By Marcus Uhe
Brodie Grundy’s life as a permanent fixture in the Casey Demons forward line begun with positive signs, kicking 1.3 in his side’s seven-goal win over Coburg in round 18 VFL action.
13.17 (95) indicates a wasteful display from the reigning premiers but the scoreline was supplemented by a number of rushed behinds by the Lions, who could only muster 7.11 (53).
All eyes were on the former Collingwood ruck who started the contest playing out of the goalsquare.
Much of his afternoon was spent deep forward and taking ruck contests in the forward 50, while occasionally pushing higher onto the wings as a lead-up player.
He missed his first two shots on goal before taking the ball cleanly from a boundary throw-in and snapping from close range to nail his only goal of the afternoon late in the second quarter, to the delight of his teammates and no-doubt relief of the man himself.
He finished the afternoon with 12 disposals, 12 hit outs, four marks and four tackles to go with his solitary goal, as he aims to sharpen his forward craft in order to partner with Max Gawn at senior level.
The Demons finished the first term with 3.6 to their opponents’ two behinds, a missed chance to bolster their percentage with finals on the horizon.
They kicked much straighter in the second period, nailing five goals for a 35-point halftime lead.
Grundy, Cranbourne’s George Grey, Melbourne premiership forward Charlie Spargo, Josh Schache and Matthew Jefferson all hit the scoreboard as the gulf between AFL-aligned sides and standalone clubs in the VFL came to the fore.
Spargo looked a class-above early in the contest as his ball use stood out among state-league listed counterparts.
He nailed a classy set shot and played a hand in a number of other scoring chains, hitting Schache and Grey inside 50 for majors in the first half.
Jefferson’s second goal in the third term extended Casey’s margin to 43 midway through the quarter as the Lions battled to string together consecutive goals.
They soon found the magic formula and cut the margin to 31, but it only offered brief respite as the reigning premiers kicked the next three for a 48-point lead during the fourth term.
It was as large as the margin reached all afternoon, but the Lions were lucky to not trail by more, finishing -15 in the inside 50 count and taking 12 less shots on goal.
The height afforded through Schache, Grundy and Jefferson in the forward 50 was too much to handle for the Coburg defenders, the trio finishing with a combined 17 marks and five goals from 13 shots.
Luke Dunstan, meanwhile, filled the stat sheet with 40 disposals and a goal, to keep his name in the frame for an AFL recall.
James Harmes (33 disposals) and Michael Hibberd (30) were not far behind.
The Dees return home to Casey Fields for the first time since round 15 next week when they host the Williamstown Seagulls on Sunday in a high-stakes game between two finals aspirants.
