VFLCasNth_85237_22.jpg: Scorpions’ Nathan Page rolls his way out of trouble against the Northern Blues. 85237 Picture: JARROD POTTER
By JARROD POTTER
THE ghost town eeriness of the Casey Scorpions’ change-rooms after their 40-point loss to the Northern Blues told a story in itself.
Very few heads were held up and even fewer words were said by Brett Lovett’s charges, which insipidly conceded eight goals to two before half-time.
The Blues belted the Scorpions at every turn – forwards Brett Thornton and Luke Mitchell claimed five goals in, with no Casey defender able to match one of them, let alone both.
On top of that, Northern controlled the midfield and laid tackles at will – ruckman Nick Meese connected with 53 hitouts and made 21 tackles in a best-on-ground display.
It didn’t help that Casey struggled with injuries as well – Melbourne-listed Josh Tynan didn’t return after half-time and Gippsland Power’s Simon Deery also suffered a similar fate with a hamstring tweak.
Casey coach Brett Lovett said when the match was there to be won in the first half, the Scorpions weren’t able to seize any opportunity and had to chase tail all afternoon instead.
“I thought when the game was early on, we didn’t have the strength and weren’t able to win the footy – we were definitely playing second fiddle and getting dictated to through the midfield,” Lovett said.
“I thought after half-time, I think most of our stats show, the clearance stats showed, that at least we competed and closed the game up a bit.
“It was a pretty scrappy game, but at least from half time on we showed a bit of fight.”
The positives were few and far between for Casey. Lovett said Gus Patti, in only his second match of the season, was impressive in defence with little help around him, while Luke Hill gave it his all and Matthew Bate overcame illness to pull on the boots and battled hard.
“I reckon we had big Gus Patti, playing only his second game of the year, down back, his first three quarters were good,” Lovett said. “The big bloke Hill rucked manfully for us and gave us some good effort and Matthew Bate, who had been crook during the week, fought well, but other than that there wasn’t much.”
With Port Melbourne taking the week off, the chance to move two games clear goes begging for Casey, but still maintain a one-game margin on the Boroughs and Geelong.
Kyle Matthews played three quarters against North Ballarat in the Development League win and looks likely to pull on the boots for his second senior match of the season this week as Casey faces Geelong at home on Sunday.
Casey Scorpions
1.3 2.4 7.7 13.10 (88)
Northern Blues
5.2 8.5 14.6 20.8 (128)
Scorpions Goals
L. Williams 3, J. Fitzpatrick 2, W. Petropoulos 2, L. Cook 2, M. Fieldsend, T. Smith, M. Evans, L. Hill.
Best: A. Patti, M. Bate, L. Hill, T. Smith, L. Williams, R. McGough.
Blues Goals: B. Thornton 5, L. Mitchell 5, D. Ellard 3, R. O’Keeffe 3, A. Marcon, T. Thomas, F. Dale, T. Wilson.
Best: A. Marcon, D. Ellard, N. Meese, K. Lambert, N. Heyne, M. Watson.
