gossipgirl = troll

I doubt she is even a girl

Pipe someone in via Melbourne to co-host it with someone other than Rowey. That'd be a start.

Secondly, during AFL season, interview the coaches or key players of both teams from game of the week - a game NOT involving Port and the Crows. And they don't have to have a tenuous link to SA, South Australian clubs or rellies in SA. Stop the "we're the poor brother", "us vs Victoria" that the show was centred around during the Cornes era and make it a sports show we (non SA club supporters) can listen and relate to.

Bone was Boned!!!!!!

Sorry, Boak is......I
Boak not even close...

As a complete player? you're right- not even close. Until he walks away with multiple AA selections, multiple B&F's, a couple of flags he can then lay claim. I wont worry about Norm Smiths. Playing your role in a flag gets you a 1/22 shot at that medal (sometimes more considering winners from losing sides).

As an inspirational leader to his group? Extremely close. Since Boak has taken over the captaincy, there have been multiple games where we have been fighting to win from behind, and he just picks his team on his back and drags them to a win (WCE R5 2013, 1st showdown of the same season). Not to mention he is by far our most consistent player in winning sides. Sets a benchmark for his team, demands perfection and craves success. Mirrors everything that Luke Hodge is, as a leader to a group of young men.

Labor wins by 23 votes. Big reflection on the current performance of the federal government.

Thought Virat Kohli was fantastic both on and off the ground today. His speech at the end of the game showed a lot of respect to the Australians for both the win and what they have been through in the past couple of weeks. I'm not an India fan, they are normally total whingers and a couple of decisions didn't go there way but not one word of complaint. The could have shut up shop early and played a dull draw but good on them for making a game of it. That's what test cricket is all about.

NAB 3 Review vs. Adelaide- Let the real stuff begin!!

PAFC 13.15.93
AFC 3.13.12.117

Goals- Butcher 5, R.Gray, Young, Schulz 2, Ebert, Wines.

Well Power fans (and crows fans too), can NAB 3 be read into with much substance? Did the Crows head to AAMI intent on making an early statement to the competition by beating a nearly full strength top 4 side? Were Port satisfied with the way the first half transpired and spent the 2nd half foxing, intent on getting to round 1 unscathed? Being brutally honest- probably both.

Let’s not discount the performance of the Crows firstly, they were impressive yesterday and are this seasons bolter into the 8, perhaps top 4 if all the stars align. Walsh has the makings of a side looking to play ruthless defence first football with some impressive offence on the turnover, and their tackling pressure was immense yesterday- a stat I can’t recall Adelaide excelling in for a number of seasons. Despite Adelaide winning the contested possession stat 150-136 and tackles 73-69, there are two areas of concern for Walsh and his coaching staff. The number of times Port did use link up handball to good effect, setting up numerous attacking forays did expose Adelaide for lack of pace on the ovelap. Who will assist Talia? Against the Cats, Mitch Clark helped himself to 6 on Kyle Hartigan whilst Talia blanketed Hawkins, and yesterday Hartigan and Kyle Cheney allowed John Butcher to kick 5. Teams with 2 genuine key forwards in Hawthorn and Sydney will comfortably expose Adelaide in this area.

For Port- not a great deal went right after half time, however it was evident for mine that Hinkley was tampering with positioning looking for that plan B. Through stages of the 2nd half Port were operating very much a 2nd string midfield rotations (Westhoff I could appreciate but Schulz!?). We were consistently exposed over the back, and the 2 way running that we have been renowned for over the past 2 seasons largely went missing. Whether that’s taking the foot off the gas in preparation for a fortnights time, or a genuine working over from the AFC I don’t know, but we will know for sure after round 5.

Things that went right:
• Our starting midfield worked brilliantly, with centre clearance and stoppage work poetry in motion at times. Boak and Gray looked a class above during the first half, with Ebert and Wines involved in plenty of overlap play. Boak and Wines in particular were massive in the tackling stakes- not just numbers but ability to stick the tackle.
• The Fuchia! Yeah, Yeah I can hear the replies already- but he looked a completely different player yesterday to the one that I watched intently last week vs. Richmond, and to the player everyone has become accustomed to over 2012-14. His first 2 minutes summed up the difference- a strong pack mark finishing in a goal, and a Boak clearance hitting him nicely on the lead a minute later, which has been my main criticism of him. 5 goals (including a freakish soccer) rounded out a nice day at the office.

Things that went wrong:
• Skill level was disappointing again. For the 3rd week we have overused the handball for mine, leaving us horribly out of position when we turn it over- Adelaide putting us to the sword with multiple goals seemingly un-contested. Sometimes we would put players under immediate pressure, where the Crows were able to capitalise with ferocious tackling. If a tackle didn’t cause the turnover, one too many handballs would trigger a rushed kick to a Crows wall or a hospital handball, where opposition players would pick the crumb and leave us completely out of position to defend the counter. Given this is the crème de la crème of the PAFC game plan, it’s concerning to see us enter round 1 vulnerable in this area.
• A defence minus Jackson Trengove spells all kind of trouble for PAFC. We are a ridiculous stat of something like 2-14 minus Trengove in our 22- absolutely staggering! Carlisle trailed Walker for most of the day, and my observation of our best defence revolves around double teaming of the oppositions best forward, whether it be Carlisle/Trengove and Hombsch, or Carlisle/Trengove and O’Shea. Forcing our intercept player to defend one on one is a vulnerable link in an otherwise solid back 6.

Player Reviews:

TOP 5:

Travis Boak- Enters round 1 at the top of his game, with 2 stellar pre-season performances. Numbers of 34 touches, 4 clearances, 10 tackles and 6 I50’s spell headaches for opposition coaches. Ross Lyon will be scratching his head without Crowley as to who to send to him. In for another huge season if what I have seen this year is anything to go by.

Robbie Gray- In the first minute of the game, a Jacobs tap was beautifully sharked by Gray, where a left foot pass hit Ebert, and Ebert hit Butcher for a mark and goal. At quarter time he had 12 touches and 2 goals, whilst being involved in arguably the play of the day for Port, where a clearance from Westhoff to Wines to Boak, back to Wines to Gray resulted in a goal from 40- an exponent of link up handball at its finest. 29 touches, 7 clearances, 4 I50’s and 2.2. He is quite possibly the only player I have ever seen who has been pinged for a throw twice where he has clearly handballed it, such as his freakish level of skill *check out his between the legs handball last year called for a throw, and again yesterday in the 2nd quarter*

John Butcher- I’ll continue to praise, because I could again be critical in 2 weeks time, but I really enjoyed his game yesterday. He was jumping at the footy, he led really well, and applied good defensive pressure- ticking all the boxes of what I want to see from him. 6 marks (5 I50) for 5 goals is a great reward for effort. Last week I questioned his ability to have any understanding of leading patterns, but I left yesterday questioning myself as to whether quality ball movement is the key to John having a good game vs. a bad game, and his confidence follows the scale. Have we seen the making of John?

Jared Polec- I’ve really enjoyed his pre-season thus far, and he could be on the cusp of a true break out season. 20 touches, 3 clearances, 6 I50’s and 2.2, with Broadbent the only player finishing with a higher D/E for players with over 20 touches. The best exponent in the Power side of the 30 meter kick bar none, which sets up most of our link up run. My call is for Polec to be a fringe A grader by the end of this season.

Brad Ebert- At his hard working best yesterday, often on the end of overlap handball. 24 touches, 4 clearances, 6 tackles, 7 I50s and 1.1 rounds out a solid pre-season. The increased fitness level will hopefully see his skill level improve, whilst seeing him playing a key role in the fortunes of our season. One we can’t afford to go missing for extended periods of a game, or blocks throughout the season.

The rest:

Ollie Wines- Massive numbers (32 touches (18 contested), 8 clearances, 7 tackles and 5 I50s, with a goal. Just a beast around the contest and showed the more experienced players how to tackle in the 2nd quarter, wrapping Walker who is a brute of a man. All that from 68% TOG- wow.

Kane Mitchell- Quite simply won’t impact the competition when you accumulate ball and waste it. Unable to spot up a target when in space and fires out handballs to players under pressure being my 2 biggest criticisms of him. Will be a top tier SANFL player this season, but that’s about it.

Aaron Young- Round 1 lock now. 20 touches, 4 clearances, 7 tackles and 2 goals. I really like his work in stoppage situations, and has the versatility and defence first attitude to impact the side when he goes forward. IMO could play a key role in the absence of Monfries.

Cam O’Shea- Not quite sure where I see Cam at this point. Had a really, really good finals series last year and I thought he was in for a breakout year this season, but his pre-season has left me unfulfilled. 12 touches and 2 R50’s is a quiet stat sheet imo, and went missing when Port were really under the pump in the 3rd quarter- much like our entire back 6 really. Magpies bound for R1.

Matthew Lobbe- The only area where I can see Matty improving is his work around the ground. Broke even with Jacobs in the centre (stat was 33-32 hitouts and 15 centre clearances each), Jacobs hitting the scoreboard giving him the upper hand. The addition of Ryder will be scary for our midfield group.

Kane Cornes- Neither here nor there for Kane. There was no evident tag, and he finished with 20 touches. Involved in some good link up but nothing else apart from that.

Matt White- By far his best game of the NAB series, but still underwhelming for mine. Finished with 18 touches and 6 I50’s, but really need him to be hitting the scorebard, or generating goal assists- neither of which were a feature of his game yesterday.

Jake Neade- Gets in the right spots but is physically bullied whenever he gets his hands on it. Opposition teams are conscious of his goal smarts and really close his space (something our small defenders were lax in doing). 13 touches, 4 tackles is a modest day at the office.

Matthew Broadbent- Have enjoyed Brogs’ 2 games and thought he was prominent in the first half before fading out of the game. 22 touches, 4 R50’s and 2 I50’s, his possession count affected a bit by over-possession in the back half for mine. Good user of the footy so will see more midfield minutes this season.

Jack Hombsch- Precautionary substitution with what appeared to be a corked thigh, but thought he had a reasonable day. 13 touches and 6 marks rotating between Walker and Jenkins- probably our best defender on the day.

Tom Clurey- Sub for the day and didn’t see him until the 3rd quarter. 5 touches and 3 marks from 40% TOG- wasn’t prevalent on the contest as a result.

Jasper Pittard- 15 touches, 3 R50’s- not outstanding numbers. I think our defenders had a tough day at the office, as their mid-sized forwards and small forwards got a hold of us.

Justin Westhoff- Well held yesterday- 14 touches, 4 marks and 3 h/o. Credit to Adelaide, they didn’t allow him the freedom in our defensive half to execute rebound possession.

Tom Jonas- A nothing game from Tom, with just 9 touches and 4 tackles.

Sam Gray- An audition for a spot on the senior list which won’t eventuate. 14 touches at 42% just doesn’t cut the mustard, and with our small defenders getting a decent touch up yesterday- Krakouer’s name is surely locked in for an upgrade, and potentially round 1.

Jay Schulz- Well held by Talia, but got away in the last quarter to kick a couple of goals. 10 touches and 5 marks.

Jarman Impey- Concern for Jarman and our ability to cover the small forwards. Betts gave him a bath yesterday I thought. 4 touches and 5 tackles, whilst Betts finished with 20 touches and 2 goals. Seemed caught in 2 minds whether to contests or mind his opponent, often making the wrong choice. With Walters as lethal a small forward as there is in the game, one has to think we will go with Krakouer in Round 1 who has been brilliant defensively this pre-season.

Alipate Carlisle- See “things that went wrong”. Walker got the better of him both physically and aerobically. 10 touches and 7 1%ers, but Walker’s supergoal saw him turn Bobby inside out- where all Bobby needed to do was corral Walker to the boundary line. To say we need Trengove in the side for R1 is an absolute understatement.

Paul Stewart- 5 touches from 26% TOG as the sub. Unlikely to play in R1 but is in the mix with strong showings in NAB 1&2.

Admittedly i’m a little nervous heading into round 1. We have had a somewhat reserved pre-season, with Ken intent on keeping his poker hand close to his chest. I don’t want to appear to be disrespectful to Adelaide, but I do believe whilst we were well beaten, we took the foot well and truly off the gas after half time, Ken having seen what he wanted to see. That comment could come back to bite me after round 5, but I’ll back the boys in to be a very different side both mentally and visually against Fremantle, with Trengove, Hartlett and Wingard all but certain to line up in Round 1 according to Ken. Bring on the real stuff ladies and gentlemen- 2015 promises to be as closely fought a season in recent memory. Good luck to the teams of all our posters this season (a little less luck for the tingles), and carn the pear!

Valleys.

woodublieve12 wrote:

Ruben Carter wrote:Hodge= good footballer not necessarily smartest human going around. Great leader on field.... enough said

Just sweep it under the rug?

No not at all. I think he is a poor choice as club captain OFF the field but a great one ON it (most of the time)

I saw a bloke today have only 3 or 4 lines of cocaine. He waited a while and said he didn't feel like he had too much so probably fair enough he drove home. :roll:

Seriously they are the Teflon Hawks. Coaches punching fans, Blokes ramming heads into posts and a bit of unlucky drink driving. They should Knight Sir Hodge for bringing the awareness to the fact you can have a few, feel fine but blow over. I feel like he is my shit brown and piss gold edumacator. Who woulda thunked if you drive pissed you could blow over.

For the record, I have had 3 and been pulled over and I have had 4 and been pulled over and I have always been able to accurately add up the number I have had and always blown under .05

The only time I have had 3 or 4 and can't be sure is when the wife asks and I'm pissed :)

if you smashed down 4 in an hour you would probably be over, but yep, 4 over the course of the night is easily under the limit for me, and have been tested multiple times.

so given he waited a few hours and had food and still blew over there is no chance he only had 3 or 4.