Scorpion veteran Steven Harrison was brilliant all day against Coburg and was never far away from the action, whether at the bottom of packs or sending Casey forward.By Marc McGowan
THE Casey Scorpions’ four-match winning streak came to a disappointing end at the hands of the Coburg Tigers in round 16 Victorian Football League action at Casey Fields on Sunday.
The 18-point defeat was a frustrating result for the Scorpions as they had their chances in the much-hyped encounter and finished with two more scoring shots than their rivals.
Further bad news followed after the contest for Casey, with captain Nigel Carmody accepting a one-match sanction from the VFL for charging Richmond tall Angus Graham in the opening quarter.
The Tigers entered the clash in third place on the ladder and with their own four-match unbeaten run.
Coming off the bye and with leading goalkicker Justin Sweeney absent, it was the Scorpions who had the scoreboard ticking over first, when Saint Andrew McQualter split the middle after receiving the first of several free kicks Casey benefited from early on.
Four straight behinds ensued for the home side, before Tiger prospect Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, who enjoyed an impressive day off half-back, streamed through the middle and delivered perfectly to Richmond teammate Jay Schulz.
Schulz banged through Coburg’s opener and added two of the next three goals as the Tigers took control.
His Scorpion opponent James Wall was banished to the bench for James Gwilt and it proved to be an astute move.
However, it was Coburg that held an 11-point buffer at the first break.
Steven Harrison was as dogged as ever for Casey at the stoppages, with his tackling and clearance work a feature, but demoted Tiger veteran Greg Tivendale was wreaking havoc through his hard running and sublime left-foot disposal.
St Kilda youngster Robert Eddy was switched onto Tivendale and did a commendable job, although the latter’s class stood out all afternoon.
The Scorpions slipped 27 points in arrears midway through the second term only for them to produce one of their now trademark fightbacks.
Casey managed three of the next four majors, but pint-sized Coburg midfielder Fortunato Caruso snapped truly from 25 metres to halt its momentum as the visitors went into half-time 13 ahead.
Brett Voss, whose presence inside 50 metres grew the longer the match went on, wasted two opportunities at the start of the second half to give him just one six-pointer from five attempts.
The Tigers booted the first goal of the third quarter and the clubs traded majors from then on as Coburg kept the Scorpions at arm’s length.
Facing an 18-point deficit at the last change, coach Peter Banfield urged his troops to lift and singled out Saint David Armitage for a huge effort.
But it was not to be, as Patrick Bowden, Caruso and then Brent Hartigan stretched the lead to a game-high 36.
Casey did not give up and Voss slotted two straight goals – taking his personal tally to five – as the margin was slashed again.
When Harrison handballed over the top to Troy Makepeace for maximum points, the crowd anticipated yet another stirring comeback and roared in appreciation.
A horrendous Stefan Garrubba turnover almost brought it all unstuck only for Bowden to miss an easy set-shot in front from 20 metres.
But soon after Gwilt gave away a free kick to Schulz and his fourth goal sealed the contest.
Banfield was incensed with his squad’s ball-use to the forwards and wayward finishing in front of the sticks.
“At the end of the day they beat us and I don’t think we played that well. Our conversion was poor,” he said.
“We were all over them at the start of the game, but we just didn’t kick the goals, which was a telling factor.”
Banfield was also keen to sound a warning to the Tigers if the two clubs were to cross paths again come finals time.
“Hopefully we get another opportunity to play them because if they’re the third-best side in the competition, we’re not that far away,” he said.
The Scorpions start their two-week stint on the road against Port Melbourne, who had a bye on the weekend, at TEAC Oval at 2pm on Saturday as they strive to hang onto their spot in the top eight.
