Saturday May 10 the boys and I travelled to Melbourne to play TAC Cup side Gippsland Power.
"Gippsland is an AFL heartland and where my AFL Sunshine Coast Club Coordinator, Jarrod Raun grew up, a place that has produced much greatness." –Jarrod Raun
The trip took a while as we had a two hour bus trip from the airport to get to the accommodation.
Sometimes it’s really hard to believe how tiring travelling can be even though you’re not doing anything physical.
We had a training run on Saturday evening, which ran a little over schedule.
Although, the balls were buzzing and the session helped us loosen up and become accustomed to the ground, so no one really minded that we went a little over time.
I reckon the session really set the tone for the game the following day.
Coach Adrian Fletcher emphasised that the best teams have an “anywhere, anytime” mentality so any whinging about the conditions was to be kept to ourselves.
The facilities at the ground were exceptional.
The ‘Gippsland Power Centre of Excellence’ had everything a footy team could possibly need.
Gym, ice baths, you name it, it was there.
Up on the walls were photos of all the players who had been drafted from Gippsland over the years.
It was amazing to see the talent which had come from just one region of Victoria, with Pies Captain, Scott Pendlebury and Essendon young gun Dyson Heppell a couple of the big names on the wall.
Early in the game we had a lot of the play but couldn’t convert on the scoreboard.
I think at one stage we were one goal and 11 behinds which just isn’t good enough.
However, pleasingly we used our width much better from stoppages than in previous weeks and applied significant pressure on the opposition, both of which were team focusses leading into the game.
At three quarter time we were down by 15 points and needed to hit the scoreboard first in the last quarter.
We did this and eventually hit the front late in the game and protected our lead to win the game 9.18.72 to 10.11.71.
It was a great feeling to travel and get the win in a tight tussle.
AIS and Gold Coast Suns Academy member Lachie Weller was instrumental in the victory, accumulating 35 disposals, 11 tackles and a goal through the midfield.
While in defence, Nick “Wiz” Jackson played a strong game, knowing when to spoil and when to launch for the mark, grabbing a pair of outstanding contested grabs.
Sunshine Coast player Daniel Henderson was solid, with a beautiful running goal from half back a highlight of his game.
Former Kawana Park player Nate Dennis was huge in the ruck, accruing 42 hit outs.
The trip was a really good bonding experience for the boys.
For example, on the bus I had a really good chat to Harris Andrews and Matt Hammelman, a couple of boys who in the past I haven’t spent a lot of time with.
Our next state game is May 31 at home against the Eastern Rangers, with plenty of work to be done on the track between now and then.
Last weekend I played in Darwin for the Lions Reserves against the ladder leading Northern Territory Thunder, which will was a huge challenge.
We went down to the Thunder but I managed to kick a goal which is always a good feeling.
Stevo’s sayings: “Play for the front of the jersey, not the back”
Last Modified on 24/09/2014 11:21