By RUSSELL BENNETT
IF THE Gippsland Power’s clash with the Bendigo Pioneers proved anything on Saturday, it’s that the gap between the top and bottom sides of the TAC Cup is an ever-widening one.
The Power’s strong bodies and mature heads obliterated Bendigo’s youngsters by 105 points on their own home soil at Queen Elizabeth Oval, 23.11 (149) to 6.8 (44).
The Gippsland lads were fresh off a narrow defeat last week at the hands of last season’s grand final nemesis, the Oakleigh Chargers, and came out breathing fire on the weekend.
The Power entered its clash with Bendigo without skipper Josh Cashman and promising full-back Christian Buykx-Smith due to injury, with Adam Diamond and Ben Thomas given a chance to showcase their skills in the first games in the Gippsland Red, White and Blue.
The Pioneers stuck fast with the Power for much of the first term but the floodgates blew wide open in the second, with Gippsland piling on 5.4 to just four behinds.
The second half was an absolute procession, with the Power booting 14 majors to just four for the home side.
Versatile Gippsland big man Josh Scott had a day he won’t soon forget – booting nine goals in a dream performance.
By the three-quarter-time break the Power lead had blown out to 67 points, but coach Nick Stevens challenged his boys to maintain their composure, keep working hard and finish the game the way they’d clinically played the first three terms. They piled on another seven in the last quarter to prove their unwavering focus.
It was a stunning performance by a Gippsland side that showed what it was capable of when playing disciplined, team-orientated football. Stevens’ squad once again established its reputation as the hardest and fittest side in the competition, with around 100 tackles against the Pioneers, while also dominating the contested possession count.
The Power also had twice the number of forward 50 entries as their Bendigo opponents, while keeping them virtually goalless for half the game.
Gippsland currently sits third on the TAC Cup ladder after its first three games.
