Newport Power has overcome many obstacles to set up this Saturday’s showdown with Parkside for top spot and premiership favouritism in WRFL’s division 3.
The Power is a first-year senior club that went into its inaugural campaign with so few expectations that a win here or there would be a pass mark.
But a number of factors have accelerated the team’s progress to make it a force from the outset.
The foundations of success are to be found in the club’s willingness to be patient and not rush into setting up a senior arm.
Power president Stephen Martyn made sure the juniors were up and running for a decade before implementing a senior side.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Power senior assistant coach John Rayner told Star Weekly. “But the club is run by a great president, which helps.”
Choosing the right senior coach in year one can set the tone for a club for years. The Power believes it hit a bullseye with Mark Williams.
Outsiders might have initially felt the acquisition of an AFL premiership player as a first-up coach might be seen as a gimmick to put the club on the map, but Williams has proven that’s not the case.
“He’s an ex-AFL premiership player, but he’s not regimented, he’s very approachable,” Rayner said. “I like the way he bonds with players and the instant respect he’s got with them. They switch on, they listen. He’s a winner, there’s no doubt about it.”
Venturing into local football coaching has put Williams on a learning curve.
Having been part of professional set-ups at Hawthorn and Essendon, the 33-year-old demanded plenty from his players early in the pre-season.
Perhaps what he was asking of local footballers was too much, so he changed his expectations and met his players in the middle for what has been a happy outcome for all.
“We kind of backed it down a little bit and brought it back to their level,” Rayner said. “He was really good at changing the drills to suit the playing group.”
Williams has pulled on the boots with the Power as a player-coach and kicked six goals in a top-of-the-table clash with Tarneit two weeks ago.
Williams stepped aside for last Saturday’s 89-point win over Braybrook, leaving Mouhamed El Hassan to take the spotlight with 11 goals.
That’s the beauty of the Power at the minute – there is no over-reliance any single player.
“They just play for each other this group,” Rayner said. “They’re hard at it, they’ve very coachable and everything is where we want it to be … we’re pretty happy at the moment.”
The biggest hurdle placed in front of the Power to date is a long-term injury to captain Ziad (Ziggy) Kadour.
When Kadour succumbed to a broken collarbone, there were queries over whether the Power could recover from the loss of such a significant figure.
The club turned to vice-captain Khaled El-Houli, who has led the side with aplomb.
“Ziggy’s a gun player and a gun person,” Rayner said.
“I had genuine concerns how much we’d miss his leadership on the field.
“Khal’s taken over and is starting to have his input at training.
“The group needs direction all the time and he gets the job done.”
