The afternoon atmosphere at the Swinburne Centre was somewhat surreal as the game between Richmond VFL and the Casey Demons unfolded on what was really a normal work day for most Melburnians. The Yarra Park precinct marched to the rhythm of city life, the trains rolled by, pedestrians walked by with their dogs and the traffic on Punt Road and Brunton Avenue swirled past while inside the arena, a football battle ensued. And what a battle it was?
The Tigers came in with a record of two wins from their three matches but with a question mark as a result of their lengthy injury list which left them with only 7 AFL listers to 14. The Demons were still seeking redemption after two early defeats on their home turf.
The home side, with Ryan dominating in the ruck contests, raced quickly to a three goal lead but Casey steadied to kick the next four with Will Verrall booting the first two for his team. Ollie Sestan and Shane McAdam scored the next two. The Tigers steadied with the goal and Casey headed into the break with a lead of two points.
The second quarter was similar to the first in that Richmond had all of the momentum and booted the first three goals before Casey burst through on the back of its high fliers Adam Tomlinson and Tom Fullarton who amassed big numbers statistically and the beneficiaries were Josh Schache and likewire human highlights reel Shane McAdam. In the end, the teams halved the quarter.
Again, Richmond took the early initiative to burst ahead with Casey coming back late in the term. The lead continued to change into the final term in a game that was turning into a thriller. The Tigers were combining better. Their crumbers kept up the pressure and, in crucial parts of the game, forced errors and turnovers as they stretched their lead, aided by the benefit of their superior accuracy.
The Demons seemed a little top heavy. They held sway in the air but were well beaten in the ruck (48 hit outs to 14) and the Tiger midfield won the clearance battles and the ground balls, allowing them to move away to a well-deserved 20 point victory.
Tomlinson had an intriguing battle with Richmond’s Jacobs Koschitzke. He finished with 38 disposals but allowed his man four goals. Shane McAdam was super impressive when he was on, but he was used sparingly and his game was over by the final break after which he and Koltyn Tholstrup, who earlier had suffered a head knock, were rested. We’ll never know, but without their input and presence, the team wilted in the end.
Credit to Andy Moniz-Wakefield and Ollie Sestan who both had some impressive moments. Josh Scache worked himself into the game and Shane McAdam finished with three goals. Lachie Hunter continued to work away in his quest for an AFL return while skipper Mitch White was a steadying influence.
Casey’s next assignment is at home against one of the stronger stand alone clubs in Williamstown. They will need to find a way to bolster their midfield depth if they are to improve this season’s record.
CASEY DEMONS 4.2.26 7.4.46 10.8.68 11.9.75
RICHMOND VFL 4.0.18 7.2.44 11.7.73 15.5.95
GOALS
CASEY DEMONS McAdam Schache 3 Fullarton Verrall 2 Sestan
RICHMOND VFL Koschitzke 4 Coulthard 3 Cumberland Davidson El Nour Green Johnson May Ryan Sonsie
BEST
CASEY DEMONS Tomlinson Fullarton Moniz-Wakefield Schache White Hunter
RICHMOND VFL Sonsie Harris Koschitzke Ryan Street Garner
Statistics
Jed Adams 4 kicks 2 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 25 dream team points
Ben Brown 6 kicks 1 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 23 dream team points
Kynan Brown 2 behinds 5 kicks 9 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 46 dream team points
Leo Connolly 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 37 dream team points
Tyler Edwards 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 57 dream team points
Tom Freeman 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points
Tom Fullarton 2 goals 16 kicks 9 handballs 25 disposals 8 marks 2 tackles 5 hitouts 112 dream team points
Max Gregory 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 42 dream team points
Marty Hore 17 kicks 2 handballs 19 disposals 10 marks 1 tackle 87 dream team points
Lachie Hunter 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 6 marks 6 tackles 90 dream team points
Matt Jefferson 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 18 dream team points
Shane McAdam 3 goals 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 5 marks 64 dream team points
Andy Moniz-Wakefield 11 kicks 7 handballs 18 disposals 9 marks 5 tackles 95 dream team points
Ned Moodie 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 30 dream team points
Josh Schache 3 goals 3 behinds 12 kicks 2 handballs 14 disposals 10 marks 2 tackles 96 dream team points
Ollie Sestan 1 goals 1 behinds 14 kicks 3 handballs 17 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 75 dream team points
Roan Steele 1 behind 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 58 dream team points
Mitch Szybkowski 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 1 mark 30 dream team points
Koltyn Tholstrup 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 57 dream team points
Adam Tomlinson 28 kicks 9 handballs 37 disposals 15 marks 143 dream team points
Will Verrall 2 goals 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 9 hitouts 78 dream team points
Mitch White 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 91 dream team points
Kai Windsor 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 23 dream team points
