Scorpions sting the striped ones

By Peter Sweeney
THE bodies were sore, the bumps and bruises were on the rise.
Casey Scorpions were spread-eagled over the floor of the dressing room, bandages here, there and everywhere, medical staff getting ready to work their fingers to the bone. But nothing could wipe the smile from the faces of the victorious players.
Minutes earlier, the Scorpions had trudged off Trevor Barker Beach Oval. They hadn’t blown the Sandringham Zebras away – rather the stiff bayside breeze had blown both sides away – but they had left with a confidence boosting 10-point win.
Brad Gotch – and if you play for the Scorpions, he’s the bloke you have to impress the most – rated it “a benchmark game.”
“We were playing a quality opposition. This was a real stepping stone. You blokes showed character and we got what we wanted most – the win,” Gotch, the Scorpions coach, said as his charges cooled down – or warmed up. After all, the winds blown off the bay made it pretty fresh out in the middle.
That was something not only Gotch, but one of the best umpires in the VFL, acknowledged.
“Casey Fields, because of its openness, and Williamstown’s ground (being redeveloped this year) can be very windy, but today’s game was easily the windiest conditions I’ve umpired in this year,” Michael Curtis, one of the most promising whistleblowers in the business, said.
Gotch said “everybody did their bit” in the win.
“And you all followed instructions really well. It was tough footy and today was a real stepping stone for us. We tackled well, we defended well.
“You worked well as a team. You had a lot of respect for each other and you looked after your mates and you represented us well.
“I think our defending into the breeze in the third quarter (when the Zebras kicked 3.5 and the Scorpions added 2.1) and our tackling won it for us. We kicked 3.8 in the last quarter and there could have been another couple (goals) there. But at the end of the day, we got the (four) points.”
Scorpions skipper James Wall (who as a roaming winger was Casey’s best player) lost the toss, which he described as “a masterstroke” – mainly because he didn’t have to make a decision. Often when it’s as windy as it was on Sunday, it’s better to lose the toss, to see your opposite number have the choice of ends.
Both sides had five scoring shots in the first term – but it was 4.1 to Sandringham and 1.4 to the Scorpions.
The second term was telling in two ways. The Scorpions not only held the Zebras goal-less (the only quarter a side didn’t kick a goal), but they hit the lead. And then came the third quarter, which all call the “premiership” term.
Casey’s two goals into the howling gale were golden – and maybe matchwinners.
They may have been down at the last change, but if the Scorpions were worth their salt – or any footy club for that matter – making up a nine-point deficit backed by a strong breeze should be a straight-forward assignment.
It was achieved, but not simply. When Ricky Petterd kicked his second – and Matthew Bate his fourth – late in the game, the Scorpions had not only hit the lead, but sealed, the win. And with five more scoring shots, they would have been unlucky to lose.
Gotch spoke of the closeness which has developed between his club and the Melbourne Demons this year.
“I’ve been involved in these partnerships (AFL-VFL teams) for years, and for them to work, the clubs have to work closely,” Gotch, who when coaching Williamstown was involved with Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, said
“And it is. It has to be a team effort and it is. Melbourne chose Casey as their VFL club and are treating the club as their own. Unless both parties put in, it won’t work. But both clubs are and it’s working.”
So it’s all eyes on Saturday – when the Scorpions take on Collingwood in an early game televised live on the ABC.
More importantly, the Scorpions will wear pink-coloured jumpers in what has been dubbed the Pink Ribbon Match to promote the National Breast Cancer Foundation.