THE JOURNEY along the Western Highway to Victoria's gold mining region was made worthwhile on Saturday for Casey Scorpions coach Brad Gotch, his assistants, the hardy supporters following the team and, of course, the players when the visitors scored a handy win over reigning VFL premiers North Ballarat.
It would be fair to say that the Roosters, at the moment at least, are not the team that won the last three premiership flags.
Retirements, AFL recruiters and injuries have seen to that.
However, it is never easy for visiting clubs to win in the hostile playing environment of Eureka Stadium, so the Casey Scorpions will be happy to come away from that venue for the second year in a row with a win.
Casey's team had a strong Ballarat flavour when it stepped out onto the field on an overcast day, influenced by swirling winds that alternated between icy under the cloud cover to mild when the sun came out.
Young Melbourne talls Lucas Cook and Tom McDonald were recruited from the North Ballarat Rebels in last year's NAB AFL Draft, while rookie Daniel Nicholson, who spent the previous two seasons with University Blues, originally came from St Patrick's College, Ballarat, and played with East Point in the local Ballarat competition.
All did themselves and their team proud with sound performances, and Nicholson, playing a midfield role and running with 2009 J.J. Liston Trophy Winner Myles Sewell, was best on ground.
After a couple of slow starts in the early rounds, the Scorpions were on their game from the very beginning against an inexperienced North Ballarat line up, playing hard at the ball and causing numerous turnovers with a strong confident display.
It was local boy Nicholson who got the team going with the first goal of the day, and Ricky Petterd was also causing havoc up forward in the early going.
The Roosters were held goalless in the first quarter and, trailing by 25 points, were already in trouble at the first break.
North Ballarat had only a handful of North Melbourne-aligned players at their disposal, and they wilted under the class of the Scorpions in the second quarter, after an initial burst of two unanswered goals by North Ballarat.
With experienced campaigners in Matthew Warnock dominating in defence, and Joel Macdonald in control around the ground, the blowtorch was applied and Casey dominated proceedings with players who were too skilful and too quick by hand and foot.
James Strauss and Sam Blease were in particularly good form, and the lead at the half had opened up to 51 points.
After the break, the visitors remained in control, but North Ballarat rallied and put in a far more competitive performance.
Cook was very productive up forward, and Jake Spencer and Max Gawn continued to win in the ruck against VFL representative ruckman Orren Stephenson, but their teammates reverted to some sloppy play for a brief period, letting the Roosters in for a few goals.
Casey soon steadied, however, as one would expect from a team brimming with talent and 15 AFL listed players, but the game was losing its momentum.
As the cross breeze stiffened, the teams struggled to score goals and the last quarter became a dour affair, with the home side kicking the only goal for the term against seven behinds.
By the final siren, the Casey Scorpions had made it two out of three for the season, doubling North Ballarat's score with an emphatic 56-point victory.
Matt Fieldsend and Tim Mohr were the best of the Casey listed players in a strong team effort.
With more players becoming available, the team should be at full strength in a fortnight's time when it returns from the bye to play against local rival Frankston at Casey Fields in an ABC televised match.
Seniors
Casey Scorpions: 4.3 10.7 16.9 16.16 (112)
North Ballarat: 0.2 2.4 7.7 8.8 (56)
Goals
Casey Scorpions: Petterd 4, Bate 3, Lindsay 2, Cook, Evans, Jetta, Lawrence, McShane, Nicholson, Stockdale
North Ballarat: Walker 2, Evans, George, Jones, Linke, McKenzie, Nicholls
Best
Casey Scorpions: Nicholson, Bate, Warnock, Cook, Blease, Petterd
North Ballarat: George, Pratt, Delaney, McKenzie, Tate, Sharkey
Reserves
The reserves led from start to finish against a lacklustre North Ballarat team to break the ice for 2011. It was a really even team performance, with Dave Collins and Mark Weeks again the best, and Blake Carew and Aaron Purves snaffling four goals each.
Casey Scorpions: 6.2 14.4 15.4 18.6 (114)
North Ballarat: 2.2 2.4 4.4 8.7 (55)
Goals
Casey Scorpions: Carew 4, Purves 4, Hill 2, Clay, Cleven, Costigan, Harrison, Lees, Petropoulos, Pollard, Tynan
North Ballarat: Lenehan 2, Curnow, Dobson, Giampaolo, Hughes, Kelly, Towers
Best
Casey Scorpions: Collins, Weekes, Baumgartner, Purves, Carew, Lees
North Ballarat: Darmody, Brayshaw, Giampaolo, Kelly, Jewell, Hughes
It would be fair to say that the Roosters, at the moment at least, are not the team that won the last three premiership flags.
Retirements, AFL recruiters and injuries have seen to that.
However, it is never easy for visiting clubs to win in the hostile playing environment of Eureka Stadium, so the Casey Scorpions will be happy to come away from that venue for the second year in a row with a win.
Casey's team had a strong Ballarat flavour when it stepped out onto the field on an overcast day, influenced by swirling winds that alternated between icy under the cloud cover to mild when the sun came out.
Young Melbourne talls Lucas Cook and Tom McDonald were recruited from the North Ballarat Rebels in last year's NAB AFL Draft, while rookie Daniel Nicholson, who spent the previous two seasons with University Blues, originally came from St Patrick's College, Ballarat, and played with East Point in the local Ballarat competition.
All did themselves and their team proud with sound performances, and Nicholson, playing a midfield role and running with 2009 J.J. Liston Trophy Winner Myles Sewell, was best on ground.
After a couple of slow starts in the early rounds, the Scorpions were on their game from the very beginning against an inexperienced North Ballarat line up, playing hard at the ball and causing numerous turnovers with a strong confident display.
It was local boy Nicholson who got the team going with the first goal of the day, and Ricky Petterd was also causing havoc up forward in the early going.
The Roosters were held goalless in the first quarter and, trailing by 25 points, were already in trouble at the first break.
North Ballarat had only a handful of North Melbourne-aligned players at their disposal, and they wilted under the class of the Scorpions in the second quarter, after an initial burst of two unanswered goals by North Ballarat.
With experienced campaigners in Matthew Warnock dominating in defence, and Joel Macdonald in control around the ground, the blowtorch was applied and Casey dominated proceedings with players who were too skilful and too quick by hand and foot.
James Strauss and Sam Blease were in particularly good form, and the lead at the half had opened up to 51 points.
After the break, the visitors remained in control, but North Ballarat rallied and put in a far more competitive performance.
Cook was very productive up forward, and Jake Spencer and Max Gawn continued to win in the ruck against VFL representative ruckman Orren Stephenson, but their teammates reverted to some sloppy play for a brief period, letting the Roosters in for a few goals.
Casey soon steadied, however, as one would expect from a team brimming with talent and 15 AFL listed players, but the game was losing its momentum.
As the cross breeze stiffened, the teams struggled to score goals and the last quarter became a dour affair, with the home side kicking the only goal for the term against seven behinds.
By the final siren, the Casey Scorpions had made it two out of three for the season, doubling North Ballarat's score with an emphatic 56-point victory.
Matt Fieldsend and Tim Mohr were the best of the Casey listed players in a strong team effort.
With more players becoming available, the team should be at full strength in a fortnight's time when it returns from the bye to play against local rival Frankston at Casey Fields in an ABC televised match.
Seniors
Casey Scorpions: 4.3 10.7 16.9 16.16 (112)
North Ballarat: 0.2 2.4 7.7 8.8 (56)
Goals
Casey Scorpions: Petterd 4, Bate 3, Lindsay 2, Cook, Evans, Jetta, Lawrence, McShane, Nicholson, Stockdale
North Ballarat: Walker 2, Evans, George, Jones, Linke, McKenzie, Nicholls
Best
Casey Scorpions: Nicholson, Bate, Warnock, Cook, Blease, Petterd
North Ballarat: George, Pratt, Delaney, McKenzie, Tate, Sharkey
Reserves
The reserves led from start to finish against a lacklustre North Ballarat team to break the ice for 2011. It was a really even team performance, with Dave Collins and Mark Weeks again the best, and Blake Carew and Aaron Purves snaffling four goals each.
Casey Scorpions: 6.2 14.4 15.4 18.6 (114)
North Ballarat: 2.2 2.4 4.4 8.7 (55)
Goals
Casey Scorpions: Carew 4, Purves 4, Hill 2, Clay, Cleven, Costigan, Harrison, Lees, Petropoulos, Pollard, Tynan
North Ballarat: Lenehan 2, Curnow, Dobson, Giampaolo, Hughes, Kelly, Towers
Best
Casey Scorpions: Collins, Weekes, Baumgartner, Purves, Carew, Lees
North Ballarat: Darmody, Brayshaw, Giampaolo, Kelly, Jewell, Hughes
