THE Port Stephens Power women ventured to Nelson Bay on Saturday to participate in a three way trial along with the Nelson Bay Marlins and the Coffs Harbour football clubs.

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It was heartening to see that Port Power had more players available than the other two teams.

Due to Coffs Harbour only having seven players it was decided to merge the teams and play one full length game rather than a round robin.

It was a very hot day and the Power took the field for the first time in a competitive game.

The contest was always going to be about learning as Nelson Bay have contested the last three grand finals and were far more experienced and skilled than the Power.

Coach Tony Merritt told News Of The Area, “The game itself was played in a magnificent spirit.”

“While Nelson Bay never let up they took every opportunity during stoppages to provide advice to our players when they could see that it would assist in learning the art of Australian rules football.”

“At one point an experienced Nelson Bay player even approached the coaches and asked if they could quickly address the players at three quarter time,” he said.

“The short message was well received when coming from an opposition player who was referring to actual match situations and was genuinely trying to help the group learn,” he added.

At the end of the game the result was inevitable.

Nelson Bay are clearly set for a big season and Port Stephens Power wish them all the best.

The positives that came out of the whole experience will serve everyone in the team very well as they strive to learn the game.

The players never once took a backwards step and battled as hard as they could in the incredibly hot conditions.

Tony said, “As a coach, I could not be any prouder of the effort or the mindset that was displayed by everyone on Saturday.”

“As a coach who had been trying to convey the same message in the training environment that the Nelson Bay girls were able to pass on, it was wonderful to see the way the team took it on board and could start to understand why it was so important.”

“So much was learnt and or put into practice in such a short time on Saturday, and we are very thankful to Nelson Bay and Coffs Harbour for everything they did to help us on Saturday.”