Gippsland Power Media Release
By Bryan Mitchell
In conditions reminiscent of the "arctic adventure" in 2004, Gippsland Power and Sandringham Dragons had another dour struggle with the Power emerging victorious after playing some impressive wet-weather football. It was never going to be a "pretty" game and it was a matter of who was going to work the hardest to make it happen.
The Power went into the game without Dale Thomas and this gave Tye Holland his first TAC Cup game in 2005. The wind was blowing strongly to the northern end of the ground and the Dragons had this advantage in the first term. The Dragons had the first major but were stung on the rebound by the agility and skill of Lachlen Hansen. Sandringham employed the flood to stem the tide but Hansen was on fire and they were struggling to contain him. By the long break the Power trailed by 3 points but had been impressive against what appeared to be a 4 to 5 goal wind advantage.
It was the Lachlen Hansen show at the start of the third term and it looked likely that the Power were going to blow the game open. The Dragons upped the ante and this meant that the Power had to work harder to create scoring opportunities. They began to pressurize the Dragons all over the field and scored great team goals as a result of the resultant Dragons fumbles with Jay Neagle on target the Power went into the long break 26 points up and with the momentum in their favour.
It's a football truism that the third term is the premiership quarter and the Power proved it true with a dominant performance against the strong wind. They totally shut down the Dragons avenues to goal and began to score goals as a result of hard work, discipline, commitment and some uncanny "skills". Inspired by captain Steve O'Bryan, they took control of the game and forced the Dragons to resort to undisciplined play in an attempt to put the Power of their game. This didn't work either and simply made the Power more determined to hurt them where it really mattered, on the scoreboard. By the last change the game was effectively over with the Power 59 points up and totally in control of the game.
The last term was anti-climatic, with neither side able to score early. The umpires were not helping with some inconsistent and often confusing decisions and players on both sides became frustrated. The Dragons settled better and slammed on three unanswered goals to remind the Power that there was a game on. With Paul and his fellow caches resting key players throughout the term, the momentum was lost at times and it took a Lachlen Hansen "special", his fifth, to put his personal seal on what was an emphatic 43-point Power win.
Final scores Gippsland Power 16 goals 10 behinds 105 points defeated Sandringham Dragons 9 goals 9 behinds 63 points. Goal kickers, Lachlen Hansen 5, Jay Neagle and Tye Holland 3, Ben Fraser and Tom Johnson 2 and Steve O'Bryan 1. The better players in an even performance were Lachlen Hansen, Steve O'Bryan, Chris Dunne, Scott Pendlebruy, Ricky Delphine, Tom Johnson, Brett Dore and Nathan Lieshout.
The Power now take on the Oakleigh Chargers at Morwell next Sunday in what should be another excellent test of the Power's resolve. Paul and the coaching panel have done well to keep the boys at the same level of commitment and endeavour to turn into the second half of the season with eight wins and one narrow loss. The TAC Cup has another bye for state squad duties after the next game and then will have two crucial clashes against the Geelong Falcons and then the Murray Bushrangers. These games will give the Power brains trust an accurate guide to where the boys sit and help them to devise a program aimed towards the finals.
Last Modified on 21/05/2008 17:32