Round One: U8 Black
U8 Black vs Newtown Swans
Round 1, Saturday 1 April 2017, Russell Park
With a fast pitch and a change of location from Alan Davidson to Russell Park it was all smiles for a reunited team on a picture perfect autumn day for the AFL season opener.
Right from the opening bounce Hamish showed the intent of a player that had not had a touch of the ball since his final game of 2016. This intent, along with searching kicks out of defence from Tom (aka ‘Tomahawk”), created a momentum that was unstoppable and within minutes, goals flowed for the Power.
Alex, Austen P and Dimitri worked together brilliantly in the opening quarter to set up a healthy lead and have pundits reeling in the odds on the Power to take out the U8 flag. The highlight of the quarter was a triple play from Alex to Austen on the right, followed by a centring kick to Dimitri and a sweet strike for a major. The wristbands that read BFF matched the intuition that grows between “Best Friends Forever” and it clearly showed.
With Austin D harassing the Swans at each centre bounce, and Evie taking a panoramic view of the field and searching for space each time she got the ball, the season’s promise continued to blossom as we approached the first break. With Arnaud to return after an on-loan quarter the prospects were limitless.
After a few words of wisdom at the our universally loved coach Mark, Lachlan showed the benefits of his off-season sprint training with Usain Bolt, burning off multiple Swans defenders that were left grasping for thin air.
The brace of goals that followed was match by Dimitri’s ability to wear his Swan’s attacker like a shadow and the commitment of Alex G to put his body on the line under the high ball. Akira also did some great work while on loan to the Swans, a fact that did not go unnoticed on the sidelines.
With a successful season opener ensured as we entered the third quarter, and Arnaud running his man around in anticipation of an impending match-up, the smiles on the Power players showed that another season of fun was here – and that they’re a bunch of growing kids that will love their footy together in 2017.