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The Frankston Dolphins broke a run of six straight losses against their neighbours, the Casey Demons and kept their hopes for a long-awaited return to the VFL finals alive with a 27 point victory over at Kinetic Stadium. Casey was welcomed to the Peninsula by grey skies, heavy rain and angry seas with threatening white-capped waves whipped up by gale force winds. After a slow start in the opening term when they failed to take advantage of the breeze, it appeared that the Demons had decided to take a rain check on participation in the fray in the next stanza. They were duly blown out of the game by a powerful Dolphin surge that netted seven goals to a single major and they never recovered from the onslaught that saw them 27 points down at the main break. To their credit however, the visitors did manage to claw back a couple of points in a fairly dull and colourless second half of football but a full comeback to challenge Frankston’s lead was out of the question. Casey was always going to be under the pump from the moment its team selection revealed that five AFL listed players of various levels of experience were out of the side from last week’s win against Essendon. The late withdrawal of two more in Ben Brown and Taj Woewodin to be replaced by one emergency only leaving the bench one player short was a major blow. It was a major advantage for the Dolphins to have an extra on the bench when running into the wind with mud and slush under foot can be so energy slashing. Statistically, the teams were fairly even apart from the all-important conversion rate in front of goals but this belied the fact that Frankston was a far more even in its makeup and, with a possible finals appearance beckoning, was more intense in its approach to the game in wet, blustery and bitterly cold conditions. In any event, the statistics in the conditions that prevailed on Saturday saw different numbers than those which apply under what you would describe as “normal” playing conditions. There are less marks taken, more tackles and stoppages and many more ruck contests. The standout on the day was Melbourne rookie Kynan Brown who announced himself as a true mudlark. He took on the contest fearlessly and racked up some big numbers, gathering 27 disposals, 11 clearances and a goal and a club season high 24 tackles. This should assure him of a senior role, if not next up, then at least the next time Simon Goodwin is handed an adverse weather report for an upcoming game. Goodwin might also be comforted by the performance of Brown’s fellow rookie Will Verrall who had a great duel with his Dolphin counterpart in the ruck to pick up 45 hit outs, but won comfortably around the ground with 14 kicks 4 handballs and seven clearances. Defenders Marty Hore (10 marks) and Blake Howes (six tackles) each amassed 21 touches and were backed up by Josh Schache who picked up 18 disposals in a move to defence. Shane McAdam’s forte of his marking and kicking were affected by the conditions but he persisted with a strong performance in laying 12 tackles. Young forwards Matt Jefferson and Ollie Sestan weren’t suited to the heavy going but persisted throughout. Casey Demons coach Taylor Whitford did all that he could in the circumstances and the list he was given. He could well have done with a couple more VFL hardened bodies like his indefatigable skipper Mitch White who toiled hard all day for his 24 disposals and 13 tackles. He had strong backing from Roan Steele, Tyler Edwards and Mitch SzybkowskI who had a point to prove against his old club. Jack Bell also provided good support as second ruckman and his two goals were invaluable. One wonders why Melbourne looked far and wide to find a back up ruckman for Max Gawn when they had a player of this calibre on their doorstep. The Demons next start is an early one, next Saturday morning when they take on the UWS Giants at 11:35am back at Casey Fields. CASEY DEMONS 2.1.13 3.3.21 4.9.33 5.11.41 FRANKSTON 1.0.6 8.2.50 9.4.58 10.8.68 GOALS CASEY DEMONS Bell 2 K Brown Kentfield Peters FRANKSTON Johnson 4 Murphy 2 Burke Gown Newnes Quirk BEST CASEY DEMONS K Brown White Hore Steele Verrall SzybkowskI FRANKSTON Murphy Quirk Johnson Voss Grant Barlow Statistics Jed Adams 2 kicks 2 disposals 1 tackle 10 dream team points Jack Behnk 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 4 tackles 26 dream team points Jack Bell 2 goals 8 kicks 3 handballs 11 disposals 5 marks 1 tackle 12 hit outs 68 dream team points Kynan Brown 1 goal 16 kicks 11 handballs 27 disposals 24 tackles 175 dream team points Tyler Edwards 18 kicks 5 handballs 23 disposals 1 mark 5 tackles 85 dream team points Roy George 1 behind 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 40 dream team points Max Gregory 2 kicks 4 handballs 6 disposals 7 tackles 42 dream team points Blake Howes 13 kicks 8 handballs 21 disposals 5 marks 6 tackles 89 dream team points Marty Hore 20 kicks 1 handball 21 disposals 10 marks 1 tackles 97 dream team points Matt Jefferson 1 behind 6 kicks 8 handballs 14 disposals 1 mark 1 tackles 43 dream team points Luker Kentfield 1 goal 1 kick 2 handballs 3 disposals 2 tackles 12 dream team points Brayden Laplanche 5 kicks 5 disposals 2 tackles 23 dream team points Shane McAdam 3 behinds 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 2 marks 12 tackles 95 dream team points Nick Moodie 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 31 dream team points Charlie Peters 1 goal 8 kicks 5 handballs 13 disposals 8 tackles 70 dream team points Josh Schache 14 kicks 4 handballs 18 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 72 dream team points Ollie Sestan 2 behinds 13 kicks 5 handballs 18 disposals 1 mark 1 tackle 55 dream team points Roan Steele 1 behind 19 kicks 4 handballs 23 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 87 dream team points Mitch Szybkowski 11 kicks 6 handballs 17 disposals 1 mark 7 tackles 76 dream team points Will Verrall 14 kicks 4 handballs 18 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 45 hitouts 107 dream team points Mitch White 20 kicks 4 handballs 24 disposals 2 marks 13 tackles 120 dream team points Kai Windsor 7 kicks 3 handballs 10 disposals 1 mark 8 tackles 63 dream team points

The Casey Demons managed to survive a day of challenges that in many ways mirrored their AFL counterpart Narrm from the previous day but Casey emerged undefeated from their Round 10 encounter with Frankston at Skybus Stadium. Like the Demon seniors they were undermanned and lost players due to late withdrawals, went through an arm wrestle in the first quarters, took over the game in the second to set up a big lead before a late goal gave hope to their opponent and limped through a last half in which goals were scarce and they were dominated in general play as they went into survival mode. The major difference was that the Dolphins were inaccurate in front of goal and the Demons managed to hit their targets enough times to win the game. The final score of 10.6 (66) to 6.12 (48) told the story. The Demons can thank their key defenders in Adam Tomlinson and Daniel Turner for stemming the tide. Tomlinson was magnificent all day with his 28 disposals while Turner with his strong marking early (he finished with seven marks and 14 touches) was also impressive. With the late withdrawal of ruckman Majak Daw and the team down to a season’s low of 11 AFL listers, the visitors relied heavily on their local players and a number of them stood up. Jimmy Munro, the ever reliable notched up 14 tackles and 22 possessions and Mitch White was steady all day while youngster, George Grey played his best game for the club. Normally a flanker, he was thrust by circumstances into the midfield and played a strong role in his side’s win. During the team’s second quarter burst he won a clearance and linked up in a chain of passes to finish off the play with a nice goal. Josh Smith worked hard in the ruck for 25 hit outs. He was solid around the ground and also kicked a steadying goal for his team on debut. Corey Ellison, who has been played down back when selected this year, went forward and combined well with Mitch Brown. Between them, they booted five goals in the first half. Ellison’s three goals were reminiscent of his goal kicking heroics against Werribee last year. Riley Baldi produced an excellent defensive display for the Demons. Oskar Baker (20 disposals) provided plenty of run on the outside and Deakyn Smith also underlined his improvement in defence while Taj Woewodin was solid and kicked a vital long goal when needed in the final stanza. The undefeated Casey Demons have a big day out planned for next Saturday when they take on the Sydney Swans in the curtain raiser to the AFL match up at the MCG. Casey Demons 2.1.13 8.4.52 8.6.54 10.6.66 Frankston 2.1.13 3.3.21 4.7.31 6.12.48 Goals Casey Demons Ellison 3 M Brown 2 Grey Laurie Neocleous J.Smith Woewodin Frankston Burton McLaughlin 2 Fordham Lambert Best Casey Demons Grey Munro Tomlinson Ellison Baker Turner D Smith Brown Frankston Stoddart Freeman Mynott Murphy Fordham Riley Statistics Oskar Baker 13 kicks 7 handballs 20 disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 63 dream team points Riley Baldi 6 kicks 9 handballs 15 disposals 4 marks 7 tackles 74 dream team points Mitch Brown 2 goals 2 behinds 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 5 marks 3 tackles 71 dream team points Matt Buntine 6 kicks 1 handball 7 disposals 4 marks 4 tackles 49 dream team points Tyler Edwards 3 kicks 2 handballs disposals 2 marks 1 tackle 20 dream team points Corey Ellison 3 goals 1 behind 10 kicks 4 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 1 tackle 2 hit outs 81 dream team points George Grey 1 goals 13 kicks 6 handballs 19 disposals 2 marks 7 tackles 95 dream team points Michael Hibberd 6 kicks 5 handballs 11 disposals 3 marks 5 tackles 54dream team points Ryan Koo 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 1 tackle 34 dream team points Bailey Laurie 1 goal 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 3 tackles 36 dream team points Judd McVee 12 kicks 2 handballs 14 disposals 3 marks 2 tackles 55 dream team points Andy Moniz-Wakefield 3 kicks 6 handballs 9 disposals 1 mark 2 tackles 29 dream team points Bryce Milford 2 kicks 1 handballs 3 disposals 4 tackles 5 hit outs 30 dream team points James Munro 5 kicks 17 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 14 tackles 102 dream team points Harvey Neocleous 1 goal 1 kicks 3 handballs 4 disposals 2 tackles 23 dream team points Fraser Rosman 6 kicks 3 handballs 9 disposals 4 marks 3 tackles 39 dream team points Deakyn Smith 12 kicks 7 handballs 19 disposals 5 marks 5 tackles 80 dream team points Josh Smith 1 goals 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 25 hit outs 78 dream team points Roan Steele 5 kicks 5 handballs 10 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 43 dream team points Adam Tomlinson 21 kicks 7 handballs 28 disposals 8 marks 3 tackles 114 dream team points Daniel Turner 9 kicks 5 handballs 14 disposals 7 marks 1 tackles 62 dream team points Mitch White 8 kicks 4 handballs 12 disposals 4 marks 11 tackles 80 dream team points Taj Woewodin 1 goal 8 kicks 8 handballs 16 disposals 4 marks 2 tackles 66 dream team points