Gippsland Power
Media Release
By Bryan Mitchell
Gippsland Power started their 2006 TAC Cup campaign with a narrow but hard fought loss to the Dandenong Stingrays. On winning by 6 points, the Stingrays went someway to erasing the memory of the Power's emphatic win in the 2005 Grand Final, but they will only be truly happy if they can do it in the big one this year. The Power went onto the game with 7 of the premiership team and had Beau Vernon and Jeff Ryan missing due to long-term injury. Ten boys made their TAC Cup debuts for the Power and the remaining five boys missed the 2005 Grand Final side after playing games throughout the year.
The game opened with lots of pressure and neither side could get much cohesive play going. Some excellent forward line pressure allowed the Power to score goals to Ben Ross and Ben Hughes and then some precise and purposeful use of the ball set Jackson Hall up for another. The Stingrays stopped the rot and had two on the board in minutes and it was game on. Some vision and creativity allowed Luke Webber to goal and the Power had a 13 point lead at the first change.
Dandenong dictated the tempo in the early part of the third term and seemed keen to match the intensity displayed by the Power in the first quarter. Ben Ross set up Tyson Goldsack for one against the flow of play and it looked as if the Power had the Stingrays measure. Instead of capitalizing on this good start, the Power began to be forced into skill and decision making errors and the in-experience of the Power youngsters was being exposed. The Stingrays slammed on six unanswered goals to go into the long break 15 points up and with the momentum firmly going their way.
In the third term the Power seemed to be "revitalized" with Lachlan Hansen on the ball and they were back to their aggressive and hard-nosed best. A goal to Ben Ross seemingly set the ball rolling for the Power but the Stingrays replied immediately to let the Power know that they were not going to give up without a fight, Tyson Goldsack and Ben Hughes gave the Power a spur and once again they were dictating terms all over the ground. The Stingrays were far from done with and they regained the ascendancy with a soft major. Ben Ross and Marc Truscio showed dazzling skills and by the end of the term the Power were six points ahead and seemed to have the answers when it mattered most. Early in the last term both sides were giving their all but neither side could break clear and it took 15 minutes for the Power to break the deadlock and set up Ben Hughes with some brilliant team work. Once again the Stingrays dug deep and reduced the margin to seven points with about 10 minutes to go. The Power were under pressure as inspiration skipper Rob Eddy had received an injury and this meant that the others had to lift to fill the voids that he left. They battled hard to withstand yet another Stingray challenge but were unable to respond in the crucial last few minutes of the game.
Final scores, Dandenong Stingray 13 goals 10 behinds 88 points defeated Gippsland Power 12 goals 10 behinds 82 points. Goal kickers for the Power were Ben Ross 3, Marc Truscio, Tyson Goldsack and Ben Hughes 2, Jackson Hall, Kael Bergles and Luke Webber 1. Tom Johnson was a strong contributor early in the game but really stood up when it mattered most with
Five critical marks in the last term. Tristram Francis had a mixed day with a report and 19 bone-crunching tackles in the thick of the action. Once given the freedom to get in the play Lachlan Hansen dominated the aerial duels and got the Power back in the game. At ground level Rick Delphine was awesome with 44 possessions and he rarely missed a target while Ben Ross gave the Power plenty with his remarkable skill and ball-reading ability. Dan McKenna made a solid debut in defence and played disciplined football al; day.
Both sides were spent at the end of the game as they played at a frenetic pace and rarely allowed each other uncontested possessions. The Power will learn a lot from this game and the "rookies" will be on a steep learning curve as they adjust to the tempo of the best junior football competition in Australia. Paul Hudson and his coaching team will have a lot of positives to work with from this game and despite the narrow loss will be pleased with much of what they saw.
The Power have another home game next Saturday against the Northern Knights and will face a team that will also be keen to get revenge after being beaten by the Power in the Preliminary Final last year. This will be a common theme for the boys in 2006 as they are seen as the benchmark in the TAC Cup and Paul will ensure that they are up to the challenges involved
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 12:07