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Makepeace was standing in for suspended Casey captain Nigel Carmody, a half-time guest on Casey Radio.

The game began in very even fashion. Play was open, both sides making good use of the pristine surface at TEAC Oval with lots of run and direct play through the corridor. Port's Tim Hazell was a stand-out during the term, gathering 14 disposals and five marks, assisted ably by Julian Rowe (nine

disposals) and John Milhuisen (eight).

Whilst play was shared evenly between the two sides, the difference on the scoreboard at quarter-time of 13 points in favour of Port was purely down to the Scorpions dreadful inaccuracy in front of goal, finishing the quarter with 0.8. Some of the bigger possession-getters for the term for Casey included Makepeace, who led from the front with nine disposals, and dropped St. Kilda player Matthew Ferguson, with seven.

At the first-break, Scorpions coach Peter Banfield wasn't overly critical of his players, despite the missed opportunity with the wind. He just urged his players to go back to basic one-on-one football, remain accountable for each opponent, and said that if Port dropped one or two extra men back into their defensive 50, then their respective Casey opponents must follow.

The second term was a slightly more dour affair, with Port indeed dropping a couple of players back into the defensive arc, a seemingly odd move considering they had the advantage of the breeze. It worked against the Borough, as they were outscored for the term by Casey, three goals to two.

The tale was told by the fact the leading Port possession-getter for the term was a defender in John Baird (11 disposals), while Julian Rowe continued to work hard through the midfield, gathering nine touches.

For the Scorpions, despite being down at the half, after a positive second term they went into the break with much confidence. Makepeace was again a stand-out in the second term, collecting another nine disposals, along with strong quarters from St. Kilda veterans Brett Voss (eight touches) and Andrew Thompson (eight).

During the now-famous "Half-time with Tiger" interview, Phil Pearce spoke with the suspended Carmody, who was spending the game in the Scorpions coaches box. Carmody spoke of the mid-season resurgence of the Scorpions being accredited to a stable list of St. Kilda players being available for the side, numbering approximately 14 in recent weeks. He also spoke of how the Scorpions coaching staff had unshakeable faith in the players to resurrect the situation in the second half, after their 0.12 start.

Carmody's comments would prove prophetic in the third term as the Scorpions hit their straps in a major way. The run provided through the midfield and ability to hit targets suffocated the Borough, as Casey piled on 10 goals in a sensational quarter of football. Tall target Barry Brooks came into the game, gathering seven possessions and taking four contested marks up forward, along with some excellent work by Thompson (seven disposals) through the midfield, and VFL veteran Steve Harrison (eight), who was excellent at getting clearances for the Scorpions.

Casey went into the final change with a match-winning 36-point lead. Rowe (nine disposals), John Baird (eight) and Chris Obst (eight) all won a lot of the ball for the Borough, but it was all in the back-half of the ground, as that's where the football was for the majority of the quarter.

At the final break, Borough coach Saade Ghazi was at his fired-up best, exhorting his charges to run and carry as much as possible, be direct and use the corridor, giving roaming half-forward Jeremy Dukes and David Pitt a chance one-out with their opponents. Borough assistant coach David Spriggs also criticised the performance of his fellow midfielders, telling them to be more accountable for their opponents.

Play opened up a lot in the final term, and while the Borough managed five goals with the breeze, they still conceded six to the Scorpions, to eventually go down by 39 points. Both teams did play a lot of run-and-carry football during the final term, peppering both inside 50s. Leading stats winners for the Borough in the last quarter included eight disposals to midfielders David Robbins and Spriggs, and seven to quarterback Milhuisen.

For the Scorpions, the leaders included forward Chris Dunne with seven possessions and five marks, nine disposals to Andrew McQualter and eight to St. Kilda rookie Jarryn Geary.

After the game, "Tiger" Pearce put the hard questions to Scorpions coach Banfield, who praised his players for going through the various processes of manning-up, playing corridor football and hitting targets with their disposals, brushing off the early inaccuracy as nothing more than an aberration. Soon after the interview finished, Port's Robbins left the changerooms by himself, still in full playing gear (including boots) and with a suit in his hands. He appeared happy and jovial when speaking to some Scorpions fans, so there doesn't seem to be anything sinister in this.

The quarter-by-quarter scores and goalkickers from this match are as

follows:

Port Melbourne 3.3 5.8 8.9 13.10-88

Casey Scorpions 0.8 3.13 13.15 18.19-127

Casey Scorpions goalkickers: B. Brooks 4, D. Armitage 3, R. Clarke 2, C.

Dunne 2, M. Rix 2, B. Voss 2, M. Ferguson, A. Parker, K. Matthews.

Port Melbourne goalkickers: D. Pitt 2, A. Bonaddio 2, J. Dukes 2, D.

Fanning, D. Robbins, M. Pearce, M. Smith, S. Pleming, L. Cotchett, R.

McMahon.

Better players for the victorious Scorpions included: Geary, who was excellent through the midfield, gathering 27 possessions and eight marks in a real show for the future, most importantly, most of his possessions hit their intended target; another youngster in Kyle Matthews, who played mostly as a utility, and won many in-and-under clearances for the Scorpions in his

24 possessions and eight marks; Ferguson, who spent time all over the ground, showing there is definitely life in his old legs left, his experience, particularly in the clinches, proving vital, gathering 23 disposals and six marks; former captain and Scorpions veteran Harrison, who again put his body on the line for his team in many contested situations, finishing with 24 touches after a quiet first term; Brooks, the first ever AFL player from King Island, like Ferguson, showed there's definitely still life left in his old legs yet, taking eight marks, most of which were contested, booting four goals when up forward, whilst also pinch-hitting in the ruck and winning 10 hit-outs; and Makepeace, who was a pillar of strength across the midfield all day, leading from the front in collecting 30 valuable disposals.

For the beaten Borough, better players included Ryan "Mr" McMahon, who worked hard to contain some of the taller Scorpion forward, finishing with

15 disposals in three-quarters of ground time, and often getting in a timely punch in a Scorpion forward-line contest; captain Obst, who also tried hard to provide run and carry off the half-back flank, finishing with 23 possessions and six marks; Hazell, whose first quarter effort of 14 disposals and 5 forward-50 entries was sensational for the Borough, whilst he couldn't keep up that pace, his finishing tally of 28 possessions and nine marks playing through the midfield and in a quasi-quarterback role was an exceptionally good effort; David Pitt, who returned to the side after being dropped three weeks ago and presented well across the half-forward flank, finishing with nine marks and 18 disposals, his two goals could have easily been a couple more; Rowe, who was sensational throughout for the Borough, finishing with 32 possessions and eight marks, he was prepared to put his body in the clinches all day, and worked hard to put the Borough into attack; and, Baird, who worked hard on the last line of defence, finishing with 30 disposals and eight marks, repelling quite a few strong Scorpion forward forays.

The Borough now face a major battle to make the final eight with just three games remaining in the home-and-away season. Next Sunday sees them involved in a do-or-die battle against Werribee at Bartercard Oval in Werribee, the Tigers also fighting for one of the lower spots in the top eight. For the Scorpions, their train keeps on rolling on, and next Saturday they travel down Bass Strait to Bellerive Oval in Hobart, to play the bottom-placed Tasmania Devils in a game the Scorpions will start raging-hot favourites in.

In other round 17 action in the TRUenergy VFL, in an AFL curtain-raiser on Saturday down at Skilled Stadium in Geelong, the Cats continued their excellent season, thumping the highly-rated Coburg Tigers by 37 points in an ominous sign for other teams vying for this year's VFL premiership, Ryan Gamble voted best with four goals for the Cats; in another country Saturday afternoon game, North Ballarat proved their one-off "Technicolor Dreamcoat"

uniform to be a good luck charm, after they just managed to shake-off an inaccurate Box Hill by 31 points, Dean Chester voted best for the Roosters; in Sunday action, another juggernaut just kept on keeping on in triple-reigning premier Sandringham, who smashed the hapless Northern Bullants by 62 points at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval in Sandringham, AFL draft hopeful Shane Valenti being voted best for the Zebras; and finally, in an absolute thriller down at Kars Street Oval in Frankston, the drums were beating so loud they could be heard in Perth, as an inaccurate Dolphins side held off an amazingly accurate Werribee side by just two points, the enigmatic Frankston goalsneak Justin Berry booting six goals and being voted best. Tasmania, Bendigo and Williamstown all had byes.

The ladder at the completion of round 17 sees Sandringham alone on top with

52 points, followed by Geelong on 44, Coburg (44), North Ballarat (40), Williamstown (36), Casey Scorpions (30), Northern Bullants (28), and Port Melbourne rounds out the top eight on 26 points. Then comes Bendigo (24), Werribee (24), Frankston (24), Box Hill (16) and last, but not least, Tasmania on eight points.

Round 18 in the TRUenergy VFL sees the Casey Radio 3SER 97.7FM team have only one game on, but what a game it is!! The team will be at Bartercard Oval on Sunday for the do-or-die clash between Werribee and Port Melbourne, the loser seemingly out of contention for a finals spot. Join the team of Werribee media legend Tristan Foenander, "Cultured" Chris Weaver, Kain "Pity The Fools" Pollard, Nickson Nikolovski and the VFL's number one historian and personality, Phil "Tiger" Pearce, from 1.45pm next Sunday, and Casey Radio will ensure ALL your VFL action is covered.