BOILOVER by KC from Casey

[Demonland 73,106]

The Casey Demons caused the boilover of the season to date when they took on and beat the undefeated ladder leaders Essendon VFL by 41 points at Windy Hill. 

The stunning result which was achieved with a season low of eight AFL-listed players, will surely kickstart the Demons’ ailing season after they lost their last two matches as a result of some poor third quarter fade outs against quality opposition.

Casey got off to a great start with a mid-air soccer volley goal from Jimmy Munro about three minutes into the opening term. Playing strong contested football with a winning ruck and with the wind at their backs, the Demons had the bulk of the play and scored the game’s first three goals before the Bombers struck back with a late goal with a minute to go before the siren ended the quarter. 

The crowd was expecting Essendon to assert itself with the breeze but it was Tim Smith who struck a devastating blow with two goals in the the first five minutes of the second term. A couple of turnovers and a fifty metre penalty temporarily turned the tide but a late goal just before half time to Braydon Preuss, his second for the afternoon, had the Demons in front by 16 points.

Casey’s expected third term fade out did not materialise but, to the contrary, it became the “premiership quarter for the team. After a slow start in which scoring was at a premium and skipper Mitch White scored his team’s only goal in almost 20 minutes of play, the floodgates opened. Smith took a strong mark to goal and added another a minute or so later. By quarter’s end, the margin was 46 points. 

The Demons retained their total dominance well into the final term and relaxed in the later stages of the game to allow the home side a few junk time goals to run home 41 point winners.

It was Preuss, and to a lesser extent, his partner in crime Liam Wale-Buxton, who were the catalysts for the Demons’ turnaround such was their dominance in the ruck throughout the game. This division has been Casey’s Achilles Heel since Jake Spencer left at the end of 2017 but it was its strong point against the Bombers. Preuss had 40 hit outs to go with his 16 disposals and two goals and between the two talls, they gave their midfielders an armchair ride. 

The beneficiaries were Jimmy Munro, Tom Sparrow, Corey Wagner and Oskar Baker who is starting to return to his pre-injury form of last year. 

Skipper White and Smith gave the team a focus in front of goals while youngster Tom Freeman also continues to develop nicely. James Jordon and Kade Chandler were also good contributors on the day and Harry Petty continues to develop as a key defender.

The Demons return to Casey Fields next Saturday for another tough assignment - this time against stand alone Port Melbourne.

 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL

Casey Demons 3.2.20 6.2.38 11.4.70 15.6.96

Essendon VFL 1.2.8 3.4.22 3.6.24 7.7.49

Goals 

Casey Demons T Smith 4 White 3 Baker Munro Preuss 2 Chandler

Essendon VFL Ridley 2 Begley Fennel Gown Hocking Langford Younan 

Best

Casey Demons Preuss Smith Petty Baker T Freeman Munro 

Essendon VFL Dea Langford Clarke Hocking McNiece Hartley

Statistics

Oskar Baker 2 goals 1 behind kicks handballs disposals marks tackles 82 dream team points  
Toby Bedford 1 behind 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 19 dream team points  
Jaxon Briggs 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 33 dream team points  
Kade Chandler 1 goal 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 40 dream team points  
Jake Di Pasquale 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 63 dream team points  
Tom Freeman 15 kicks 1 handball 16 disposals 12 marks 4 tackles 100 dream team points  
Mitch Gent 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points  
Jack Hutchins 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 59 dream team points  
James Jordon 15 kicks 2 handballs 17 disposals 6 marks 68 dream team points  
Mykelti Lefau 1 goals 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 26 dream team points  
Mitchell Lewis 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 41 dream team points
Nick Lowden 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 6 marks 48 dream team points  
Tom McCaffrey 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 47 dream team points  
James Munro 2 goals 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals 2 marks 8 tackles 92 dream team points  
Harrison Petty 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points  
Braydon Preuss 2 goals 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 40 hit outs 113 dream team points  
Aidan Quigley 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 21 dream team points  
Tim Smith 4 goals 1 behinds 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 1 hit out 86 dream team points  
Tom Sparrow 12 kicks 3 handballs 15 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 69 dream team points  
Cory Stockdale 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 22 dream team points  
Corey Wagner 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 9 tackles 83 dream team points  
Liam Wale-Buxton 1 kick 5 handballs 6 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 30 hit outs 59 dream team points  
Mitchell White 3 goals 1 behind 11 kicks 11 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points