News

From The Mercury
Reported by Adam Smith

TASMANIA'S season washed further away in the rain at Skilled Stadium yesterday, with Geelong giving the Devils a lesson in wet-weather football to hand the visitors their eighth consecutive loss.

The home side's experience and skill level shone in the greasy conditions, running away with the game in the second half to record a 72-point win, 14.14 (98) to 3.8 (26).

The score was Tasmania's second lowest ever in the VFL, bettering only the 2.4 (16) it kicked against Werribee in 2004.

At the main break the Devils trailed by 21 points, and through full-forward Adam Derbyshire kicked the first goal of the second half.

But the big turning point came immediately after the goal when the Devils were given a free kick in the middle before the ball was re-bounced.

Youngster Aaron Joseph swooped on a loose ball in the forward 50 from the resulting kick, only to miss a shot at goal on the run from 30m.

A straight kick would have reduced the margin to nine points, but Geelong took the ball the length of the field from the kick-in and found Ryan Gamble unmarked in the goal square.

From there it became a procession, with the Cats booting the final nine goals of the game, including six in the third quarter, to blow the game apart. Tasmanian Coach Daryn Cresswell declined to talk after the match, instead leaving injured forward and assistant Justin Plapp to discuss another missed opportunity and second-half fade out.

"Obviously that is an area we still need to work on, to play four quarters of football, Plapp said. "The third term was where we dropped off and should have been only nine points down.

"In these games and conditions it really stands out the guys having a go and those who are going to have a crack and there were probably a couple of guys out there today that didn't. Geelong are a damn good football team and did have a lot of experienced players, and towards the end of day that really showed with their skill level."

Midfielder Sam Whish-Wilson again had a great game, tackling hard and showing he was prepared to put his body on the line.

First-gamers Aaron Joseph and Brad McDonald also proved they can handle VFL football, while Alex Gilmour did a great job in his first game for the Devils after backing up from Saturday's match with Southern Premier League side Brighton.

For the Cats, defender Josh Hunt gathered possessions at will and his delivery on a tough day was sublime, while Shannon Byres and Brent Prismall were busy.

Jason Davenport kicked five goals to be the dominant forward on the ground, while in his comeback match Tom Lonergan showed his class, despite being a little rusty.

The Devils are on the road again this weekend when they clash with the Northern Bullants.