By Jonty Ralphsmith
Stories within Casey’s premiership
A Norm Goss medal to Mitch White and a match-winning moment for Jimmy Munro were fitting chronicles within the Casey Demons’ premiership.
The pair have been loyal servants to the Dees for several years, with the skipper playing 104 games, and Munro’s 143 games emanating a similar respect at Casey Fields for the paramedic.
Not only did White shutdown potential gamebreaker Jacob Dawson, he himself gathered 29 disposals to get the game on Casey’s terms.
Munro, meanwhile, relished the wet conditions at Ikon Park, finishing with 17 tackles, including eight in a ferocious third quarter.
He led the midfield’s charge to keep the foot on the accelerator, ensuring Southport could not get a clear run and switch the momentum of the game.
Each of their grand finals capped off a terrific home and away campaign where their DNA as footballers has flowed into the into Casey line-up.
Below is a statistical overview and coach’s word on their seasons, along with Cranbourne locals George Grey and Corey Ellison.
Jimmy Munro (Cora Lynn)
Games played: 20
Stats that matter: Averages 22 disposals and 8.5 tackles per game (his 170 tackles was a league high) recording his season-best tally in the grand final.
Coach says: “He’s incredibly consistent and I haven’t seen anyone like him in terms of how consistent he is behaviourally week to week. He has a challenging role as a paramedic outside of footy but he’s someone who won’t make an excuse to go out and perform each week. He trains to an incredibly high level and you know what you will get from him. He leads by example because what he asks people to do, he does himself. He’s an incredibly infectious person, a positive person around the group, so whilst being part of a VFL program can be hard with work, he leads the way for our young boys to know that if you want to play VFL, you make the most of your situation and that’s what he does so well. He reaches out and connects to people and genuinely cares about people – we’re lucky to have him.”
Mitch White (Cranbourne)
Games played: 19
Stats that matter: Averages 20 disposals and 5.7 tackles, recording a season-best tackles figure in the preliminary final against Brisbane (12) before going one better in the big dance. Also scored 18 goals.
Coach says: “He has a really smart football brain. For him it was a shift from playing as a pure forward to a midfielder this year and he adjusted to that. To captain the way he does and make team of the year as a midfielder and be best on ground in a granny speaks volumes of how much he understands the game and how much time he puts in. Off the field, he drives standards, leads by example and brings the young guys along with him.
“It would never be an issue if we asked him to play four different positions in one day, he would just do whatever the team needs. We spoke this time last year about him progressing to more of an inside-mid, based on what we may need, and we thought we might have lacked depth there at VFL level so his offseason was all based around physically getting ready to play that role.”
Teammate George Grey says: “I have so much respect for him. He is someone who can communicate to each and every player and tell them how to get better in the right way – there are people who struggle to give good feedback but Whitey’s ability to connect with all players and the younger boys, the way he includes us means he is a role model with his professionalism. He’s remarkable.”
George Grey (Cranbourne)
Games played: 14
Stats that matter: 12 goals including at least one in seven of his last eight matches. Averages 13.3 disposals and 3.1 tackles.
Coach says: “He gave us a bit more fleet of foot, lateral movement, he has a real dynamism to the way he plays for us when his opportunity arose as the fourth midfielder, we wanted him to back himself in to be really clean and he has also got the ability to add his tackling and pressure and defensive attributes were really on show.”
Corey Ellison (Cranbourne)
Games played: 20
Stats that matter: Averages 9.9 disposals and 3.5 marks.
Coach says: “He’s made a really strong impact in a short period of time: I look at Corey and think he has AFL attributes and I think we’re helping him to pursue that goal of ending up on an AFL list . When you’re holding down a key forward as a defender and doing it really well, I think he is on that path. He’s built a good rapport with Matt Buntine and Adam Tomlinson. They know what each other’s strengths are and he’s a young leader in our group. He sets strong standards from a training point of view.
“He’s a competitive person and really good hands and versatility to play on talls and smalls.
“He adjusted really quickly and has improved every week: finding the balance between when to defend and when to back yourself to mark and I love that aspect as a defender, yep defends hard, really competitive but when he is in a position to mark it he puts his strength on show.”
Teammate George Grey says: “He’s awesome, I see him as a big brother, he’s very mature for his age. I wish I could move out with him and we could work hard at footy together, that’d be awesome, we’d push each other each and every day – as great a footballer as he is, he’s helped me a lot more than just footy. We have a lot of discussions about each other’s games and he helps me a lot.”
