Power of thought in next match
GEELONG Falcons will gear up for a must-win clash this weekend against Gippsland after cruising to a 56-point win over Greater Western Victorian Rebels yesterday.
Tom McCartin (two goals) and Adam Garner (three) were dominant as tall forwards, with Lachy Noble (four), Mitch Chafer (two) and James Worpel (two) feeding at their feet.
The Rebels did well to restrict the Falcons to two goals with the Ballarat breeze in the opening term, but the visitors worked harder in the second to get the game on their terms, scoring four goals to establish a 24-point buffer.
Six goals to one in the third stanza then made the margin insurmountable, before Geelong prevailed.
“They were driven enough to work really hard in the second quarter to get it back on to our terms,” coach Danny O’Keefe said of his team.
“It wasn’t until the 13 or 14minute mark of the third quarter we kicked a goal, so the back half of the third quarter was where we really did the damage.”
Connor Idun was swung from defence to forward to give the Falcons a threepronged forward attack, complementing McCartin and Garner.
“For the first time of the year we rolled with three (key) forwards and if we did that we thought we might get a mismatch,” O’Keefe said.
“To be honest, Tommy McCartin and Adam Garner were defeating their opponents already, so it made it even more convincing for us to roll Connor down there and have three tall targets.
“Both got hold of their opponents early and together, without looking at the stats sheet, they probably took 15-20 marks between them.
“They just gave us a really good target moving the ball down the ground.”
O’Keefe also heaped praised on half-back flanker Cooper Stephens, who was credited with best afield.
“Just dynamic, he was so explosive off half-back,” he said.
“By foot with his leg skills, it’s just incredible the way he kicks the footy. He doesn’t just kick it 40-50m to a target, he’s actually running it 30m before that as well. He’s just so damaging.”
The Falcons will seek retribution against Gippsland Power on the road this week, a side that beat them by five points in Round 9.
“We’ve got to travel all the way to Morwell and then we get a bye after that, so we’ve got one big effort and then we can rest up,” O’Keefe said.
“Gippsland are going pretty well and they’re the first team to knock us off for the year, so there’s a bit of redemption on the line for the coaches and players.”