CASEY has continued its run of poor form, going down to North Ballarat by 20 points at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.

On a dark and dreary day, the Scorpions again let a healthy first-half lead slip, in what is becoming a worrying trend.

A light drizzle met the players as they took to the field, and it was a scrappy start to the game with both sides applying strong midfield pressure.

Casey managed to lock the ball in its forward line, and was rewarded for some good forward pressure through a Luke Tapscott goal from 50 after six minutes.

A goal to Tim Smith for the Scorpions followed shortly after, and when Sam Blease dodged and weaved through defenders to score a running goal, Casey had a three-goal buffer.

North Ballarat put its first on the board at the 13-minute mark, but Casey immediately responded through Nathan Page. The lead was extended when Jack Fitzpatrick marked and goaled soon after, with the Scorpions going into the quarter-time break with a 23-point lead.

Casey had another on the board within the first minute of the second term, when Jimmy Toumpas marked and goaled from the top of the goal square. The lead was cut quickly, however, when North Ballarat scored back-to-back goals to bring the margin back to 16. But James Harmes steadied the ship for Casey at the nine-minute mark, booting a major from outside the arc.

After the flurry of scoring early in the term, the game turned into a midfield scrap, with both teams suddenly finding it difficult to move the ball forward.

It wasn’t until the 20-minute mark that Jake Best was able to snap an opportunistic goal from a forward line pack, stretching the Scorpions lead to a game high five goals.

Again, though, North Ballarat was able to score successive majors, bringing what was becoming a threatening differential back down to a far more manageable 18 points at the main break.

Jay Kennedy-Harris got the Scorpions off to the perfect start in the third term, pinching the ball from a marking contest in the forward line and slotting a wonderful goal from 35-metres. But Casey was unable to take advantage of the momentum, missing a number of chances to further extend its lead.

Conditions continued to make the going tough for players, with the rain increasing and the heavy clouds making for a dark and gloomy atmosphere. North Ballarat made the best of them, however, scoring at the 14 and 26-minute marks, reducing the margin to 11, and building the pressure on a Casey team that has been susceptible to squandering leads in final quarters of late.

The floodlights around Eureka Stadium were turned on at three quarter time, and with them came a flood of scoring for the Roosters.

They booted four goals for the quarter, with the game being played completely on their terms. The damage could have been far worse for the Scorpions, with North Ballarat having a total of 13 scoring shots for the term, compared to Casey’s two behinds.

Another frustrating second half for the Scorpions saw North Ballarat running out 20-point victors.

Of the Demons, Max Gawn handled the majority of the ruckwork for the day and performed strongly, while Kennedy-Harris, playing through the midfield and shifting forward at times, also had a good day.

Tapscott battled hard in the conditions, utilising his strength, and Blease had a solid game across the backline.

The Scorpions return to Casey Fields next Saturday to take on ladder leaders Box Hill, in another tough assignment. That game will be telecast on ABC TV from 1.10pm.