THE WEATHER was perfect last Saturday for what might well become known as the day of the comeback at Casey Fields.

The sun shone brightly for the large crowd that came to watch former AFL star Brendan Fevola make his long awaited return to senior football for what he hopes to be a springboard to a return to the elite in 2012. 

Earlier in the day, some notable Casey names in Kyle Matthews and Evan Panozza marked their returns to the game from injury layoffs in more muted fashion and before far fewer eyes in the reserves team.

There were other careers on line for a comeback as well, with several of Casey's AFL listed players seeking to impress the Demons in the hope of forcing their way into their team after that shocker in the West a couple of days earlier.

The big winner for the day was the Casey Scorpions Football Club, which celebrated its tradition by wearing the Springvale guernsey and won both games, romping home to win the senior game by 21.8.134 to Frankston’s 8.10.58 and taking third place on the ladder.

A number of players had big games, in particular the bookends at either end of the ground, Matthew Bate up forward and Matthew Warnock at full back.

Both players have been out of favour with the Melbourne selectors but were superb for the Scorpions against the Dolphins. Bate kicked six goals but also roamed far and wide to set up goals, while Warnock was fantastic stopping them.

Small forward Addam Maric booted a couple of goals and was a constant danger for the Dolphin defence, and Neville Jetta worked hard all day trying to make things happen in the young midfield, which included two impressive rookies in Michael Evans and Dan Nicholson.

Ricky Petterd threw a scare into fans during the first term when he came off the ground clutching a knee. He came back to put on a lively performance, and is also pressing for AFL selection. Kelvin Lawrence was on target with his three goals.

Casey listed players Michael Stockdale, in just his fourth game on the comeback trail after a serious knee injury and Dave Collins, who has worked hard on his return to the club, were important contributors to the team effort.

Co-captain James Wall was in everything and then there was Fevola, who had to overcome some difficult times to get to where he was on Saturday.

In the Fev’s case, several kilograms of weight were lost in a short space of time and there's a lot of hard work to come but, after a tentative start to the game, he was in his element by the final quarter. The promise is there of many more goals than the solitary one he scored in this game.

Casey started slowly against the Dolphins, who might sit on the bottom of the ladder, but lack nothing in the way of enthusiasm.

By quarter time, the home side held a lead of 19 points, which was extended to 32 points by the half.

Superior fitness from a team that contained 16 AFL players ensured that the Casey lead would continue to stretch out, but coach Brad Gotch was not entirely happy with the way his charges played out the game.

With matches coming up against the highly rated Northern Bullants and the Bendigo Bombers, who are sure to exert full pressure for four quarters rather than in short bursts, his team will need to be at the top of its game.

Seniors

Casey Scorpions 6.2 10.5 14.6 21.8 (134)

Frankston 3.1 5.3 6.6 8.10 (58)

Goals
Casey Scorpions: Bate 6, Lawrence 3, Evans 2, Maric 2, Newton 2, Cook, Fevola, Nicholson, Gent, Howe, Stockdale

Frankston: Clark 4, McCallum 2, Douglas, Miller

Best
Casey Scorpions: Bate, Maric, Jetta, Stockdale, Evans, Collins

Frankston: Thoolen, Potts, Baguley, Clements, Clark, Doria

Reserves

The Scorpion reserves relished the opportunity to finally play on their home turf, and had no trouble in disposing of the lowly Dolphins, who are really struggling at the moment.

Jack Fitzpatrick was the star of the day with six goals up forward, and Bill Petropoulos was lively throughout the game, which marked the welcome return of club skipper Kyle Matthews who kicked two goals, and defender Evan Panozza.

Casey Scorpions 5.7 12.11 17.16 30.19 (199)

Frankston 1.1 1.3 3.5 5.6 (36)

Goals
Casey Scorpions: Fitzpatrick 6, Dowse 4, Allen 4, Baumgartner 3, Matthews 2, Tynan 2, Weekes 2, Bell, Clay, Lindsay, McNamara, Patti, Petropoulos, Riseley

Frankston: Haretuku 2, Appleford, Cole, Uzarevic

Best
Casey Scorpions: Fitzpatrick, Petropoulos, Allen, Pollard, Tynan, Baumgartner

Frankston: Cole, Uzarevic, Rowe, Appleford, Ongarello, Mitchem