PETER German   can  remember  turning to  Tim Harrington and  saying, `S--- mate, we've got some work to do here'.

It was Round 1 and the new Casey Scorpions coach and  Melbourne  list  manager  Harrington were  walking across the Sandringham ground a few minutes after the siren.

Paul Amy- Inside Footy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Scorpions  had just been   caned by 103 points. Save for half the side going down with knee injuries,  they could not have started  the  season more badly.

Four months later, the Casey club is making a run at the top  four. Sandy, meanwhile, are out of the  top eight.

``Yeah, it was quite a shock, that first game,'' German  said.

``We'd been competitive in the practice matches but we got Sandy when they were really up and running and they got hold of us. Wasn't pretty.''

 The Scorpions'  performances  since  have been a pleasant surprise to  their supporters, who  had set down no great expectations given  the first year of the alignment with Melbourne.

Going  into Saturday's match against Coburg Tigers, they were  8-5 and could  easily have been more in the positive after a four-point loss to Port Melbourne and  a four-point reversal  to Williamstown. 

They also kicked  away chances to   defeat the  Box Hill Hawks and North Ballarat.

``You get what you deserve in footy,'' German said dismissively when reminded of the ones that got away.

It was understandable German  was unsure where to rank his side at the start of the season.

 It was his first year in charge, he was getting to know his players,  there was  the new alignment to bed down and  he had no great handle on the VFL.

But he's  convinced now  that Casey's best  football _  played in a relentless style that German would like to  think reflects  his days  at the Kangaroos  under  Denis Pagan  _   puts it around the mark.

``We've usually been a good four-quarter side,'' he said.

The Melbourne players train with the Scorpions every three weeks and have made a strong contribution,  from Shane Valenti, Liam Jurrah, Russell Robertson, Michael Newton   and Brad Miller, to rookies  Rohan Bail and Jordie  McKenzie.

 But  the Casey  squad has  done more than fill gaps.

Full back Alex Silvagni is  a  decent chance to be drafted;  Peter  Faulks has settled in as  another key defender, flanked by the improving Evan Panozza; tall ex-Tassie Devil Tim Mohr  has taken his game to a level some thought beyond him;  Michael Stockdale is among the best first-year players in the league; and captain Kyle Matthews and James Wall are meeting the exacting standards  German sets them.

``I've just tried to get across to the boys that they're not playing on a tightrope,'' German  said of his  Scorpions.

 ``For them to  develop you've got to have that balance between having them on the edge and them being confident enough to  take the game on.''

He  does  it with mixture  of fire and ice. German's best cooks   would put him in the final  of Master Chef. But other times he speaks in the manner of a father soothing a sick child.

That German has the Scorpions  going well  hasn't surprised the Melbourne people  who fitted him out for the Casey job when they heard he was returning to  his home city after a few years in Perth.

German   coached Subiaco to two premierships and   was ensconced in  Fremantle's team of assistant coaches.

But he was yearning  to get back to Melbourne,   to his old   haunts  at Oak Park.

Chris Connolly in particular championed his  case to coach Casey.

Told that VFL  operations manager John Hook had also given him a bump-up, German laughed: ``What happens when we lose a few games?  Then everyone will say, `Geez, he can't coach!''

But he has enough confidence in his ability to  declare an ambition to get an AFL job.

 ``I've been ready to coach in the AFL for 10 years,'' he said a few weeks ago. That was shortly before  Casey general manager Brian Woodman, the former South Melbourne back pocket, said: ``North Melbourne  have rocks in their heads if they don't interview Germo.''

But that is for later.  German's mind is on the next five  weeks and he sees some potential potholes in the road head, particularly now that the Melbourne list is thinning with injuries.

Casey's depth will be tested during a  tough run home: Geelong, North Ballarat, Williamstown and  Box Hill Hawks.

 ``The  job's  in front of us. There's some big games there;  every week we play a side vying for the eight,'' German said.

In other words, there is still work  to do. But   his Scorpions  have accomplished a lot  since Round 1.

GERMAN ON HIS SCORPIONS

Kyle Matthews: Still learning  the game and how to become a leader, but in the top five of the most desperate players I've coached.

Michael Stockdale: smart, clever, creative, but needs to work harder still.

Tim Mohr: a martian; you don't what he's thinking or where he's coming from. Athletically, he's outstanding, very gifted, and he's improving greatly.

Alex Silvagni: exciting, powerful and still with room for improvement.