Power "very surprised" at decision

Peninsula Power says it was “very surprised” and “disappointed” at not making the second stage of selection for the new National Second Tier competition.

In a statement last night, Power said Football Australia (FA) “has not provided a debrief or feedback on our application, so we cannot provide any further information at this stage”.

When the Moreton Daily inquired, the FA said: “While we don’t provide public commentary on each application, the club’s EOI Response did not fulfil the EOI Response evaluation criteria.”

Thirty-two clubs submitted Expressions of Interest (EOI), including Power which for several years had made no secret of wishing to join the new league.

But the 26 successful first-stage applicants, released last week, did not include Power.

However, Power said it remains “very committed to compete at the highest level as demonstrated by over two decades of winning promotion at each level to reach NPL Qld competition.

“We will be striving to earn the right to play in the National Second Tier as we always have done through promotion.

“We wish all the Queensland clubs every success as they continue their journey through the process.”

Those clubs are: Brisbane City, Brisbane United (combined bid by Wynnum Wolves, Brisbane Strikers, Virginia United), Gold Coast Knights, Gold Coast United, Olympic and Sunshine Coast Fire.

However, Power did get an immediate bounce from the return of the club’s most successful head coach Aaron Philp.

Two goals from Josh Wooley pulled Power from 1-0 to a deserved 2-1 over Moreton Bay United at AJ Kelly Park on Saturday lifting them out of the NPL bottom two.

Fundraising for Izaack Powell, the 21-year-old Power player who is battling leukaemia for a second time, is now almost halfway to its target.

A GoFundMe page titled We Stand With Izaack was set-up by Michelle Feuerriegel aiming to raise $20,000 to support Powell and his family.

This morning, the donations stood at more than $8600. To donate click here.

Powell needs a bone marrow transplant as a “long-term solution” and the search is on for a donor.

Those aged 18-35 are also urged to join the Strength to Give appeal, which is part of the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Register (ABMDR) and help.

Strength to Give outlines how swabbing your cheek and sending the swab in could help find a match.

Powell started at Peninsula Power at the age of five, played for Albany Creek Excelsior and Moreton Bay United before joining Brisbane Roar.