NO CONFUSION by KC from Casey

The Casey Demons took more than half a game to crack Port Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday but when they finally did so, they were merciless and in the end, they took no prisoners.
 
What made Casey’s 58-point victory win so remarkable was the fact that even after late call ups to the Melbourne team that traveled to Adelaide deprived them of key players from their goal to goal line, the less experienced replacements all made meaningful contributions to the side’s overall performance as it went on its merry way to 13 wins on the trot.

Casey wore it’s indigenous guernsey and conducted a very special smoke ceremony in honour of the first people on the land. The closeness of the  colour combinations might well have thrown in some confusion in the early stages because, after the home team celebrated with a goal in the opening minute, the Borough had a purple patch with the slight advantage of the breeze to kick four goals (half of their final tally) in the space of 15 minutes to lead by 20 points. There was no panic as Casey reset to stem the flow but Port still held a handy three goal lead at the first break.

Thankfully, Kade Chandler was active in the early going for the Demons with lots of touches and a classy goal. He remained prominent for the remainder of the game. His role in helping the team peg back the deficit was pivotal in the second quarter with two goals including the one that gave Casey the lead by a goal as the game neared half time. 

Port closed in on that lead twice in the opening ten minutes of the second half before the Demons finally broke the shackles to end any confusion as to which team was going to win the four points. They streamed to a 21 point lead at three quarter time before an eight goal to one final term emphatically settled the issue. Fittingly, the last goal of the day was scored by Chandler — his fifth — to cap off a great best on ground display with 29 disposals. 

Not far behind Chandler were Luke Dunstan with his 23 touches including eight clearances and the hardworking Oskar Baker who was equally prolific in winning the football.

With only ten Melbourne listed players in the game, Casey was relying on more on its homegrown talent than it normally would and they didn’t disappoint. And it wasn’t just the more seasoned performers like Mitch White, Jimmy Munro and Matt Buntine who came to the party but also the so-called “lesser lights” who were in the thick of things. Players like Roan Steele, Luca Goonan and Miles Shepherd hit the scoreboard and Riley Baldi, Jack Bell, Corey Ellison and second gamer Ryan Valentine all stepped up to the plate. The latter was robbed of a goal by the three quarter time siren. 

Jayden Hunt, Trent Rivers and Bailey Laurie were all solid contributors and wait in line for the door to the Melbourne side to open for them. 

The competition for spots in the the team will heat up next week when Geelong’s VFL side plays host to the Demons on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium. If you can’t get a seat for Thursday’s AFL top-of-the-table, there will be plenty of room at the ground for you to support the team. 

CASEY DEMONS 2.3.15 6.6.36 10.10.70 18.11.119

PORT MELBOURNE 5.3.33 5.6.36 7.7.49 8.13.61

Goals

Casey Demons Chandler 5 Goonan Laurie Shepherd Steele 2 Dunstan Ellison Munro Rivers White

Port Melbourne Szust 3 Roberts 2 Cameron Holmes Lentini

Best 

Casey Demons Chandler Dunstan, Rivers Baker Buntine White Goonan Steele

Port Melbourne Hooper Templeton Phillips Lentini Wagner Holmes

Statistics

Oskar Baker 1 behind 18 kicks 6 handballs 24 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 101 dream team points
Riley Baldi 2 kicks 8 handballs 10 disposals 3 tackles 29 dream team points
Jack Bell 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 2 tackles 29 hit outs 43 dream team points
Matt Buntine 9 kicks 2 handballs 11 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 56 dream team points
Kade Chandler 5 goals 1 behind 18 kicks 11 handballs 29 disposals 6 marks 1 tackles 133 dream team points
Luke Dunstan 1 goal 15 kicks 8 handballs 23 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 93 dream team points
Tyler Edwards 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 55 dream team points
Corey Ellison 1 goal 9 kicks 4 handballs 13 disposals 8 marks 59 dream team points
Luca Goonan 2 goals 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 67 dream team points
George Grey 1 behind 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 51 dream team points
Jayden Hunt 15 kicks 15 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 72 dream team points
Bailey Laurie 2 goals 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 77 dream team points
Judd McVee 8 kicks 8 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 55 dream team points
Bryce Milford 3 kicks 3 disposals 3 marks 12 dream team points
James Munro 1 goal 5 kicks 11 handballs 16 disposals 13 tackles 79 dream team points
Trent Rivers 1 goal 1 behind 18 kicks 1 handball 19 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 85 dream team points
Fraser Rosman 11 kicks 11 disposals 7 marks 54 dream team points
Miles Shepherd 2 goals 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 74 dream team points
Deakyn Smith 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 40 dream team points
Roan Steele 2 goals 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 53 dream team points
Ryan Valentine 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 2 hit outs 40 dream team points
Taj Woewodin 6 kicks 6 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 48 dream team points
Mitch White 1 goals 2 behinds 15 kicks 3 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 73 dream team points