General News
27 April, 2022
Power get first win on the board
KOLORA NOORAT bounced back from a big loss to Nirranda in round two when they defeated Dennington convincingly by 15.11 (101) to 5.7 (37) at home on Saturday.
KOLORA NOORAT bounced back from a big loss to Nirranda in round two when they defeated Dennington convincingly by 15.11 (101) to 5.7 (37) at home on Saturday.
The Power got off to a quick start, booting five goals to the visitors’ two in the first quarter to lead by 21 points at quarter time.
A second-quarter resurgence by the Dogs cut the margin to one goal by half time, but Kolora Noorat wrested back control through the second half, keeping Dennington scoreless in the third and outkicking them by three goals in thefinal period.
Ben Fraser was a beacon in the forward line, contesting strongly in the air and kicking six goals for the day.
Fraser was in the votes alongside ruckman Justin Wallace, Fred Beasley, Joel Dillon, Tom McKenzie and Paddy Baker.
The win is a confidence boost for the Power and senior coach Nick Bourke said he was glad to see his side start to gel and get some returns for their hard work.
“It was nice to come away with the four points after having a couple of losses at the start of the season,” he said.
“Getting some reward for effort was probably the main thing.
“The first two weeks’ losses certainly weren’t due to a lack of effort, so it was really positive to get a bit of reward for the blokes that had been there through that.”
The Power were bolstered by a number of returning players, with Bourke making nine changes to the previous week’s side.
“We had a fair few come back from injury, which was nice,” Bourke said.
“It certainly helped with the balance ofthe side.”
One inclusion was Fraser, and Bourke said his tall forward was a key part of the victory.
“It was great to have Ben back, obviously kicking six goals is valuable, but the leadership he brings to our kids and other forwards is probably even more valuable,” he said.
“He got his rewards and got on the end of a few, and he’s done that for a while now. We’re very lucky to have him.”
Bourke said the win was due to consistent contributions across the board, but he also singled out youngster Fred Beasley’s effort.
“He’s sixteen years old and he puts his head in places it maybe shouldn’t go sometimes,”he said.
“But he just bounces back up and gets from contest to contest. He was really good for us this week.”
The Power travel to Allansford this week to face a Cats side that is smarting from a heavy loss to Nirranda.
While the match-up is potentially an opportunity for Kolora Noorat to put back-to-back wins together, Bourke said his team will need to be wary of the Cats.
“They’re coming off a loss similar to what we had against Nirranda in round two, so it’ll be a hot footy early, probably similar to the Dennington game,” he said.
“They’ll come out ready to play, but if we can play our brand of footy and take the game on it’ll hold us in good stead."
“Certainly, it’ll be a challenging game, and hopefully we can come away with the four points.”
In other games around the grounds, Merrivale won at Panmure, Old Collegians lost to Russells Creek, and Timboon went down by 85 points to South Rovers.
The Power had less fortune on the netball court, going down to Dennington 26-48.
The Power now sit winless on the bottom of the ladder with a percentage of 25.46, and will be looking for a win against Allansfordnext week.
The Cats are also without a win, getting their only two points from a draw against Old Collegians in round one, and the match-up could be the chance Kolora Noorat needs to get some points on the board.
In other Hampden netball matches last week, Panmure lost to Merrivale, Timboon drew 42-all with South Rovers, Old Collegians defeated Russells Creek by two goals, and Nirranda beat Allansford 84-15.
