Gippsland Power boys Round 16 review

Written by Michael Alvaro and Declan Reeve, reporting for and published by Draft Central

IN A SENTENCE: 

The Gippsland Power pulled off another massive boilover on home turf, leading the highly-touted GWV Rebels at every break and holding on to win by seven points in Morwell.

TEAM STATS:

• Gippsland Power won the rebound 50s (44-26) and hit-outs (32-20)
• GWV Rebels won the disposals (338-287), inside 50s (52-35), and tackles (71-52)

KEY PLAYERS:

• Luis D’Angelo (Gippsland Power) 28 disposals, 1 mark, 7 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s
• Mitchell Moschetti (Gippsland Power) 25 disposals, 3 marks, 7 tackles, 9 inside 50s, 4 rebound 50s
• Jess McGrath (Gippsland Power) 16 disposals, 5 marks, 8 rebound 50s

SCOUTING NOTES:

#1 Jacob Konstanty

The Under 17s Vic Country representative was a livewire around the ground throughout the contest, putting up an impressive game for a smaller forward. Konstanty kicked two goals; the first coming from a ground ball pick up in the forward 50, with a little burst away and a neat snap from the pocket, and the second coming when he hit arrived front and centre in the goalsquare with speed, snatching the ball and slamming it through. Not just kicking goals himself, Konstanty worked hard to create scoring opportunities for his side, with his competitiveness at ground level allowing him to win the ball and flick it out via hand inside 50. It was good to see Konstanty pushing up the ground and involving himself in the game even when Gippsland wasn’t getting it inside 50, with his pressure work resulting in stoppages and interrupting GWV’s momentum.

#4 Nathan Noblett

Despite being 183cm, Noblett was the most common target going inside 50 early on for Gippsland, getting himself three first half goals with an excellent display of work-rate inside 50. His most impressive goal came as he won the ball at ground level, quickly balanced himself and slotted it from right on the boundary. Noblett was often able to get separation from his direct opponent when making leads, but wasn’t always able to get free from GWV’s defensive structure.

#17 Luis D’Angelo

Arguably the biggest driver going forward for Gippsland, D’Angelo had periods where it felt like he was the only player on the ground as he won clearances and kicked long. At times beating Ben Hobbs around stoppages, GWV had to adapt to try and negate D’Angelo’s clearance winning. He did well below his knees to win the majority of ground balls he was around, often mopping up after GWV had rushed a kick out of defence.

#29 Bailey Humphrey

Humphrey really stepped up in the last quarter when the game was on the line, digging in and really powering through to win a couple of clearances in a row. His quick hands in close released his teammates well when he opted for that method, otherwise aiming for distance with his kicks from stoppages. He showed some good bursts of speed in close as well, to get separation from opponents quickly.

MORE RECENT MEDIA FOCUSED ON GIPPSLAND POWER CAN BE FOUND VIA DRAFT CENTRAL HERE