For whatever  reason the Demons preferred  to make some of their players unavailable late in the season, rather than have them  play for the Scorpions. It has created tension between the clubs

By Paul Amy- Leadernews

Liam Jurrah, for example,  was qualified to play  on Saturday, but   was out of bounds  to the Casey selectors.The Scorpions may well respond to this nonsense  by putting a  selection cap in place for next season, say  eleven Casey players and 11 Demons.

There was much cursing of the Demons   in the Casey  camp after Saturday's loss at Port Melbourne, and VFA/VFL legend Phil Cleary weighed in by calling Melbourne's treatment  of the Scorpions  a disgrace.He said Melbourne was happy to  set up camp  at Casey Fields and absorb  ratepayers' money, but not so happy to play  the part of considerate alignment partner.Only  three Demons played against Collingwood _ senior-lister Michael Newton and rookies Shane Valenti and Trent Zomer.

Meanwhile the Magpies    fielded 18 AFL players. Such an imbalance  led to a lopsided   match.The Scorpions   never gave it up but the gulf  between the teams was as wide as the  western plains.Quicker, stronger and more skilled, the Magpies put together a run of 11 goals in the third quarter.

 Casey's best period came  in the second term, when it kicked three goals  on the reel, two from Newton  and a dribbler from James Wall.That the Scorpions  were only 34 points down at half-time was  attributable to  the Pies' poor kicking for goal, their one blemish for the afternoon.German told his  players to keep taking the game on, that they'd come too far to go out with a  rout, but the second half was a blow-out  that ended in triple figures.``We've been fighting out of our weight division for the last four or five weeks and I guess you can only keep going for so long against some heavyweights,''

   German said after the match. ``We came up  a side today that's as good as any VFL side going around. It was basically an AFL squad.``At the end of the day we just ran out of energy and manpower.''But in the face of such a crushing defeat German  could reflect on a season of gains, noting that four games were lost by less than six points and that with a little luck his team  could have finished in the top four.He said he liked to think that Melbourne's recruiters would  consider drafting Casey players.

 With the draft pool reduced by 25 percent this season due to the new Gold Coast team, Kyle Matthews, Alex  Silvagni, James Wall and first-year Scorpions Peter  Faulks, James Wall, Ben Macreadie,  Michael Stockdale, Pierce Liddle  and even Tim Smith  could  be looked at. German himself  could come in for some recognition, as coach of the VFL team of the year, to be announced next Monday night at the JJ Liston Trophy  count.

Meanwhile retired Demon Paul Wheatley  sat in the Casey box on Saturday and he  gave a smile and a nod when it was suggested he could be a playing assistant coach  for the Scorpions next season. 

 Casey Scorpions   0.1  4.3  6.4  9.8 (62)Collingwood   4.7  8.14  19.20  26.21 (177)     

 `Shark' says thanks    

Casey Scorpions president John Sharkie  on Saturday paid  a hearty tribute to  coach Peter German and his charges,  saying they had done the  club  proud.Speaking in the rooms after  the heavy loss to Collingwood, Sharkie  said he hoped the players wouldn't dwell on the pasting.``I'd be disappointed if you guys would keep the memory of that game in your minds,'' he said.``The way you guys have played through the season has just been magnificent. You really have gone above and beyond  everybody's expectations. ``Nobody  could say the players who pulled the jumper on  lacked endeavour or commitment.

``On behalf of the club I really thank  you all sincerely for that.''Sharkie said German and his  coaching panel  were professional and passionate and had  ``taken the whole group to the next level''.He said German had embraced the culture of the club. ``He is one of us now.''