Newcomb powers up
Captain, coach among the inclusions to face Ammos
A KEY quartet is set to bolster Newcomb’s hopes of snapping a five-game losing streak and turning its season around.
Eighth-placed Newcomb faces seventh-ranked Geelong Amateur in a crunch game on Saturday.
The Power is slowly clearing out the medical room, with skipper Logan Wagener (VFL duties), spearhead Andrew Steele (knee), Jarred Martin (suspension) and playing coach Jye Walker (hamstring) set to face Ammos.
But recruit Jude Poyser will be sent to the sidelines after he broke his leg on the weekend in the reserves.
Injuries have ravaged the Power this season and it has also been forced to rue missed opportunities, with four losses in a row by 16 points or less.
In three of those matches — against Anglesea, Ocean Grove and Queenscliff — Newcomb led at three-quarter time only to let the game slip.
“We should get four or five back and start to be able to play our footy again this week and going forward,” Walker said.
“It is a tight season and the difference between us being 1-5 or 3-2 is just one quarter in those games and it makes it tough when you know you should be performing a little bit better than where you have been but I trust the guys and know they have the capability.
“Once things turn around and start moving in your direction, those games you dropped hopefully go your way next time.”
Despite the fade-outs in those close losses, Walker said he still believed the system that was in place could see the Power rise up the ladder.
With as many as 10 firstchoice players missing last week against BFL pacesetter Torquay, Newcomb suffered a 95-point belting.
“The guys know what we need to do, it is just probably a bit above the shoulders at the moment,” Walker said.
“Especially with those four close games in a row, it does sap it a bit when you know you should have taken home some Ws and you let them go.”