Gippsland Power defender Dyson Heppell, pictured against Sandringham this month, returned to top form against the Northern Knights on Saturday. 33012Picture: Luke PlummerBy Marc McGowan
ELECTRIFYING small forward Jed Lamb stole the show on Saturday as Gippsland Power thrashed the Northern Knights by 41 points at Northcote for its third straight win.
Lamb’s five-goal weekend haul took his team-leading season total to 32 and came despite Vic Country representative John Butcher’s return to the side from a shoulder injury.
The third-placed Power booted seven goals to none with a strong breeze in the opening quarter and the Knights were never able to seriously threaten the visitors after that.
Gippsland coach Damian Carroll was thrilled with Lamb’s best-on-ground display.
“Jed’s been a real surprise packet … it probably helped with John up there because he’d attract a man at times, but he was really good,” Carroll said.
“We gave him 10 minutes on the wing as well just to see how he went through there.
“He’s tough to match up on and helps our forward line a lot … (but) the good thing about Jed is that he had five tackles as well.
“If he can have five goals and five tackles, that’s excellent for us.”
The Power played short for most of the day after backline general Jordan Dessent went down with an ankle injury in the first term.
Run-with player Ryan Tatterson also broke his hand early in the third quarter to compound Gippsland’s woes.
And David Donchi, a key member of the Power’s midfield, missed the game to play as the 23rd man for VFL side the Casey Scorpions.
But Gippsland had a host of contributors willing to pick up the slack, with defender Dyson Heppell – who started on the bench after struggling in recent weeks – and co-captain Koby Stevens (32 disposals) playing pivotal roles.
Lamb and the similarly dangerous Tim Northe pocketed two majors apiece in the first term to set the tone for an impressive afternoon for the duo.
The Power managed just two behinds in the second quarter, but, most importantly, restricted the Knights to just three goals to enter half-time with a 22-point buffer.
Gippsland’s five-goal-to-none third term saw it career away to a 58-point advantage at the last break.
Northe and Lamb combined for the first major of the final quarter to threaten a mammoth victory, but Northern kicked the next four goals to restore some respectability to the scoreboard.
The triumph solidified the Power’s top-four place and Carroll was pleased with his players’ efforts.
“We had another couple who were quite sore with corkies, so I was really happy with the boys to push through and share the load and have a good win,” he said.
“A top-four spot would be nice, but we’ve probably still got to win one of our last four to make sure we make (the finals).
“I wouldn’t say we have a real easy draw home and our first aim is to win enough games to qualify.
“Certainly the place is up and about and buzzing and the guys are pretty keen and have been good for the last 12 weeks.”
Gippsland hosts the ninth-ranked Oakleigh Chargers at Morwell from 1pm on Sunday.
