An 88-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns rounded out a disappointing season for the Casey Demons in the Victorian Football League on Saturday.
A rare 10am start in the Queensland sun turned into a morning to forget for the Demons, thrashed by a percentage-hunting Suns side eager to escape the Wildcard placings on the ladder in their final opportunity.
After six goals apiece in the opening term, fans could be forgiven for settling in for a high-scoring shootout.
Only one side, however, went on with their bright start, the hosts storming to a commanding 27.13 175 to 13.9 87 result, kicking the highest individual team score of the 2024 VFL season in the process.
Beyond the opening term, the Suns kicked a further 21 goals to the Demons’ seven, with runs of four and five consecutive majors coming in a damaging second half.
But it wasn’t just on the scoreboard where the Demons were soundly beaten, finishing with 100 less total disposals, 53 less marks and 22 less inside 50s.
A strong Suns side, with AFL-established talent including Jack Lukosius, Alex Sexton and Brayden Fiorini, showed no mercy on a Demons outfit that by contrast, was limping to the finish line.
By three-quarter-time, the score read 22.8 140 to 11.7 73, thanks to 11 Suns goals in a third quarter procession.
Ben Brown kicked six goals in what could be his final game at the club, who announced his retirement from AFL football on Monday 19 August.
Andy Moniz-Wakefield, meanwhile, accumulated 36 disposals after being omitted from the senior Demons side, to lead all comers, with Beaconsfield’s Kobe Shipp grabbing nine disposals in his second game at VFL level.
It’s the first season since 2019 the Demons will watch September from the sidelines and represents a major fall from the premiership success of 2022.
In 18 games, the Demons won just five and lost 13, finishing with a percentage of 83.8.
At 90 points conceded per game, Casey possessed the fourth-worst defence in the competition that could not be matched by their own scoring output.
While rarely taken to task in 2024 on the field, too many games saw them surrender a late advantage or suffer a single-quarter lapse that frittered away chances to seal four points.
Just two wins at Casey Fields from nine attempts, meanwhile, saw them squander home ground advantage at a venue that had been a fortress in previous seasons.
Matthew Jefferson finished the season as the club’s leading goalkicker with 29 majors but failed to add to his tally on Saturday morning.
Injuries and a positional switch for Josh Schache and the unavailability of Joel Smith to suspension left the Demons lacking in fire power in its front half for much of the year, while having the program disrupted by the trevails of the AFL-aligned senior club left the coaching staff with a hand tied behind their back.
Jimmy Munro’s retirement, meanwhile, left a considerable hole in the midfield, as did the void left by 2023 best-and-fairest winner Deakyn Smith, who was delisted by the Demons at the end of last season.
The Demons will conclude their season with the club’s presentation night on Thursday 29 August.
