DAYS LIKE THIS

[Demonland 73,140]

DAYS LIKE THIS by KC from Casey

The news should come as no surprise that many of the Casey fans who left a cold Burbank Oval for their long trip home after the team's crushing 124-point defeat at the hands of Williamstown might have had the words of the Van Morrison song ringing in their ears:

"Well my mama told me there'll be days like this."

Despite the sentiment in the song, not even the most avid Seagull fan would have expected the day to end in such emphatic fashion. For the first half of the 2010 VFL season, for the most part things have gone seamlessly for the Scorpions as their senior team cruised from week to week overcoming opposition teams and leaving most of them in their wake. A week ago, they demolished Sandringham in a tough slog in the mud to capture top place on the ladder with an 8-1 record when Williamstown had victory snatched away from it at North Ballarat setting up a huge top-of-the-ladder clash for ABC television on a Saturday afternoon devoid of any other major game.

In hindsight, that result up in Ballarat was not good news for the visitors who arrived at a windswept Point Gellibrand on Saturday afternoon to encounter a foe on a mission, equipped with a steely resolve and a massive determination to win. Nothing was going to stop them and nothing did; certainly not an opponent that might have gotten ahead of itself and not come out to play with the spirit and desire needed in a battle between the competition's top two sides.

Things could easily have been different if Casey, kicking against a strong wind, had taken advantage of the opportunities on offer in the first five or six minutes when it persistently attacked but managed only a single point. At that point, the Scorps were playing with purpose and a big mark to Jamie Bennell was one for the highlights reel. The team's inability to convert in the swirly conditions prevented it from setting up a crucial early lead against the breeze.

As often happens in such circumstances, the Seagulls struck with a goal on the run into an empty forward line from 70 metres against the run of play. Two more followed before Jack Fitzpatrick, making his senior debut, snapped Casey's first goal but the home team managed another before the quarter was over. With a deficit of just 18 points and looking forward to the coming aid of the wind advantage, coach Brad Gotch might well have been reasonably satisfied that his charges could make up the gap by half time

But it was not to be. Casey struggled with the ground and did well to maintain the status quo for the first twenty minutes of the second quarter while Williamstown, aided by their superior local knowledge, adapted better to the conditions. A long goal from Austin Wonaeamirri momentarily raised the Scorpions' hopes but with Seagulls full forward Matt Little in superb marking form beating Evan Panozza (who last week demolished Nick Sautner) the home side surged ahead late in the second quarter. The game was almost over by half time with Williamstown holding a 35-point lead.

The second half turned into a massacre with the Seagulls in total control against a shell shocked Casey. Willy played disciplined football and was particularly adept at switching play to their advantage setting up numerous attacking moves. Little shrugged of every opponent thrown against him to finish with eight goals for the day as his team finished off the demolition with seven goals to one (from Matt Fieldsend) against the wind in the final quarter.

For Casey, Daniel Bell was hard at the ball in the middle and Paul Johnson had a good battle in the ruck, Danny Nicholls did well against his old team and acting skipper Matt Wall and defender Michael Stockdale worked hard against the odds but there were hardly any winners on the day.

There will always be days like this and they are best forgotten. The Scorpions now have a fortnight to regroup and focus on the task of beating Werribee in their next game.

Picture from The Sunday Age

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Daniel Bell - given the job of tagging Williamstown playmaker Brett Johnson in the middle of the ground and kept him quiet while getting lots of his own ball. Was his team's only winner on the day but, despite his 23 disposal effort, he will find it difficult to break into the Melbourne team with James McDonald and Colin Sylvia coming back next week.

Jamie Bennell - lively early and took a fantastic mark but faded along with most of his teammates.

Kyle Cheney - worked hard all day and got plenty of the football. Made a few mistakes but it was hard going in defence when the opposition was so clearly on top.

Jack Fitzpatrick - tall and light, Fitzpatrick started brightly with a goal in his first quarter on debut but otherwise had little impact.

Paul Johnson - was very good early as a spare tall in defence when the team was kicking into the wind and, while he worked hard, is a fair way off AFL selection given Mark Jamar's good form.

Liam Jurrah - the objective was to acclimatise him to match conditions after more than three months out from a shoulder reconstruction and this was achieved. Started at full forward where he got a few touches and almost took a screamer. Later, when the game was already well and truly in Williamstown's keeping, he was given more of a free rein and had a few nice runs down the ground. Finished with nine disposals in what was a satisfactory return after such a long time out.

Addam Maric - got into the game early but went missing for long patches. Disappointing.

Jake Spencer - battled hard and contested strongly in the ruck against Roughead but was beaten on the day. He still has a long way to go with his skills and particularly needs to work on his kicking. Remains very much a work in progress.

James Strauss - a quiet day at the office after some impressive games at thius level. Needs to add some more aggression and grunt to his game.

Austin Wonaeamirri - had his moments including a nice long goal in the second quarter and the odd touch of brilliance but like many of his teammates he went into his shell when Williamstown had its run ons in the final half.

Casey Scorpions 1.3.9 2.6.18 3.8.26 4.8.32

Williamstown 4.3.27 8.5.53 17.9.111 24.12.156

Goals

Casey Scorpions Fielsdend Fitzpatrick Johnson Wonaeamirri

Williamstown Little 8 Casley 4 Hooper Jones Panos Rose 2 Callan Everitt Reid Ward

Best

Casey Scorpions Bell Johnson Cheney Wall Stockdale Nicholls

Williamstown Little Faulks Stretton Callan Davies Roughead

And just to demonstrate how bad a day it was for the Casey Scorpions, the reserves were overwhelmed by Williamstown going down by 67 points. The consistent Mark Weekes was the best of the Scorpions.

Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 5.4.34 6.6.42 8.11.59

Williamstown 6.5.41 9.7.61 14.14.98 18.18.126

Goals

Casey Scorpions Sykes Waite 2 Jones Petropoulos Plummer Tynan

Williamstown Tanner 5 Cartelli Howard 3 Purton-Smith 2 Cravino Dimartino McCallum Markovic Tutt

Best

Casey Scorpions Weekes Cleven Riseley Waite Costigan Lees

Williamstown Carr Cravino Tanner Cartelli Howard Wilson