Casey is going from strength to strength in the 2023 VFL season, putting Frankston to the sword in a comprehensive 16.13 (109) to 7.7 (49) victory at Casey Fields on Sunday.
The win sees the undefeated Demons move to the top of the ladder with an empathic percentage of 190.7 after three rounds, having won by no less than 37 points.
Despite this, it was the Dolphins who took control early, blazing to a 12-point quarter time advantage as they utilised quick and direct ball movement to slice through a sluggish-looking Casey.
Frankston was also better at the coalface, leading the clearance count 12-4 at the first interval.
Contested work isn’t a known strength of Casey’s game, but the Demons needed a spark, and it came from Bailey Laurie and co. in the contest as they won a whopping 20 second-quarter clearances (it’s worth noting they only had 19 across the other three quarters), dwarfing the Dolphins’ 12.
That turnaround coincided with a significant momentum shift as the Demons began to flex their considerable muscle, booting nine unanswered goals across the second and third terms. In fact, Frankston went 48 minutes without scoring as much as a behind across that stretch.
The Dolphins trailed 3.6 (24) to 10.13 (73) at three-quarter time, and despite a promising run of three consecutive goals to kickstart the final term, it was far too little, far too late, as Casey cruised to victory.
Will Fordham (33 disposals, eight clearances), Ryley Stoddart (31), Jackson Voss (30), and Trent Mynott (29, nine clearances) were the major ball-winners for Frankston.
Kai Owens - the brother of this week’s AFL rising star nominee Mitchito - also put together a very impressive game, with 27 disposals and nine clearances.
For Casey, Bailey Laurie was everywhere with 35 disposals, 21 contested possessions, eight clearances and a goal.
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While the absence of Tom McDonald and Jacob van Rooyen meant a new-look Demons tall trio was made to step up, and their returns were promising as all of Josh Schache, Matt Jefferson, and Tom Sheridan finished with three goals apiece.
Schache wasn’t at his best early and was made to work up the ground as well as pinch-hit in the ruck, but found his groove late with two goals in time-on of the final term.
Sheridan - a 21-year-old recruited from the Eastern League’s South Croydon - backed up his two-goal performance on debut last week to maintain his promising start to life at Casey.
And there’s plenty to like about Jefferson - taken at pick 15 by Melbourne in last year’s draft - who has seven goals in his last two outings and is averaging four scores a game following his return of 0.5 in round one. The 19-year-old stands at 195cm and has demonstrated contested marking prowess while also looking agile and dynamic at ground level.
Casey will look to make it four wins in a row when they take on Essendon at the NEC Hangar at 2:05pm next Sunday. You can tune in to 97.7fm or listen via the Casey Radio website to catch all the action!
Also seen in Casey Radio Sport