Media Release
By Bryan Mitchell
The 2006 TAC Cup season presents a unique challenge for the players and staff of the Gippsland Power club. For 13 seasons the aim has been to reach the last weekend in September and then claim the flag to cap the season off. However, this year, they find themselves in the position as defending premiers and aiming for back to back flags. Every other club will have scrutinised the clubs successes of 2005 and the game plan that created them. This season they will know the remaining players well and the boys will have to work harder due to this increased attention. Not that any one is complaining about this scenario but it does present a new set of challenges for all involved and will test the commitment and desire of the players who were a part of that great victory and the hunger of those who missed out or who weren't in the system in 2005.
The TAC Cup is unlike any other competition in that you automatically lose a huge chunk of your playing personnel at the end of each season and need to rebuild the squad at the start of each year. Some clubs struggle with this and find themselves having to almost start from scratch at the beginning of the season. The Power however has overcome this ongoing problem by having a highly effective development program in place that ensures that there is a highly skilled, fit and motivated group of youngsters who are mentally and physically ready to join the remaining "veterans" at the start of the season and this has been strongly evident in recent seasons when the Power has been one of the TAC Cup powerhouse clubs.
Despite losing Jay Neagle, Scott Pendlebury and Xavier Ellis in the AFL draft, this year is no exception to the Power masterplan with Ricky Delphine, Robert Eddy, Tyson Goldsack, Lachlan Hansen, Tom Johnson, Ben Ross, Jeff Ryan, Beau Vernon, Jaymie Youle still at the club after having been part of the premiership team. Then you include Nigel Benn, James Blaser, Hayden Browne, Chris Horstman, Ben Hughes, Ben Jostlear, Brent McCaffer, Joel Morgan, Marc Truscio who all played games in 2005 and are keen to be part of their own premiership team. Add to this a squad of highly skilled, keen and fit "bottom-agers" and you have the recipe for a really competitive team. What makes this prospect even more tantalising for the Power club is the fact that all of the premiership players are really focused to do it again and they are already leading the group by outstanding example in the pre-season training programs.
Currently the squad consists of about 70 players who are training 2 nights a week in Morwell and their form on the training track is giving plenty of reason for optimism. The coaching panel headed by Paul Hudson and fitness coordinator Les Ponton has been working very hard to prepare the squad for the physical and mental challenges inherent in the TAC Cup and they have again set high performance standards. The panel has changed since 2005 with Andrew Dunkley adding his skill and vast AFL experience as an assistant coach in place of Tony Waters who will coach Fish Creek.
The action hasn't just been confined to the under 18 group with the clubs next talented under 16 squad going through their own initiation process under coach Rob Reid. The group is largely made up of the best players from the clubs' strong East Gippsland and Latrobe Valley schoolboys' teams and they have been highly impressive in terms of their skills, fitness and application. They are preparing for a carnival in Bendigo in April after which several boys will be invited to join the under 18's to train with them for the rest of the season as a crucial part of their "apprenticeship" for the TAC Cup.
As an integral component of the build to both groups' season, a series intra-club practice games have been arranged and they will be used to trim the lists closer to the final numbers. They will be followed by matches against fellow TAC Cup clubs. A camp for the final under-18 squad will be held at Phillip Island in late March to "fine tune" the group before the season opener against the Dandenong Stingrays at Morwell on Sunday the 2nd of April starting at 12.00 noon.
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 12:05