EUREKA!!! by Billy from the Bush

There were many stories told back in the early colonial days about those hardy souls who managed to reverse their fortunes in life after venturing to parts of Central Victoria and striking gold and that's how it was on Saturday for the Casey Scorpions who had a similar experience when they travelled north to chilly Ballarat.

Last week, the team was overrun on an unusually warm Autumn day by Collingwood at Casey Fields but things were different this time and they managed to emulate their opening round heroics by coming home strongly in a low scoring game striking gold against the reigning VFL premiers North Ballarat at Eureka Stadium Ballarat to win by 10 points - 11.7.73 to 9.9.63.

The City of Ballarat turned on some bleak conditions for the visitors. There was a light drizzle and a cold wind blew to the eastern end of the ground to which the Roosters kicked in the first term. The Scorpions would have been buoyed as they ran out onto the ground knowing that their mates in the reserves had snuck home by a point on the strength of the breeze in the nail-biting curtain raiser.

Casey went into the game with some tall timber missing after losing key defender Tim Mohr through injury and goal kicking forward/ruckman Stefan Martin, a late withdrawal to the AFL. Defender Glenn Chivers wasn't able to come up from an ankle problem and matters were made worse when beanpole ruckman Jake Spencer also suffered an injury during the game. Both he and Daniel Bell, returning from an injury lay off, sat on the sidelines in the final quarter. On the credit side, plucky Ryan Creed earned a promotion from the reserves.

The Roosters are rarely beaten at home and they made better use of the conditions early skipping away to a 22 point lead at the first break. They maintained control well into the second term and at one stage led by 27 points before the Scorpions regrouped in the rain to narrow the gap to nine points by half time.

The game never reached a high standard because of a swirly wind and the greasy conditions. The third quarter was a slog on the hard ground made slippery by the rain and, while Casey managed to score only once during this time, the defence held firm with Jared Rivers and Kyle Cheney dominating. Recruit Danny Nicholls was in everything, providing great cover in the absence of injured skipper Kyle Matthews, and using his penetrating left foot to good effect. After a quiet game against Collingwood, Rian McGough was consistently good throughout and appeared to enjoy the tough going.

The Roosters had the home crowd crowing when they scored a goal late in the third term and another four minutes into the last. Suddenly, they had stretched the lead to 23 points and one could have been forgiven for thinking that the game was over given the conditions and the fact that they had the home crowd roaring them on to victory against a team that had fallen apart in the final term of their game just six days ago.

But the Scorpions were not finished. They dug into their reserves and did everything they couldn't do in last week's final term. They ran hard, applied pressure and tackled strongly to regain the momentum and they hit the lead when young Jack Watts ran into an open goal halfway through the quarter. In the end, they ran all over North Ballarat after slamming home the last five goals of the game.

Nicholls was on top in the midfield and he was well backed up by James Taylor who played a good shutdown role on a variety of Rooster opponents, including earning a free kick in the last term for an opponent "infringing" on him off the ball. With Brad Miller showing his strength up forward and Paul Johnson and Michael Newton dominating the rucks, the Scorpions literally came home with a wet sail.

The Casey Scorpions are certainly giving their supporters a good run for their money this year. All three of their games to date have been close with final margins down to less than two goals and all have seen exciting come from behind final quarter finishes.

The pattern could well continue when the Scorps travel even further north next week when they take on the new Gold Coast team which scored its first VFL points after a draw against Werribee last Saturday night. The game will be played at Labrador AFC Ashton Street Labrador on Queensland's Gold Coast on Saturday 1 May at 2pm.

Casey Scorpions 1.1.7 5.3.33 6.3.39 11.7.73

North Ballarat 4.5.29 6.6.42 8.6.54 9.9.63

Goals

Casey Scorpions Newton 3 Miller Watts 2 McGough MacReadie Maric Stockdale McGough Maric

North Ballarat Dinnell 2 Benjamin Driscoll Jones Peters Richardson Smith Tyler

Best

Casey Scorpions Nicholls Rivers McGough Maric Taylor Miller

North Ballarat Harding Sewell Greig Pratt Tyler Moloney

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Daniel Bell - a reasonable first up effort after injuring his AC joint in a NAB Challenge match. Played a little more than half a game and should get more game time next week.

Kyle Cheney - solid and consistent self down back, Cheney is growing in stature as a tough defender who not only shuts down his immediate opponent but also is important in helping his team's overall defensive effort.

Danny Hughes - workmanlike at half forward without being spectacular.

Neville Jetta - showed a nice turn of pace and did well in conditions which didn't really suit him.

Paul Johnson - played in defence as well as in the ruck, worked hard, marked strongly and had a role in his team's win.

Tom McNamara - injured last week, McNamara seemed out of sorts and did not have a great impact on this game.

Addam Maric - kicked a nice goal and was in the play often. Lively up forward and gives the impression that he would do better in higher company but it will not be easy for him to force his way into the Melbourne team at the moment.

Brad Miller - showed leadership when the game was there to be won and played a strong game. Pushing hard for a berth with the Demons.

Michael Newton - another hard working effort from Juice who chased and tackled strongly and livened things up in the final term when he went into the ruck and took on bigger opposition.

Jared Rivers - the dominant player on the ground, Rivers marked strongly, read the play well, ran the ball well out of defence and hit his targets. A great game coming back after three weeks out with an injury.

Jake Spencer - was just going until injured.

James Strauss - a superb kick of the ball, Strauss was once again the designated kicker from full back and was also very impressive with his run out of defence and his linking up down the ground.

Jack Watts - started slowly but gradually worked his way into the game and kicked a couple of vital goals. He is very quick on a lead and kicks well. Dean Bailey said a couple of weeks ago that he wants Watts to play four or five games at Casey and to earn his spot at Melbourne. That's the right policy and the kid is more than half way there.

The Scorpions Reserves broke the ice for the season with a one point win over North Ballarat. After holding a 15 point lead at half time, the Scorpions were jumped in the third quarter but came home strongly to boot seven goals with the wind and they just fell over the line.

Michael Johnson continued his good form off half back and will enter discussions for a promotion, while key forwards Ben Waite and Jack Fitzpatrick booted four and two goals respectively for the winners. Brad Sykes, a pacy wingman/goalkicker played his first game for the season after a shoulder injury and showed he hasn't missed a beat. More good news for the Scorpions was the Casey debut of Scott Simpson who was recruited to the club after being delisted from Geelong's AFL side. Simpson required pre-season surgery for an ankle injury sustained last year and, in his first game since Round 3 2009, the big key forward played the first half and kicked a couple of goals. In his own words he was 'very rusty' but he got through with no problems which augers well for the rest of 2010.

Casey Scorpions 4.3.27 10.4.64 12.8.80 19.12.126

North Ballarat 4.0.24 8.1.49 15.4.94 19.11.125

Goals

Casey Scorpions Waite 4 Fitzpatrick Plummer Simpson Weekes 2 Hillberge Johnson Lillie Petropolous Smith Sykes Wonaemirri

North Ballarat McKenzie 4 Jones 3 Bell Couch Linke Nicholls Peters Struth 2

Best

Casey Scorpions Johnson Fitzpatrick Sykes Smith Waite Patti

North Ballarat McKenzie Couch Peters Tate Jones Lower

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Sam Blease - serviceable without being outstanding which, together with general soreness, was all that could be expected after his first game since being drafted at the end of 2008.

Jack Fitzpatrick - played up forward kicking a couple of quality goals and had a run in the ruck and was close to Casey's best. Mobile for a big bloke and kicks well so he has a bit going for him.

Austin Wonaeamirri - played the second half only and kicked a goal but again, the main thing was he got through the game. Will possibly play in the reserves again with a step up in game time next week.

Jack Fitzpatrick - played  up forward kicking a couple of quality goals and had a run in the ruck and was close to Casey's best. Mobile for a big bloke and kicks well so he has a bit going for him.

Keep an eye out for this kid. A year or two of development a la Jack Watts and he will be a gun! 

I feel that Jetta, Rivers, Strauss and Watts are the only guys there who are truelly pressing for AFL selection.

Also, Cheney- Bartram currently holds his position and at this point in time is playing well enough to keep his spot. Any drop in form by Bartram will see Cheney given his chance.

and love having Wona and Blease playing, albeit for the ressies. Both could be rippers for MFC

Keep an eye out for this kid. A year or two of development a la Jack Watts and he will be a gun! 

I agree. He is most impressive. Hope he gets a run in the Casey seniors next week. He is doing everything asked of him and deserves a chance to show his wares on a bigger stage (as long as GC don't try and pinch him in view of next week's game venue!!!)

Just wanted to thank Billy for a highly readable and extremely informative article.

Much appreciated

Yeah cheers Billy, great stuff!

Hi there,

we were at the Casey game on Saturday. Chenney for mine was best on the ground followed by Rivers, while Johnson controlled the ruck. In the reserves Wonaeamirri moved well but clearly needs some match time. Was good to see them win in my home town

Darren

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