By Jonty Ralphsmith
Casey was handed its second straight defeat in the VFL at Casey Fields on Saturday, while the VFLW side was also defeated in its season-opener.
The men were never in the contest, blown away by in a six-goal-to-one first quarter and never able to catch up, going down 9.13 67 to 19.6 120 to a GWS VFL side brimming with AFL talent.
There was plenty of interest in the match across the AFL industry, with hybrid forward Bayley Fritsch dropped from Melbourne’s lineup after a substandard start to the season.
Ironically, the appearance came precisely 10 years after the 2021 premiership player’s Casey debut, but he was unable to meaningfully impact, finishing with a goal from 11 touches.
The Dees were beaten up around the contest, despite the best efforts of Riley Baldi, Riley Bonner and Jai Culley.
After spending round three moreso forward, Baldi returned to the midfield in round four and played a relative lone hand, combining 23 disposals and a goal to continue his strong start to 2025.
Culley also worked hard for 19 disposals and seven tackles, while Bonner was his team’s best, finishing with a game-high 36 disposals as he did everything he could to stem the bleeding.
Casey fall to 12th on the ladder following the loss and will face Richmond at Casey Fields on Anzac Day Eve, with the Tigers coming off their first loss of the season.
Meanwhile, Collingwood outlasted Casey in the VFLW with a four goal to zero second half lifting the Pies to a 7.5 47 to 3.1 19 victory.
Ryleigh Wotherspoon worked hard around the contest to finish with 16 disposals and 13 tackles, while Megan Fitzsimon was Casey’s leading possession-winner and Lauren Jatczak won the ruck contest against Mackenzie Bourne.
For Collingwood, the most influential player was Dandenong Stingrays-listed Tahlia Sanger.
A 19-year-old who is splitting her time between Coates League and VFLW in 2025, Sanger is a hard-running, skilful midfielder, who showed she was up to the physicality of senior footy, finishing with 23 disposals, nine tackles and four clearances.
