Summary
Pre-game rain made Casey Fields soft under foot on Saturday afternoon, with yet another scrappy encounter taking place at home for the Demons. Sandringham were the first to embrace the conditions, attacking the ball harder in the opening term and keeping Casey goalless to take a 22-point lead into the first change.

The Demons were flattened by an incident involving veteran Bernie Vince, as the 32-year-old succumbed to a shoulder injury just 20 minutes into the match. A heavy collision damaged his AC Joint, sadly ending his season prematurely.

But on a positive note, Casey responded in the second term and got the match back on its terms, reducing the half-time deficit to just three points.

Sandringham refused to give in, booting three of the opening four goals in the second half, but when the game was on the line the Demons stood up to continue their winning streak.

Casey kept the Zebras scoreless in the final quarter to record a 21-point win and make it 12 consecutive victories.

Telling stat
The Demons laid just 14 tackles in the first term outlining their lack of ferocity early. Coach Jade Rawlings addressed this in the quarter-time huddle and saw an immediate response from his side, with the tackle number blowing out to 66 by the end of the game.

Disposals
Bugg 28, J Wagner 25, Gent 22, Keilty 21, Kent, Scott 19, Petty 18, Machaya 17.

Goals
Kent 3, Weideman 2, Freeman, King, Machaya, Smith, Stephenson.

3 Votes: Jack Hutchins
Skipper Jack Hutchins doesn’t receive much credit for his role in defence but he is a spiritual leader for the group and played a crucial game on Saturday. While the Zebras attacked in the first term, Hutchins was pivotal in denying them from doing serious damage on the scoreboard and he was a wall for Casey all afternoon.

2 Votes: Tom Bugg
Tom Bugg played one of his best four-quarter matches this season, amassing 28 disposals in a consistent effort. With Oskar Baker, Corey Maynard, Billy Stretch, Dom Tyson and Jay Kennedy-Harris all missing games for Casey recently, Bugg has spent longer periods in the midfield and was a great link-up player on the weekend.

1 Vote: Jay Lockhart
In a scrappy match, Jay Lockhart’s clean hands allowed him to impose himself on the contest. He was damaging with his 12 kicks, but most importantly through his body around and played a gutsy role for his side.

Apologies to
At either end of the field, key posts Declan Keilty and Sam Weideman were imposing, using their height to have a significant impact on the match.

Small forward Dean Kent used his pace to get into space and convert three goals, while Cory Machaya helped turn the game in Casey’s favour in the second half with his classy ball use.

Tim Smith could have had a massive game had he kicked accurately in front of goal, but the bull managed just one major from his six attempts after clunking seven marks with his strong hands.

Good to see
There has been a strong connection between the Melbourne and Casey players throughout the season and it is evident that the culture among the group is strong. On Saturday, there were three injured Melbourne players –Baker, Maynard and Stretch – all in supporting their teammates with words of advice on the boundary line and in the rooms. The commitment from the entire group is impressive and the relationships between players is strong.

Coach’s say
“Three of the last four games we’ve been challenged. I’m not a massive fan of being that many goals down and having to fight back but you can only fight back if you’ve got a level of character and resilience about you as a group. That’s the pleasing thing that shows from situations that aren’t ideal we can work our way back into it by sticking to basics of our game style.” – Jade Rawlings

Looking ahead
With two games left in the home and away season, Casey has all but cemented a top-two finish on the VFL ladder. The Demons will be looking to secure the minor premiership with a win over Box Hill next Saturday afternoon, travelling to Box Hill City Oval for the final away game of 2018. The Box Hill match will be televised on Channel 7 in Victoria.