Round 1 of the VFL got underway over the weekend, with the Scorpions playing an away game against Sandringham on Sunday.

Sandringham were quick to doubt critics that time had past them slamming four first quarter goals to the Scorpions one. Andrew Campbell, a debutant from the Eastern Ranges, was holding Nick Sautner well, and Michael Rix was getting his hand on the ball in the middle. But the Scorpions struggled to make the most of their forward drives, and at quarter time were down 1.2 8 to 4.3 27

The second quarter saw the Scorpions use the ball more directly, particularly in the front half of the ground. Charlie Gardiner was proving a strong lead up option, while Goddard and Jones were making the most of first ball use out of the middle, and strong rebound football from the backline. Particualrly James Gwilt.
This quarter saw the Scorpions slam 6 goals 4 home, compared to a single behind to the home team, to go to the main break in control 7.6 48 to 4.4 28.

In the third term, the experince of some Sandringham players started to shine through, and the young scorps struggled to shut them down when required. Nick Sautner worked into the game and kicked a few valuble goals in. Some very strong defensive efforts from stand in skipper, James Wall, and youngster Alex Silvagni as well as the tireless game from Andrew McQualter in the midfield kept the Scorpions with a sniff at three quarter time, but still down: 8.10 58 to 13.8 86.

The last quarter needed big effort from all of the Scorpion players, and they started well, however were unable to convert oppportunities. Charlie Gardiner was still causing headaches for the opposition, Andrew McQualter kept his efforts up for the whole game with a Best on Ground performance. But with 6 behinds for the term, the young Sorpions seemed to kick themselves out of a chance to steal the match. Sandringham finished the game off with a few more goals to run out winners.

Final Scores:

Casey Scorpions

Sandringham