THE DAY OF THE TIGER

[Demonland 73,140]

THE DAY OF THE TIGER by KC from Casey

Saturday was a bad day in general for Tigers. The animal species continues to be endangered, the AFL team lost by over 100 points and the airline bearing the same name was in deep trouble after being sidelined by aviation authorities. However, the Werribee version of the Tiger notched up a victory and ironically, in view of the problems with the airline, it was at Avalon Airport Oval and the victim was the Casey Scorpions.

The misery of a second consecutive lacklustre performance in a fortnight for the Scorps was prolonged by a three-minute long melee late in the game. When the dust settled and the final siren sounded, Casey found itself in arrears by 12 points after trailing by almost eight goals early in the final term. To make things worse, the team is now in grave danger of slipping out of contention for a top four berth.

The ugly incident that featured at the end of the game was matched at the beginning by an accidental but sickening clash of heads between Werribee skipper Dom Gleeson and young Luke Tapscott. Play was stopped for several minutes while Gleeson received attention before he was eventually stretchered off.

The game resumed in a sombre mood marred further by the swirling winds that favoured the end to which Werribee was kicking. The Scorpions defended well to the defensive side of the ground but the Tigers drew first blood. Lynden Dunn responded with Casey's first but late in the term Werribee scored two quick goals to secure a 13-point lead at the first break.

The visitors responded early in the second term with two early goals and looked to be well placed with the wind advantage. However, the momentum of the game changed dramatically and suddenly in favour of Werribee. Hamish McIntosh was getting on top in the ruck and the Tiger small brigade took over at ground level to rattle on the next three goals. A late mark in the goal square and the subsequent conversion from Max Gawn narrowed the deficit to 14 points at the main break.

Casey had suffered a major blow with the withdrawal of full back Matthew Warnock from the residual effects of concussion and his steadiness in defence was sorely missed. Werribee remained in control with the first two second half goals but Casey dug deep to return fire with two of their own. Twenty minutes into the quarter they were handily placed and just 13 points down after an unattended Dunn scored from the goal square.

In another setback for the Scorpions, the game turned again with the Tiger runners taking full advantage of the stiffening breeze to slot through four goals in the latter part of the third quarter and two more immediately after the break. Suddenly, the home side was coasting with a 47 point lead.

With little time left to mount a comeback, the Casey spirit lifted and suddenly, the goals flowed. Brendon Fevola, who had been well subdued by Werribee's Tarrant came to life with two goals and an assist. There was still a glimmer of hope when the margin was reduced to three goals with five or so minutes left on the clock but a turnover led to a Majak Daw mark and goal to put the game beyond the visitors.

For the Casey Scorpions, Addam Maric was a busy four quarter contributor around the ground with 33 disposals while Tapscott overcame the early setback of his head clash with Gleeson to finish with 16 kicks and 2 handballs. Tim Mohr, Tom McDonald and Troy Davis were solid in defence and Lynden Dunn was the most effective forward for Casey with three goals, Michael Stockdale and Wade Lees were busy at times and Gawn worked hard in the ruck and up forward where he finished with two goals.

The Scorpions groomed talented Victoria Country Under 18 representative Hayden Hector from Gippsland Power under the 23rd player rule. Hector showed some dash and was certainly not overawed by his introduction to senior football.

Casey has another tough assignment next Sunday at Box Hill City Oval when it takes on the improved Hawks who will be anxious to make the most of what might well be their last opportunity to stake a claim for a top eight placing.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Clint Bartram (8 kicks, 8 handballs, 4 marks, 2 goals) – created some good run after a slow start but some of his disposals went astray and will count against him although a couple of goals when he went forward were helpful.

Matthew Bate (10 kicks, 6 handballs, 3 marks, 1 goal) - a subdued performance coming back from the break after a few weeks where he must have been close to a call up for the Demons.

Robert Campbell (2 kicks, 4 handballs, 1 mark) - did not have a great impact in the ruck or around the ground.

Lucas Cook (7 kicks, 2 handballs, 1 mark, 1 goal) - patchy form and a quiet day for the youngster.

Troy Davis (5 kicks, 7 handballs, 1 mark) - reasonably sound in defence in difficult conditions for talls.

Lynden Dunn (10 kicks, 4 handballs, 6 marks, 3 goals) - kicked a few goals and did some clever things but the team needed more spark from him when the chips were down.

Michael Evans (11 kicks, 7 handballs, 4 marks) – was handy but only in patches and did not use the natural asset of his pace enough.

Max Gawn (7 kicks, 11 handballs, 6 marks) – had a tough opponent in the ruck and did very well there, around the ground and up forward where he kicked a couple of goals.

Cameron Johnston (6 kicks, 5 handballs, 3 marks) – failed to show out and did not dispose of the ball enough when he did get possession.

Tom McDonald (9 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks) – played mainly in defence and looked very solid.

Tom McNamara (4 kicks, 5 handballs, 1 mark) - tried hard but failed to make much of an impact in a midfield that was beaten to the ball and for pace.

Addam Maric (27 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks) - an excellent four quarter display from Maric who gave great rebound in a team that struggled for consistency all day.

Luke Tapscott (16 kicks, 2 handballs, 6 marks) - showed great strength and is a beautiful kick of the football. A similar outing at this level next week should see him promoted back to the Melbourne side.

Casey Scorpions 1.3.9 4.7.31 6.12.48 13.12.90

Werribee Tigers 3.4.22 6.9.45 12.11.83 15.12.102

Goals

Casey Scorpions Dunn 3 Bartram Fevola Gawn 2 Bate Cook McGough Mohr

Werribee Tigers Castello Warren 3 Schibeci 2 Daw Harper McIntosh Mangan Mather Ross Urquhart

Best

Casey Scorpions Maric Davis Mohr McNamara Tapscott Gawn

Werribee Tigers Tarrant Mather Tighe Tuck Ross Hartigan

The ray of hope for the Casey Scorpions was their rapidly improving reserves which beat another opponent in the competition's top four with a 47 point win in an excellent away from home performance.

Senior coach Brad Gotch told the media that the improvement in the reserves who are now fifth on the ladder was significant as "you can see there's a fair bit of depth in the squad and we've been trying to rotate those Casey guys around a little bit".

Mitch Dowse booted four goals and Gippsland Power youngsters Luke Tynan and Aiden Lindsay were standouts in a game that also saw the return from a long layoff with injury of talented small man Danny Nicholls.

Casey Scorpions 5.2.32 8.5.53 10.8.68 18.10.118

Werribee Tigers 2.7.19 5.10.40 6.14.50 9.17.71

Goals

Casey Scorpions Dowse 4 Gent Nicholls Riseley 2 Allen Baumgartner Bell Dearaugo Lindsay Petropoulos Purves Waite

Werribee Tigers Allwright Perkins 2 Davis Kennedy Moloney Risol Ruggles

Best

Casey Scorpions Tynan Lindsay Bell Dowse Bolton Purdy

Werribee Tigers Rockefeller Sullivan Ruggles Laracy Schroder Saker