TURNING ON THE HEAT by KC from Casey

The Casey Demons headed north to taste some Queensland sunshine and despite having to leave out skipper Mitch White who was stricken with the flu, they had little trouble in turning on the heat and disposing of finals contender Gold Coast.

The Demons were dominant from the very start with exciting young key forward Jacob Van Rooyen on fire early and Mitch Brown destroying the Suns with his marking and leading despite his erratic kicking for goal. By the time newcomer Ryan Valentine goaled with his first kick at the 20 minute mark of the opening term for Casey’s fifth on the trot, the Suns looked completely demoralised. They were down by 34 points at the first break and then Brown put his kicking boots on after kicking 5 behinds to bag four goals. His half time tally was one point more than the home side’s 4.5 which had them trailing by 55 points. 

And it didn’t end there with the Demons ramming home another eight in the third quarter to underline their complete mastery over an enthusiastic but far less skilled and disorganised opponent. They pulled up a little in the final term providing the crowd with half an hour of junk time before they cantered to a 76 point victory that left them two games and percentage clear of the next best on the VFL ladder.

Apart from the two key forwards, the Demons were well served by the usual suspects in Jake Melksham, Kade Chandler, Luke Dunstan and Jayden Hunt who, based on their respective performances could easily come into most AFL teams. They were a cut above the standard of their opposition in the game played in this paddock outside the main facility at Carrara. 

The Demons have the luxury of being able to nurture their young talent in the VFL. Besides Van Rooyen, Bailey Laurie and rookie Andy Moniz-Wakefield had some special moments during the course of the game.

The Casey contingent blended in well with Jack Bell holding up his end in the ruck in the absence of Majak Daw. Riley Baldi and White’s replacement Roan Steele (two goals) were good again, Jimmy Munro led from the front and Matt Buntine was more than handy. 

Next Saturday sees the team head back home to cooler weather and Casey Fields for a clash against an improving Port Melbourne. 

CASEY DEMONS 7.6.48 12.12.84 20.15.135 21.17.143

GOLD COAST SUNS 2.2.14 4.5.29 8.9.57 9.13.67 

Goals

Casey Demons M Brown 6 J Van Rooyen 3 Chandler Melksham Steele 2 Baker Grey Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Munro Valentine

Gold Coast Suns Oea Sexton 2 Corbett Day Faulkhead Hollands Nicholls

Best

Casey Demons M Brown Van Rooyen Chandler Melksham Bell Baldi

Gold Coast Suns Atkins McPherson Constable Moyle