THE CASEY Demons had a solid victory over the Northern Bullants by 53 points in their practice match on Saturday morning.
In what some would describe as typical Casey Fields conditions, the day was near perfect with the wind howling through.
The Demons were in control of the game from the start against an inexperienced Northern Bullants side.
“We wanted to make sure that we delivered on being honest for four quarters and respecting the opportunity to be out there,” Senior VFL Coach Mark Corrigan told Melbourne Media post-game.
“We focused on what we brought as a group and that was broken down into the players’ lines.
“It came back to just what was needed in their areas, what they could control and what they could deliver on. It was simple brilliance in a way, not something overcomplicated.”
The first quarter saw Casey take seven scoring shots to the Northern Bullants’ none, giving the Demons a handy 22-point lead at the first break.
The second quarter saw the Bullants respond to their scoreless first quarter by matching it with Casey for one goal and two behinds for the term.
“We were pretty dominant in the first quarter and then the second quarter I felt like the Bullants certainly had the better effort and work rate,” Corrigan said.
“They outworked us at times; they were able to play the game in their half a little bit more than we would have liked.”
After half time, the Demons put the foot to the floor with their best quarter on the scoreboard with four goals and a healthy 40-point lead at three-quarter time.
“At half time I challenged the group around the way we played the second quarter and how it wasn't what we wanted to deliver,” Corrigan said.
“After half time the group were able to shift their mindset and for 20 minutes of the third quarter, they played honest and consistent football which is a credit to the boys in the way they responded.”
Casey continued peppering the goals in the final quarter, again with seven scoring shots but with some poor accuracy, only kicking two goals and five behinds.
At the same time though, the Demons were able to hold the Northern Bullants to no score.
“When you're holding teams to 15 points effectively, that's the one-percenters,” Corrigan said.
“From our end, it was our ability to lock the ball in our forward half and the willingness to defend from the ground up and not allow the Bullants to transition the ball out.
“We are continuously building on this each week and we were able to get a really high level of those efforts in the game.”
Casey’s line up was a split of AFL and VFL listed players. Some of the Melbourne players running around included the likes of vice-captain Jack Viney, Michael Hibberd, Aaron vandenBerg and Jake Melksham, all looking to get game time and form to try and crack back into the AFL side.
Harrison Petty showed great skills down back in the windy conditions, taking plenty of solid grabs, while Aaron Vandenberg provided fantastic drive around the ball.
Toby Bedford’s ability to be at the drop of the ball at most of the forward 50 contests also showed off his fantastic work rate.
Ryan Spark was another great contributor for the match, showing some great composure around the ball but also provided some good aggression and stood up as a VFL footballer.
The Demons are certainly building up to a big season taking in some solid form before their round one encounter against Box Hill on Saturday the 17th of April at Box Hill City Oval.
This weekend’s practice match will see Casey take on North Melbourne, Saturday 10am at Casey Fields.
Casey Demons: 3.4 4.6 8.7 10.12.72
Northern Bullants: 0.0 1.2 2.3 2.3.15
Goals: Mitch White 2, Bailey Laurie, Jack Viney, Majak Daw, Toby Bedford, Jake Bowey, Lachie Modica, Cory Machaya, Deakyn Smith
