By Gavin Staindl
IF THE TAC Cup is a game of monopoly, then the Gippsland Power has just used its get out of jail free card.
Gippsland advanced to first on the TAC Cup ladder with a seven-point win over the North Ballarat Rebels after trailing by as much as 30 points during Saturday’s home game.
Judging by the half-time atmosphere at the Morwell Recreation Reserve, the game appeared out of reach for the Power.
Even Gippsland coach Adam Dowie conceded the game was beyond his charges and he changed his sentiment only midway through the last quarter.
“I didn’t think we could win it,” Dowie said.
“I thought 15 minutes into the first quarter and all of the second, all we can hope for is to get back and play respectable footy. I didn’t see it (the win) coming.
“Even 10 minutes into the last quarter I was thinking, ‘It’s not going to happen, we could get close but it would only be a matter of time before they kicked out again like they did in the first half’.”
It was in the first half where the Rebels did their damage, amassing a five-goal lead by the main break.
The quicker, harder-working midfield won more clearances and made the usually reliable Power midfielders look stagnant.
The Rebels even extended their lead in the third quarter but the TAC’s number one team was not to be outdone and rallied in the later stages of the quarter.
Tim Membrey kicked two goals for the term and Tom Muir and Josh Scott added singles as the Power midfield began to grind its way ahead.
Wingman Sam Docherty, who played an effective shut-down role on Scott Spriggs, began finding the ball in the final quarter, delivering to Membrey, who booted his third and fourth goals.
Last week’s best players, Danny Butcher and Shaun Wyatt, asserted their talent down the stretch, while Luke Thompson and Anthony Tipungwuti played defining roles in turning the match around.
But it was only when Tom Fusinato linked up with Nicolas Graham to put Gippsland in front and Tupungwuti goaled soon after, did Dowie feel his side had gained the ascendency.
“It was only in the last three minutes that I think we were going to win it,” Dowie said.
“I can’t remember coaching in a game where we were down by that margin and we’ve come back to win. I remember being down and coming back to make it close, but not to win.
“It was amazing.
“It will be really good for our guys as a point of reference down the track when we’re in tough situations and we can say, ‘Remember that game against the Rebels, where we came back and won’.”
While the TAC Cup takes a break over the long-weekend, the 8-1 Gippsland Power will be seeking to extend its winning streak to seven games when it travels to Visy Park to take on Geelong on Sunday week.
