Out of the side for this week were Storma and Ed Woods, who were both sunning it up in Thailand, Tayles, Jimmy Marshall and Disco all injured, and Lappo not available, although we hope common sense gets the better of him and he decides to play on. But through these outs comes opportunity. The Irish connection of Kyne and Lynch come into the side on to the wings, adding some well needed leg speed, Spider was back into the mix after injury and a game in the Ressies, Nick Bull playing his 1st game for the club, the Old in Wardey coming into to assist in the midfield, and the Youth in Sammy “Dogga” Watson and Steve “The Apprentice” Batten, who both deserve their spots, and are the future of the club. Well done Lads!

 

It was a cold and windy day at Brens Oval, with the wind favouring the city end as per usual. The House were very keen to start well, and put enormous pressure on Uni High so that they did not get a sniff. We kicked into the breeze in the 1st, determined to hold them at bay, and play accountable footy. And that we did. Powerhouse applied enormous pressure on their opponents which only game them opportunity to put long shots on goal. With a tricky wind, Uni High were not able to capitalise, and could only manage 3 majors for the term. In response, the House held their own and had many forward 50 entries, and 1 major against the tide was a reasonable result. Fozzie was superb in his new role at Half back, and Kyney was showing his determination on the wing.

 

The 2nd QTR was make or break. The House lifted a gear and slammed home 6 goals to Nil. Although with cleaner disposal, we may have been able to produce a much bigger lead into half time, but the opposition certainly held firm, and minimised as much damage as they could. Owey was done for the day with an elbow injury, which put pressure on our rotations through the back half, and Spider was heavily concussed and seemingly done for the day as well. I could not tell if Spider was off with the Fairies or not, because he is an Air Head at the best of times. It was a shame as he was on fire in the 2nd term, and back to his best form running the ball out of defence at will, along with Moresi who was constantly running the ball out of the back half. Franky was on the end of most of their work and put through a couple of majors, and the debutant Nick Bull was working hard at half forward creating an option. Coops was being a handful for the Uni High defence with some clinical pack marks.

 

In a similar position to last game, the House were 21pts up at the half, but with a few casualties. It was time to step up and eradicate past poor 3rd terms, and stamp our authority on the game.

 

The 3rd QTR was a torrid affair. We were bluffed by the wind dying down prior to the whistle, then picking up dramatically for the remainder of the term. Uni High certainly came out to play, and really peppered the goals. Everything they touched turned to gold, and pot shots from outside 50 were sailing through the big sticks. They managed 7 majors, and Powerhouse could not even trouble the scorers. The defence was under constant attack with Old Mate and Moresi working tirelessly as always. With Wigzy also going down, Powerhouse were stretched at the back with 3 defenders on the sidelines through injury. Another dent in our hopes was Bakes being sent off under report. The break could not come quickly enough as Uni High certainly had their tails up, and their supporters had crawled out of the wood work and were in full voice. Lynchy tried hard on their Coach in a tagging role, and Richie Benson was up against it in the ruck, but certainly gave his all.

 

The 1st 10 minutes of the last term was extremely tight with Uni High bottling the ball up, and not allowing the House any free run at the ball. Jake continued to create with some solid work around the ground, and Bakes was back from his spell to redeem himself. But it was Uni High who kicked 3 into the breeze, although arguably it was not as strong. Sos tried to get Powerhouse back into it with some forward 50 entries, and some late goals to Powerhouse made it a thrilling finish. The crowd behind the goals certainly gave the boys a lift. Billy Baxter slotted one home in the dying moments, and all of a sudden, Powerhouse had a sniff. But a dubious free kick for too many in the centre awarded the ball to Uni High, and they were able to move the ball into attack. The siren sounded and the House were defeated by 8 points.

 

It was a hard pill to swallow, and no excuses can be made. In the end, our poor 3rd term was our Achilles heel, and lack of accountability in crucial parts of the game led to the defeat. The House must rebound this week against our rivals in Hawthorn. Although they are on only 2 wins for the season so far, we all know they are a much better team than that, and the match against us will certainly give them added motivation. Let’s get back to basics, put in a hard week on the track, and hit Hawthorn with everything!

 

 

RESERVES

Round 8 of the season was eagerly anticipated after the Queen's birthday weekend off and against the opposition that had done a number on the 'House in the Reveres Elimination Final the year before. Bren's Oval is never an easy ground to play on, big and open to the elements and so it was again on Saturday on a bitterly cold day with a fresh north easterly ensuring the the side playing to the city end would have a distinct advantage.

Unfortunately the week off had not been kind to the 'House, with a number of injuries and unavailables meaning the Reserves side was shorn of 3-4 of its best performers from previous rounds. Elliot, Lynch, Kyne, Batton, Bull and Watson were elevated to the Senior side with Fergal Crossan - 1st gamer, Reece and Moz - both returning from injury and the old pair of Verbene and Richo coming out of retirement (again) with the rest of the side more or less picking itself.

 

With 'House playing with the breeze in the 1st quarter, a huge effort was needed from the off, the message being to attack to the clubrooms side and away from the 'dead' pocket. However, UHS were first off the mark with their big full forward kicking the opening gaol, his size would create problems all day for the boys. "House got into the game as the quarter wore on, Reece and Fergal getting plenty of it from the half back line and getting it into the danger area. Micky V was relishing the return to the physical stuff and roved well for House's 1st and then got on a good lead to mark and goal from the 50 for 'House's best effort of the day. Marty was leading strongly from the square and his 2 marks results in goals. However, UHS were more than matching the effort at the footie and a 3 goal 1/4 time lead was nothing with the wind advantage. Loosing Drewy to a rolled ankle midway through would not help the cause.

 

Warde asked for a big lift at the small break, with the inevitable onslaught from UHS to come. Even though the home side tagged on 3 goals to zip in the 2nd, there was a greater effort from the Powerhouse midfield. Paddy Arnold held their full forward well and Reece continued to show why he's a senior player. However, the boys were probably a bit guilty of over possessing at times and turnovers rather than brilliant UHS play were costing us. The heads were down at half time as the scoreline was 4 points in their favour but with the breeze again to come in the 3rd, the 'House were right in this game.

 

The premiership quarter was where Powerhouse lost this game of football. A more committed UHS side won most of the contested footie with the boys not willing to get numbers to the footie. The home side simply walked the footie out of too many stoppages throughout the 3rd quarter and had the runners going short and long. Although the breeze did die down during the term, there can be no excuses from any of the 22 Powerhouse players for what was up there with the worst quarter of footie for the year. Their No. 46 was running the show on ball and was given an easy BOG by the away side. Time and time again Powerhouse did exactly what the coach didn't want, kicked and lead to the dead side with UHS lapping up the inevitable stoppages and a chance to slow the game down agasint the elements. The ball simply went inside 50 too many times and UHS kicked 3 goals to zip. 

 

Plenty of talk at 3/4 time but it was always going to be a struggle against the wind that really did pick up again during the final term. The younger, more committed side ran over to the top of a team missing some of their better players but also the belief that they could win. Paddy Arnold, and Reece continued to be the standout players with Fergal getting plenty of it without getting the help of his team mates for the quick disposal. The home side added 4 goals in the final quarter, 2 gifts from a turnover and a kicking in danger free, but they missed as many more. Not too many positives on a day for Powerhouse. However, there should be no motivation needed for this week's clash with arch rivals Hawthorn, a classic 8-pointer with them in 5th spot and a chance to atone for a disappointing day.

 

POWERHOUSE	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.5-29
UHS-VU	1.3	4.6	7.6	11.11-77

 

Best: Patty, Fergal, Micky V, Reece, Russ, Macca.