Essendon was left lamenting a slow start after falling to the Casey Demons by eight points in the sides’ top-four clash on Saturday.
In the second half of the VFLW/M double-header at RAMS Arena, the Bombers were jumped by the second-placed Demons’ direct and accurate ball movement in a first quarter that saw them concede three goals to none.
Although the Bombers perpetually improved across the rest of the match, they were unable to ever claim the lead and fell short 6.10 (46) to 8.6 (54).
The wet conditions provided a challenge for both sides, but Casey established an upper hand early. Although ruck Sam Draper had begun a commendable performance that he maintained all day both in the air and through competing at ground level to win an impressive 20 touches, the Demons’ rovers had all the answers early.
When Jeff Garlett goaled at the fifteen-minute mark of the second quarter, Casey had kicked the first five and was threatening to take the match away from the Bombers.
However, Essendon was able to wrest the match back on even terms by half-time as Alex Boyse, James Stewart and Jackson Merrett goaled in a purple patch.
The sides traded blows in the third quarter as Ben McNiece (21 touches) provided dash through the middle and vice-captain Aaron Heppell began to accumulate run out of the back half.
The Bombers rallied to bring the ball forward and reduce the margin to 10 at the final change. Although Essendon continued to attack in the final 30 minutes, the Demons always held an arm’s length lead on the scoreboard and were able to repel and ultimately prevail.
Nick Hind had the most touches for Essendon with 29 while Dylan Clarke (25), Heppell (24) and Jamieson Sheahan (21) also got their hands on the ball across the four quarters. Despite sending a scare through the Bomber camp when he came off the ground after being crunched in the second quarter, Kobe Mutch finished with 20 disposals and ran the game out well.
“We were just a little bit off, particularly in the first quarter,” coach Dan Jordan said.
“We were slow with our decisions and our transition, but as the game wore on we fixed that up and gave ourselves enough opportunities. We probably just couldn’t convert from our inside-50s.
The loss sees the Bombers slip from third to fourth place on the ladder, but Jordan says his side walked away with plenty of upside at which to look.
“I’m still pretty positive. We were really close – if we’d converted one or two more opportunities, we would have won the game. I thought it was a great contest; two really good sides going at it, the conditions obviously scored for a slower game.”
Essendon will play Richmond in Round 14 at Windy Hill next Sunday in a VFLW/M double header.
ESSENDON 0.2 3.3 5.5 6.10.46
CASEY 3.2 4.6 7.3 8.6.54
GOALS
Essendon – Boyse 2, Stewart, Merrett, Younan, Houlahan
Casey – Stretch 2, Hutchins, Scott, King, Balic, Garlett, Smith
BEST – Mutch, Hind, Merrett, Draper, Heppell, Clarke
