CASEY Demons have received a double blow ahead of the 2022 Smithy’s VFL Grand Final against Southport at IKON Park on Sunday, with star forward Tom McDonald ruled out of the big game.
McDonald, who would have been the only member of last year’s AFL premiership team to line up in the VFL decider, has again succumbed to his foot injury, which is likely to force Mitch Brown to return to his customary deep forward role alongside young star Jacob van Rooyen.
SMITHY’s VFL TEAMS, GRAND FINAL, click here
The Demons will also be without defender Deakyn Smith, who lost his race to recover from injury for the Grand Final, while Fraser Rosman will miss due to the concussion he suffered in the preliminary final.
Casey made four changes to the team that easily beat the Brisbane Lions last week, with Jake Melksham coming in from Melbourne’s AFL team as expected, while Taj Woewodin and Bailey Laurie have also recovered to take their places, and VFL-listed utility Aiden Quigley also earned a recall.
Jake Bowey joins McDonald and Rosman in going out of the team due to being ineligible, while youngster Roan Steele has been omitted.
The Demons have kept the door open to including a second ruckman, with both the experienced Jake Spencer and youngster Jack Bell named in the emergencies.
Southport has named an unchanged team for the Grand Final, which means star ruckman Fraser Thurlow has lost his own race against the clock to be fit for the Grand Final, having not played since seriously injuring his hamstring at the opening bounce against Sydney in Round 17.
The Sharks have former North Melbourne AFL player Josh Williams again in the emergencies.
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL
2022 SMITHY’S VFL GRAND FINAL
CASEY DEMONS (19-1) vs SOUTHPORT SHARKS (15-5)
Sunday, September 18, 12.50pm @ IKON Park
Tickets: $20 adults, $15 concession, U15 free. Available at the gate or via www.intix.com.au/events/vflgrandfinal2022
Broadcast: Channel 7 (Victoria), 7mate (Queensland) and 7plus (National), 12.30pm; Stream on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App, 12.30pm; Casey Radio 97.7FM and www.caseyradio.com.au, 12pm)
TEAM CHANGES
CASEY DEMONS
IN: B. Laurie, J. Melksham, A. Quigley, T. Woewodin
OUT: J. Bowey (ineligible), T. McDonald (foot), F. Rosman (concussion), R. Steele (omit)
SOUTHPORT SHARKS
No change
THIS SEASON
Round 7, May 8, 2022, at Casey Fields
Casey Demons 6.2 8.5 10.9 13.11 (89)
Southport 0.0 4.4 6.8 8.11 (59)
Goals: CASEY DEMONS: M. Brown 6, A. Moniz-Wakefield, J. van Rooyen 2, L. Dunstan, J. Melksham, S. Weideman. SOUTHPORT: B. Woodcock 2, B. Crossley, J. Dawson, B. Gowers, J. Joyce, M. Pescud, F. Thurlow.
Liston Medal Votes: 3 Mitch Brown (Casey Demons), 2 Mitch White (Casey Demons), 1 Kade Chandler (Casey Demons)
Coaches Votes: CASEY DEMONS: M. Brown 10, K. Chandler 6, A. Moniz-Wakefield 2, M. White, A. Tomlinson 1. SOUTHPORT: J. Dawson 8, F. Thurlow 2.
Team stats: Disposals: CAS 304-289. Marks: CAS 82-37. Hitouts: SOU 65-18. Clearances: SOU 49-30. Inside-50s: CAS 54-43. Tackles: SOU 103-80. Free Kicks: SOU 30-26.
VFA/VFL/NEAFL RECORDS: Casey Demons 777 matches (449-325-3); Grand Finals 9 (6-3); Minor Finals 52 (26-26). Southport 203 matches (118-85-0); Grand Finals 2 (1-1); Minor Finals 11 (6-5)
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Casey Demons 1-0
At IKON Park: Never Met
Streak: Casey Demons 1
Prediction: Casey Demons by 10
Brendan Rhodes’ winners: Last Round: 2. Season: 142/197
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL