Above: Jack Doderico was on the end of a chain of handballs to set up a late goal.
By Gavin Staindl
GIPPSLAND has registered its highest score of the season and its greatest winning margin, but the coach denies his team is at its best.
“We still have power to add to the Power,” Adam Dowie said.
Dowie expects even greater talent to enter the team that thrashed Eastern Ranges by 83 points at Morwell Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
“We’re a bit like most teams… we still have a lot of good players to come back into the side,” Dowie said.
After suffering its second loss of the season last week, Gippsland responded vigorously on Sunday, registering 10 scoring shots to one in the opening quarter to take a 19-point lead into the first break.
But it was the performance in the third quarter that had Dowie rubbing his hands.
Gippsland went inside 50 on 16 occasions and outscored the Ranges by nearly 10 goals.
“The thing is, I didn’t see it coming because we didn’t score in the first 10 minutes,” Dowie said of his side’s dominant third term.
“I was watching the replay on Sunday night, and we kicked 10 goals in the last 20 minutes of the quarter.”
“They were terrific.
“That win is probably up there with the win against the Northern Knights and the Dandenong Stingrays the other week.”
One player who will certainly remember the win is Shaun Wyatt.
Wyatt was outstanding, kicking four goals and amassing a game high 33 disposals and six tackles.
While Wyatt and Danny Butcher again featured in the best, it was the little things by the “unheralded players” that made the difference.
“Chris Williams is not great at the one percenters because he is not a big kid, but he laid four or five shepherds… we had two blocks for the team last week yet he had four for himself on Sunday,” Dowie said.
“Tommy Fusinato was terrific with his blocks, attitude and team effort, and Josh Scott has been getting better and got some shots at goal because of persistent tackling.
“These guys won’t be in our best, but they’re vital to our team.”
While Gippsland dominated the contested marks, 19-5, it was the marking and handballing inside 50 that Dowie believes characterised his side.
“I don’t think we’ve got a selfish player in our team,” Dowie said.
“While guys from other teams are blazing from outside 50, we’ll be chipping it and handballing it around to find the right option.
“These boys are put together with a really talented group and it’s difficult not to go into the game thinking about what’s in it for me, but they don’t play like that at all.
“The fact they can be a tight team where the team is first and the personal is second is a credit to them.”
