FOUR Kolora-Noorat forwards are reaching new heights on the form scale as a qualifying final showdown with the reigning premier edges closer.
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Danny Finn’s men slotted 23.20 (158) to Allansford’s 1.6 (12) on Saturday, helped by a spread of goalkickers booting multiple majors.
Livewire forward Mark Clissold returned to the peak of his powers with a six-goal haul, while Sam Harkin (five), potent tall Ben Fraser (four) and wingman Will Carter (four) shared the spoils.
It wasn’t enough to steal top spot from Old Collegians, however, leaving the Power to a qualifying final battle against Nirranda next Sunday.
While their tall and medium forwards wreaked havoc on Saturday, Finn predicted the Power’s smalls to play a vital role in the club’s finals campaign.
“To have four players kick over four goals, it’s definitely pleasing. We’ll hopefully have a similar output next week,” he said.
“Sharing that load is really important and there’s probably going to be more contests over the course of finals that bring our smalls into the play.
“We’ve got players like Sam Williams – who played a lot of the ruck against Allansford – who are capable of heading down there, too.”
Finn said “good habits” were the focus of the Allansford clash, and was satisfied his men ticked the box.
“I think we wanted our defensive actions across the ground to be really spot on,” he said.
“That flows right into contested footy and also just doing the basics well. That’s a big focus.
“Our ability to run and receive definitely opened up the game and we were able to work to the game plan.
“For the most part we were able to restrict Allansford defensively and play a really strong brand of footy – good habits were definitely the theme for us.”
Finn reserved the most praise for his midfield brigade, with Jason Moloney, Luke Tebble, Joey Conheady and Scott Judd all having an impact on the fixture.
He said the Power would watch video from their last clash with Nirranda for preparation leading into the qualifying final.
“There hasn’t been much between us in both matches this season,” Finn said.
“We’ll have a look at the video to see what we can improve. They’re a good contested ball team, and they have some great taggers.
“Gary Robinson didn’t play last time we played, so he’s another strong addition we’ll have to deal with.”
The Power is likely to head into the qualifying final with a healthy list, having emerged unscathed from round 18. Nirranda is sweating on the fitness of forward Robbie Gregg, while Peter McDowall successfully returned from injury.