FOOTBALL
TAC CUP
Away from their usual stomping ground in Morwell, Gippsland Power enjoyed a home away from home game in round eight at Shepley Oval in Dandenong and outmuscled TAC Cup heavyweights Geelong on Sunday, 10.5 (51) to 3.13 (31).
The absence of senior players Xavier Duursma, Kyle Reid and Matt McGannon and key bottom-agers Caleb Serong, Sam Flanders and Brock Smith did not faze the Power with a handful of others doing more than their bit to fill the void.
Coach Leigh Brown was suitably impressed with the efforts of a number of debutants who stood up in the side’s 20-point win.
“I thought Zac Hurley in his first game was fantastic, Mason McGarrity and Burkeley Macfarlane also playing their first games had really good days as well,” Brown said.
It was slow going in the first term and it was not until half-way through the quarter that Harrison Pepper broke the deadlock and scored the first major of the day for Power.
Will Broadbent followed suit soon after and goaled to give the home side a 10-point buffer at the first break.
Defenders Ryan Sparkes, Tye Hourigan and debutant Zac Hurley were causing all sorts of headaches for the Falcons and held them to just a single goal to three-quarter-time, albeit from 13 scoring shots.
The win sews up second spot on the ladder for Power behind Dandenong Stingrays and Brown was buoyed about his charges form heading into the pointy end of the season.
“It was nice to get a win and I thought the boys competed really hard throughout the day,” he said.
“It was a tough opposition on a small ground and it was really contested.”
“It’s great to have a win and great to see some new faces in the team and taking hold of their opportunities.”
The TAC Cup will break for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and Gippsland will face the Calder Cannons in a fortnight in round nine.
