.

But as they say in the classics, one rain doesn’t make a flood, so there is more hard work ahead!

Off to a Winning Start

It was literally mate against mate when the Zebras did battle against their old Melbourne counterparts in the Casey Scorpions. The players did not know what to expect before the match with some guys they have played with for many years and some in premierships together were about to face off in Round 1 of the VFL season. But that clearly did not deter the Sandringham outfit.

In front of a healthy home crowd and with the weather gods shining favorably upon Trevor Barker Beach the Zebras started the game off well. Nick Sautner kicked off his quest for a 9th Frosty Miller Medal in great fashion kicking 3 first quarter goals to give the Zebras a handy quarter time lead.

The second quarter was much of the same with Sandringham dominating early but to Casey’s credit they battled hard. Good mates Valenti and Paterakis were locked in an enthralling battle with Paterakis well on top at half time. Trent Zomer was finding the going hard on Sautner and the St Kilda contingent of Xavier Clarke, Armitage, Maguire and Miles all finding the footy at will.

If the 2nd term was an arm wrestle then the 3rd term was anything but. McEvoy continued to give the midfielders first use of the Sherrin while Gallagher and Summers showed the young boys the way. Sautner continued to be a handful and should have had more for the quarter while Heyne, Lynch and Roderick Crowe were running rings around the Scorpions defence.

Kicking towards can hill in the final quarter proved to be a blessing for Sautner with the crowd getting right behind him. He showed that you don’t need to drink to have fun kicking 3 final quarter goals to give him 8 for the match. He should have kicked at least 10 but there is a long year ahead. Paterakis blanketed Valenti out of the match, while Xavier Clarke showed that he might not be in Zebra colours for too long.

Final Scores: Sandringham 25.16.166 def Casey Scorpions 8.15.63

Goals: Sautner 8, Lynch 3, Crowe, Heyne, Eddy 2, X Clarke, Begley, McEvoy, Gallagher, Fisher, Summers, Gilchrist and Tregear 1

Best: X Clarke, Sautner, Miles, Paterakis, Armitage, McEvoy.

The reserves were equally impressive as the seniors. Apart from a lackluster 2nd quarter and some inaccurate kicking the Reserves proved far too strong for the Scorpions. Paul Stevens was happy with the way the match panned out but insisted there is more work to be done. First gamer Brett Eddy kicked 4 goals 6 behinds while Chris Waller showed that a senior recall is not too far away.

Final Scores: Sandringham 19.16.130 def Casey Scorpions 15.12.102

Goals: Eddy 4, Waller 4, Haretuku 3, Stanley, M Johnston, Jones 2, Ferraro and Connors 1

Best: Stanley, Simpkin, Waller, McGarry, Dean and Haretuku