BIG MEN DOWN IN NARROW CASEY LOSS

[Demonland 73,185]

BIG MEN DOWN IN NARROW CASEY LOSS by KC from Casey

The Preston City Oval is a daunting place for visiting teams at the best of times but with early showers making for a slippery surface and tricky winds blowing across the ground it can all become a bit of a nightmare.

And so it was for the Casey Scorpions who ran out onto that ground for coach Brad Gotch's 250th game on Sunday in conditions made for a dour game of tough, hard football that was never going to be pretty.

It was the home side that adapted better to the conditions and they made the most of their early opportunities by scoring the first three goals of the match. Casey fought back to narrow the gap to eleven points at quarter time despite some poor field kicking and a couple of missed goal opportunities. The poor start in the greasy conditions meant that it would remain a case of playing catch up football for the rest of the game.

As fate would have it, things got worse in the second stanza when the team's tallest players - Jake Spencer (knee) and Jack Fitzpatrick (foot) - succumbed to injuries. Both players will require surgery and will be out for some time with Spencer requiring a knee reconstruction.

With the Scorpions down two men, they were forced to resort to the use of makeshift ruckmen against some quality tall timber of the Bullants led by Shaun Hampson and Nick Meese and, to their credit, they rallied after half time to claw their way back into the game.

Tim Mohr battled manfully in the circumstances in the ruck and Brendan Fevola cut loose with a couple of goals to set the scene for a thrilling last quarter with just two points in the game at the final break.

The Scorpions worked hard to get to within a point on two occasions during the final term, the first when Jeremy Howe booted his second and then after Fevola showed some of the class that made him a reputation as a dangerous forward in the AFL with a goal from the boundary line.

However, the task of coming back from behind in a hard slog proved a tough ask and the Scorps eventually fell short by nine points. It was the club's second away defeat by fewer than two goals this season.

Co-captain James Wall (24 disposals) was steady and effective in leading the side while Michael Stockdale played his best game since returning from the knee injury that cut short his 2010 season. Michael Evans (25 touches and six marks) continues to shine in the middle and Jamie Bennell added some poise and run to the side. Joel Macdonald (22 possessions) continues to be an effective defender with the ability to link up with players further afield and Dave Collins (21 disposals) got a lot of the ball in his second game for the season.

The loss leaves the Scorpions outside the top four making this week's match against the much improved Bendigo Bombers at Casey Fields an important and vital clash for the team ahead of the bye in the week following.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Jamie Bennell (8 kicks 12 handballs 5 marks) – showed a lot of creativity and dash and it was not his fault that the team went down.

Lucas Cook (5 kicks 12 handballs 2 marks) – had a good day and 17 disposals was a good return for a tall man in the greasy conditions.

Michael Evans (14 kicks 11 handballs 6 marks) – another solid performance from the young speedster who is more than living up to expectations.

Jack Fitzpatrick (4 kicks 2 handballs 2 marks 1 goal) – sustained an ankle injury in the second quarter and looks set for an eight week layoff following surgery.

Jeremy Howe (8 kicks 4 handballs 3 marks 2 goals) – flashed in and out of the game

Neville Jetta (6 kicks 11 handballs) – provided drive all day without being as prolific as he was last week.

Kelvin Lawrence (3 kicks 1 handball 1 mark) – a quiet day at the office.

Joel Macdonald (9 kicks 13 handballs 4 marks) – creative link man whose experience was invaluable on the day.

Tom McDonald (2 kicks 9 handballs 2 marks) – conditions not great for the youngster but he kept plugging away.

Stefan Martin (5 kicks 2 handballs 2 marks) – not the best of days for Martin who had several positions around the ground and ended up at full forward.

Cale Morton (7 kicks 10 handballs 2 marks) - was in the play and did some nice things but his field kicking and general disposal could have been better.

Michael Newton (6 kicks 2 handballs 2 marks) – played around the ground and worked hard with his tackling and pressure.

Dan Nicholson (6 kicks 5 handballs) – a subdued performance after his great form over the past month. Was patchy at times but has the skills to go forward, especially now that some space may be opening up for the rookies.

Jake Spencer (1 handball 2 marks) – the big man injured his knee in the second quarter and will miss the rest of the season with an ACL.

Casey Scorpions 1.3.9 3.5.23 5.8.38 7.10.52

Northern Bullants 3.2.20 5.7.37 5.10.40 8.13.61

Goals

Casey Scorpions Fevola 3 Howe 2 Fitzpatrick McGough

Northern Bullants Hampson 2 Bray Carter McCorkell Meese Saad Thomas

Best

Casey Scorpions Wall Bennell Stockdale Mohr Macdonald Evans

Northern Bullants Cachia McLean O'Keefe Iacobucci Meese Tuohy

The reserves had their second big win in a row with a 94 point thumping of the Bullants overturning the result of their opening game of the season.

Demon rookie Tom McNamara was the catalyst for the victory and Max Gawn put in a dominant display in the ruck while Dean Cleven and Aaron Purves kicked four goals each in the goal fest.

Casey Scorpions 9.5.59 14.7.91 19.12.126 23.12.150

Northern Bullants 1.4.10 3.8.26 5.11.41 7.14.56

Goals

Casey Scorpions Cleven Purves 4 McNamara Riseley 3 Weekes 2 Bell Campbell Clay Dowse Gawn Lindsay McKenzie

Northern Bullants Dorman Way 2 Jenkins McLellan Ogilvie

Best

Casey Scorpions McNamara Gawn Allen Weekes Cleven Hill

Northern Bullants Bransgrove Wills Smith Jenkins Carroll Soncin