Casey Cardinia League review

By Mark Gullick
CRANBOURNE kick-started its Casey Cardinia campaign with a 56-point win over Devon Meadows at Casey Fields on Saturday night.
Despite the pouring rain, a sizable and enthusiastic crowd huddled together to create a raucous atmosphere that belied the conditions.
Cranbourne’s Curtise Barker secured the first goal 10 minutes into the contest, ending a run of behinds from the Eagles.
Devon Meadows was determined, but Cranbourne simply had too much polish and system around the packs, and continually drove the ball forward.
Cranbourne’s Rian Healy goaled early in the second term, but the Eagles’ inaccuracy continued in the second term as several achievable chances were missed.
Cranbourne incrementally increased its lead, one point at a time.
At half-time, their lead was 28 points, a seemingly match-winning margin considering the trend of play and the conditions.
Ray George scored Cranbourne’s fourth goal early in the third term, before Devon Meadows kicked its first goal of the match, nearly one hour into the contest.
Devon Meadows outscored Cranbourne in the third term by three goals to two, but their deficit stood at 24 points.
The first quarter appeared to end before its allotted time, but the third quarter compensated for the lost time by running a leg-wearying 30 minutes.
The Panthers’ defence was frugal in the opening three quarters, despite being constantly under siege.
The levee finally broke in the final term, after a classic Justin Berry side-step and long goal. The Eagles piled on a further seven goals to Devon Meadows’ three.
While the scoreboard showed an easy Cranbourne victory, the contest was closer in general play.
The Eagles were stronger in the contest, won more clearances and implemented a better structure, and therefore won the match and reclaimed the McAleese-Flanigan Cup.
“It was a pretty solid win in the conditions,” Cranbourne coach Doug Koop said. “It was a tough night for the boys, really wet and slippery and to come away with a convincing win, we’re pretty satisfied.
“(Devon Meadows) was ultra-competitive. I think they’ll improve. They’ve got a new coach and new players, and I wouldn’t be writing them off just yet.”
Youngster Rian Healy relished the conditions to kick five goals.
“(Healy) came out of nowhere,” Koop said. “He played under 16s last year and has been impressive in the pre-season. He’s looking very good for us.”
Justin Berry was everywhere; winning his own ball, linking up with team and kicking three goals. He was the most influential player on the field.
Matt Fletcher was impressive in the forward half, Stuart Morrish was strong on the wing, and big men Troy Tharle-Adams and Marc Holt were influential.
Devon Meadows has been widely discounted, but with spirited displays similar to Saturday, it will overcome teams who treat them lightly.
“We struck a side that was absolutely red-hot,” Panthers coach Rod Keogh said. “It was a good initiation for us and hopefully we’ll take a fair bit of education out of the game.”
Keogh is under no illusions that Cranbourne outplayed his team, but the effort by his players was pleasing.
“We just weren’t able to compete against a side that was firing all over the ground,” he said.
“Cranbourne were running forward in multiples, but I never saw any signs of our blokes folding. Straight after the game, I had a look around the rooms, and the boys were exhausted. They were disappointed and there was some real genuine emotion.”
New Panthers big man Adam Brander was impressive in his first hit-out, Damon Kirkwood and Nathan Dumergue were busy around the ground and Adam Jago played a typically hard-working game.