Casey Cardinia league review – round 6

By Mark Gullick
DOVETON caused the biggest upset of the year when they flogged Pakenham by 58 points in a replay of the 2009 grand final, kicking an extraordinarily accurate 23.3 to 12.11.
The Doves were unstoppable in the opening term and by quarter-time were 27 points ahead. The match evened up in the second term in general play and on the scoreboard. After half-time, Doveton continued its spectacular play and piled on nine goals to one.
Doveton coach Mark Ladgrove was rapt.
“We’ve had a rough trot and to beat a more fancied opponent was good,” he said.
“We just had one of those days. The rub of the green went our way and we continued on with it.
“We had a few inclusions and it sort of topped off what we’ve been doing.”
The Doves big win was set up in the first quarter.
“We have done that previously for a quarter or a half, but (today) we put three good quarters together and the match was over by three quarter-time.
“We were a little concerned at half-time, thinking we’d done this before but dropped away and the boys were realising that too. We really dug deep in the third and we played our best football for the year.”
The emphatic nature of the victory sent a signal around the league; don’t take Doveton lightly.
“We’d like to square the ledger,” Ladgrove said. “We’d like to win as many as we lose.
“There were a lot of happy people around, which was good. We just needed a bit of a shot in the arm and hopefully that was it.”
Peter Pullen was sensational at centre half-forward for Doveton. He and Ryan Hendy kicked five goals each. Ryan Pearson, Daniel Ratcliffe and Michael Lascyk were important around the ground, while Brad Downe was excellent in the back half.
Since meeting in the 2009 play-off, the fortunes of the teams have varied. Prior to this match, Doveton were winless and Pakenham had won just two matches. Doveton faced a mass exodus in the off-season, but Pakenham were expected to again challenge for the premiership.
Lions coach Ryan Cassidy was upset with his players.
“We looked disinterested from the word go,” Cassidy said. “I’m not sure why or what, but we underestimated them. It was one of those things, we were up and down; didn’t take opportunities early. Once they got a run on, it was hard to stop them.
“We generally had the ball inside 50 more than they did. We couldn’t convert. When they did go forward, they really pounced on the ball and made us look second rate.
“We weren’t up for the challenge and really didn’t come to play as a group.
Cassidy knew Doveton would be a challenge.
“In terms of where they were at for the season, they haven’t won a game, but they’ve played some quality opposition and had big losses but those losses were in quarters or patches. It was just a matter of putting it together and they certainly did that (against us).”
Midfielder Luke Walker, defenders Jared Goldsack and Nathan Brown and Chris Cardona, Paul Gramc, and Cassidy tried hard for Pakenham.