The Casey Scorpions have wasted no time in returning to the top of the Peter Jackson VFL ladder with a comfortable win over Frankston in Round 1 as Jacob McChrystal and David O’Neill report.
In front of a strong vocal home crowd at Casey Fields, and with Rohan Welsh taking the coaching reigns for the first time, last year’s minor premiers powered to a commanding 68-point victory, 23.11.149 to the Dolphins 12.9.81.
It was all the Scorpions early with their tackling pressure and run and carry through the midfield giving their forwards ample opportunities.
The efforts of Dolphins duo Mitchell Bosward and Michael Lourey kept the Dolphins in the hunt and, with new recruit Ziggy Alwan marking strongly up forward, the margin was just 11 points at quarter time.
After a frenetic start that included 14 goals in the opening term, tempers flared early in the second when Frankston ruckman Russell Gabriel laid a late bump on Casey’s James Magner.
Magner’s teammates immediately surrounded Gabriel where a few ‘choice’ words were spoken and the match would never be the same.
Casey stepped up their tackling efforts, forcing the Dolphins to continually turn the ball over and allowed the Scorpions 71 forward 50 entries for the match.
Melbourne-listed player Luke Tapscott kicked six goals to be Casey’s main destroyer, while 23rd man Ben Kearns from Gippsland Power managed five in his VFL debut.
Frankston coach Simon Goosey said his side had a lot of work ahead .
“We will definitely be working on our stoppages this week during training. We need to work on our focus and not forget what we want to achieve,” Goosey said.
The second half was all Casey as they dominated the stoppages and applied pressure on the Dolphins’ ball carriers.
The rucking efforts of Casey’s Max Gawn cemented Casey’s power in the middle as his tap work provided time and space for his midfielders.
The defensive efforts of Jarrod Irving was one of the few highlights for the Dolphins with his marking ability keeping his Casey opponents in check.
But the overwhelming determination of the Scorpions broke open the game in the third quarter as they put the game beyond doubt with five goals.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Frankston as their forwards showed great improvement throughout the match, crashing packs and taking several strong marks.
Lourey finished with four goals, while Alwan impressed with three to show their might be light at the end for the tunnel for the Dolphins.
Last Modified on 09/04/2013 14:34