General News
8 June, 2022
Power thumps Old Collegians
KOLORA-NOORAT has kept pace with four-placed Merrivale and gone two wins clear of South Rovers in sixth with a 91-point win over Old Collegians at home on Saturday.
KOLORA-NOORAT has kept pace with four-placed Merrivale and gone two wins clear of South Rovers in sixth with a 91-point win over Old Collegians at home on Saturday.
The Power skipped out to a three-goal lead by quarter-time, pushing the margin out by another five goals through the second period to lead 8.7 (55) to 0.3 (3) at half-time.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with the Power kicking 8.5 to 2.2 to complete a convincing win with 16.12 (108) to 2.5 (17).
The Kolora-Noorat backline was impenetrable for most of the day, with full-back Ryan O’Connor named best on ground for the Power.
The Power midfield provided constant support for the home side’s defenders, while its small forwards locked the ball in the Power’s fifty-metre arc to give repeat scoring opportunities.
The team stepped up as a whole in the absence of key forward Ben Fraser, with playing coach Nick Bourke leading the 11 individual goal-scorers with three of his own from half-forward.
Bourke said he was pleased with his side’s quality of play across the park.
“We had a bit of everything. Our midfield were on top for most of the day, and our backline was rock solid as they have been all year,” he said.
“To have different avenues to goal, different people able to step up and kick goals is going to be crucial, because our key forwards will get a lot of attention as we get deeper into the season.”
Fraser is likely to return to the side soon, having been rested for two weeks to manage a sore calf, and will no doubt again provide a focal point for the Power up forward when he does.
Bourke said team morale was high after the win, the ship having been well and truly steadied after a shaky start to the season.
“There was a really good mood through the team after the game,” he said.
“You take any wins you can get going into the year, especially with the way we started."
“It gets us to the halfway point now, sitting at 6-3 so after going 0-2 the mood is starting to get really, really good.”
The 5-1 run is lending confidence to the Power as it heads into the second half of the season, but Bourke said there were no easy gamesthis season.
“It would be great to finish top three, but if we can make the finals I feel we can give it a real push from any position,” he said.
“But I feel like anyone can win on any day, which is great for the league, but you’ve got to be on your game."
“It’s probably the most even I’ve seen the competition for a long time.”
This week the Power hosts Panmure, who handed out a 10-goal beating to Kolora-Noorat in the first round, and Bourke said his side will be looking to balance the ledger in the return fixture.
“They’re in really good form, Panmure. They had a really good win against Nirranda on the weekend, so I’m looking forward to playing them at home,” he said.
“You get a bigger crowd in your favour, and Panmure certainly do play their groundreally well."
“We should get a couple of players back in, too. It’ll be a really good test, they’re obviously the benchmark along with Nirranda at the minute, so we’re really looking forward to the test.”
