THE DEMONS have endured a tough loss to the Williamstown Seagulls by 16 points at Downer Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Casey Demons 9.7 (61) defeated by Williamstown Seagulls 11.11 (77).
The loss marred the return of a number of key AFL-listed Demons including Jordan Lewis, Mitch Hannan, and Jay Kennedy Harris all coming back from injuries.
Compiling the pain of the loss was seeing Melbourne star Jake Lever unable to run out the match due to what appears to be a minor ankle injury.
What appeared to be an innocuous incident at first glance saw Lever limp from the field and attended to by the Casey training staff.
The key defender had his ankle re-taped but was unable to return to the contest and sat on the bench for the remainder of the match.
It was a tale of two halves on Sunday, as Casey exploded out of the blocks.
The returning Melbourne stars had an immediate impact on dominating the contest showcasing their footballing talents.
Jordan Lewis controlled the backlines, recording five first-quarter possession and pushed forward to find Toby Bedford for an opening quarter goal.
Mitch Hannan sprinted down the wing and slotted a goal from a difficult shot from deep within the pocket and Sam Weideman was another firing early, booting two goals in the first quarter.
Kennedy Harris was everywhere in the opening term, recording five possessions and four tackles, going on to finish with a team-high 26 disposals, and booting a goal.
But it wasn’t enough to secure the victory as the Demons succumbed to another difficult second half performance.
“You play against a tough standalone club [like Williamstown] that asks a lot of you over four quarters,” Casey Demons head coach Jade Rawlings told Melbourne Media.
“Halfway through the third quarter, the momentum started to shift.
“We weren’t able to resist that momentum… Williamstown were really able to grind us down today.”
Casey held a 15-point lead heading into the main break, but the Demons could not sustain the effort in the second half and let the Seagulls back into the contest.
After starting the game strong, the failure by the Demons midfielders to hit leading forwards curtailed Casey’s attac, including Weideman who finished with three goals but looked poised for a big haul.
“Weideman was a genuine focal point, he had a big impact on the game,” Rawlings said.
“But when we couldn’t give him supply it impacted his capacity to influence the game.”
As the game started becoming contest after contest, the battle started to edge in favour of the Seagulls as Casey’s bench had been reduced from five to three rotational players.
Lever joined Corey Maynard on the bench after the midfield received a knock to the back of his head in the opening half, Maynard walked from the field but had blood coming from his head and the Club enforced the no risk policy.
Already welcoming back three players who are not in peak match fitness started to take its toll on the team, resulting in costly turnovers leading to the Seagulls flying into unchallenged goals.
The deficit became too much to overcome, but a flurry of late fourth-quarter goals saw the scoreboard finish on a respectable 18-point defeat on a tough day for the Dees.
With the loss, Casey now falls to 11th on the ladder and has another difficult test when the Demons travel to face sixth place Werribee at Avalon Airport Oval next Saturday at 2pm.
CASEY DEMONS 4.0 6.3 6.6 9.7 (61)
WILLIAMSTOWN 0.3 3.6 8.7 11.11 (77)
CASEY BEST
Lewis, Kennedy Harris, Munro, Weideman
CASEY GOALS
Weideman 3, Bedford, Hannan, Keilty, Kennedy Harris, Munro, Stephenson
