Drouin's good form comes to an end

Drouin's good form has come to an end, falling to Wonthaggi by 68 points over the weekend.
Playing in front of their home fans after their stunning derby win against Warragul last week, the Hawks couldn't replicate their efforts as they went down 7.3 (45) to 16.16 (112).
With star midfielder Ed Morris out of the team once again, the Drouin midfield struggled to match the larger bodies of Wonthaggi's hardened on-ballers.
Power midfielders Jack Blair and Aiden Lindsay did the bulk of the contested ball work for the visitors, while Jack Hutchinson (four goals) and Troy Harley (four) were the main contributors up forward.
For the Hawks, Shay Harvey and Cambell Jolly kicked two goals each, but it wasn't enough as the Drouin backline were overwhelmed by the sheer number of inside 50s they had to defend.
Drouin actually got off to an incredibly bright start, booting two goals in the first six minutes of the match. Although Hutchinson would soon strike for the Power's first, another quick goal to the Hawks saw them full of confidence in the first term.
It was after this point, however, that Wonthaggi would soon take control of the match. Hutchinson booted three for the quarter, all from long range, to give the Power a 10-point lead at the first break.
The second term saw the Power really start to assert their authority, as their contested ball domination meant Drouin could rarely get the ball going their way.
Wonthaggi kicked 5.6 to just the one goal for the term, despite the best efforts of Drouin's young midfield led by positive performances from on-ballers Harry Wans and Jarrod Marshall, as well as wingman Tom Barr, whose penetrating kick had already set up some of Drouin's earlier forays into the forward line.
Staring down a 40-point deficit at half time, the Hawks would actually start the second half as they had started the first, kicking two goals in quick succession, before later kicking another to bring the margin back to under four goals.
This was in part thanks to a brilliant performance from player-coach Jordan Kingi at half-forward, whose leadership was evident as his young side made their charge.
It was to be short-lived, however, as the Power once again settled back into the match and kicked the last two of the quarter to take a near unassailable 36-point lead into the final term.
The Hawks had hardly been embarrassed up until that point but it seemed the efforts of trying to match their bigger-bodied opponents had drained their young squad, as they succumbed to the sheer amount of inside 50s the Power were able to generate.
Five goals to Wonthaggi blew the margin out to over 10 goals in what was a disappointing end to the match for Drouin. They fought bravely for much of the day as they continued to show signs of improvement after a dismal first two rounds.
Drouin will now face an away trip next week to meet Sale, while Wonthaggi will play host to Maffra in what will be an early indicator of where both sides sit in the Gippsland League this year.
Drouin's best players were Jarrod Marshall, Jordan Kingi, Timothy Hancock, Harry Wans, Aden Quirk and Joseph Collins.
Jack Hutchinson, Jakeb Thomas, Jack Blair, Aiden Lindsay, Jye Gilmour and Toma Huther were named as Wonthaggi's best.