EARLY BIRDS by KC from Casey

Wet, slippery conditions and threatening rainfalls greeted the VFL Bombers at the end of their long journey southeast of the big city on Sunday. The threatening weather combined with the fact that neither side had realistic prospects of advancing to action in September, meant that spectators gathered at a cold Casey Fields weren’t expecting a classic exhibition of football.

Nor did they get one.

Instead they were presented with a dour struggle that never reached great heights. It was a game dominated by the home team that had its engines revved up early while the visitors stalled, spluttered and stuttered from the start.

The result was that the early bird Casey Demons had a dominant opening quarter and held a lead of 27 points at the first break against a goalless Bomber outfit. This was enough to allow them to stave off an Essendon comeback in the final term and to finish with the game’s last three goals so that in the end, it was a relatively comfortable 22-point victory on the day which the club set aside for the very worthy breast cancer awareness campaign.

In between, it was a game that resembled an old fashioned tug of war with the Bombers taking up the attack and the Demons responding with a change of momentum and neither side being able to put its imprint of the second and third quarter.

The game highlighted Essendon’s surplus of tall timber and ruck talent with 203cm Nick Bryan who has been in dominant form at VFL level without getting much of a run in the AFL, amassing 53 hit outs in a team total of 69 (against 19) but losing the contest at ground level to Tom Fullarton who managed  20 disposals and six clearances and a goal but won only 4 hit outs while Bryan got only eight touches. The other Casey ruckman in Will Verrall’s tally of  13 hit outs was also overshadowed by the Bomber big man.

Also at ground level, both sides had players who accumulated the football but the most effective on the day was Bailey Laurie whose game in the midfield grew throughout the day. He kicked goals when they were needed, amassed 29 disposals and seven clearances but his eight tackles were a highlight and earned him the best on the ground.

Jack Billings’ haul for the day was almost as impressive. He also got his hands on the ball 29 times, executed six tackles and kicked  two important goals to secure the match near the end. The goals came not long after he was caught on the wrong foot and kicked out of bounds on the full so it was a case of all’s well that ends well.

Ollie Sestan worked hard in the shadows of the more experienced midfielders and showed his strength. Although he managed only 13 disposals, his six clearances and four tackles were more than handy for the Casey team effort.

Ben Brown was in excellent marking form and presented well as he roamed the forward area. His haul might have only been a single goal but his presence was important.

In defence, Blake Howes, Adam Tomlinson and Marty Hore all stood out in the tough conditions.

Taj Woewodin who was the substitute for Melbourne on Saturday night, played a half after young key forward Matt Jefferson was ruled out with illness. Lachie Hunter also had limited time on the ground. Although it’s understood that the VFL is a training ground for “parent” AFL clubs, it makes it difficult for those who coach and manage VFL teams who also strive for success on the field. This makes it difficult to judge their success but we can be mindful that a number of players who played in the red and blue at the MCG on Saturday night have spent time with Casey over the last couple of seasons.

VFL listers in Tyler Edwards, Roan Steele and Charlie Peters (two goals) were solid throughout while youngster teenager Noah Yze, although not prolific on debut, highlighted some emerging talent and participated in a nice piece of play that resulted in one of Billings’ goals.

This all makes for an interesting game ahead next Saturday afternoon at Kinetic Stadium in the local derby against Frankston which will no doubt be keen to retain its current hold on tenth place and a finals berth for the first time in several years. Casey won its first game for the season at that venue against a wondering Port Melbourne team when ETU Stadium was unavailable.

CASEY DEMONS 4.4.28 7.5.47 10.11.71 13.12.90

ESSENDON VFL 0.1.1 4.4.28 7.6.48 10.8.68

GOALS 

CASEY DEMONS Billings Laurie Peters 2 B Brown Edwards Fullarton Hunter McAdam Sestan Verrall

ESSENDON VFL J Davey Menzie 3 A Davey Jedwab Toma Visentini

BEST

CASEY DEMONS Laurie Billings Hore Howes B Brown Sestan

ESSENDON VFL Toma Hobbs O'Neill Hayes Roberts Tsatas

Statistics 

Jed Adams 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 32 dream team points
Jack Billings 2 goals 1 behind 19 kicks 10 handballs 29 disposals 9 marks 2 tackles 126 dream team points
Ben Brown 1 goal 1 behind 11 kicks 2 handballs 13 disposals 7 marks 1 hitout 65 dream team points
Kynan Brown 6 kicks 7 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 46 dream team points
Tyler Edwards 1 goal 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 74 dream team points
Tom Fullarton 1 goal 1 behinds 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 4 hitouts 79 dream team points
Max Gregory 1 kick 4 handballs 5 disposals 1 mark 14 dream team points
Marty Hore 11 kicks 1 handball 12 disposals 7 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points
Blake Howes 15 kicks 9 handballs 24 disposals 9 marks 2 tackles 98 dream team points
Lachie Hunter 1 goal 5 kicks 1 handball 6 disposals 3 marks 32 dream team points
Luker Kentfield 5 kicks 5 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 29 dream team points
Bailey Laurie 2 goals 1 behind 23 kicks 6 handballs 29 disposals 5 marks 8 tackles 139 dream team points
Shane McAdam 1 goal 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 60 dream team points
Charlie Peters 2 goals 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 51 dream team points
Josh Schache 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 33 dream team points
Ollie Sestan 1 goal 2 behinds 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 64 dream team points
Roan Steele 9 kicks 6 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 56 dream team points
Adam Tomlinson 16 kicks 7 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 82 dream team points
Wil Verrall 1 goal 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 13 hitouts 52 dream team points
Mitch White 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 63 dream team points
Kai Windsor 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points
Taj Woewodin 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 37 dream team points
Noah Yze 4 kicks 1 handballs 5 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 1 hitout 30 dream team points