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After conceding the first six goals, some of them through careless play against a howling wind at their home fortress, the Casey Demons seemed to have atoned for their sins by clawing back an early 38-point deficit and taking the lead at the 24-minute mark of the final term. Had the stakes not been so high, they might have been forgiven for thinking they had the game in the bag, but they missed the point. And the point is that game is never over until it’s over. The fighting Seagulls dug deep to score a point and the winning goal against all odds to win by the narrowest of margins to deprive the reigning premiers of the opportunity of fighting for a top four placing before the finals. Casey still sits in fifth spot but with a bye coming up, will have a fight on its hands to maintain a strategic place on the ladder under the VFL’s new final ten system. For the visitors it was a good toss to win, and they made the most of the advantage with their early accuracy while they had the wind advantage. For Casey, the improving Andy Moniz-Wakefield was the early hero. He slotted the team’s only goal for the opening term and kicked two more in the second when it was the Demons’ turn with the wind. The club’s Category B rookie finished with seventeen touches and played a big role in reducing the deficit at half time to just five points. Meanwhile, the blustery conditions were troublesome for Casey’s tall forwards. None of Brodie Grundy, Ben Brown and Josh Schache managed to kick goals for the game although in the latter’s case it was not for want of trying as he took some strong marks up forward. Grundy went back to what he’s best at by going into the ruck and amassing thirty-one hit outs, ten disposals and six tackles. Rookie ruckman Will Verrall also finished with 31 hit outs and laid nine tackles in a promising performance. The Demons pressed hard against the wind in the third quarter and did well to hold the Seagulls to three goals while managing two themselves, one to father/son prospect Kynan Brown, the other to young forward Matt Jefferson. They were primed to win at the final break but allowed two goals through to Williamstown during the term with the result a heartbreaking one-point defeat. Luke Dunstan was prolific again with 35 possessions and nine clearances, Michael Hibberd was close behind with 32 touches and Bailey Laurie made the most of his 20 possessions and laid ten tackles and scored a goal. Casey was again well served by Jimmy Munro who did the hard yards with his fearsome tackling (a game high 16) to go with his 26 possessions and a goal while Mitch White and George Grey worked hard in the difficult conditions. With the bye coming up, Casey can only sit back next week, view the action while others make their move ahead of the finals. They will surely rue those last-minute lapses that saw the almost certain demise of their back-to-back premiership aspirations, missing out by a single point. CASEY DEMONS 1.1.7 5.5.35 7.5.47 11.8.74 WILLIAMSTOWN 6.4.40 6.4.40 9.8.62 11.9.75 GOAL CASEY DEMONS Moniz-Wakefield 3 K Brown Dunstan Grey Jefferson Laurie Munro Spargo White WILLIAMSTOWN Ottavi 3 Downie Ebinger Pickes 2 Conway Ellison BEST CASEY DEMONS Munro Dunstan Hibberd Laurie Moniz-Wakefield Grey WILLIAMSTOWN Downie Grieser Ebinger Ottavi Pickes Triffet Statistics Jed Adams 9 kicks 1 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 59 dream team points Ben Brown 2 behinds 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 1 mark 10 dream team points Kynan Brown 1 goal 4 kicks 1 handballs 5 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 39 dream team points Matt Buntine 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 2 marks 5 tackles 60 dream team points Luke Dunstan 1 goal 1 behind 15 kicks 20 handballs 35 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 114 dream team points Tyler Edwards 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 47 dream team points Tom Freeman 2 kicks 4 handballs 6 disposals marks tackles dream team points George Grey 1 goal 12 kicks 6 handballs 18 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 86 dream team points Brodie Grundy 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 31 hit outs 84 dream team points Michael Hibberd 18 kicks 15 handballs 33 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 113 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 goal 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 29 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 11 kicks 9 handballs 20 disposals 1 mark 10 tackles 97 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 3 goals 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 93 dream team points Ned Moodie 2 kicks 2 handballs 4 disposals 7 dream team points James Munro 1 goal 15 kicks 11 handballs 26 disposals 1 mark 16 tackles 143 dream team points Josh Schache 2 behinds 10 kicks 6 handballs disposals 8 marks 3 tackles 1 hit out 76 dream team points Oliver Sestan 3 kicks 1 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles 21 dream team points (injured) Deaykin Smith 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 63 dream team points Charlie Spargo 1 goal 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 33 dream team points Roan Steele 6 kicks 12 handballs 18 disposals 2 marks 3 tackles 55 dream team points Ryan Valentine 5 kicks 6 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 41 dream team points Will Verrall 2 kicks 5 handballs 7 disposals 9 tackles 31 hit outs 80 dream team points Mitch White 1 goal 16 kicks 6 handballs 22 disposals 1 mark 4 tackles 83 dream team points