THE BIG MEN DON'T FLY by KC from Casey

The Casey Demons might be celebrating back to back victories but they were far from impressive in a routine 3 goal victory against winless Coburg at Piranha Park at the weekend. 

The game was in stark contrast to the last encounter between the sides at the same venue less than twelve months ago. Back then they were the Scorpions, chock full of experienced AFL listers and they monstered their hosts by 13 goals. It was certainly a different team way back then. The rucks that day were Jake Spencer and Cam Pedersen, there were two former MFC captains in the side, they several 100 gamers and up and coming youngsters like Clayton Oliver and Christian Salem racking up possessions.

This time around there were no real big men lining up for the now VFL Demons and that is probably the main reason why Casey has struggled this season. The curse of the big men has hit almost as much, if not more, than it has their Melbourne counterparts. The stories of Max Gawn and Jake Spencer are well documented. The club's other 200cm plus big men are young kids in Mitch King and Lochie Filipovic but they were both out ill and injured respectively. That left Casey listed first gamer Gach Nyuon but he lasted a quarter before succumbing to an ankle injury. This left the ruck work to 194cm Declan Keilty assisted by a slightly taller Sam Weideman but they were battling against the odds. Coburg won the hit outs by 66-33 but Casey had the edge in terms of on ballers who gave the team first use of the ball at stoppages despite the ruck imbalance.

Coburg began well but the accurate Demons managed to grab a four point lead late in the opening term and were never headed from then onwards. Small man Jay Kennedy-Harris dominated possession with 47 touches and eight tackles and he was ably assisted by Dean Kent who managed to get his hands on the ball 28 times in the midfield. Ben Kennedy was dangerous in attack with three goals and 23 disposals, while the consistent Jack Trengove again was solid with 30 possessions.

The game never rose to any great heights in an error riddled performance. The plucky Lions were persistent and did not allow Casey to break away after half time. The teams traded goal for goal in the the third quarter and again in the last. 

Coach Justin Plapp would be satisfied with the promise of some of his VFL charges. James Munro led the way with 27 possessions, 50 gamer Ed Morris finished with 23 disposals and a goal and skipper Jack Hutchins was also effective with 19 touches.  

Like their AFL counterparts, the VFL Demons have the opportunity to move into the top 8 if they can beat Collingwood on the Queens Birthday Weekend.

Coburg Wunhym Karpany McRorie Curtis Ercolano Conn