CLAWED by KC from Casey

There was a time in the second quarter of the game at the Cattery on Friday afternoon when the Casey Demons threatened to take the game apart against the Cats.

The Demons had been well on top early but were struggling to convert their ascendancy over the ground until Tom Fullarton’s burst of three goals in the space of eight minutes on the way to a five goal haul and his best game for the club since arriving from Brisbane at the end of 2023. He was leading, marking and otherwise giving his opponents a merry dance as Casey grabbed a three goal lead in the blink of an eye. Fullarton has now kicked ten goals in Casey’s three matches and, with Melbourne’s forward conversion woes, he is definitely in with a chance to get his first game with the club in next week’s Gather Round in Adelaide.

Despite the tall forward’s efforts - he finished with 19 disposals and eight marks and had four hit outs as back up to Will Verrall in the second half - it wasn’t enough as Geelong reigned in the lead through persistent attacks and eventually clawed their way to the lead early in the last and held it till they achieved the end aim of victory.

There was some more good news and some bad for the Demons in the tall timber department. For the second week in a row, Tom Campbell failed to see out the game but his understudy in Verrall stepped up with 12 disposals, a goal and 28 hitouts. He is starting to play with greater confidence and intensity.

Another player to catch the eye and to come into contention for a trip to SA would have to be Kynan Brown who might have only picked up 17 disposals but his game high 11 tackles was significant given the lack of tackling pressure from his Melbourne counterparts later that night.

We also saw some good returns from Blake Howes (26 possessions and nine marks), Oliver Sestan (22 disposals, nine marks) and Bailey Laurie (19 touches). Jed Adams’ development as a key defender is also coming along nicely.

Of the Casey contingent, Mitch Hardie was impressive on debut against his old club with 26 possessions and Riley Bonner was close behind him. Patrick Cross was also busy and continues to improve.

The Demons return to their home ground with another tough challenge against the UWS Giants on Saturday week.

CASEY DEMONS 3.5.23 9.6.60 13.7.85 14.9.93

GEELONG VFL 3.3.21 7.7.49 11.11.77 16.13.109

 GOALS

CASEY DEMONS Fullarton 5 Johnson 2 Billings Cross Edwards Hardie Verrall Windsor Yze

GEELONG VFL Polkinghorne 3 Annand De Grandi Rantall Retschko Wiltshire 2 Lewis Lucas Murray

BEST

CASEY DEMONS Fullarton Adams Verrall Cross Brown Sestan

GEELONG VFL Wiltshire Clark Kreuger Rantall Stevens Herbert