By Marcus Uhe
A final quarter avalanche of goals against the Casey Demons ensured the novelty of a rare Friday night VFL contest against Footscray was nowhere to be seen after the final siren.
A precursor to the two sides facing off at senior level on Friday night, the Bulldogs bookended the game with strong first and final quarters to runaway 56-point winners at the Whitten Oval, 19.10 124 to 10.8 68.
11 shots to just two in the opening term in the Bulldogs’ favour was a taste of things to come for the Demons, immediately under siege from a side pushing to lock away a top-two finish come season’s end.
Save for a Ben Brown contested mark and goal deep in attack, it was one-way traffic for the Bulldogs, who piled on five of the opening six goals to lead by 29 points at the first break.
Casey offered considerably more resistance in the second term, but failed to make any gains on the rampant Bulldogs priming for September.
Goals to Kynan Brown, Matthew Jefferson and Shane McAdam in a five-minute span late in the quarter was a bright patch, and could have shone even more if not for a McAdam miss late in the term that would have cut the margin to 15.
The new Demon has been a constant threat in the forward half for the Demons when selected in 2024 since crossing from Adelaide, but missed shots in recent fixtures – most notably a fortnight ago against Frankston – at crucial times has proved detrimental for his side’s chances to take the challenge to the opposition.
The miss would be one of the last opportunities on goal for the next half hour, as the Bulldogs flexed their muscle with the first four goals of the quarter to stretch the margin to 45 points after 20 minutes of play.
AFL-listed talents Arthur Jones, Harvey Gallagher and Riley Sanders all contributed to the pile-on, but like in the previous quarter, the Demons drew on resilience reserves to claw their way back from the depths.
Majors to McAdam, Jefferson and Luker Kentfield in another five-minute flurry of activity in time-on left the door ajar for a miracle of sorts in the final term, but the task would prove too much for the Demons to overcome.
Allaying any doubts for the Footscray fans, the home side slammed on seven of the final nine goals of the evening, including the last four, to put the finishing touches on a 12th win for 2024, and move into second ahead of the remainder of the round.
Fresh from a bye the week prior compared to Casey fronting up after a six-day break from last weekend’s heartbreaking loss to GWS in wet conditions in Cranbourne, the Demons took a hammering around the ball, losing the possession count by 145 and clearances by 16.
Despite fielding more AFL-listed talent than their opponents, the Demons had no answers for multiple All-Australian Jackson Macrae (43 disposals) and emerging star Ryley Sanders (39 disposals and three goals), while former Demon Oskar Baker was not far beyond on 31 touches and two goals.
Bailey Laurie offered another strong showing as he always does for Casey, notching 29 touches and 10 tackles, and Jefferson’s second four-goal haul takes him to 29 goals for the year.
The Demons will put their feet up this week before heading to the Gold Coast to finish their season on Saturday 17 August against the Suns.
