SCORPIONS IN THE FOUR

[Demonland 73,140]

by KC from Casey

The Casey Scorpions have stormed into the VFL top four after an emphatic 111 point victory over cellar dwellers, the Bendigo Bombers at Casey Fields last Sunday.

Casey was forced to make a number of changes to the line up as a result of injury and went into the game without dynamic skipper Kyle Matthews but the Scorpions were undeterred. They brought in one first gamer in David Collins plus three others for only their second games of the season in Glenn Chivers, Ryan Creed and Ben Waite.

In Matthews' absence the team was led by reigning Gairdner-Clark medallist James Wall who performed at his usual consistently high standard in his 50th game at the club.

Bendigo was also missing some key players and its fans would have been disappointed when Mark McVeigh failed to line up for the team that was clearly sadly lacking for experienced players at this level, a factor that played a major role in ensuring that the contest would be so one-sided.

The game opened in dull light and it was soon obvious that it would not be anywhere near as intense in pressure as last week's encounter at Williamstown even if Michael Newton looked as if he would emulate the inaccuracy in front of goal when his first attempt, from a free kick, missed its target. He soon atoned after a mark at the back of the pack and Brad Miller and Paul Johnson followed suit. With Daniel Bell dominating the packs, the Casey forwards were getting plenty of supply although still not readily converting. Newton continued to present and kicked his second and when time-on started the visitors had not yet troubled the scorers. Two late goals gave them some heart before the siren sounded to halt play for the first break.

The second term followed a similar pattern. Ryan McGough goaled early followed by a strong Newton mark for his third goal. Shane Valenti was being well held but he broke the shackles and made a long run bouncing the ball three times to score a great goal. Waite accepted a pass for his first and the procession continued until Bendigo finally converted for the first time in the quarter just before half time to narrow Casey's lead to 40 points.

The Scorpions had no intention of letting go their iron grip on the game and Bell continued to step up the pressure with a goal from close in. Newton was standing out with some unselfish play and Creed, who was relishing his return to the senior team, kicked a nice goal. Miller scored after a mark 14 minutes into the half quickly followed by another to Bartram. When Newton booted his fourth, it was 13.14.92 to 3.1.19. Bendigo scored late to make the three quarter time deficit 67 points.

With the game well and truly in the bag, coach Peter German mixed things around and made some interesting positional moves which paid off immediately. Alex Silvagni who had defended strongly for most of the game goaled and then Lynden Dunn hit out in an extraordinary few minutes with three quick goals, the first from a strong overhead mark, the last a snap across the body. Interspersed between Dunn's goals was one to Michael Stockdale who pushed forward to accept a beautiful pass from Newton. When Silvagni kicked his second, the lead had stretched to 104 points. Waite kicked his team's last two goals deep into the game, the final one coming after yet another time on goal from the visitors who faced a long trip home after a 111 point shellacking - one point more than the fate that befell their reserves team.

Casey hosts Frankston and the ABC1 television crew on Saturday (seniors 1.10 pm and reserves 10.20 am) in the local derby and match of the round. With a log jam of teams fighting it out for the vital fourth spot the Scorpions will need to be at the top of their game to consolidate their hard earned position after a poor start to the season when they were thrashed at Sandringham and then lost narrowly at home to Port Melbourne.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Rohan Bail – played well rebounding off half back and his confidence grew as the game went on.

5 kicks 15 handballs 2 marks

Clint Bartram – had a strong game and made a significant contribution. Finished the game strongly and never stopped running.

17 kicks 12 handballs 4 marks 8 tackles 1 goal 0 behinds.

Daniel Bell - another best on ground performance from Bell whose aggression in close was excellent and his dominance in midfielder the tone for his team's big victory.

14 kicks 18 handballs 6 marks 3 tackles 1 goal 1 behinds.

Kyle Cheney – another hard at it performance in defence.

12 kicks 8 handballs 6 marks

Lynden Dunn - whether on the ball or up forward, Dunn had a real day out winning the ball at will. Took a couple of strong marks in attack and struck a purple patch in the middle of the last quarter when he booted three goals in five slashing minutes.

17 kicks 7 handballs 9 marks 3 goals 2 behinds.

Paul Johnson - solid in the ruck, marked strongly around the ground and pushed forward for a goal.

14 kicks 10 handballs 8 marks 1 goal 0 behinds

Jordie McKenzie – started on the bench but, when he came on, he showed out with his excellent work rate at the stoppages. His in and under efforts were very good and his disposal was slick and effective.

9 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 5 tackles

Brad Miller – played a fair way out of the goals and, although not as effective as he was in his last appearance at this level, he was on top of his opponents for most of the day. Missed a few shots that should have been goals.

9 kicks 9 handballs 6 marks 1 tackle 2 goals 3 behinds

Michael Newton – has worked hard at the areas where he was previously lacking - tackling and exerting forward pressure. Kicked 4.3 and could easily have kicked six.

13 kicks 8 handballs 4 marks 7 tackles 4 goals 3 behinds

Shane Valenti – was heavily tagged all day but kept plugging away and was always dangerous around packs and kicked a goal.

7 kicks 8 handballs 1 mark 4 tackles 1 goal 0 behinds

Matthew Whelan – you can't keep a good man down and Wheels was in his element in defence and a major factor in keeping Bendigo down to just seven scoring shots for the game.

5 kicks 13 handballs 1 marks 5 tackles.

Peter German's report is here.

Casey Scorpions 4.5.29 8.10.58 13.14.92 21.17.143

Bendigo Bombers 2.0.12 3.0.18 4.1.25 5.2.32

Goals

Casey Scorpions Newton 4 Dunn Waite 3 Miller Silvagni 2 Bartram Bell Creed Johnson McGough Stockdale Valenti

Bendigo Bombers Bellchambers Houli Quinn Weekley Williams

Best

Casey Scorpions Bell Johnson Silvagni Wall Stockdale Dunn

Bendigo Bombers Houli Hurley German Flaherty Quinn Myers

The Casey Reserves had a battle on their hands early but blew away the opposition after half time to run out winners by 110 points. Virtue, Lees and McLeod were the best players while Trent Zomer booted five goals and dominated up forward.

HOW THE DEMON FARED

Trent Zomer - played in ruck and at full forward, marked strongly and should have finished with a bigger bag than his five goals.

17 kicks 4 handballs 12 marks 3 tackles 5 goals 8 behinds

Casey Scorpions 6.6.42 10.14.74 15.22.112 26.25.181

Bendigo Bombers 6.0.36 9.2.56 9.4.58 11.5.71

Goals

Casey Scorpions Zomer 5 Scanlon 4 MacReadie Smith 3 Blaser Singh Terry Virtue 2 Clay Liddle McLeod

Bendigo Bombers Bristow 4 Atkinson Stroobants 2 Delahunty Harrison Mason

Best

Casey Scorpions Virtue Lees McLeod Scanlon Terry Smith

Bendigo Bombers Klemke Atkinson Taylor Bristow Delahunty Stringer