Power controls the day and play

IN COLD and blustery conditions at Morwell last Sunday Gippsland Power recorded its fourth win by 58 points over Eastern Ranges.
It was an ugly win with few passages of cohesive play but the Power worked hard to pressurise Eastern Ranges all day and had winners all over the ground.
The Power was missing Luke Webber from the previous game and then lost tenacious onballer Jaymie Youle as a late withdrawal with a slight hamstring strain. This created an opportunity for Maffra youngster Winston Gieschen to make his debut in conditions well suited to his inandunder style of play.
Neither side could kick accurately early in the first term and finally Ben Jostlear and Ricky Delphine linked up to open the Power’s account.
Joel Morgan received a soft free and made the most of it before some effective teamwork set up a goal by Lachlan Hansen. Neither side was conceding easy possessions but the Power was more effective and Brent Macaffer was a lively focal point and had three majors on the board by the end of the term.
A goal after the siren to Eastern reduced the Power’s lead to 30 points but they seemed to be in total control. The only downside was the loss of Tyson Goldsack and Ben Ross due to injury and this meant that the Power was down to 20 fit players for the last three terms. Early in the second term a quick kick by Marc Truscio gave Hansen a goal but the Ranges hit back immediately.
Again Macaffer was on target and the pressure was on Ranges to stay in the game. The Ranges players dug deep and punished Power players for lairising and lack of endeavour. By the long break the Power led by 17 points and Eastern was right in the game.
Neither side could find the big sticks early in the third term and it took a long bomb by Jack Bailey to register a goal. Scrambly play finished in Macaffer’s fifth. This inspired some good play by Dan McKenna and Hansen showed another party trick from his amazing repertoire. By the last change the Power led by 31 points.
Hansen took no further part in the game after crashing heavily from a spectacular leap. Kane Martin opened the scoring early after some direct and purposeful play as the conditions began to make it harder to execute skills. Ben Hughes goal after the umpire awarded two 50metre penalties against his opponent. With Dan McKenna controlling the ruck, Delphine clinically finished off a great bit of play before Tommy Johnson capped off his superb game with a strong mark and long goal.
Scores: Gippsland Power 16.18.114 d Eastern Ranges 7.14.56.
Goals: Brent Macaffer 5, Lachlan Hansen 3, Ricky Delphine 2, Jack Bailey, Ben Hughes, Tom Johnson, Kane Martin, Joel Morgan, Jeff Ryan 1.
Best: Tommy Johnson, Rob Eddy, Ricky Delphine, Brent Macaffer, Jeff Ryan, Ben Hughes, Dan McKenna.