CASEY is out of the VFL finals, going down to the Werribee Tigers by 40 points on Sunday.

The loss at North Port Oval sees the Scorpions bundled out of the finals in straight sets for the fourth consecutive year.

Nine Melbourne-listed players took to the field in the semi-final, on what was a beautiful clear day at Port Melbourne. Neville Jetta, Max Gawn returned to the line-up after playing in the AFL last week, while James Sellar came back from injury. 

Having been defeated easily by Geelong in the qualifying final a week earlier, the Scorpions were out to rectify what had been a poor finals record in recent years, with just one win from their previous 12 attempts.

The day got off to a ripping start for Casey, when Aiden Lindsay put the Scorpions six points up within the first 30-seconds, after Magner extracted the ball from the centre.

Former Demon Addam Maric replied quickly for Werribee, before Tim Smith added to the frenetic opening, scoring Casey’s second within the first five minutes.

Gawn started well in the middle, feeding Magner and Tom Couch with clean ruckwork, but Casey struggled to find targets up forward, and Werribee started to take control of the game.

Brett Meredith, Maric, Ben Warren and Jackson Davis all scored for Werribee in a dominant patch of play during the middle of the term. 

A spectacular Smith mark and goal brought the Scorpions back to life in the latter part of the term. Tom Gillies, Casey’s in-form forward of the past few weeks, also capitalised on an opportunity. The opening term ended with the Tigers five points ahead.

Casey took the lead quickly at the beginning of the second term, when Smith put through his third goal within the first minute. When his fourth major followed soon after, the Scorpions were full of confidence. Ferocious tackling across the field put Werribee under immense pressure.

But midway through the term, Werribee controlled the tempo of the game, found space and moved the ball freely. Casey was able to hold fort down back, with Sellar and Jetta particularly impressive, repelling the Tiger’s forward thrusts.

Against the flow of play, Rory Taggert used his strength and speed to stretch Casey’s lead to 12-points.

But it was all Werribee from that point. The Casey resistance in defence started to slip and the Tigers piled on four unanswered goals to take a 10-point lead into the main break.

The third term begun as the second ended, when Werribee quickly extended its lead through Jye Bolton. Jake Best tried hard to spark the Scorpions, snapping a brilliant goal from the pocket, but the Tigers had control of the midfield, finding space and running hard.

Three more Werribee goals took the lead to 26-points, before Best again scored, keeping the Scorpions in touch. Casey got good use of the ball through clearances, but the Tigers, playing with loose men in defence, were picking off the Casey forward entries with ease.

Goals from Maric and Will Sullivan took the Werribee lead to 31 points at the final change.

Casey coach Rohan Welsh implored his team to play with confidence, and to take the game on in the final term. And when Mitch Gent scored the first goal of the term, bringing the deficit to less than five goals, the Scorpions were in the game.

Again, though, while Casey got the ball forward often, its forward entries were hopeful rather than precise, and the loose Tiger defenders had a field day.

When Maric put through his fourth goal of the day at the 10-minute mark, and Ben Warren added another soon after, the Scorpions were out of the game.

Magner and Will Petropoulos put through late consolation goals for the Scorpions, but on both occasions the Tigers were able to respond, taking the lead to a disappointing 40 points just prior to the final siren, ending Casey’s season.

Couch and Magner battled hard all day through the midfield for the Scorpions, as did Gawn in the ruck. Sellar was impressive down back, as was Jetta who provided some run out of defence.

Smith with four goals was the best up forward – he also impressed while sharing the ruck duties with Gawn – while Best put through two majors, both in the third term.

It was a disappointing end for the Casey Scorpions, who had battled hard all season to win a top-four spot, and a frustrating continuation of what is now a finals hoodoo.

CASEY SCORPIONS 12.12.84 def. by WERRIBEE TIGERS 19.10.124