By JARROD POTTER
VICTORIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
REVIEW – round 9
BONE-RATTLING hits, torrential rain and a closely fought clash – there’s not much more the VFL punters could ask for at Casey Fields.
As a prelude to their AFL counterparts clash on Monday, the Casey Scorpions and Collingwood VFL sides vied to claim public holiday honours and most importantly, the need for Casey to bounce back after its last defeat at the hands of Coburg.
Casey kept its nose in front through the middle quarters in a tussle for the purists and not the modern statisticians and biometric analysts as the rain and wind made the long barrel up the centre the best bet.
Debuting in the senior ranks, Casey’s Matt Rennie showcased the grit and determination that made him a fan favourite at the Dandenong Stingrays and the Rowville forward didn’t disappoint as he manufactured two goals in the wet. Also earning his first jumper was former Eastern Ranges/Box Hill midfielder Jackson McDonald.
With only a slender three-point lead at the final change, Rohan Welsh’s charges were put on the back foot by two quick Collingwood majors. The comeback was forced by Viv Michie and Tim Smith to regain the lead, but the lead was short lived as Magpies’ Caolan Mooney soccered it off the ground in the dying minutes against Casey pushing the Pies to a slender six-point win.
From only a half of football, Jordie Mckenzie secured 23 touches and will be in the reckoning for a Melbourne call-up while Sam Blease picked up 24 touches and Dean Kent also impressed with 22 possessions and a trio of goals.
Outside of a 58-point blowout loss against Sandringham, Casey has been in the hunt in every loss as it has only lost by 12, eight, six and five points respectively while winning by six, 14 and 16 from its three triumphs.
At the half-way stage of the season, Casey heads to North Ballarat on Saturday to hopefully improve upon a 3-5 record which leaves the Scorpions languishing in 13th place.
VFL SCOREBOARD
CASEY SCORPIONS 2.1 4.3 9.5 11.7 (73)
COLLINGWOOD 2.2 3.4 8.8 11.13 (79)
CASEY
Goals: D. Kent 3, M. Rennie 2, D. Barry 2, T. Smith, P. Rosier, V. Michie, L. Tapscott. Best: D. Kent, J. McKenzie, A. Riley, J. Strauss, T. Smith, S. Blease.
COLLINGWOOD
Goals: M. Suckling 2, T. Allan 2, B. Reid 2, K. Martin 2, L. Ferguson, C. Mooney, T. Armstrong. Best: M. Suckling, B. Kennedy, J. Williams, J. Hellier, B. Hudson, J. Marsh.
