Gippsland Power - Media Release
By Bryan Mitchell
Two weeks ago Gippsland Power received a strong "wake up call" from the Murray Bushrangers when they went down by 2 points after leading well at half time. This week they met the Eastern Ranges at Box Hill and showed that they had not learned from this defeat and were again unable to match the discipline, commitment and team orientation of an opponent. With two weeks left in the TAC Cup season before the finals begin, the Power have lost two games in a row and are playing the sort of football that will be disastrous when the September action begins.
The Power went into the game with four regular players missing due to niggling injuries. Midfielders James Blaser, Will Kelly, Shane McIntosh and Tom Crosby had all been in good form but their absence created opportunities for Brendon Rathnow to return from school football and Koby Stevens to play his first game after doing well in the national under 16 championships. Rathnow was in the action early with a goal from a long attack on goal from Nick Heyne. The Power were doing well and pumped the ball continually into their forward 50 with no return. Eastern hit back on the rebound with far greater ease and the signs were there for all to see that they were in for a tough encounter. Once again their Power got the ball into their forward area but they were really struggling to convert this into goals. Some forward pressure by Jaryd Blair and Rathnow gave Dan McKenna a much needed major but the Power were still missing gettable goals with poor finishing.
McKenna was on the end of another penetrating kick by Heyne and late in the term the Power looked like they were finally getting their game going. Instead of capitalising on this, they allowed the Ranges to score the last three goals of the term but it was how they did it that raised concern. Eastern were able to clinically convert rebound opportunities due to poor ball use by the Power and despite having far fewer entries into their forward 50 they led by 4 points at the first change.
Some more excellent forward pressure allowed Haelen Kay to kick the first of the term for the Power but once again Eastern replied far too easily to restore their narrow lead. The Power on-ballers were not willing to support their backmen and once the inevitable turn-overs occurred they were under enormous pressure to resist the precision and poise of the Ranges players as they slammed on 5 unanswered goals. Luke Webber's major after some more forward pressure was vital for the Power but they were being thrashed around the clearances as it appeared that there was no one prepared to be accountable for a direct opponent at stoppages. Eastern hit back with two more easy goals before Kay capitalised on a Jackson Hall forward thrust.
The Ranges had a 22 point lead at the long break but, more than that, they had raised some serious doubts about the commitment, honesty and work ethic of most Power players. Adrian Hickmott was justifiably furious with the lack of team focus of his side and really challenged the boys to get back to the sort of unselfish football that has been their trademark throughout the season. Many of the key statistics used to assess team efforts were well down and there was a distinct lack of on-field leadership to put more purpose into their play.
The third term opened with the Power upping their work rate and it appeared as if Adrian's words had made had hit the mark. After some dour defensive work by both sides McKenna opened the scoring after Chris Endres had applied excellent pressure on opponents. More pressure saw Darren White snap a clever goal but once again a lack of defensive intensity gifted the Ranges with a steadying major. The pendulum had once again swung Eastern's way and they kicked two more soft goals to go to the long break 34 points up.
Another easy centre clearance gave Eastern the first goal of the last term and the Power were looking likely to be blown out of the water. This was reinforced as on-ballers were caught spectating and Eastern punished them with more clinical precision. After missing simple shots on goal, Nathan Grylls replied for the Power after being set up by Rathnow. But again Eastern responded with relative ease to put the issue beyond doubt. Jack Brown's heady work gave Rathnow his second for the term but the horse had well and truly bolted.
Final scores Eastern Ranges 18 goals 10 behinds 118 points defeated Gippsland Power 10 goals 17 behinds 67 points. Goal kickers Dan McKenna 3, Brendon Rathnow and Haelen Kay 2, Luke Webber, Nathan Grylls and Darren White 1.
Jackson Hall was one player who was able to hold his head high for the Power. Once again he led the way in terms of disciplined and team focused football with his stout defence and willingness to run to create forward options for his team mates. In an important return to form, Dan McKenna was in the thick of the action in the ruck, up forward and dominated in the aerial duels around the ground. His work ethic was excellent and hopefully he will be able to build on this in coming weeks. Jaryd Blair tried hard to be competitive around stoppages and the forward line contests. His one percent work was excellent and it was a pity that his example was followed by so few of his team mates.
Ruck man Brent Connelly also worked hard at stoppages and took many strong marks around the ground. His willingness to follow the team plan was vital in creating a constant avenue to attack. Lucknow youngster Kobe Stevens made a promising start to his TAC Cup career and showed that he has the poise, discipline, skill and work ethic to be an important element of the team for the rest of this season and into the future. Darren White withstood the Ranges forward thrusts manfully and then gave the side some much needed grunt when moved onto the ball later in the game.
What was really telling about the loss for the Power was not only did they play unaccountable and uncommitted football but they squandered so many scoring opportunities when inside their forward 50. The Ranges had 28 scores from their 38 entries into their forward line while the Power could only manage 27 scores but had 28 more inside 50 opportunities. Simply put, the Ranges were clinically efficient when going forward while the Power were a disorganised rabble in contrast. Further analysis of this glaring disparity shows that the Ranges were under little pressure when moving the ball forward and this was the critical factor in the ease of their win.
The Power will need to address their midfield impotence quickly if they are to be a factor in the finals series. Yes, Blaser, Kelly and Crosby will make a difference, but it's attitudinal change that's needed. They need to focus on team rather than self and start to work together like they did so well earlier in the season. The TAC Cup often creates this scenario with players having one eye on the big picture of AFL Drafts as well as on their team. It's a balance adjustment that needs to be made as the only way that players get drafted is as part of a team.
The Power's resolve will be further tested next week when they take on the Oakleigh Chargers at Casey Fields. Although the Chargers have struggled this season they will have all of their private school players available and will be far more competitive than their ladder position indicates. Any of the ill-disciplined play so prevalent for the Power last week will be exploited by the Chargers so it will test their ability and willingness to get back to a team oriented effort.
Off the field the quality of Power's development program has been recognised by the nomination of Jackson Hall, Dan McKenna, Haelen Kay and Brent Connelly for the AIS draft screening and Beau Vernon for the Victorian screening process. As well as this, Nick Heyne and Maffra youngster John Butcher were named in the prestigious AIS/AFL squad. They will join 28 of the best young players from all over the country to participate in a 12 month program to better prepare them for potential AFL careers
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 14:19