Bt Bryan Mitchell.
Gippsland Powers' 2007 TAC Cup season campaign is in full swing with the various squads coming together to continue on with the programs that they began at the end of 2006. The under 18 and 16 groups had operated together in regional centres before the Christmas break and then worked on their own individual programs in the break, as devised by the Powers' fitness guru Les Ponton, before resuming as one group last week.
The first session for 2007 at the Joe Carmody athletic track involved some fitness assessment work such as a 3.2km time trial. It was an excellent indicator of who had done the work in the break and who was automatically making it hard for themselves to survive the challenging program leading up to naming the final squads for the new season.
A core group of about 15 top-age players who played regularly in 2006 remain from last season and they represent an extremely strong nucleus for the Power team in 2007. Added to this impressive and experienced senior group are some very promising bottom-age players, most of whom have been through the under 15 and 16 development squads and are well on the way to being mentally and physically prepared for the many challenges of the TAC Cup competition.
The final element of the under 18 training group are the wildcard players who have come into the program with little or no previous experience of the Power program. Although they have a much tougher challenge to survive through to the final squad, every season the Power unearths some previously hidden gems in this way and current AFL players such as Tyson Goldsack and Trent West are great, recent examples of what can be achieved with a positive attitude and some hard work to overcome disadvantages due to their lack of previous involvement in the Power system.
In 2006 the TAC Cup competition instituted a scheme whereby each club had the opportunity to keep on the list up to two players who turned 19 in that season. The aim was to allow boys who, due to injury or other reasons, had limited exposure to the system and who were seen to have the potential to take their football to an elite level.
Tyson Goldsack was the sole Power player to use this system in 2006 but with outstanding success and in 2007 Beau Vernon and Luke Weber will play on as over-age players. Both boys represent a huge bonus for the club as Beau, a premiership player in 2005, has had his pathway interrupted by injury while Luke had only one years' exposure to the system and showed enough to suggest better things ahead.
New Power coach Adrian Hickmott is on an extremely steep learning curve to get to know the boys in his current squad but has been impressed by their enthusiasm and skills so far. His late arrival at the club is a bonus for the boys who are trying out as, in other seasons, there had been a pre-Christmas cut but this was put off to give him enough time to get to assess the boys more accurately himself.
The under 16 squad has followed a slightly modified version of the under 18 pre-season program and, under coach Rob Reid, are also going to be challenged to reach the standards required to make the final squad for the carnival early in the season. Most of these boys have already been involved in the under-15 schoolboys program and have some understanding of the sort of commitment needed at this level of football. They have impressed so far with their willingness to do the work to step up to the mark required.
Off the field there has been a lot of activity with changes to the staff. Besides the appointment of Adrian Hickmott as coach and regional development manager, Ashley Green the Warragul coach in 2006, is a new assistant coach and former Morwell coach, Danny Miller returns to the Power after a brief stint in the 2004 pre-season.
The training staff has two new members with Susan Heland from Trafalgar and Steven Brumby from Kooweerup joining the highly efficient team under the leadership of Bobbi-Lee Blay. Completing the off-field team are former VFA and VFL legend Max Papley who will be the match-day team manager and Robbie Ross who will assist with property management.
Regional manager Peter Francis has worked hard to ensure that a consistently sound structure exists behind the scenes to support the boys as they face the challenges of TAC Cup football. Once again he has assembled a highly skilled, cohesive and efficient crew for the 2007 season and all at the club are eagerly looking forward to the new season.
The boys have obviously done a lot of work during the break and now have given themselves the best chance to put themselves forward for the final squad.
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 12:34
