Whoever came up with the adage that good things come to those who wait must have had Newcomb in mind after the Power marked its first final in 19 years with a 49-point win over Barwon Heads in the Bellarine elimination final.
Despite being absent from finals action since winning its most recent premiership in 2007, Newcomb showed no signs of nerves at Portarlington Recreation Reserve, kicking six goals in a 12-minute burst in the opening term that gave it control of the contest that it would never relinquish.
In fact, the Seagulls, who were back in finals action for the first time in three years, never got closer than 16 points for the rest of the match, with the Power winning 15.13 (103) to 7.12 (54) to book a first semi-final meeting with Geelong Amateur.
Despite the comprehensive margin, coach Tony Mirabella conceded Newcomb has some areas to tidy up before taking on Ammos next Sunday.
“I think the elation and the joy of that win’s great and appreciate it and bathe in it for a little bit, but we’ve got to move on pretty quickly,” Mirabella told K rock Football.
“At the end of the day, it is an elimination final, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to catch up to the teams in front of us, in terms of the way we’re playing our footy.
“I actually spoke about that in the rooms, that I thought we left a little bit out there today and probably butchered the footy a little bit.
“There’s a lot of growth there from today’s game, and as a coach I take the win, but we’ll need to get to work this week if we want to show up and have another close encounter with Ammos.”
Red-hot Ash Medal favourite Logan Wagener won’t poll any votes for another relentless midfield performance. Still, he showed why he’s been so influential in finals at GFNL level at Leopold.
Fellow former Lion Luke Justin showed his class on multiple occasions, while midfielder Ben Clark worked hard both ways.
Co-captain Dion Johnstone and Jack Duke were both lively inside forward 50, finishing with four goals apiece.
With his third goal, Duke reached 50 goals for the season.
The only concern was when the dynamic Josh Saltalamacchia, who missed seven matches with a knee injury, came from the ground after landing awkwardly in a marking contest in the third quarter.
However, in a positive sign, he was cleared of any damage and returned to the field and should be right to take on Geelong Amateur.
Barwon Heads co-coach Damian McMahon, who has been linked with a return to GFNL club St Mary’s, was among several stars clearly not at 100 per cent, revealing he had been battling a groin issue for more than a month.
He reiterated comments from his coaching partner, Sam Schaller, that the Seagulls were not at their best.
“We probably limped to the line a little bit,” McMahon said.
“It’s meant that a fair few guys have had to carry the load a fair bit, and I reckon that probably showed today.
“There was a few of us that were probably… not really running on top of the ground and, unfortunately, we probably haven’t been able to have that smooth transition into finals.
“(We were) up and about early doors with the loaded home game stretch.
“And then injuries come, and obviously that’s a part of footy, so we can’t make any excuses for it, but it did put a big load on a few guys, which probably showed today.”
Youngsters Angus Ford and Noah Young battled hard against the odds, while Cooper Ward kicked three goals to be the best of an ineffective forward line, with the talented Mitch Jensen battling a groin issue.
X: @krockfootball
