Casey and St Kilda defender James Gwilt had the big job on star Sandringham full-forward Nick Sautner and performed admirably in his side’s heavy defeat. By Marc McGowan
THE Casey Scorpions received a brutal reminder of their standing in the Victorian Football League when the Sandringham Zebras pummelled them by 79 points at Trevor Barker Oval on Sunday.
A sense of optimism had swept through the ranks after a huge round-two victory over Box Hill and a stunning last-quarter comeback that resulted in a draw against high fliers Williamstown last week.
However, the three-time reigning premier Zebras provided a whole new proposition for the Scorpions and this was evident from the outset.
Casey’s AFL-affiliate St Kilda has been ravaged with injuries to its tall defenders that left the Scorpions with little to combat the powerful Sandringham attack.
After an even first few minutes, strapping Melbourne-listed forward Michael Newton marked and goaled for Sandringham’s first before Zebra captain Chad Liddell added another within 30 seconds.
It was to become the tone of the first term as Newton quickly became the surprise danger man, alongside star full-forward Nick Sautner.
By quarter-time Sandringham had powered out to a 25-point buffer with mid-sized Casey and St Kilda forward Justin Sweeney the only member of his side to score a major with two.
However, the Scorpions’ young squad has shown much improvement this season and fought its way back into the contest.
Shane Birss (34 possessions), Clinton Jones (30 and six clearances) and Steven Harrison (21) continued their strong ball-winning feats of recent weeks and benefited from Michael Rix and Luke van Rheenen’s good performances in the ruck.
Sweeney was proving to be a livewire up forward and booted his third, but the Zebras were getting enough out of gun midfield duo Shane Valenti (25) and David Gallagher (24) to stem the tide somewhat.
The half-time deficit was reduced to 19, but Newton and Sautner already had five goals between them to leave plenty of headaches for the Casey coaching staff.
The third period became a titanic struggle as the Scorpion youth attempted to quell the strength and experience of Sandringham.
Despite Casey’s solid display, the difference was evident up forward as Sweeney faded from the match, while the influence of Newton, Sautner (five goals) and the classy Ezra Poyas (18 and four goals) continued to grow.
The Zebras led the Scorpions by 27 points heading into the final stanza, but with the latter’s perfect record in fourth quarters this season they were still in with a chance.
It was quickly snuffed out as first Newton, with his fifth goal, then Poyas and Sautner banged through six-pointers early in the term.
Newton then set-up Demon teammate Ryan Ferguson for the first of his two goals, before snagging his sixth as it became a rampage.
Sandringham managed nine goals in the last period, with only Jones goaling for Casey, as the margin blew right out.
Scorpions’ coach Peter Banfield was realistic about his side’s performance after the match and saw positives in its effort to stick with the Zebras for the first three quarters.
“We’re only a young group and in the end their hardness and intensity were too much for us,” he said.
“It’s not disappointing, but more a lesson for us because we’re still not ‘there’ yet.”
The biggest positive to come out of the game for Casey was the quality exhibition of youngster Steven O’Bryan, who had been in the best for the reserves in every game this season before doing the same in his 2007 senior debut.
“He’s been really good and is only 20 years of age,” Banfield said.
“He has an outstanding character and has probably been a bit stiff and could have been put into the seniors earlier.”
The Scorpions face another tough challenge this weekend when they face Geelong at Casey Fields and the match will be telecast from 1pm on ABC.
