By Marcus Uhe
Beaconsfield forward Matt Johnson played a major role handing the Casey Demons a 10th loss for the VFL season in a 27-point Demons loss at Frankston’s Kinetic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson kicked four first-half goals and three during a disastrous stretch of six consecutive goals for Frankston during the second term that sunk the Demons in a wet, low-scoring affair.
10.8 68 to 5.11 41 read the final score, with the second term the game’s major outlier and ultimately deciding factor.
Casey was outscored 7.2 to 1.2 in that period, with Johnson a focal point in the Dolphins’ forward half, as Frankston turned a seven-point deficit at quarter time into a 29-point half time lead.
Johnson nailed one snap from a tight angle at a forward 50 stoppage, another major from a difficult set shot outside 50 and a third at ground level after his teammates took the advantage from a free kick further afield against Casey defender Blake Howes, helping Frankston race to a 28-point lead late in the quarter.
Resting ruck Jake Bell goaled late in the term for Casey, but poor defending from the Demons at the next centre bounce allowed the Dolphins to immediately answer back, and take a 29-point lead into the half.
Beyond half time, there were only two goals scored apiece, with heavy rain making life difficult in the third term, as Casey’s poor kicking for goal netted them just 1.6.
Roan Steele, Shane McAdam and Oliver Sestan all missed chances, with McAdam looking particularly dangerous in the forward half as a speedy ground level threat.
Despite winning the clearance battle by 13, the Demons were unable to capitalise with territory wins, losing the inside 50 count by five.
Led by Kynan Brown’s outstanding 24 tackles, Casey finished with a higher tackle-count in the slippery conditions, but it mattered little in the final result.
Brown added 27 disposals, 11 clearances and a goal to his stat line, with Mitch White not far behind on 24 disposals, 13 tackles and 13 clearances.
Johnson’s Beaconsfield teammate Mitch Szybkowski had 17 disposals, seven tackles and five clearances.
Regular contributors Bailey Laurie, Jack Billings, Adam Tomlinson, Tom Fullarton and Lachlan Hunter were all absent through AFL selection and travel or injury, depleting the Casey side at the selection table.
The Demons host Greater Western Sydney on Saturday morning at Casey Fields in an attempt to start a winning conclusion to the season.
Johnson’s four continued his excellent goal kicking form, moving to outright second in the Frosty Miller Medal count.
Elsewhere in the VFL, Beaconsfield’s Kade De La Rue was recalled for North Melbourne in its 14-point loss to Cal Porter’s Box Hill, while Narre’s Jack Toner had 13 disposals and five tackles in a slogfest at Williamstown.
