IN YET another close game, the Carlton Reserves fell just short again against the Casey Demons.
Back with a home game for Round 7, the Blues welcomed back some AFL-listed players for the clash with the Dees, but couldn’t secure the win in a back-and-forth contest with a 9.12 (66) to 9.15 (69) defeat.
Jaxon Binns dominated the disposal chart (43 disposals) while Orazio Fantasia and Jack Carroll had high clearances (five each). Liam McMahon and Ned Cahill both performed strongly up forward, kicking two goals each for the Blues.
Quarter one:
Starting Round 7 off on a gloomy Friday night, the Blues were slow to get into it, but responded to find Liam McMahon for the Blues’ first goal of the night. A good tackle by Michael Lewis brought the ball back into the Blues’ possession, which was followed by Ned Cahill who scored the second goal for the Blues of the quarter. The Blues generated great ball movement down the ground for Will White to kick a goal from directly in front, before maintain good pressure against the Demons to turn over the ball that led to a Rob Monahan goal. A returning Caleb Marchbank and Sam Durdin in the backline battled to win the ball back, while Jaxon Binns worked hard to help the Blues in defence. At quarter time, the Blues lead by 18.
Quarter two:
Beginning the second quarter, the Blues took hold of the ball with a mark by Logan Prout, which allowed for Hudson O’Keeffe to get his first goal of the night. The Demons came back hunting the ball to score, but the Blues were not far behind them, showing their determination both defensively and offensively. Heath Ramshaw showed his skills when running through centre bounce and gaining possession for the Blues, feeding the ball to Ned Cahill to score his second. Jack Carroll was strong through the contest, leading the disposals with 16, followed closely behind by Jaxon Binns with 15. The Blues looked to stay strong in the contest as the Demons began to press, but they weren’t able to shut down Casey’s attacking options in the second half of the term, trailing by one point as the siren sounded for half time.
Quarter three:
Opening the third quarter, Orazio Fantasia was quick to grasp the ball and bring it into the Blues’ possession. Liam McMahon was able to provide an attacking option inside 50 and kick his second, with the Blues looking to keep possession of the ball on a low-scoring night.
with a kick-to-kick movement to keep the ball within their reach. The Demons weren’t to be denied, with both teams battling it out as the Blues showed great determination to keep their lead. Some late chances for the Blues went begging, which opened the door for the Demons to close the quarter with a major, seeing the Blues trail at three-quarter time by four points.
Quarter four:
Starting off the final quarter on a high, the Blues regrouped to get the ball to Jack Carroll and Harry Lemmey who both converted inside the first six minutes to open up a handy gap. The Demons worked their way back up the scoreboard with Ben Brown looming large, making it hard for the Blues to get the ball going in their direction. Alex Mirkov stood out for the Blues with multiple contested marks going his way on the wing, while Binns continued a prolific game to bring his tally to 42 disposals for the night. The Blues struggled to leave their defensive half as the Dees hit the front courtesy of consecutive behinds in yet another close game for the Blues, with the siren sounding in what ended a three-point defeat.
CARLTON 4.3 6.6 7.11 9.12 (66)
CASEY DEMONS 1.3 6.7 8.9 9.15 (69)
GOALS
Carlton: Cahill 2, McMahon 2, Carroll, Lemmey, Monahan, O’Keeffe, White
BESTS
Carlton: Binns, Fantasia, Marchbank, La.Young, Carroll, McMahon
