CASEYhas suffered a disappointing loss, being overrun by a determined Werribee byfour points at Casey Fields on Sunday.

TheScorpions led by as much as six goals during the second term, but were unableto maintain their intensity and run, and were overcome by a rampant Tigers inthe second half.

Itwas wet and windy conditions that greeted the players as they took to the fieldfor their round five clash. Both teams came into the game with two wins and twolosses for the season, with both hoping to tilt the win/loss ratio in theirfavour.

Caseymanaged to control the ball for the early part of the first term, but wasunable to penetrate the Werribee defence. The conditions made handling the balldifficult, and it wasn’t until the ninth minute that Werribee was able to openthe scoring with a major.

MichaelEvans, drifting forward, was able to reply soon after for the Scorpions with a40-metre kick screwed around his body, which sparked the team.

Scorpion-listedTim Smith followed suit with a major soon after, and when James Strauss scoreda goal on the run, thanks to a clever tap from Jack Fitzpatrick, Casey seemedwell in control.

Fitzpatrickwas next to hit the scoreboard, taking a strong leading mark and slotting agoal from 40 metres out, before Tim Smith slotted his second on the run,extending the margin to 24 points at quarter-time.

Unexpectedsunshine showered the ground as the second term begun, but with the groundstill slippery, clean possession remained difficult. The teams exchanged behinds,before Fitzpatrick delivered the ball beautifully to Nathan Page in the goalsquare for the first of the quarter.

Werribeetried desperately to move the ball forward, but when it finally did, it wasunable to capitalise, hindered particularly by Colin Garland, who was workinghard in defence, taking strong marks and completing some impressive spoils.

Caseytook advantage of the Tigers’ wastefulness with an impressive end-to-end runfrom a kick out, which delivered a goal to Jake Best, bringing the lead to 36points at the 16-minute mark.

Themomentum swung almost immediately, as Werribee went bang, bang, bang with threeconsecutive goals, dragging the margin back to 18-points at the main break –putting pressure on Casey.

Dark,ominous clouds surrounded the ground as the players took to the field for thesecond half, and as the ball was bounced, the rain came down.

Fromthe outside, Casey appeared to be on the back foot, with Werribee providingmost of the run and handling the wet conditions better. Again, Werribee waswasteful in front of goal, and it took 17 minutes before it was able to snare amajor.

SamBlease begun to collect some possessions across the backline, and was using theball well, but the Scorpions were unable to move the ball beyond their centrehalf-forward line.

Fitzpatrickbattled hard, taking several strong marks, but Werribee continued to causeproblems, moving the ball forward with ease. By the end of the quarter, theScorpions were on the back foot with an eight-point lead, scoring just onebehind for the term.

Werribeereduced the margin to two points within the first two minutes of the finalterm, and by the 10-minute mark held a four-point lead. The Tigers weredominating the midfield clearances, and the Scorpions struggled to deal withWerribee’s pressure on the ball.

AnotherWerribee goal stretched the lead to double figures, and all seemed lost for theScorpions, before Garland – having been shifted forward midway through the termin a last-ditch attempt to save the game – took a strong contested mark.

Thanksto a 50m penalty, Garland scored a goal from the goalline, reducing the marginto just four points at the 28-minute mark.

Caseyneeded – and won – the centre clearance, however with the ball deep in itsforward line, the siren sounded, sealing a terrific come-from-behind win forthe Tigers, but a disappointing collapse for the Scorpions, after they acquiredsuch a lead in the first half.

Fitzpatrickand Garland shared the honours as the most impressive Melbourne-listed playerson the ground. Fitzpatrick shared the ruckwork with Max Gawn and performedwell, but it was his marking and tackling work up forward, that would have mostimpressed the Melbourne coaching staff. Garland played a strong game indefence, and would certainly be knocking on the door for selection in thesenior team.

SamBlease and Mitch Clisby were solid across half-back, while Jimmy Toumpas workedhis way into the game to have some influence across the wing and midfield. DomBarry showed flashes without being consistent across the four quarters, andLuke Tapscott and Dean Kent were serviceable.

Caseycomes up against the Northern Blues at 2pm next Saturday at Visy Park.