Depth of Power

By Gavin Staindl
A DEPLETED, but efficient, Gippsland Power demonstrated the strength of its depth in a commanding 38-point win over Dandenong Stingrays at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
While both sides had big names missing due to representative commitments, it was Gippsland’s extended list that shone the brightest.
Coach Adam Dowie included eight fresh faces into his team to replace the top tier players and he could not have been happier with their impact.
Jayden Steers made the most of his opportunity in the ruck and while he still has much to learn about the game, his vertical leap gave him an instant advantage at stoppages.
The hard-nosed Shannon Lange was good on debut, linking up well in the midfield, while James Huts was competitive down back.
“It was good to see the guys who aren’t in our top tier have an impact,” Dowie said.
“I was really happy with the way they played and quite a few people were saying how high-quality the match was.”
But it was regulars Shaun Wyatt and Shaun Marusic who got the job done for the visitors.
In his no frills approach, Wyatt amassed 47 hard-earned disposals while Marusic was utilised at centre-half back and not only restricted Dandeong’s Brett O’Hanlon to one goal, but provided run from the backline.
Both were influential in a second half that could have seen the Stingrays steal the match.
Gippsland’s two-goal lead looked shaky in the third quarter, as Dandenong mounted a comeback through their offensive pressure.
For 10 minutes in the third quarter, the game was played in Dandenong’s half and only poor disposal in front of goal prevented the Stingrays from taking the lead.
In contrast, Gippsland’s scoring efficiency was the game winner for the Power, who, despite trailing in the inside fifties in the second half, 33-22, outscored the Stingrays by three goals.
Clearing kicks and line-breaking runs in the fourth quarter cracked the Dandenong zone, which for long periods, threatened to suffocate the Power in their own defence.
This pleased Dowie, who admitted Dandenong’s purple patch could have been enough to get them over the line.
“Our midfielders were pushing in (to the defence) and bringing the ball out under pressure, which meant they weren’t able to get it over Dandenong’s zone,” Dowie said.
“While it may have looked like they were helping out the defence, they weren’t helping at all because as soon as they kicked it out, it was hitting their wall and coming right back in again.
“We back our defenders to win one-on-one and when we told the midfielders to stay in the midfield, we were able to find targets up the ground.”
Even though Gippsland scored its third-highest score for the season, Dowie was unimpressed with his forward line.
According to the coach, too many forwards drifted up the ground, leaving their unmarked opponents to cut off the ball as it ventured forward.
Fortunately, Gippsland maintained a spread of goalkickers from the midfield, who made up for the lack of targets in the forward line.