ABANDONED

[Demonland 73,208]

ABANDONED by KC from Casey

When Lyndon Dunn kicked Casey's fifth goal at the eleven minute mark of the second quarter to give his team a 5.3.33 to 3.5.23 lead, things were looking rosy for the Scorpions in their VFL qualifying clash at TEAC Oval against undefeated Port Melbourne.

They had weathered the first quarter kicking into a stiff breeze by going goal for goal with the premiership favourite and trailed by only two points when the siren sounded to signal the change of ends. Brendan Fevola had already registered two goals, Max Gawn was not only winning the ruck contests but was also wowing the crowd with his agility and his persistence and Evan Panozza, Tim Mohr and Matthew Warnock were holding together a tight defence.

With the Scorpions about to take their turn with the wind, a fired up Brad Gotch focussed on attack.

"When Fev is leading out at you, hit him in the face and honour his leads!"

There was an air of confidence about the group and everything pointed to an possible upset result after Kelvin Lawrence dribbled through an early goal from the boundary and ten minutes later when Dunn kicked his goal. However, things suddenly went awry and even the elements turned against the Scorpions.

Years ago, Demis Roussos sang about his friend the wind but on Saturday, it was no friend of the Scorpions. In fact, it abandoned them when what had previously been a difficult to counter stiff breeze moderated and then the floodgates opened. Within minutes Port's Burstin tapped the ball through goal to regain the lead and Batsanis showed it was possible to even score goals with kicks from outside the fifty metre arc.

The Borough's superior experience and midfield run showed out and the game's momentum turned as Port scored six unanswered goals against its shell shocked opponents. Only a late goal to Fevola gave them some hope as they trudged dispirited into the rooms at half time.

The Scorpions really couldn't blame the elements for their demise. They stumbled and fumbled as Port Melbourne continued to hold the initiative after the main break to boot 8.5.53 to their mere three points in the third quarter.

Port then added a further seven in the last to complete the rout with Fevola booting all three of Casey's second half goals to finish with six out of nine in a team that was totally crushed. He was their only goalkicker after Dunn's goal early in the second quarter and one of the few in the tram who could hold their heads high as the Borough's run and midfield dominance led it to an emphatic 97 point victory. Michael Stockdale was one of the few who worked hard all day against the odds in difficult circumstances and was his team's leading possession gatherer with 25 touches.

The Scorpions now have a week to regroup before they meet Werribee in the first semi final and can take some solace from the possibility of regaining between six to eight AFL listed players including ruckman Robert Campbell who was a late withdrawal for Saturday's game.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Injuries and suspensions at Melbourne continued to haunt the Scorpions who were left with a season's low eight Demons for the first final of their campaign.

Troy Davis – tried hard in defence but had little impact on the game.

Lynden Dunn - like many of his teammates, he had a quiet day after taking some nice marks early and kicking a goal in the second quarter.

Max Gawn – had his job cut out for him after Robert Campbell withdrew but did well on two former AFL ruckmen in Skipper and Fanning and more than held his own in the ruck. Impressed with his agility around the ground.

Kelvin Lawrence – showed a bit of pace and flashed in and out of play but didn’t do enough on the day.

Joel Macdonald – equal top possession gatherer among the Demons with Macnamara, he worked hard but his effectiveness was limited.

Tom McNamara – started slowly but worked his way into the game under difficult circumstances.

Michael Newton – it was a difficult day for his return after three months on the sidelines and he looked rusty.

Matthew Warnock - was excellent at full back and worked tirelessly all day.

Casey Scorpions 3.2.20 6.4.40 6.7.43 9.9.63

Port Melbourne 3.4.22 9.7.61 17.12.114 24.16.160

Goals

Casey Scorpions Fevola 6 Dunn Gawn Lawrence

Port Melbourne McMahon 5 Rose 4 Burstin Dwyer 3 Cain 2 Lynch 2 Batsanis Fanning Galea McGrath Pinwill

Best

Casey Scorpions Panozza Fevola Stockdale Mohr Warnock Lees

Port Melbourne Valenti Fanning Pinwill Brewer Batsanis Skipper

The stunning second half of the season winning run of the Casey reserves came to a tragic end when they were pipped by a point on the siren of their elimination final against the Coburg Tigers. The Scorpions will rue their errant kicking when they booted 3.9 to 1.0 with the benefit of a gale in the third term but full marks go to the Tigers for mastering the conditions and the rules to come home with a wet sail after trailing by five goals at the last break.

After Coburg levelled the scores, a Casey goal saw the Scorps hold a six point lead with 14 seconds left in the game when the Tigers goaled to again tie up the scores at the 34 minute mark. Under the "Golden Score" rule play continued until the next score - a point to a Coburg player which effectively ended Casey's great run.

It was a tough finish for coach Steve O'Brien who nevertheless deserves kudos for masterminding the team's first finals appearance in many years, one which saw it achieve victories over all of the competition's leading teams.

Mark Weekes and Kieren McShane (4 goals) were the team's best on the day.

Casey Scorpions 6.0.36 7.2.44 10.1 .71 11.13.79

Coburg Tigers 1.2.8 5.5.35 6.5.41 12.8.80

Goals

Casey Scorpions McShane 4 Costigan 3 Tynan 2 Carew Dowse

Coburg Tigers Murphy 3 Cartelli Hore Lirosi Thomas 2 P Ambrose

Casey Scorpions Weekes McShane Tynan Patti Corry Allen

Coburg Tigers Cartelli Kahlefeldt Duhau Thomas Dahl Murphy