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Casey’s season continued to drift into helplessness on Sunday when they lost another home game by a narrow margin, this time six points, in their Round 13 clash with North Melbourne’s VFL combination. The game was in stunning contrast to their last meeting at the same venue when Casey won the VFL Wildcard Match by 101 points. Back then, their standout players were Brodie Grundy and James Jordon who are starring in the AFL with ladder leaders, the Sydney Swans (it turned out to be their last game in the red and blue). Tom McDonald was in fine fettle as was Jimmy Munro who was closing in on retirement. When the tables were turned on Sunday, there were very few constants for the Casey Demons. One was Mitch White, still the skipper, the workhorse with 27 disposals and a well-earned goal: the man who pushed himself to his fullest capacity but who sadly missed his partner-in-crime Munro. The other was former NGA draftee Andy Moniz-Wakefield who kicked four goals in that game but has since been moved down back with the odd run through the middle where he has been dominating but mysteriously, he rarely gets a mention for AFL honours. He did it again this time with his 35 disposals, four marks and three tackles, giving the team every opportunity to score a win. His time must come soon. One improver from that final is forward Matt Jefferson, a youngster whose body was tiring at the end of a long season and who managed a few behinds in the Wildcard Match. This time around, he slotted through four goals, showed up more around the ground and took eight marks. I wouldn’t rush him into the fray at AFL just yet but he’s pushing forward with every week. Will Verrall is much in the same category but also very much a work in progress as an aspiring ruckman. He finished this game concussed. Watch out for both in 2025 with extra weight and another preseason under their belts. North Melbourne had only six AFL listers on that fateful day last year but this time around, the Kangaroos were far better prepared. Apart from the fact that they had greater AFL representation, they were far more rounded on Sunday. And they had two of the first four 2023 AFL draft selections in their ranks and a couple more first rounders to boot. Along with a handy Deakyn Smith who was at Casey last year. The game was close in the first half with the lead changing hands but the Kangaroos gained the momentum in the third term. Casey made a few serious lunges in the final quarter but North was able to hold on strongly and deserved the victory. One of their aces was Dylan Stephens who was subbed on late in the third term at the MCG on Saturday night and picked up 14 possessions in his team’s late revival. He returned to play VFL on Sunday, collected 24 touches and played a key role in ensuring that his team would prevail and prevent a Casey victory. With Melbourne in the running for an AFL finals berth, its substitute was not considered for a similar role at Casey Fields even though he had minimal time on the ground on Saturday night. Kynan Brown must be a certainty to play in Brisbane this week. We can also expect Melbourne will bring a couple of carry over players up north with them so who knows whether the VFL side will be a fullest possible when the team takes on the stand alone Northern Bullants at Genis Street Oval, Preston on Saturday afternoon? It probably doesn’t matter because the finals are now out of reach, as are the Wildcard Matches. CASEY DEMONS 2.5.17 5.8.38 8.8.56 11.11.77 NORTH MELBOURNE VFL 3.5.23 8.6.54 10.10.70 12.11.83 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Jefferson 4 Fullarton Kentfield King Laurie McAdam Szybkowski White NORTH MELBOURNE VFL Hansen Jr 4 Maley Sellers 2 Free Hardeman Harvey Payne BEST MELBOURNE White Moniz-Wakefield Edwards Jefferson Billings Laurie NORTH MELBOURNE VFL Lazzaro Stephenson McKercher Hardeman Stephens Hansen Jr Statistics Jed Adams 5 kicks 5 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 21 dream team points Jack Billings 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 69 dream team points Tyler Edwards 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 82 dream team points Tom Freeman 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Tom Fullarton 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 8 hitouts 48 dream team points Max Gregory 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 55 dream team points Matt Jefferson 4 goals 9 kicks 1 handball 10 disposals 8 marks 1 tackle 81 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 goal 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 21 dream team points Eddie King 1 goal 3 kicks 3 handballs 6 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 31 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 11 kicks 8 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 5 tackles 67 dream team points Shane McAdam 1 goal 1 behind 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 35 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 1 behind 22 kicks 13 handballs 35 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 115 dream team points Ned Moodie 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 2 tackles 31 dream team points Charlie Peters 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 38 dream team points Josh Schache 1 behind 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 20 dream team points Ollie Sestan 1 kick 5 handballs 6 disposals 4 tackles 29 dream team points Roan Steele 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 61 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 1 goal 4 kicks 10 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 53 dream team points Ryan Valentine 4 kicks 1 handball 5 disposals 2 marks 17 dream team points Will Verrall 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 16 hitouts 49 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 2 behinds 19 kicks 8 handballs 27 disposals 4 marks 9 tackles 131 dream team points Kai Windsor 1 behind 3 kicks 4 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 27 dream team points Taj Woewodin 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 22 dream team points

The Casey Demons had it easy on a windy day under sunny skies at the home of the VFL Kangaroos at Arden Street on Sunday. They caught the hapless Roos who were badly depleted by injury on the hop and disposed of them with little trouble. It was the second time in consecutive seasons that Casey inflicted a 100 plus points defeat on the Roos who had no answers for an opponent on the rampage. When the game started, Casey was without three important forward line components in Mitch Brown, Kade Chandler and Jake Melksham who were all in Perth with the Melbourne team. In the reshuffle caused by the three late changes came VFL-listers Jake Bell, Tyler Edwards and Roan Steele, all with roles to play in coach Mark Corrigan’s plan for the ladder leaders. They might have been down to 13 AFL-listed players with depleted forward line strength on paper, but it didn’t matter as they scored at will throughout the day including a nine goal third quarter blitz that made the Kangaroos look like road kill. After a brief lapse inside the first minute, it was clear that the Demons’ twin key tall forwards were going to prove a handful for the home team. WA recruit Jacob Van Rooyen has been threatening a break out game for a few weeks and this was the day. He fed the ball out to Luke Dunstan for the team’s first goal and, soon after, capped it off with his second. Then Weideman clunked a great mark to score his first and what followed was a race between the two for top goal kicker on the day that ended in a dead heat on six apiece. It was a masterclass in key forward play with both kicking goals from great ground play and strong marking. One wonders how they could have worked in Mitch Brown who was across the Nullarbor. It wasn’t all the work of the twin towers either. Dunstan suffered from leather poisoning in the middle and kicked three goals to go with his 31 disposals. Toby Bedford took time off from his professional medical sub duties at Melbourne to showcase his pace and new maturity gained from his proximity to the A Team this year. He also kicked a couple of nice goals. Bailey Laurie is coming on in leaps and bounds as well and his four second half goals would have pleased Jason Taylor and his recruiting team. Taj Woewodin showed some glimpses of a future in the big time on his return from a fortnight out with concussion. Majak Daw also returned to the team with a strong performance in the ruck and he was very capably assisted by Jake Bell who played his best game yet at the club. Casey was also well served by skipper Mitch White, the ever-reliable Jimmy Munro and defender Matt Buntine who booted his first goal, courtesy of a 50 metre penalty. Likewise, George Grey was full of sparkle as the team ran riot and served notice to all and sundry that it was determined to hold tightly onto its top of the ladder status. In a strange quirk of fixturing, both sides have a bye next week while their AFL counterparts will be slugging it out at Marvel Stadium. Surely they could have had their byes this week and played before that game? CASEY DEMONS 5.7.37 11.12.78 20.17.137 26.21.177 NORTH MELBOURNE VFL 2.2.14 5.3.33 7.4.46 10.7.67 Goals Casey Demons Van Rooyen Weideman 6 Laurie 4 Dunstan 3 Bedford 2 Buntine Grey Turner White Woewodin North Melbourne VFL Walker Mitchell-Russell 2 Dib Dick Hore Jones Best Casey Demons Dunstan Van Rooyen Weideman Daw Grey Bedford White Munro Laurie North Melbourne VFL Hore Jones Tyson Smith Watkins Guthrie Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 17 kicks 3 handballs 20 disposals 8 marks 3 tackles 94 dream team points Riley Baldi 2 kicks 6 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 33 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 goals 2 behinds 13 kicks 11 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 101 dream team points Jake Bell 4 kicks 10 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 26 hit outs 74 dream team points Matt Buntine 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 55 dream team points Majak Daw 1 behind 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 44 hit outs 117 dream team points Luke Dunstan 3 goals 1 behind 18 kicks 13 handballs 31 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 112 dream team points Tyler Edwards 5 kicks 7 handballs 12 disposals 1 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points Corey Ellison 5 kicks 2 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 28 dream team points George Grey 1 goal 2 behinds 11 kicks 8 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Bailey Laurie 4 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 6 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 85 dream team points Tom Macrae 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 26 dream team points Judd McVee 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles 16 dream team points James Munro 1 behind 8 kicks 18 handballs 26 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 78 dream team points Fraser Rosman 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 37 dream team points Deakyn Smith 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 62 dream team points Roan Steele 3 behinds 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 56 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 20 kicks 7 handballs 27 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 97 dream team points Daniel Turner 1 goals 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 42 dream team points Jacob Van Rooyen 6 goals 2 behinds 10 kicks 12 handballs 22 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 116 dream team points Sam Weideman 6 goals 2 behinds 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 6 marks 1 tackle 1 hit out 113 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 1 behind 16 kicks 11 handballs 27 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 92 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 1 behind 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 82 dream team points

The Casey Demons returned to the winning list with an emphatic 54 point victory over a limp North Melbourne VFL combination at Casey Fields on Saturday. Smarting from last week’s thrashing at Box Hill, the Demons came out of the blocks intent on redeeming themselves for their embarrassing start to the 2019 campaign. After a brief early bout of inaccuracy, the goals flowed as a result of relentless pressure applied to the visitors who were constantly forced into error. The pleasing thing from Casey’s viewpoint was that the team had multiple avenues to goal with six different goalkickers hitting the scoreboard in the opening term tally of 6.7.43 to 0.0.0. The inspiration came from Jeff Garlett who shook off a lengthy period of injuries and indifferent performances to return to his sparkling best. Garlett tackled and harassed the opposition, brought others into the game, maintained that effort throughout and booted three goals to give himself every chance of returning to the Melbourne line up in the near future. Casey continued to dominate proceedings into the second term and pushed its lead out to 49 points at the 14 minute mark before the hapless Kangaroos scored their first ever goal against the club after 5½ quarters (they were held goalless in their only previous meeting last year). The Demon domination continued to half time when they led by 54 points and then through to the last break and into the final term when they led by as much as 84 points, 14 minutes into the quarter when skipper Mitch White booted his third. At that point, the home side appeared to relax and coach Jade Rawlings would not have been impressed as North went on a five goal spree to double its goal tally in the last fifteen minutes of the game. The coach would however, have been happy with his team’s all round effort and the much improved input of his Casey-listed players. Seasoned performers from the skipper to Mitch Gent and Jimmy Munro were in the fray early, as were debutant, Tim McCaffrey from Wangaratta Rovers and Jaxon Briggs who played his best game yet and booted three goals. Although recruit Liam Wale-Buxton was eventually well beaten in the hit outs by seasoned big man Tom Campbell, he contested strongly and tackled well. Speaking of tackling, Alex Neal-Bullen was a tackling machine throughout the game while the in-and-under midfield work of Corey Maynard was outstanding. Tom Sparrow was given a run with role on Dom Tyson and did very well in curbing the dangerous on baller for most of the game in what will prove an excellent learning experience for the youngster. Harry Petty and Declan Keilty both bounced back after subdued performances last week with the former outstanding in defence with his marking and rebounding work. Keilty looked good in his various roles, especially around the ground when called on to do the relief ruck work and also kicked a strong goal in the third term when up forward. Both will be in contention for promotion this week with injury doubts over Oscar McDonald and Braydon Preuss. The Demons have a bye next weekend before returning to Casey Fields to take on Richmond in a fortnight. 2019 Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL Casey Demons 6.7.43 10.9.69 17.10.112 18.11.119 North Melbourne VFL 0.0.0 2.3.15 4.6.30 10.5.65 Goals Casey Demons Briggs Garlett White 3 Baker Garlett McCaffrey Smith 2 Keilty Gent Quigley North Melbourne VFL Larkey 3 Campbell 2 Hodges Hrovat Rippon Robinson Wilkinson Best Casey Demons Petty Garlett Gent White Keilty Sparrow North Melbourne VFL Campbell Hayden Rippon Robinson Larkey Hrovat Statistics Oskar Baker 2 goals 7 kicks 8 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 78 dream team points Toby Bedford 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 30 dream team points Jaxon Briggs 3 goals kicks handballs disposals marks tackles dream team points Kade Chandler 1 behind 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 56 dream team points Jake Di Pasquale 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 64 dream team points Tom Freeman 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 56 dream team points Jeffrey Garlett 3 goals 1 behind 9 kicks 9 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 88 dream team points Mitch Gent 1 goal 1 behind 15 kicks 7 handballs 22 disposals 8 marks 2 tackles 99 dream team points Jack Hutchins 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 34 dream team points James Jordon 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 57 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 7 tackles 7 hit outs 92 dream team points Mitchell Lewis 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 43 dream team points Tom McCaffrey 2 goals 11 kicks 5 handballs 16 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 81 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 behind 6 kicks 17 handballs 23 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 68 dream team points James Munro 10 kicks 10 handballs 20 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 84 dream team points Alex Neal-Bullen 11 kicks 3 handballs 14 disposals 13 tackles 87 dream team points Harrison Petty 15 kicks 2 handballs 17 disposals 9 marks 3 tackles 90 dream team points Aidan Quigley 1 goal 1 behind 8 kicks 11 handballs 19 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 72 dream team points Tim Smith 2 goals 1 behinds 7 kicks 10 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 2 hit outs 94 dream team points Tom Sparrow 9 kicks 10 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 7 tackles 79 dream team points Luke Tynan 6 kicks 10 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 48 dream team points Liam Wale-Buxton 1 behind 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 9 tackles 23 hit outs 89 dream team points Mitchell White 3 goals 13 kicks 3 handballs 16 disposals 7 marks 3 tackles 4 hit outs 100 dream team points

The Casey Demons were simply far too strong for North Melbourne’s new stand alone team in trying conditions on a cold, wet and windy, winter’s afternoon to win their eighth straight game. By doing so, they kept the Kangaroos goalless into the bargain. The Demons with 17 AFL-listers were in control all day on an inhospitable, rain sodden Casey Fields ground that suited their strong-bodied, persistent, hard tackling game. They produced the ultimate in wet weather football dominating in every facet, perhaps with the exception of in the ruck where North giant Braydon Preuss held sway with a massive 71 hit outs. However, even that advantage was of little assistance to the Kangaroo cause given the fact that the slippery ball and Casey’s pressure in the clinches made it difficult for their on ball brigade to win the clearances. Casey had so much of the forward play that it was inevitable the opportunities would eventually come and they did so once or twice in every quarter, which was enough for them to forge an emphatic 37-point victory. That they kept they opposition to just seven points (three in the games’s dying moments) was a testament to their commitment to work hard all over the ground. The man who relished the difficult conditions most was possibly the shortest on the ground in Jay Kennedy Harris who kept his feet and his composure to score the only three goals of the second and third quarters. He finished the game with 25 touches. Along with Tom Bugg and Dom Tyson (31 possessions each), the trio controlled the midfield and ensured that Casey was going to be favoured in the majority of those stoppages where the ball wasn’t shoveled over the boundary line or killed under the weight of a pack of players. That was the sort of game you expect on a day when howling winds and teeming rain are the order of the day. Those conditions would certainly have suited the burly Aaron vandenBerg in the ordinary course but you would hardly have expected that 679 days after his last game he would collect 23 disposals and 16 tackles after coming onto the ground at quarter time. We saw less of his teammate Pat McKenna, a former champion junior cricketer who has been out of the game for almost as long as vandenBerg, but he would have been happy to get through three quarters after a couple of seasons that have been cruelled by hamstring issues. The Wagner brothers were solid again - Corey (19 touches and 15 tackles) was excellent against his old club and is really staking a claim for a second chance at AFL level while Jay Lockhart and James Munro with 20 possessions each coming out of defence hardly put a foot wrong all day. The Demons are home again next Sunday against Footscray and will be anxious to maintain their pressure packed style on yet another opponent. Peter Jackson VFL 2018 Casey Demons 1.4.10 2.6.18 4.12.36 5.14.44 North Melbourne VFL 0.2.2 0.3.3 0.4.4 0.7.7 Goals Casey Demons Kennedy Harris 3 Hannan C Wagner North Melbourne VFL Best Casey Demons Lockhart Kennedy-Harris Tyson Munro Vandenberg C Wagner North Melbourne VFL Rippon Davies-Uniacke Preuss McKay Holmes Northe Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 17 kicks 4 handballs 21 disposals 5 marks 2 tackles 78 dream team points Harley Balic 10 kicks 9 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 10 tackles 97 dream team points Tomas Bugg 13 kicks 18 handballs 31 disposals 2 marks 11 tackles 128 dream team points Lachlan Filipovic 1 behind 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 3 tackles 4 hit outs 41 dream team points Mitch Hannan 1 goal 7 kicks 17 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 12 tackles 116 dream team points Jack Hutchins 12 kicks 4 handballs 16 disposals 2 marks 4 tackles 63 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 kick 1 handballs 2 disposals 1 mark 6 tackles 32 dream team points Jay Kennedy Harris 3 goals 14 kicks 11 handballs 25 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 106 dream team points Dean Kent 1 behind 11 kicks 4 handballs 15 disposals 2 marks 9 tackles 85 dream team point Mitchell King 6 kicks 6 disposals 2 tackles 16 hit outs 37 dream team points Jay Lockhart 15 kicks 5 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 66 dream team points Pat McKenna 1 kick 8 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 25 dream team points Corey Machaya 1 behind 8 kicks 14 handballs 22 disposals 3 marks 6 tackles 85 dream team points James Munro 14 kicks 6 handballs 20 disposals 4 marks 6 tackles 88 dream team points Cameron Pedersen 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 87 dream team points Harrison Petty 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 41 dream team points Tim Smith 1 behind 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 59 dream team points Corey Stockdale 17 kicks 2 handballs 19 disposals 1 mark 8 tackles 91 dream team points Dom Tyson 8 kicks 23 handballs 31 disposals 7 marks 15 tackles 145 dream team points Aaron vandenBerg 1 behind 13 kicks 10 handballs 23 disposals 16 tackles 108 dream team points Corey Wagner 1 goal 14 kicks 5 handballs 19 disposals 3 marks 15 tackles 123 dream team points Josh Wagner 12 kicks 5 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 8 tackles 82 dream team points Sam Weideman 2 behinds 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 7 marks 2 tackles 3 hit outs 66 dream team points