Media Release - Gippsland Power
By Brian Mitchell
Round 10 of the TAC Cup provided the Gippsland Power with a severe challenge of their depth and resolve as they took on the Geelong Falcons without their best thirteen players. The Power had a club record 12 players in contention for the final 25 in the Victorian Country under-18 team and the unlucky number 13 was Brett Dore who missed due to suspension. Geelong were also depleted due to state duties and injury but rarely has a TAC Cup club been so depleted of class players.
With Tyson Goldsack, Chris Horstman, Brenton Joyce, Hayden Browne, Brent Macaffer making their TAC Cup debuts, the Power were always going to struggle to maintain the sort of pressure needed to contain a side like the Falcons. The remaining "senior boys" needed to lead by example and for much of the game they did the job magnificently. Despite these handicaps, the Power boys responded manfully to the challenge to be highly competitive throughout the game but fell 14 points short at the final siren.
Nigel Benn was proving a handful early for the Falcons and things looked good for the Power. As would be the pattern of play all day, the Falcons hit back hard and led by 7 points at the first break. The Falcons put the acid test on the Power early in the second term and began to establish a solid lead as the punished some indecisive play by the Power.
Instead of compounding, the Power began to rally and with the "senior" players leading by example, clawed back the lead as a result of some excellent pressure football. Once again the Falcons rallied and this was answered by some gritty play by the Power Tommy Johnson took it upon himself to be the "go to man" and the Power led by 5 points at the long break.
The third term opened with the Falcons seizing the initiative and they had the Power on the back foot and struggling to get any cohesion into their play. Instead of compounding under the pressure, the Power dug deep and stemmed the flow of goals due to some brave and committed play. A late goal to Tyson Goldsack reduced the margin to 8 points with one term to go.
The last term proved to be real war of attrition, with the Power striking first with a Marc Truscio special. The Falcons responded quickly and once again the pressure was on the Power to stem the flow of goals and create scoring opportunities for themselves. Both sides squandered scoring opportunities under the pressure being applied but the Falcons steadied when it mattered most.
Final Scores Gippsland Power 12 goals 13 behinds 85 points were defeated by Geelong Falcons 14 GOALS 15 behinds 99 points. Goal kickers Marc Truscio 3, Nigel Benn, Tyson Goldsack, Spencer Noonan and Tom Johnson 2, Craig Flint 1. Leading the way for the Power was Tom Johnson, Zac Vansittart, Craig Flint, Ricky Delphine, Jaymie Youle, Spencer Noonan, Tye Holland, Jeff Ryan and Michael Heyne.
The Power now travels to Coburg to meet the highly rated Murray Bushrangers in another stern test of the Powers depth and endeavour. On the positive side, Brett Dore and Nathan Leishout will be available and they will add such much needed skill, strength, poise and versatility to the squad for this testing match. While both sides will have many players missing due to National Championship duties, the Power will really have to work hard to overcome the loss of 11 of its very best players. Tom Dowd, Chris Dunne, Robert Eddy, Xavier Ellis, Ben Fraser, Lachlan Hansen, Jay Neagle, Steven O'Bryan, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas and Trent West have all been rewarded for their stellar seasons with the coveted "big V' and obviously the Power club is thrilled to have this incredible level of representation in the most elite junior competition in Australia.
Obviously it leaves a gaping hole in the Power team but it's also a unique opportunity for the remainder of the squad to "put their hands up" for a place in the team after the championships are over. Spencer Noonan, Tye Holland and Tyson Goldsack did so against the Falcons and have a second chance to impress against the Bushies this week.
Paul Hudson and his coaching panel will draw a lot from the Falcons game and will be able to address some of the key negatives from the game before next week. They would have been impressed by the endeavour shown throughout by the boys but will need to work on their poise under pressure if they are to beat the Murray outfit.
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 11:51