Summary:
Casey ventured to the daunting SkyBus Stadium on Saturday, fronting up against Frankston and its hostile home crowd.

The Dolphins came out firing with a high pressured onslaught forcing Casey into making uncharacteristic mistakes. But Frankston couldn’t capitalise on its dominance, kicking six early behinds before Cameron Pedersen slotted two majors to hand the Demons a two-point quarter-time lead.

From that point on it was a red and blue obliteration, kicking 12 unanswered goals and opening up a 60-point lead by the final change. Casey was able to turn its performance around and despite conceding 60 hit outs to 25, dominated around the ball to do all the attacking after the first term.

Although the match was over by the last quarter, the Demons played the game out with a high spirit and intent to finish strongly. Casey’s team-first brand of football created some great looks in front of goal, allowing the Demons to run away with a 106-point win.

Telling stat:
Casey had 18 more inside 50’s and 21 more scoring shots in an obliteration of the Dolphins on Saturday. The Demons scored from 35 of their 56 forward entries, looking extremely dangerous on attack and made Frankston suffer as the game wore on.

Disposals:
Hunt 23, Bugg, Pedersen 22, Kennedy-Harris 20, Baker 19, Garlett 18, Scott, Stretch, J. Wagner 17.

Goals:
Pedersen 6, Bugg 5, Scott 3, Baker, Balic, Garlett, Lewis, Lockhart, Munro, White.

3 Votes: Cameron Pedersen
Casey got off to a slow start on Saturday, but Pedersen kept his side in the game. The key-forward kicked two goals in the opening term when the Demons needed him most and continued his high output for the remainder of the afternoon. Pedersen had a commanding presence up forward taking 10 marks and kicking a bag of six goals, while also spending extended time in the ruck. His versatility is of high value to Casey, playing as a tall, but also gathering 22 touches around the field. It was a complete performance from Pedersen.

2 Votes: Tom Bugg
In recent weeks, Tom Bugg has shown an ability to kick not just one goal, but multiple goals in a row, swinging the momentum within matches. The crafty forward is finding himself in the right spots to do the damage on the scoreboard, booting five goals on Saturday to follow up his four from the week before. Bugg also had 22 disposals finding space inside 50 and was able to get out the back as the Demons pushed forward.

1 Vote: Jayden Hunt
Jayden Hunt found the ball on 23 occasions against Frankston which was his highest possession tally for the season. This allowed the 23-year-old to impose himself on the contest, providing his trademark dash from half-back. He played with a sense of freedom and showed some good signs in a return to form. Hunt plays a high-risk game and will make mistakes, but when his attack pays off the Demons look a better side.

Apologies to:
In a 106-point victory there are always going to be plenty of players putting their hands up for votes, with Sam Frost, Mitch White, Angus Scott and Jeff Garlett all doing so on the weekend. Frost is an exceptional player at VFL level, as the well rounded defender showed off his craft against Frankston. Frost headed a strong backline, allowing White to be used in various roles throughout the afternoon. The stand-in captain played as a lead-up forward, ran around in the centre and even contested in the ruck on occasion in a gallant effort.

Garlett and Scott are two dangerous small forwards with elite pace and skillsets, as both players enjoyed their time on Saturday. Garlett was allowed to run through the midfield where he had 18 disposals, while Scott stayed inside 50 and kicked three goals.

Jay Kennedy-Harris finished with a flourish gathering 10 disposals in the final quarter, putting together one of his better performances for the season.

Good to see:
While much of the Casey side has been reshuffled in recent weeks due to AFL selection, the Demons defensive group has remained together and really solidified itself. The key position players in Frost (194cm), Declan Keilty (194cm) and Harrison Petty (197cm) are performing consistently as the structure of the backline looks sound. Hunt, Joel Smith and Josh Wagner distribute the ball well up the field, while Dion Johnstone has switched to a role in defence. The seven Melbourne players are well balanced, combining to restrict Frankston to just four goals on Saturday.

Coaches say:
“[Frankston] deserved the lead at quarter-time, they were playing better than us. We had to realign our boys and focus on what’s really important to us and what was going to get us back into the game. It shows the capacity of our players that we can get back to our method of play very quickly if we can identify it.” – Jade Rawlings

Looking ahead:
The Demons will meet Port Melbourne in round eight, with a 2pm game at Fortburn Stadium (North Port Oval) on Saturday. The Borough sit seventh on the ladder with four wins and two losses, while Casey have the same record but cling on to fourth position with an impressive percentage of 148.17. This is a crucial clash and a win will see the Demons remain at the top end of the ladder.