Gippsland surge to victory
The Gippsland Power have handed the Sandringham Dragons their third loss in a row, defeating the depleted Dragons outfit 20.18 (138) to 4.5 (29).
It was an end-to-end contest in the opening stages of the first quarter until Gippsland took the ascendency and dominated for the remainder of the contest.
Slick ball-movement and creativity forward of centre proved the difference in the game, with the Dragons unable to overcome Gippsland’s sound defensive structure.
“They really got on top of us with their offence, full credit to them they were terrific in how they moved the footy,” assistant coach Jackson Kornberg said.
“There’s some patches of ball movement and play when we have the footy which are terrific and how we want to play footy.
“For us to do it at a consistent level is the key challenge for us.”
Harry Bede was named best afield for Sandringham after collecting 25 touches, 8 marks and kicking 1.3.
Bede hit the scoreboard and was a focal point for offensive surges early in the game, before strengthening the Dragon’s defensive unit as the Power began to take control of the contest.
“Harry’s come in after an injury-interrupted preseason and I thought he was really good today,” Kornberg said.
“I thought he really showed some signs in each position, it’s a real testament to him and as player in the TAC Cup to be able to play multiple positions is really important for him moving forward.”
Key defender Corey Watts played another strong game on the last line of defence, competing stoically over four quarters under immense Gippsland pressure.
Debutant Kyle Yorke kicked a classy goal and was named in the best, alongside spirited performances from Ryan Byrnes, Jackson Hannah and Tom Deane-Johns.
Sandringham sit seventh on the TAC Cup ladder after round six, having secured three victories in 2018.
The Dragon’s next game is against Geelong Falcons on Sunday, May 20 at Trevor Barker Oval.
Sam Bunn