It was a case of déjà vu for the VFL Cats on Saturday night as they watched a five goal first half lead, turn into a 27 point deficit at the hands of the Melbourne aligned Casey Scorpions. Debutant Josh Walker and VFL listed recruit Mark Corrigan kicked two goals apiece as the Cats went down 13-14-(92) to 9-11-(65) under lights at the impressive Casey Fields complex in Cranbourne.

The side made nine changes from the unit that faced North Ballarat the week before, with the most notable being the elevation of club captain Cameron Ling, Norm Smith Medallist Paul Chapman and debutant Allen Christensen to the AFL line up. George Horlin-Smith (AC joint), Ben Johnson (ankle) and Mitch Brown (shoulder) were all forced from the line up with injuries, while key defender Tom Gillies travelled to Perth as the emergency. This left the Cats with seven VFL debutants and a further 6 players who have played less than 20 VFL matches. Debutants included former Falcon Walker, basketball convert Ryan Bathie, Calder Cannons recruit Jordan Schroder and VFL trio Garreth Phillips (Rupertswood), Isaac Baker (Geelong Falcons) and Anthony Elliott (Lara).

The Cats had demolished North Ballarat by 46 points in the final practice match of the year and looked to take this promising pre-season form into the season opener with a stunning first quarter that saw them kick 5 first goals to two. With the Cats kicking with the aid of a slight breeze and a midfield that boasted premiership speedster Shannon Byrnes, new co-captain Troy Selwood and second year player Josh Cowan, the Cats fans had every reason to be excited about the prospect of getting off to season 2011 with an all important away win.

With Brendan Fevola watching on, Brad Gotch and his proud Casey Scorpions outfit had other ideas.

The second and third terms saw a supercharged Scorpions team take charge of the clearances with the talent of AFL listed players Austin Wonaeamirri, Jordan Gysberts and Matthew Bate shining through. The Scorpions eventually took the lead late in the third term to crush Geelong’s confidence and head into the last change with all the momentum.

Needing early goals to stay with the home side, the determined Cats came out firing in the last quarter determined to put the demons of the 3rd quarter behind them. The Cats managed to win the first three clearances but could not convert on all the hard work. The Scorpions kicked away in the final term to run out 27 point victors and take the valuable four points from the carbon copy of the Round 1 fixture from 12 months ago.

While the majority of the Cats squad made a significant contribution in the first half, good players were hard to identify out of the ‘massacre’ that was the second. The strong marking of Trent West (21 disposals, 6 marks) was a very promising sign, while the continued development of young midfielder Joshua Cowan (26 disposals, 4 tackles) would have pleased the die hard Cats fans in the stands. Dawson Simpson (10 disposals, 3 marks, 22 hitouts) took the points over his fellow ruck counterparts for most of the night, with his strength and bullocking work around the ground a feature.

A number of VFL listed players could leave the change rooms with their heads held high. Former South Barwon star Mark Corrigan (30 disposals, 5 tackles, 2 goals), midfield recruit Jaxson Barham (21 disposals, 7 tackles), Andrew McLean (20 disposals, 6 marks) and co-captains Troy Selwood (25 disposals, 8 tackles) and Matthew Firman (14 disposals) all put in promising performances.

The Bendigo Bank Cats will look to register their first win of the season next Sunday when they take on the Werribee Tigers in the curtain raiser to the AFL Round 2 Geelong Vs Port Adelaide clash. The VFL Cats look set to welcome back Simon Hogan, Tom Gillies, Ben Johnson and Steven Motlop, while Jesse Stringer and George Burbury could both run out for the VFL Cats for the first time in a home and away fixture.

Gates will open at 10.30am and the match kicks off at 10:40am.

Casey Scorpions 13-14-(92)
Bendigo Bank Cats 9-11-(65)
Goals: Corrigan, Walker 2, D.Simpson, Cowan, Selwood, Barham, Sheringham 1
Best: West, Cowan, McLean, Corrigan, Barham, Tutungi.