CASEY has extended its winning streak to nine straight games after a fighting 15-point victory over Footscray at Casey Fields on Sunday afternoon.
Casey Demons 13.10 (88) defeated Footscray 11.7 (73).
After trailing by as much as 26 points in the first half, it took a spirited comeback by the Demons to keep their unbeaten run going.
The game was always set to be played at one end of the field with a howling breeze causing havoc throughout the match.
A lacklustre start from the Demons had them staring down the barrel of defeat, trailing the Dogs by 20 points at half-time.
But Casey lifted its intensity after the break and got the game back on its terms.
“I thought the players were great at half-time, they were still really up for the challenge,” senior coach Jade Rawlings told Melbourne Media.
“We probably haven’t been on the back foot in the past month as much as we were and our players were open to how we needed to play in the third quarter.
“We got some scoreboard pressure at the start of the third and I think they started believing again.”
The Demons five-goal third term set up a 14-point lead at the final change, but it was never going to be a simple win, defending against the breeze.
Casey continued to attack, denying the Dogs a chance of utilising the conditions, and when the game was on the line, Sam Weideman delivered kicking two of his four goals in the final term.
“I thought we were outstanding in the last quarter with our capacity to keep playing and not just concede into the wind,” Rawlings said.
“We kept looking to go forward and score.
“I really liked how we played when it was quite challenging.”
It wasn’t an easy result for the Demons, with Footscray running dangerously into attack early.
While Casey managed four goals with the wind in the opening term, Bulldog Fergus Greene provided resistance with all three of his side’s goals to quarter-time.
Footscray then took charge of the game, kicking seven of eight goals through a period of dominance which left the Demons on the ropes.
“In the middle part of the second quarter we got absolutely smashed around the ball,” Rawlings said.
“They were harder than us, cleaner than us and moved the ball better.”
But Dom Tyson and Corey Wagner helped Casey get back on top in the centre, winning the ball around the contest and allowing the classy Jay Lockhart to deliver the ball forward.
“I thought we started to use the space of the ground better and were more effective going inside 50,” Rawlings said.
“The Bulldogs were a bit harder for periods of time which really challenged us, but we were able to meet it and fight back which I was really happy with.”
Aaron vandenBerg provided the highlight of the afternoon with a thumping long goal from the centre circle in the third term. vandenBerg was nearly through the interchange gates by the time the ball trickled through, after his intended pass got caught in the breeze and dribbled all the way home.
Casey’s last loss came at the hands of Geelong, who it meets in a curtain raiser to Melbourne’s match at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.
CASEY DEMONS 4.1 6.2 11.6 13.10 (88)
FOOTSCRAY 3.1 9.4 9.4 11.7 (73)
CASEY GOALS
Weideman 4, Munro 2, Baker, Lok, Pedersen, Scott, Smith, vandenBerg, C. Wagner,
CASEY BEST
Lockhart, C. Wagner, Weideman, Tyson, Munro, J. Wagner
