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The 2018 VFL premiership season campaign opened up on a bright note for the Casey Demons when they demolished the stand-alone Coburg Lions on their home turf at Piranha Park yesterday. The plucky Lions were out of the blocks early with the opening goal of the game, but in an omen of what was to come, Sam Weideman crunched his way through a pack, gave the ball off to former Docker Harley Balic who leveled the scores. The pair would each kick another five goals in their team’s massive first up win and, of course, they put their hands up for higher selection in the near future. Weideman, who had ankle surgery over the off season, was in exquisite form both in front of goal (he had four goals at the main break) and helping out in the ruck. Balic appears to have left the homesick blues behind him and was right at home in his first official game back in Melbourne. By quarter time, Casey held a 20 point lead and, while Coburg maintained its resistance against a strong defence led by Declan Keilty, Mitch White and young Adelaide recruit Harry Petty, it cracked in the latter half of the term as the likes of Corey Maynard, Mitch Hannan and Jayden Hunt were lively around the ball. By half time, the Casey lead had stretched out to 55 points. The Demons would have been pleased with the performances of their younger guns in Petty, Oskar Baker and Charlie Spargo although the latter’s name ended up in the umpire’s notebook after an indiscretion in the opening term. Some observers might have been scratching their heads when Melbourne drafted the 197cm Norwood, SA key defender Petty in light of their depth in that part of the ground particularly after recruiting All Australian Jake Lever, but the youngster was all coolness and class in his debut at this level and promises big things in the future. Baker is a pacy jack-in-a-box who needs to work on his awareness as he backs himself with his run, but will excite when he gets his chances at a higher level. Spargo, who kicked two goals for the game, might lack in height but has all of the skills and will also be worth watching as he develops through the season. The procession continued after the main break with Angus Brayshaw overcoming a heavy tag and demonstrating his quality. Cam Pedersen was in awesome form with his marking and strong play setting up attacking opportunities for Balic, Jay Kennedy Harris and Hannan as the Demons strolled to the easiest of wins. VFL-lister Angus Scott worked hard for his two goals from limited opportunities and North Launceston recruit Jay Lockhart was steady on debut pushing forward for a goal in the third quarter. The other excitement for spectators was the sight of the Casey Radio truck bogged in a ditch at the ground before the game which effectively curtailed transmission for the day. Fortunately, it didn’t prevent the team from trucking away to a 107 point victory. It was difficult to assess the full impact of Casey’s win because of the opposition’s lack of high calibre players. The visitors had 18 AFL listed players plus two others with previous experience at the highest level and their dominance was inevitable. They are way from home again next week as they travel to Werribee on Saturday night to play against another stand alone team although the Tigers gave Geelong VFL a fright in their opening round game. Casey Demons 5.2.32 13.4.82 19.9.123 28.12.180 Coburg Lions 2.0.12 4.3.27 6.5.41 11.7.73 Goals Casey Demons Balic 6 Weideman 5 Hannan 3 Kennedy Harris Scott T Smith Spargo 2 Bradshaw Johnstone Lockhart Maynard Pedersen Stretch Coburg Lions Mellington Svarc 2 Cannolo Fox Goodwin Hunt Kerbatieh Lentini Mitchell-Russell Best Casey Demons Brayshaw Pedersen Hannan Weideman Balic Petty Coburg Lions Exon Dickson Mellington Lowson Guthrie Murphy Statistics Oskar Baker 1 behind 12 kicks 8 handballs 20 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 65 dream team points Harley Balic 6 goals 1 behind 16 kicks 4 handballs 20 disposals 10 marks 3 tackles 126 dream team points Angus Brayshaw 1 goal 11 kicks 16 handballs 27 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 104 dream team points Lachlan Filipovic 3 kicks 7 handballs 10 disposals 2 marks 13 hit outs 42 dream team points Mitchell Hannan 3 goals 1 behind 16 kicks 9 handballs 25 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 100 dream team points Jayden Hunt 8 kicks 12 handballs 20 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 83 dream team points Dion Johnstone 1 goal 4 kicks 4 handballs 8 disposals 1 marks 3 tackles 38 dream team points Declan Keilty 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 34 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 2 goals 1 behind 16 kicks 8 handballs 24 disposals 6 marks 4 tackles 114 dream team points Mitch King 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 26 hit outs 56 dream team points Mitchell Lewis 1 behind 4 kicks 6 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points Jay Lockhart 1 goal 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 1 tackle 1 hit out 49 dream team points Corey Maynard 1 goal 10 kicks 15 handballs 25 disposals 9 marks 1 tackle 91 team points Cameron Pedersen 1 goal 20 kicks 5 handballs 25 disposals 15 marks 5 tackles 138 dream team points Harrison Petty 7 kicks 6 handballs 13 disposals 4 marks 42 dream team points Angus Scott 2 goals 1 behinds 14 kicks 4 handballs 18 disposals 4 marks 76 dream team points Joel Smith 4 kicks 5 handballs 9 disposals 3 tackles 39 dream team points Timothy Smith 2 goals 4 behinds 12 kicks 12 handballs 24 disposals 6 marks 2 tackles 100 dream team points Charlie Spargo 2 goals 0 behinds 8 kicks 9 handballs 17 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 75 dream team points Billy Stretch 1 goal 1 behind 15 kicks 10 handballs 25 disposals 4 marks 5 tackles 102 dream team points Corey Wagner 10 kicks 5 handballs 15 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 55 dream team points Samuel Weideman 5 goals 1 behind 8 kicks 8 handballs 16 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 12 hit outs 98 dream team points Mitchell White 7 kicks 4 handballs 11 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 40 dream team points