GIPPSLAND POWER FOOTBALL CLUB
MEDIA RELEASE - V'S CALDER CANNONS ROUND 1.
By Bryan Mitchell.
The TAC Cup season for Gippsland Power opened emphatically with the boys playing tough, unrelenting and purposeful football to down the competitions most dominant team for the past 4 seasons, the all-conquering Calder Cannons. The Cannons smashed the Power in the 2004 preliminary final on their way to yet another premiership and for the Power it was definitely a case of unfinished business. It was expected that the Cannons would again be the TAC Cup benchmark team and the Power, under rookie coach Paul Hudson, had the toughest task imaginable for their first serious hit-out.
It was more like cricket weather for both sides early in the game and the Power were serving it up to the Cannons but were unable to reward themselves with a return on the scoreboard. The Cannons in stark contrast were at their clinical best when they scored telling rebound goals as a result of Power turnovers. By the first change the Cannons led by 5 points and were looking ominous when they had their running game going. The Power were trying hard to implement Paul's game plan but made some costly errors with their finishing.
The second term saw the Power forward structure start to work effectively and they had the Cannons on the back-foot with their endeavour in and around the packs. However, the Cannons kept responding and were clinical in their ability to exploit turnovers. Time and again the Power looked ready to take control only to see the Cannons claw back the advantage. By the long break they had a 9 point lead and the Power were looking as if they were about to suffer one of those devastating Cannon barrages.
Ben Fraser was on fire up forward for the Power and early in the third term he was again providing his team mates with a direct and highly effective, avenue to goal. Instead of the Cannons taking control of the game, they upped their work rate allover the ground and suddenly Calder were making errors and the Power were capitalizing on their great pressure. The boys were seeing first hand what Paul meant when he had them work to some set routines. There was little panic football despite the quality of the opposition and some of the bottom agers were playing with the aplomb of wily veterans. With one term to go the Power led by 10 points and were on the verge of a fantastic victory.
As you would expect in such circumstances, both teams threw everything at each other and, with their line-up being tweaked to get the balance right, it was the Power who took the initiative after a ten minute arm wrestle where no goals were scored. Despite missing opportunities to put the issue beyond doubt, the Power kept to their task and simply outplayed the Cannons when it mattered most.
Final scores Gippsland Power 14 goals 12 behinds 96 points, defeated Calder Cannons 11 goals 8 behinds 74 points. Goal kickers Ben Fraser 5, Ricky Delphine and Beau Vernon 2, Dale Thomas, Steve O'Bryan, Scott Pendlebury, Jay Neagle and Nigel Benn 1. On a day when many made significant contributions, the better players for Power were Ben Fraser, Ricky Delphine, Jaymie Youle, Nathan Lieshout, Scott Pendlebury, Michael Heyne and Ben Hughes.
Paul Hudson had plenty to be happy about at the end of the game. He started the game with 11 boys playing their first game of TAC Cup football and with 9 top-age player and 13 who can play again next season, they combined their experience and youthful exuberance brilliantly and he had leaders all over the ground, irregardless of their ages. From the opening bounce until the final siren they committed to the team plan and despite some skill errors that resulted in turnovers, they didn't deviate from what was expected. Such discipline when combined with high levels of skill will ensure that they will be highly competitive throughout the 2005 TAC Cup season and Paul will be keen to further fine tune the game in coming weeks.
Next weekend sees them travel to Ballarat to take on the Rebels on Sunday the 10th at the North Ballarat Oval. The boys will go into this game with high levels of confidence and self belief based on their willingness to work hard and the obvious talent that they have to withstand as well as apply extreme pressure. It's only game one in the season but the cautious optimism that h\as been present around the club since late 2004 will only be strengthened with this performance.
Last Modified on 21/05/2008 17:28