Power’s on at last

By Paul Pickering
IN ALL likelihood, 2010 won’t be remembered as a banner year for Gippsland Power.
And maybe that’s what made Sunday’s emphatic 69-point win over the Western Jets so sweet.
The Power’s first win of the season created a moment to savour for a club that must have been wondering when its hard work would be rewarded.
That moment came when second-year coach Damian Carroll stood before his players, their families and club officials inside the dingy visitors’ rooms underneath the old Burbank Oval grandstand at Williamstown on Sunday.
The proud Power boss addressed each of his 22 players in front of the group, applauding them for their individual part in a committed four-quarter performance.
Carroll later acknowledged the weight of expectation that surrounds the region’s elite sporting club, and lauded his charges for their resilience.
“It’s good to ease that pressure valve a bit, with the boys getting their first win,” he said.
“And the way we did it was even better.”
Both teams entered the game without a victory. They traded punches tentatively in a tight opening term until a late goal from third-gamer Blake Carew gave the visitors a three-point advantage at the first change.
The Power, buoyed by the early signs of dominance from key forward Shaun Marusic and skipper Dyson Heppell, built upon its new-found confidence in the second term, piling on five goals to nil with the advantage of the breeze.
Explosive forward Dean MacDonald provided the spark to complement his side’s relentless defensive pressure, kicking two exciting goals for the quarter as Gippsland surged to a 37-point half-time lead.
The Jets kicked a goal in the first minute after resumption, but it soon became clear that the Power had not lost its hunger for the contest.
MacDonald kicked his third from a desperate rundown in the forward zone, before Carew provided the highlight of the afternoon when he dribbled the ball through for an instinctive goal from the boundary line.
That piece of brilliance appeared to break the Jets’ resistance, and all that was left for the Power was to break its run of fourth-quarter fade-outs. They accomplished that, too, kicking three of the last four goals to close the game out in fine style.
MacDonald and Lamb finished with four goals each for the afternoon, with the former building on the glimpses of brilliance he displayed in his first three games with the club.
Marusic finished with eight marks and two majors in a commanding display from centre half-forward.
Key defender Lachlan Todd was in everything at the other end, while Wayne Morris happily sacrificed his own game to nullify dangerous Jet Kym Taylor.
Heppell was most prominent when the game was up for grabs either side of quarter-time, while fellow leaders Dale Hoghton and Aiden Lindsay led the tackle count with eight each.
As usual Tim Northe, Haydn Hector and Clay Smith all won plenty of footy, and 16-year-old Simon Deery showed real promise in the ruck.
Carroll was delighted with his side’s work ethic, but also its discipline in implementing his game plan.
Gippsland identified the far side of the ground as the attacking wing in the blustery conditions and used it to perfection, whereas the Jets were repeatedly bottled up on the grandstand wing.
“I thought the tackling from our forwards and midfielders was a lot better, because sometimes they’ve been beaten a little bit easily there (in previous weeks),” Carroll said.
“And we made them go backwards and take the ball down the defensive side a fair bit, so they played pretty smart as well.”
Carroll’s glowing post-match briefing created a buoyant mood among the Power faithful, and he’s hoping the winning feeling can propel his side to an upset against Calder this weekend.
“ If we can get some consistency now with the way we’re going, stay injury free and gradually get some players back (from injury), I think we can be competitive against most sides,” he said.
The Power hosts the Cannons from 11am at Morwell on Sunday.