After 406 days, they can finally say “I’ve got the Power”

A Premiership fancy is seemingly on the slide. Another has bolted up the table, while after 406 days in the wilderness the boys from Power House reigned supreme. 

Power House has been written about every week since round 3 of last season as another loss, but the signs of improvement are there. Finally, after 406 days they walked off a venue triumphant in victory. 

By no means did they have it easy, as it was heartbreak for Manningham going down by two points on their home turf. The win ends a run of 16 straight losses and no doubt they belted out the tune with plenty of gusto. Singing the praises of Jeremy Hill in recent weeks as the shining light, his six goal best on ground performance has him shining as bright as the sun this week. 

Can they roll the momentum of the win into their next match against Aquinas after the bye? The home crowd will surely be in full voice at Ross Gregory Oval. Ready to end the run of losses at home – 1,063 days ago they last tasted success at the home track. 

The Cobras are now the side languishing at the bottom of the table, they fought back from 16 points down at half time to make the second half a genuinely tight tussle but the siren beat them in the end. They will face off to Old Parade when footy resumes with the aim of cutting a 5-match losing streak.

The boys from Garvey Oval were inaccurate for the day against Yarra Old Grammarians but were strong enough to walk away winners by 42 points to stay in touch with the top four. Anthony Cafari (4) has kicked goals in every game he’s played this year as the focal point in the forward line. James Kappos and Thomas Cooper were able to dominate the contest for the Paradians. 

The Bushrangers called on Liam Marshall (3) in the forward line and Darcy Wilmot in his first senior outing for the year to support their cause. 

Yarra Old will run into MHSOB for their next assignment, and with the Unicorns on shaky ground at the moment this one isn’t a foregone conclusion. 

For the second consecutive week West Brunswick have come away winners, and MHSOB have walked away losers. A tight opening half was busted open by the Magpies with 8-goals to three in the second half to catapult themselves up to third place on the table. 

A fortnight ago the Unicorns sat at the top of the tree and are now seemingly in free-fall as they drop to fourth place. Despite being named amongst the best, Julian Eimutis didn’t seem to have the same level of dominance and output in this contest as he would’ve liked.

The Magpies have kicked into gear after the after-the-siren heartbreak to Brunswick, Lee Stringer the best player on the ground with Ben Hutchins (3) and Billy Irving (2) kicking the goals up forward. 

Ted Ajani Reserve is the next venue West Brunswick will trek too, facing Bulleen Templestowe in Round 10. 

The Ants ran into an explosive Ivanhoe AFC on the weekend. The team locked in for a top 2 finish last week further cemented the statement made last week with a 110 point win. 12 individual goal kickers amongst the 25 goals they kicked for the day. 

Vivian Blackmore-Moore (3) was named as an emergency for the Collingwood VFL team over the weekend, his output may be enough to see him elevated next weekend. Scott Selwood (3) came in for his second game of the season but the plaudits in front of goal go to Nick Godfrey (4) in a best on ground performance. 

The Ants will no doubt be disappointed in the final margin of the game. It’s the first time in the season they’ve conceded 100+ points to the opposition but if you’d offered the team three wins from the opening half of the season, from where they’ve been in recent years, one would assume they’d have taken that. 

Round 10 becomes a tantalising match up for the Hoers who will face off against the second placed Brunswick side in what could be an early Grand Final preview.

Brunswick kept Aquinas at bay after trailing at quarter time. A 6-goal to one second term gave them a 28 point lead at half time, before holding the home-side goalless in the final quarter to register a 48 point win. 

Jasper Paevere (4), Joshua Hedley (3) were the main forces forward of centre. Hedley, in his first game for Brunswick was put up by coach Tom Hunter as the best player on the ground. 

After a strong start to the year, Aquinas have just one win to show from their last four matches. The bye comes at the right time to regroup, reload and go again in the back half of the season.

Photo: Anna Pavlou, Power House AFC