SPRINGTIME FOR CASEY by KC from Casey

The Casey Demons returned to the winner’s  list in the most emphatic way possible with a 47-point victory over the Sydney Swans Reserves at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon The win under sunny skies heralded the first signs of the springtime and happy days to come and earned the Demons a week’s rest and a home Preliminary Final in a fortnight’s time.

The home club was in control from the very beginning and, with all eyes on the return of AFL premiership key forward Tom McDonald after missing the most of the second half of the season with a foot injury, the crowd didn’t have long to wait to see him in the thick of the action as he opened the scoring with a behind. In doing so, he set the tone for the first half of the game with the Demons dominating but letting themselves down with poor kicking for goal. 

And while many in the crowd were interested to see how some of the younger brigade would fare under finals pressure it was the veterans who led the way. The opening goal was kicked by James Munro who was free kicked from outside fifty and slotted a long goal. He was followed by Mitch Brown who took a strong contested mark and kicked truly. Sydney responded with their first but Casey held sway for the remainder of the term without causing much damage on the scoreboard. The points mounted until McDonald’s late goal put them 15 points up at the first break.

The pattern of point scoring continued into the second term and a dour struggle ensued. Each team managed a single goal with Brown booting his second at the end of a pass from McDonald. Casey went into the sheds at half time 17 points ahead but feeling a trifle uneasy having kicked away many opportunities to establish a much greater lead.

That feeling was compounded early in the third term as the Swans made early inroads through the dangerous Ronke and suddenly the deficit was down to only 10 points before Demon midfielder, Luke Dunstan, already on fire in the first half with 16 touches, decided it was time to turn up the heat a few more degrees.

Dunstan’s goal out of a pack was a team-lifter and he led the way for the team with eight possessions for the term and another goal while Brown also added a couple as they collectively added seven unanswered goals to three quarter time. One of those goals came after a hanger taken by wonder boy Jacob Van Rooyen who was playing a great game and underlining his enormous potential for the future. 

When the dust settled, the Demons were up by 52 points and the final term was a mere formality. Brown capped off an excellent game with five goals, Dunstan ended up amassing 38 disposals with skipper Mitch White (25 touches) and Munro rounding off the team’s dominance. The win was a triumph for coach Mark Corrigan after the disappointment of the loss the team “had to have” in the final round against the Brisbane Lions.

Special mention needs to be made of Sam Weideman in the ruck who did a sterling job against Sydney’s tall timber Sinclair and Ladhams who towered over him and won the hit out count but lowered their colours in terms of effectiveness around the ball with 22 disposals and 6 marks to go with his 19 hit outs. 

Kudos also go to Casey’s defence led by Adam Tomlinson and Matt Buntine. Of the younger brigade apart from Van Rooyen, Taj Woewodin was impressive with his 17 disposals after taking an unnecessary big hit from Ladhams. Blake Howes and Fraser Rosman who have both missed time with injuries made impressive contributions after starting the game slowly. 

All in all, the Casey Demons have earned a deserved break and now lie in wait to discover which opponent they will be taking on when springtime comes.

CASEY DEMONS 3.5.23 4.9.33 11.12.78 14.15.99

SYDNEY SWANS RESERVES 1.2.8 2.4.16 3.8.26 7.10.52

Goals 

Casey Demons Brown 5 Chandler Dunstan Munro 2 Grey McDonald Van Rooyen

Sydney Swans Reserves Ronke 4 Collis Morrison Sheldrick 

Best 

Casey Demons Dunstan Brown White Weideman Buntine Munro Van Rooyen Tomlinson

Sydney Swans Reserves Sheldrick Sinclair Cunningham Ronke Roberts Bell 

Statistics

Oskar Baker 11 kicks 2 handballs 13 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 45 dream team points
Toby Bedford 1 behind 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 8 tackles 79 dream team points
Mitch Brown 5 goals 1 behind 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 6 marks 99 dream team points
Matt Buntine 10 kicks 7 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points
Kade Chandler 2 goals 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 68 dream team points
Luke Dunstan 2 goals 1 behind 26 kicks 12 handballs 38 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 151 dream team points
Corey Ellison 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 40 dream team points
George Grey 1 goal 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 73 dream team points
Blake Howes 4 kicks 10 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 47 dream team points
Bailey Laurie 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 22 dream team points
Tom McDonald 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 hit outs 44 dream team points
James Munro 2 goals 8 kicks 7 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points
Aiden Quigley 1 behind 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 4 tackles 50 dream team points
Fraser Rosman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 63 dream team points
Deakyn Smith 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 39 dream team points
Joel Smith 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 43 dream team points
Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 2 handballs 22 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 98 dream team points
Daniel Turner 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 22 dream team points
Ryan Valentine 1 kick 1 handballs 2 disposals 2 tackles 2 hit outs 15 dream team points
Jacob Van Rooyen 1 goal 2 behinds 6 kicks 11 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 4 hit outs 69 dream team points
Sam Weideman 2 behinds 9 kicks 13 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 19 hit outs 98 dream team points
Mitch White 1 behind 19 kicks 6 handballs 25 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 106 dream team points
Taj Woewodin 2 behinds 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 63 dream team points