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There was a stage deep in the third term of the game at Casey Fields when UTS Giants fans were deep in despair. Three and a half minutes of time on had elapsed, the rains were coming down, the wind was howling and the lights on the scoreboard on the outer brightly shone like a distress signal as their team’s season sagged on the line - • Casey Demons 6 goals 9 behinds 45 points • UWS Giants 3 goals 3 behinds 21 points. The Giants were being dominated in the wet conditions and while the deficit of four goals was not insurmountable, it looked impossible. The fact of the matter was that but for the home side’s inaccuracy in front of goals, their season would have already been well and truly sunk. As it turned out, there was no need to panic. The Giants’ winning key forward Max Gruzewski was about to boot through his fourth goal to raise their faint hopes of a revival. When the siren sounded to signal three quarter time he was still their only goal kicker and they trailed by 20 points. Then followed eighteen frenetic minutes to remember as the Giants added another four goals (including Max Gruzewski’s fifth in a row) to Casey’s four behinds to level the scores at 51 each another nine minutes before Callum Brown kicked a point to put the team in front. That was enough to win it but, for good measure, they added another at a little over a minute left. The final score board flashed - • Casey Demons 6 goals 15 behinds 51 points • UWS Giants 9 goals 4 behinds 58 points. The final score would have been familiar to a couple of AFL premiership players in Tom Sparrow and Lachie Hunter who played in similarly unfriendly conditions in Alice Springs against the Giants last year (5.15.45 to 7.5.47) so they would be well aware that the adage about bad kicking being bad football is so very much an important indicator of how games in this sport are won and lost. To a lesser extent the AFL Demons learned the same lesson last night. The defeat was certainly not the fault of either of those players. Sparrow entered the fray determined to atone for his omission from the Melbourne team with 31 disposals, nine tackles and nine clearances. One of those tackles was a bone jarring tackle that showed his teammates the way as they began their period of dominance in the second and third quarters. Even when the Giants’ revival was on the cards, he was burrowing in hard for the football to will his team home. Hunter finished with 18 possessions, three marks and a couple of tackles after resting on the bench in the game’s early stages. Other Melbourne listed players to do well were Tom Fullarton with 25 disposals, 16 hitouts, ten clearances and o goal and defenders Marty Hore and Adam Tomlinson was strong with 23 and 22 touches respectively. Matthew Jefferson continues to showcase a future of promise with his 17 disposals but could have learned from Gruzewski when it came to accuracy in front of the big sticks. His only goal from four shots came from a long way out. Young rookies in Ollie Sestan and Will Verrall showed that they remain worthy of perseverance going into the future. Mitch White was once again the leader of the pack of VFL listed players along with Tyson Edwards but in the main this cohort tired badly in the end along with many of the AFL listed players who struggled to find touch in the difficult conditions in a game that got away. CASEY DEMONS 2.2.14 4.5.29 6.11.47 6.15.51 UWS GIANTS 2.2.14 3.3.21 4.3.27 9.4.58 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Bell Fullarton Jefferson Verrall White Yze UWS GIANTS Gruzewski 5 Delana Hebron Wardius Wehr BEST CASEY DEMONS Sparrow Hore Fullarton White Jefferson Sestan UWS GIANTS Gruzewski Haynes Leake Brown Stone Angwin Statistics Jack Bell 1 goals 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 2 marks 22 dream team points Kynan Brown 3 kicks 7 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 54 dream team points Tyler Edwards 9 kicks 7 handballs 16 disposals 1 mark 41 dream team points Tom Fullarton 1 goal 1 behind 14 kicks 10 handballs 24 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 16 hitouts 95 dream team points Roy George 3 behinds 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 44 dream team points Max Gregory 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 17 dream team points Blake Howes 6 kicks 4 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 33 dream team points Marty Hore 17 kicks 6 handballs 23 disposals 11 marks 1 tackle 97 dream team points Lachie Hunter 1 behind 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 66 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 goal 3 behinds 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 73 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 behind 4 kicks 4 disposals 1 mark 15 dream team points Nick Moodie kicks handballs disposals marks tackles 41 dream team points Harvey Neocleous kicks handballs disposals marks tackles dream team points Charlie Peters 1 behind 7 kicks 5 handballs 12 disposals 4 tackles 48 dream team points Josh Schache 6 kicks 1 handballs 7 disposals 3 marks 30 dream team points Ollie Sestan 1 behind 12 kicks 3 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 79 dream team points Tom Sparrow 1 behind 17 kicks 14 handballs 31 disposals 4 marks 9 tackles 133 dream team points Roan Steele 12 kicks 3 handballs 15 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 64 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 17 kicks 4 handballs 21 disposals 8 marks 78 dream team points Will Verrall 1 goal 1 behind 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 11 hitouts 64 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 16 kicks 5 handballs 21 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 86 dream team points Kai Windsor 10 kicks 2 handballs 12 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 42 dream team points Noah Yze 1 goals 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 57 dream team point