MAKING THE MOST OF A GLOOMY DAY

MAKING THE MOST OF A GLOOMY DAY by Whispering Jack

There was no sunshine to greet the fans as they arrived at Casey Fields yesterday. It was cloudy and cool but not yet winter cold and the gloomy air was disturbed only by a gentle breeze. The game the fans were about to witness was an important match between the fifth placed Scorpions and the Bendigo Bombers (third). A loss for Casey with a bye coming up next week could have seen them lose touch with the top four.

There was another matter of concern for the home side and that was the pall of injuries and suspension affecting its alignment partner, Melbourne, although this was surely an incentive for the 14 AFL listed players in the team to perform at their best? Casey also had some talent missing in the form of small men in Matt Fieldsend, co-captain Kyle Matthews and Danny Nicholls, the last two having yet to appear with the senior team this year.

One of the characteristics of most of the Scorpions' games so far this year have been their slow starts and this week proved no exception. The visitors were quick out of the blocks and were winning all over the ground in the early going with the scoreboard ticking over to 4.2.26 while Casey had yet to bother the scorer until young speedster Sam Blease raced into goal. The Bombers held on and their ascendency at quarter time was clear cut. They held a 27 point lead and things were looking grim for the Scorps.

After coach Brad Gotch handed out a wakeup call to his players during the break, things turned at the start of the second quarter with both Kelvin Lawrence and Sam Blease using their pace to trouble the Bomber defence. Max Gawn was getting on top in the ruck and the Casey midfield started to win the clearances. The quarter was only halfway through its course when Brendan Fevola got among the goals for his first to get the team to within five points.

Then came another twist as the Bendigo midfield, led by former Cat Brent Prismall lifted itself off the canvas and mounted a counterattack that stunned the home team with the Bombers booting the next four goals and going into the sheds at half time chock full of confidence and enjoying a 29 point lead.

Casey opened the second half full of purpose and produced a withering burst of seven goals in less than fifteen minutes to completely change the game's momentum in a way that literally shocked the Bombers into submission. The goal feast was initiated in the ruck with Gawn now winning the tap outs and delivering them to the advantage of the likes of Michael Evans, Jordie McKenzie, Cale Morton, Dan Nicholson and Rian McGough and the forwards led by Jeremy Howe and the irrepressible Fevola did the rest. The former AFL bad boy was in superb fettle and the highlight of the day was a goal from a tight angle and a long way out that split the uprights and had the crowd roaring with delight.

The Bombers worked hard in an attempt to peg back the margin but they had lost their accuracy and Casey responded with a great running goal from Lawrence for his third. Matthew Bate, who was doing everything right, missed a simple shot after the siren but the Scorpions held a lead of 10 points after an eight goal quarter.

The final quarter arm wrestle was won by the Scorpions who continued to score goals through its multipronged attack while the Bombers, although working hard, were repelled by the strong defence from Tim Mohr and Joel Macdonald who both played great defensive games. Michael Stockdale was also coming into his own and the Scorpions coasted at the end to win by 27 points.

The game had many pleasing features for the club. Fevola has settled in nicely and is already a firm favourite, not only with the locals but he even opposition supporters applauding his exploits. Howe's aerial work, Gawn in the ruck, McKenzie's tackling, the defensive work of Mohr, the pace of Blease and Lawrence and the leadership of James Wall all helped to lift the gloom and give the local side a fantastic experience on what started out such a gloomy day.

The team goes into the bye and can now lick its wounds before resuming hostilities in a fortnight's time while the reserves had the first of their two consecutive byes playing a practice game against an undermanned Cranbourne and proving too strong for their young opposition.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Thanks to contributor Melon 22 for his thoughts on the MFC listed players who took part in the game.

Matthew Bate (12 kicks, 8 handballs, 8 marks, 1 goal) – played a true CHF role all day and was one of Casey's most consistent performers giving a strong four quarter effort. He took a number of strong marks and presented all day in a performance that will surely see him pushing for selection next week.

Sam Blease (15 kicks, 4 handballs, 2 marks, 2 goals) – kicked a couple of very nice goals with his first being the most spectacular, running in and kicking it from 50m to score Casey’s first after Bendigo had put 4 on the board early. Continues to improve on his skills and decision-making (e.g he is much less prone to kick grubbers which he had a habit of doing earlier in his recovery from that foot injury). Improving every time I see him and he just needs to tidy up a few things to start pushing for senior selection.

Lucas Cook (3 kicks, 5 handballs, 5 marks, 1 goal) – it was a quiet game from the young tall, possibly Lucas more of result of a crowded forward line. He looks more natural playing as the lead up CHF than the forward pocket role he is playing in right now. When he did get the ball he looked composed and clean with his disposal and was able to kick a nice goal as well.

Michael Evans (18 kicks, 4 handballs, 5 marks) – one of Casey’s best for the day, he got a lot of the ball in close and was a physical presence in the clearances. He kicked three behinds in the only downside to his game; otherwise he would have been close to BOG had he managed to finish off some of his hard work and kicked those goals.

Max Gawn (4 kicks, 8 handballs, 7 marks) - dominated the hit outs all day although Casey only sometimes took advantage of these. He played much more game time than on previous occasions but he seemed to run the game out very well. Took a number of good marks and he was involved in a lot of the play around the ground as well. Must be considered for selection for his AFL debut in the next few weeks with so many big men out for Melbourne.

Jeremy Howe (10 kicks, 9 handballs, 7 marks, 3 goals) – played at high intensity right from start and was one of the few Casey players who started well. Played as a half forward flanker who pushed up and presented and he was very effective in that role, managing to kick three goals and stay involved in the game for all four quarters. He continues to show a great ability in the marking contests with some spectacular efforts but that shouldn’t overshadow his overall skill level which is very good.

Kelvin Lawrence (6 kicks, 5 handballs, 4 marks, 3 goals) - a very exciting player every time he touches the ball. Made the most of his opportunities by kicking three goals and setting a couple of others as well. He has some very special qualities about him and look forward to him developing his game.

Joel Macdonald (10 kicks, 9 handballs, 4 marks) – struggled to get into the game early but continued to work hard and was a driving force for Casey in the second half. Always plays at a high intensity and is very aggressive at the ball which is always valued by his team.

Tom McDonald (7 kicks, 5 handballs, 5 marks) - played in the ruck due to the injury problems at Melbourne and acquitted himself very well. Was good around the ground and he has a great composure with the ball. He is prone to make one really bad decision per match but is still learning at this level and is showing really some really good signs.

Jordie McKenzie (11 kicks, 13 handballs, 1 mark) - started slowly but just kept on getting better and better every quarter and was one of the main reasons behind the turnaround in the second half. Looked too good for this level and as long as he is cleared by the medicos he should go straight into the Melbourne side.

Tom McNamara (13 kicks, 2 handballs, 4 marks, 2 goals) - a consistent performer for most of the game and managed snag a couple of goals as well. He is very clean with his disposal and reads the game very well when in defence. Was pleasing to see him play at both ends of the ground and make an impact.

Cale Morton (15 kicks, 13 handballs, 9 marks) – had a lot of the ball but seems to be lacking in confidence at the moment. His disposal was very poor for an experienced AFL player but he gave good run. He needs to work on his decision-making and overall skill level which was below the standards we have come to expect from such a talented player and he needs to do more for senior selection in my opinion.

Daniel Nicholson (10 kicks, 8 handballs, 4 marks, 1 goal) - more quiet than he has been in the last few games but still managed to show some of his class and brilliant pace.

James Strauss (14 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks) - like many teammates, he started slowly. His kicking radar was also a bit off but he put in a solid performance for most of the day. His strength over the ball is much improved this year and I can see him getting a chance at AFL very soon if he keeps up his form.

Casey Scorpions 2.2.14 7.6.48 15.9.99 19.11.125

Bendigo Bombers 6.5.41 12.5.77 13.11.89 14.14.98

Goals

Casey Scorpions Fevola 5 Howe Lawrence 3 Blease McNamara 2 Bate Cook Nicholson Wall

Bendigo Bombers Dickson Little Prismall Stewart Williams 2 Duscher Dyson Meli Silverlock

Best

Casey Scorpions Howe McKenzie Mohr Morton Macdonald Evans

Bendigo Bombers Prismall Quinn Dyson Duscher Jenkins