GOLD COAST FOOTBALL CLUB v CASEY SCORPIONS
FANKHAUSER RESERVE SOUTHPORT
It was another case of near enough, not quite good enough for Gold Coast Football Club today as the home side went down to Melbourne-aligned Casey Scorpions 10.17 (77) to 10.9 (69) at Fankhauser Reserve, Southport this afternoon.
In an often gruelling but always exciting clash, both sides created enough chances to win but in the end, the Scorpions’ Melbourne-listed talent held steady when it mattered to help the visitors pinch the win.
GCFC exploded out of the block. After some slick clearance work at the opening bounce, Liam Patrick’s good body work earned a free and no more than thirty seconds in the home team had an early major in the bank. Casey hit back soon after after when powerful Demons second string ruckman Paul Johnson dribbled through a lucky goal.
Thereafter it was an arm wrestle.
Both sides put numbers behind the ball, neither was giving an inch, and the home side – known better for its lively attack in recent weeks - was putting in a strong defensive effort with plenty of chase, tackle and infectious one percenter desperation. Rex Liddy laid a heavy shepherd, VFL debutante Joey Daye a courageous smother, and Taylor Hine was helped from the field after taking a heavy knock after fearlessly putting his head over the ball.
It wasn’t until the twenty four minute mark when an often ill-tempered, physical first stanza opened up.
Sam Iles was awarded a fifty metre penalty after copping one high and kicked straight. Minutes later the exciting Luke Shreeve bobbed up in a pocket and curled a snap perfectly. It looked like GCFC would take a deserved quarter time lead, but Casey answered late through Healey to go to the first change with two points up its sleeve.
With storm clouds threatening, GCFC came out firing in the second term. Some tough work in its defensive fifty forced a turnover and Stanley kicked beautifully from on fifty to give GCFC a quick four point advantage. Soon after Shreeve spoiled a pack and collected his own crumbs to stretch the margin further.
Casey answered straight away through a long range bomb from McGough, but GCFC still had the run of play, and could have nudged the lead out further but for a few squandered opportunities. It looked like Casey might make GCFC pay for its impatience up forward when Petropoulos converted a rare foray forward, but lively first gamer Roland Ah Chee’s scrambled snap gave GCFC the lead once more and when Nathan Ablett led to space and kicked truly for his first VFL goal for his new club, GCFC had a nine point lead, one it kept until half time.
Casey fired the first shot in the second half when Melbourne Demons forward, Brad Miller marked and goaled, but GCFC responded immediately with another fine long range shot from the tireless Danny Stanley.
Thereafter it became an end to end war of attrition with both sides surging only to have their forward thrusts denied again and again. But eventually Casey started to dominate with cleaner disposal and surer hands. The Scorpions missed a few chances before Miller again led hard to a pocket, marked and goaled and all of a sudden Casey had pinched the lead and the momentum. When another Melbourne listed player, Matthew Newton, goaled from long range, it looked like in a low scoring slugfest, Casey would probably have the home team’s measure. At three quarter time it was the Scorpions by eight with a wet sail starting to fill.
Goals were traded in the tense early minutes of the final quarter but still Casey looked the steadier side. When the otherwise silent Jack Watts kicked straight, the game was starting to slip from the reach of an apparently tiring GCFC.
GCFC wouldn’t go away though, but poor finishing was costing it.
When Stanley leapt high for an absolute screamer and couldn’t convert from twenty metres and a spectacular four bounce run by Daye couldn’t be finished by Patrick, you got the impression it wasn’t the home side’s day. But a McKenzie goal gave GCFC sniff and all of a sudden it was anyone’s game with the home side on something of a roll.
It wasn’t to be.
Brad Miller, an imposing presence all day for Casey, had the chance to ice it late for the Scorpions, but hit the post from forty.
It didn’t matter though.
Despite some late parrying by the locals, time was on Casey’s side. In the end the visitors snuck home by just eight points in a bruising, exhausting and thoroughly entertaining end-to-end hit out.
GCFC 3.3 (21) 7.4 (46) 8.6 (54) 10.9 (69)
Casey Scorpions 3.5 (23) 5.9 (39) 8.14 (62) 10.17 (77)
GOALS: Shreeve 2, Stanley 2, Patrick, Iles, Ah Chee, Ablett, McKenzie, Dixon
BEST: Stanley, Iles, Matera, Swallow, Dixon, Ablett
