Casey Demons 5.14 (44) defeated North Melbourne 0.7 (7).
CASEY has absorbed torrential rain to keep North Melbourne goalless and record a stunning 37-point win at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon.
Thick puddles of water and a swirling breeze made scoring a difficult task, with the match being fought out at ground level.
Although there was little value for effort, Casey was in complete control from the outset and grinded out an eighth consecutive victory.
The majority of the game was played at Casey’s end of the field with North Melbourne failing to score a goal for the entire afternoon.
The Demons had a wall built in defence and denied North Melbourne any opportunity to penetrate its forward 50.
“It’s an area we’re ongoing looking to improve, how we defend and being hard to score against,” senior coach Jade Rawlings told Melbourne Media.
“I’ve never coached a game where you keep a team goalless.”
Due to the extreme weather, goal scorers were few and far between, with Mitch Hannan the first to kick truly in his return to Casey.
Despite a lack of reflection on the scoreboard, the Demons dominated all facets of the game, moving the ball forward consistently and taking a substantial 15-point lead into half-time.
Rain cleared temporarily after the break, but the ground was soaked leaving the Demons with a heavy ball to try to manoeuvre.
Jay Kennedy-Harris handled the conditions better than any other, cleanly scooping up the ball and kicking three of the five goals for the afternoon. His two-goal third term broke the game open, although victory was never in doubt for the Demons.
Just one major was converted in a testing final term, with Corey Wagner the only player to overcome tired legs and cross the goal line.
The comprehensive victory was led by Casey’s midfield with Tom Bugg and Dom Tyson gathering 31 disposals each.
“Our contest work was really strong,” Rawlings said.
“We had seven changes from last week’s team but what our players do is bring a great attitude, and part of how we play at Casey is be strong at the contest and tackle.”
After spending 18 months on the sidelines with injury, Melbourne duo Pat McKenna and Aaron vandenBerg made their long awaited returns, both getting through the game unscathed.
“When you get to the middle of winter there’s challenges of a full season, and people going up and down, and it’s cold and wet,” Rawlings said.
“But then you get an energy like that from those two (McKenna and vandenBerg) and it just reenergises people.
“They’re great people and they’re really popular at the footy club so we were able to make a big deal out of it and they were just happy to be back playing footy.”
vandenBerg spent the first quarter doing run throughs on the interchange, but when his time finally came to take the field, he had an immediate impact.
With a hunger for the contest, vandenBerg had 23 disposals and 16 tackles in just three quarters of play.
It was an all-round domination from the Demons and while the weather deflated the margin, it was a performance typifying the club’s form in 2018.
Casey will seek a ninth consecutive win when Footscray venture to Casey Fields next Sunday afternoon.
CASEY DEMONS 1.4 2.6 4.12 5.14 (44)
NORTH MELBOURNE 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.7 (7)
CASEY GOALS
Kennedy-Harris 3, Hannan, C. Wagner
CASEY BEST
Kennedy-Harris, Tyson, Bugg, Machaya, C. Wagner, Lockhart
