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In the opening round of the 2018 VFL season, the Casey Demons enjoyed an emphatic 107 point victory over Coburg at Piranha Park. The team was loaded with Melbourne listed players (half a dozen of them were in the team that beat Fremantle on Saturday) and the side was in its way to a grand final appearance. A season and a half later, the club returned to the same venue in the hope of kick starting a season that had gone somewhat awry under new coach Sam Radford and while they tasted victory (as you always do in those circumstances), the 15 point win was far from convincing. It should be said that the Demons were the dominant side on the day. They dominated the inside 50 count by 52 to 28 and doubled the Tigers in the number of scoring shots by 20 to 10. They won the marks and thanks mainly to Braydon Preuss totally eclipsed the opposition in hit outs but at the end of the day had less disposals and scored only one goal more than the plucky home side in what was a dull, scrap played on a mud heap in cold and misty conditions. They even scored than that losing Coburg team managed in last year’s opening round drubbing. Coburg adopted a defensive stance from the beginning by flooding their back line and the tactic work with three straight first goals on the rebound while the visitors managed only two goals from their many forays in attack to trail by 2 points at the first break. The classiest player on the ground by far was veteran Jordan Lewis who was simply sublime in the way he dictated proceedings and set up numerous attacking moves. It took until the last ten minutes of the half for the Demons to take control and move to a 26 point lead with three goals late in a term in which Coburg was held goalless. The rest of the game was nothing to write home about - a defensive affair played in a bit of a glue pot where the local’s accuracy saw them remain in close enough to wind the Demons back late in the game to a final margin of 15 points at a cost of what should have been a valuable percentage gain against the second from bottom side. The better players for Casey (apart from Lewis) were Preuss with 55 hit outs, Jay Kennedy Harris who was full of class, Corey Wagner and Corey Maynard while Kade Kolodjashnij also had his moments. Kyle Dunkley kicked an early goal and was busy early. The Demons would be very happy with his composure and form at this stage of his career. The Demons are a game and percentage out of the top eight and must beat last year’s premiers, the Box Hill Hawks at Casey Fields next Saturday to remain in the race. 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL Casey Demons 2.4.16 6.8.44 7.11.53 9.11.65 Coburg 3.0.18 3.0.18 5.1.31 8.2.50 Goals Casey Demons Bedford Bradtke Dunkley Kolodjashnij Maynard Preuss Quigley C Wagner White Coburg McEvoy Stroobants 3 Carroll Podhajski Best Casey Demons J Lewis C Wagner Maynard Preuss Vella Bedford Coburg Bunker Lentini Exon Nolan Foster Binion Statistics Toby Bedford 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 7 tackles 66 dream team points Austin Bradkte 1 goal 2 behinds 6 kicks 2 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 11 hit outs 50 dream team points Heath Briggs 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 34 dream team points Kade Chandler 2 kicks 1 handball 3 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 19 dream team points Wayne Collis 8 kicks 1 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 41 dream team points Kyle Dunkley 1 goal 12 kicks 5 handballs 17 disposals 3 tackles 66 dream team points Tom Freeman 10 kicks 3 handballs 13 disposals 4 marks 50 dream team points Jack Hutchins 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 43 dream team points James Jordon 1 behind 9 kicks 2 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 55 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 kick 5 handballs 6 disposals 1 marks 8 tackles 12 hit outs 61 dream team points Jay Kennedy Harris 1 behind 14 kicks 7 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 78 dream team points Kade Kolodjashnij 1 goal 15 kicks 6 handballs 21 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 95 dream team points Mykelti Lefau 2 behinds 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 38 dream team points Jordan Lewis 19 kicks 20 handballs 39 disposals 8 marks 2 tackles 129 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 goal 1 behind 13 kicks 14 handballs 27 disposals 8 marks 3 tackles 105 dream team points James Munro 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 37 dream team points Braydon Preuss 1 goal 8 kicks 6 handballs 14 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 55 hit outs 121 dream team points Aiden Quigley 1 goal 4 kicks 12 handballs 16 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 50 dream team points Charlie Spargo 4 kicks 7 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 48 dream team points Cory Stockdale 7 behinds 4 kicks 11 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 45 dream team points Anthony Vella 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 48 dream team points Corey Wagner 1 goal 1 behind 14 kicks 4 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 12 tackles 110 dream team points Mitchell White 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 4 handballs 11disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 55 dream team points 

The Casey Demons were untroubled at home against cellar dwellers Coburg to make it six wins on the trot and consolidate their hold on second place on the Peter Jackson VFL 2018. With the memory of their disastrous 107-point opening round loss to the Demons at the back of their minds, the Lions came out with all guns blazing and surprised the home side with their tenacity but were unable to convert goals in the early going. After Sam Weideman gave a preview of what was to come with the first goal of the game, the visitors came up with a quick reply to lead at the ten minute mark but that was the last of their resistance as the Demons kicked the next seven to hold a 43-point lead by the main break. With rain pelting down, it was an unassailable lead and even in the greasy conditions, Casey steamrolled on with Weideman putting on a master class of marking and accurate kicking at full forward and when he went into the ruck he was handy there helping out Mitch King who had his hands full with Coburg ruckman, Goodwin. The game petered out under the gloomy skies and the Demons ran out 77-point winners. It might not have beaten the 100-point plus win that many were predicting but it was still a big percentage booster as the Lions were kept down to a meagre goal a quarter. Weideman had the unlikely perfect foil up forward in Jack Hutchins who is normally a defender. The skipper was most productive and booted three goals for the game. Billy Stretch continued his run of good form at this level and must be very close to a promotion. The move of Hutchins into attack gave the Demons the opportunity to test out some defenders for possible inclusion into their AFL side in the wake of Jake Lever's knee injury and Sam Frost relished the conditions, standing out with his marking and speed across the ground even when the ground got heavy in the second half. If Weideman was putting on a master class up forward, Frost was doing likewise down back. He was the pick of the defenders ahead of youngster Harry Petty and Josh Wagner but one needs to temper that against the fact that the opposition is a struggling as a stand alone in the VFL. Tom Bugg worked his way into the game when he went to the midfield and finished with an equal game high 27 touches along with Jay Kennedy Harris. Corey Wagner continued to impress among the VFL listed contingent. James Munro was his usual consistent self and Goy Lok showed that he is becoming more and more confident at this level with every game. The Casey Demons' next assignment sees them traveling to RAMS Arena, Craigieburn in what will be a danger game against Essendon VFL in the first of two consecutive games to be telecast on the Seven Network. Peter Jackson VFL 2018 Casey Demons 4.2.26 9.4.58 13.6.84 16.12.108 Coburg 1.3.9 2.3.15 3.5.23 4.7.31 Goals Casey Demons Weideman 7 Hutchins 3 Stretch 2 Baker Garlett Kennedy Harris Stockdale Coburg Belo Binion Conn Weightman Best Casey Demons Frost Weideman Stretch Kennedy-Harris Bugg Hutchins Coburg Podhajski Guthrie Exon Allan Gregory Lentini Statistics Oskar Baker 1 goal 6 kicks 7 handballs 13 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 49 dream team points Harley Balic 7 kicks 10 handballs 17 disposals 8 tackles 69 dream team points Tomas Bugg 15 kicks 12 handballs 27 disposals 3 marks 12 tackles 125 dream team points Sam Frost 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 69 dream team points Jeff Garlett 1 goal 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points Mitch Gent 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 34 dream team points Jack Hutchins 3 goals 2 behinds 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 82 dream team points Dion Johnstone 8 kicks 11 handballs 19 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 66 dream team points Jay Kennedy Harris 1 goal 17 kicks 10 handballs 27 disposals 6 marks 5 tackles 116 dream team points Mitchell King 2 kicks 6 handballs 8 disposals 1 tackle 32 hit outs 53 dream team point Mykleti Lefau 1 behind 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 8 tackles 11 hit outs 71 dream team points Jay Lockhart 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 42 dream team points Goy Lok 1 behind 12 kicks 11 handballs 23 disposals 1 mark 9 tackles 97 dream team points Corey Machaya 6 kicks 11 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 6 tackles 67 dream team points James Munro 7 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 61 dream team points Cameron Pedersen 5 kicks 10 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 39 dream team points Harrison Petty 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 31 dream team points Charlie Spargo 9 kicks 10 handballs 19 disposals 1 mark 9 tackles 88 dream team points Corey Stockdale 1 goals 2 behind 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 5 tackles 59 dream team points Billy Stretch 2 goals 13 kicks 11 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 103 dream team points Corey Wagner 1 behind 14 kicks 9 handballs 23 disposals 2 marks 10 tackles 95 dream team points Josh Wagner 12 kicks 9 handballs 21 disposals 1 marks 6 tackles 78 dream team points Sam Weideman 7 goals 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 9 marks 3 tackles 5 hit outs 139 dream team points