Gippsland’s girls have pulled off a stirring comeback from 21 points down at three-quarter time to run over the top of Northern Knights 7.3(45) to 6.5(41).
The Power scored the only four goals of the last quarter, with Mia Smith-Clark’s second of the quarter with just over a minute remaining sealing the brilliant result.
Smith-Clark had 13 disposals across the day, lifting alongside her team in the last quarter.
“She’s undersized but so quick and we were getting exposed on the outside but Mia was critical and provided a contest and got to dangerous spots and kicked some crucial goals,” coach Michael Farmer said of Smith-Clark.
“Grace Dillow was also important – she was the only one who was able to cleanly pick up a ball below her knees for four quarters and her stoppage extraction and drive was outstanding.
“For the team to create momentum when we had none was a credit to the girls.
“We got back to our identity and showed resilience.”
The ruck battle between Vic Country’s Maya Crestani and Vic Metro’s Bella Hishongwa-Gibb was intriguing, with both having periods of dominance as Crestani won the hitouts 22-14 against her direct opponent.
“Bella got on top of Maya and Zahri (Burn) when (Northern) generated more out of stoppages but come the last quarter, Maya got some ascendancy around the contested bubble when we needed her to,” Farmer said.
“She was able to get really good hitouts to advantage and put it into space and allow the mids to go to work.”
In her first game back from a six-week knee layoff, Rebecca Fitzpatrick was the best of Pakenham’s large contingent in action for Gippsland, taking to a new backline role with aplomb.
“’Fitzy’ had her moments and was able to rebound a lot,” Farmer said.
“Her kicking was very good, especially early.
“Bonnie (Williams) played mid/forward and we love her hardness and Abby (Hobson) flies for everything and has a crack, she really lifted in the last quarter.”
The victory lifts Gippsland to third on the table with an 8-3 record, behind powerhouses Oakleigh and Eastern Ranges.
Meanwhile, Gippsland’s boys were surprisingly beaten 11.9(75) to 14.10(94).
Playing almost exclusively forward, Cody Templeton kicked five goals as he continues to prove his versatility, while impressive bottom-aged marking target Clancy Snell dobbed four.
Imposing 208cm, 16-year-old Cohen Dent also had an excellent outing on the back of a brilliant Under-16s development championships last week.
