Luke Tynan controlled Casey’s defence ably, accruing 25 possessions, in the Scorpions six-goal win over Frankston. Picture: MORGAN HANCOCK
By JARROD POTTER
THE Casey juggernaut left another team in its wake this week as the Scorpions made light work of the Frankston Dolphins to the tune of 36 points.
The Scorpions trailed at quarter time, owing to the serious pressure laid by the Dolphins contingent, including a pair of impressive run-down tackles from former Noble Park midfielder Kyle Martin.
It became a match of attrition – who could last longer at the high tempo – and the Dolphins cracked first. Casey’s runners started to kick into high gear, with Jordan Gysberts, Cale Morton and Tom Couch all leading the way on the stat sheet and with the territory they covered.
Hitting up options from all across the forward 50, Casey was able to extract the most from a variety of goal sources, with the aforementioned midfield trio kicking two each as did Leigh Williams.
A five-goal third quarter belatedly sealed the points for Casey, to the credit of Frankston which has been able to hold on for much longer stretches this season compared to recent years.
Casey coach Brett Lovett said the Casey ball use was lacklustre in the first quarter, but in their usual method, the Scorpions eventually kicked into high gear.
“We probably let ourselves a bit down towards the end of the first quarter,” Lovett said. “Our chances weren’t what they were and they had a couple of soft goals to finish the quarter.
“Missed a couple of goals when we had the breeze so I was disappointed with that, but after quarter time, or second and third quarters we put the pedal down a bit and used the ball better.
After six years down at Frankston Oval, Lovett said his inside knowledge proved advantageous to deciphering the small, narrow ground.
“Certainly does help,” Lovett said. “After my six years there, there were certainly things I learned from that ground – things you have to do well.
“Talked about it through the week and thought most of them were able to achieve and it definitely worked to our advantage.
“Once we get used to the ground, being a lot tighter than our ground, we started using the ball better and we put some scoreboard pressure on them and it makes a big difference.”
Luke Tynan was the architect of Casey’s defence – repelling a number of Frankston forward initiatives – and Couch took up where he left off in the VFL after his two-game stint playing for Melbourne.
“I thought Luke Tynan and Tommy Couch were two of our better players,” Lovett said. “Couch had 32 touches and 10 inside-50s and kicked a couple of goals.
“Luke Tynan was also very solid down back and won the ball back from the opposition four or five times through intercepting marks and really helped set us up down there.”
Casey is a game clear on top of the VFL ladder, following Port Melbourne’s loss to Williamstown and will
“I think we’ve secured a top four spot now so I think to achieve a top two spot and get a home final is our goal now,” Lovett said.
“We’ve got Geelong and Sandringham coming up and at this point Sandringham is trying to get a spot in the eight so it’s going to be a good run home and a good finish for us coming into finals.”
Carlton affiliate Northern Blues head to Casey Fields on Saturday at 2pm, surely brimming with confidence after a 99-point shellacking of Coburg.
“They had a strong 100 or so point win against Coburg so we won’t be taking them lightly.
“We’ve got plenty of things we need to work on – only won two quarters this week and the week before against Bendigo we only won one. So we definitely need to put four quarters together and show a bit more consistency throughout the match.”
Frankston 4.2 5.4 6.6 10.9(69)
Casey Scorpions 3.6 6.11 11.13 15.15(105)
Casey Scorpions goals: T. Couch 2, C. Morton 2, J. Gysberts 2, L. Williams 2, T. Smith, L. Cook, L. Thompson, C. Clay, R. Petterd, J. Fitzpatrick, R. McGough. Best: L. Tynan, J. Gysberts, C. Morton, T. Couch, R. McGough
Frankston goals: T. Thoolen 3, A. Simpson 3, L. Potts, L. Clark, S. Marusic, K. Martin. Best: L. Potts, L. Delahunty, T. Thoolen, A. Simpson, D. Van Unen, N. Boland.
