CASEY has made amends for last year's Grand Final against Footscray, taking out the rematch by 13 points at Casey Fields on Saturday night.
Casey Demons 10.15 (75) defeated Footscray 9.8 (62).
Casey-listed Yilber Zijai came into the side and slotted two crucial goals in the third term to keep the Demons on top, before extending the lead to eight points half-way through the last quarter.
But it was the 20-year-old debutant Mitch Cox, who was the beneficiary of a 50-metre penalty, kicking his first career goal and sealing the win.
On the back of a four-quarter effort, the Demons have continued their undefeated run at home, going ahead of the ledger in 2017 with five wins and four losses.
It was a scrappy contest under lights, with the fog setting in throughout the night. But it was Casey who were tougher when the game was in the balance, coming up with a crucial victory to set up its season.
“We needed this game and I think it really promotes what our brand looks like," senior coach Justin Plapp told melbournefc.com.au.
“When the job was there to be done … we had a lot of contributors and more times than not, if you’re getting 20-plus contributors you’re going to win games of footy.
“We got the job done and I couldn’t be more proud of them at the moment.”
Jay Kennedy-Harris got the Demons off to a dream start with a brilliant banana goal from the boundary in the first term. But it didn’t stop there for Kennedy-Harris. He continued his stellar form with an impressive 33 disposals and nine tackles.
“His footy has gone from strength to strength and we’re really happy with where he is tracking at the moment,” Plapp said.
The experience of Footscray was threatening, with 16 Western Bulldogs-listed players taking the field. But Casey was strong at the contest and able to combat its opposition.
The Dogs had plenty of targets inside 50, with Jack Redpath, Tim English and Clay Smith looking dangerous. Due to a lack of height in defence, Declan Keilty was sent back to help out and competed gallantly all night. The trio combined for four goals, but didn’t have enough opportunities to have a major impact on the outcome.
In the ruck, Jake Spencer battled it out with Tom Campbell. The Demon big-man worked hard for his 23 hit-outs and 10 touches in his second game back from injury.
With 290 AFL games to his name, Matthew Boyd was sent back to the twos. Boyd was busy across half-back with 21 touches, but didn’t cause too much damage.
Jack Trengove and Josh Wagner continued their strong form, pushing through the middle with 29 and 27 disposals respectively.
Ex-NBL player Corey Maynard was also crucial with 28 touches, while Billy Stretch showed his usual class with 24 disposals.
“What the beauty of VFL football does is it allows them to play in other positions and come up against bigger bodies like they did tonight and they really tick a lot of boxes,” Plapp said.
The Demons midfield shone in a contested match, and comprehensively won the clearances to maximise their forward opportunities.
In testing conditions for tall forwards, Sam Weideman was dealt the difficult match up of AFL premiership defender Fletcher Roberts. Weideman worked hard to chip in with a goal before Roberts left the ground with injury in the second term.
After a great run of form to start the season, Ben Kennedy sat the game out in case of a late call up to the Melbourne side facing the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Despite a strong run of form, Casey will need to be at the top of its game to get a win on the road against ladder-leaders Box Hill next Saturday afternoon.
“Box Hill are going really well,” Plapp said.
“But I think what our club has been able to do over the last few weeks … is just worry about getting our structure and game plan right, because we know if we execute that, we think it’s as good as anything going around.”
CASEY DEMONS 2.3 5.8 8.12 10.15 (75)
FOOTSCRAY 3.1 4.3 8.5 9.8 (62)
CASEY GOALS
Zijai 3, Cox, Fritsch, Hulett, Kennedy-Harris, Morris, Weideman, White
CASEY BEST
Kennedy-Harris, Zijai, Maynard Trengove, Wagner, Stretch, Munro
