W1 Trial: Port v Norwood review

[Macca19]

Norwood were victorious by 3 points at Alberton Oval today after coming from 23 points down at 3/4 time to snatch the win.

The match was played at an impressive skill level and a pretty fast pace. Fair bit of feeling in the match as well with tensions boiling over in the third quarter with three pretty physical brawls.

Port controlled the match pretty much from the start all the way till 3/4 time but rested Clayton x 2, Bullen, Baird, Morrison, Waterhouse and Lokan in the last quarter and experimented with the team, which gave Norwood the momentum in the last quarter and they got up and won.

The first quarter saw Port waste chances in front of goal with 1.6 to Norwoods 1.1 at the break. Port looked cleaner going forward put a couple of players missed goals from 30-40 out on angles. Norwood had some trouble breaking past Baird and Mark Clayton at half back. Kyle Jenner kicked the first goal of the match, a shot from 40 out directly in front. Port Power recruit Matt Thomas kicked Norwoods first with a nice snap only moments after coming onto the field. James Gallagher after a lightning first 15 minutes looked like he suffered a shoulder injury after a heavy tackle from James Meiklejohn.

The second quarter saw more goals scored and the skill level lifted a notch. Port continued to block a lot of Norwoods attacks from half back and their forwards started to get into the game. Roc Harry and Shane Morrison opened the scoring in the second quarter with two goals before Andrew Hill and Stuart Bown playing at CHF pegged the score back. Shane Morrison kicked his second goal for the quarter and Port led by 9 points at Half Time.

Best players for Port in the opening half were many who will be key players this year. Morrison had a strong first half with 3-4 marks and 2 goals. Lokans pace off the mark troubled Norwoods defence for a while and he set up a lot of play on the flanks. Marc Bullen had a ton of possesion in the middle whilst Ports defence was strong with Mark Clayton, John Baird and Daniel Lees all cutting off Norwoods entries into the forward line.

Some of Norwoods younger players had played well up to half time. Crow listed Chad Gibson played well at Full Back and took 3-4 good marks deep in defence. Power recruit Nick Lower was very busy on a wing/back flank whilst Gavin Hughes was solid at Centre Half Back. Andrew Hill and Stephen Bailey also had good starts.

The third quarter was all Port Adelaide, kicking 4 goals to 1 to break out to a 4 goal lead at the break. Corey Ahchee was moved from defence up forward and responded with the first goal of the half whilst Craig Taylor, who was playing well in the middle, kicked another. Clive, who was well held kicked his first, followed by AhChees second and Port were up by 30 points. Jamie Vlatko kicked his only goal for the match to cut the margin back to 4 goals with one quarter remaining. Reminiscent of another era, three big brawls started across Ports half forward line during the quarter with Lokan and Bassett seemingly the main protagonists. Many punches were thrown and it seemed the players were playing for a premiership rather than a season opening scratch match.

Satisfied with what he had seen, Tim Ginever rested a number of key players as I mentioned earlier. The two Claytons, Waterhouse, Bullen, Morrison, Baird and Lokan were all in the showers by 3/4 time and he moved a lot of players around. Ports attack in the last quarter consisted of AhChee, Daniel Lees (who played Full Back all day) and 4 players that had played most of the reserves match, he threw reserves player Casey Thomas onto Jamie Vlatko and James Meiklejohn also went into defence. Norwood seemed to stick to their guns and kept most of their key players on the ground for a lot of the last quarter.

The momentum of the match swung and with Port unable to keep the ball in the forward line, Norwood continuously attacked from half back, worked the ball forward and started taking their chances up forward. Mark Cox kicked the first of the last quarter before Daniel Lees replied for the Magpies. From then on it was all Norwood with Vlatko, Cox, James and Bown all getting a lot of the ball. Bown kicked 2 in about 3 minutes before Mark Cox snapped another pegging the margin back to under a kick. John Meeson snapped the winner about 5 minutes from time. Port tried to go forward but could not get any chances to shoot on goal. The siren went and Norwood won by 3 points.

Overall I think the Port coaching staff would be very pleased with what they saw. The Magpies played their traditional strong hard fast game with a strong defence and a ball winning midfield. They will be pleased with what they saw from their recruits and also a number of lesser likes played strong matches. With the likes of Poulton, Elstone, Fizgerald, Wait and Tom Carr in the stands, Port seems to have the running power and the depth to challenge a lot of sides this year.

Norwood as well will be generally happy with what they saw. Their gameplan was a bit stop-start and some of their players skills were down, but they would be pleased with the form of their younger players and will be happy to record a victory.

Norwood 1.1 / 3.4 / 4.8 / 9.11 (65)
Port Magpies 1.6 / 4.7 / 8.7 / 9.8 (62)

BEST:
Norwood - Bown, Lower, Cox, Gibson, Bailey, Bassett
Port - Baird, Bullen, DePasquale, Lokan, Morrison, Lees

GOALS:
Norwood - Bown 3, Cox 2, Vlatko, Hill, Meeson, Thomas
Port - Morrison, Ahchee 2, Waterhouse, Jenner, Taylor, Lees, Harry

Port Player Reviews

M Clayton - Strong as usual across half back. Only played the first half and took 2 strong marks backing back into an oncoming pack

J Clayton - Spent most time on the ground up forward and did a couple of nice things

Davis - Very good in the first half...looks a lot fitter than last year

Ilett - Average. Got a fair bit of ball early but fumbled a bit late in the match

Harry - Impressive on the ball. Kicked a goal and would have had 15 or so disposals

Lees - Started at Full Back and rebounded strongly. Was moved forward in the last quarter and kicked a goal

Bullen - Very impressive. Would have had 20 disposals and won a lot of hard ball.

DePasquale - strong and tough as usual from a back flank. Won a number of contests and used it well rebounding forward

Morrison - Probably had 7-8 kicks, 3-4 marks and 2 goals. Fairly quick off the mark, strong hands and a good kick. Should go well at CHF this year

Lokan - lightning early, his pace was casuing some trouble. Got involved in scuffles with Bassett

Gates - Busy on a wing and half forward.

Eichner - Spoiled well and kicked well

Taylor - Had a heap of the ball in the first half. Looks like he could become a regular this year

Meiklejohn - Beat Meeson convincingly but had trouble against Nicholas

Baird - If he plays that well he will be recruit of the year and the leagues best CHB. Pacey, good skills, good strong hands and willing to put his body on the line.

Biacsi - Quiet

Howard - Big lumbering lump of a ruckman. A bit slow, didnt get a lot of gametime but struggled in the ruck

Looby - Went on a couple of long runs from half back down the wings and was willing to back himself.

Mann - Not a lot of game time.

Jenner - Great early, slowed as the match wore on

Waterhouse - Well beaten. Had 2 kicks all day

AhChee - solid in defence and kicked two goals up forward. I like him up forward

Slattery - Another that didnt get a lot of a run but played a part in a goal in the third quarter

Cahill, Hay, Maddern, Thomas - Played most of the reserves and only the last quarter of the league. Thomas played at FB with the rest up forward. Cahill got his hands on the ball 4-5 times but every kick was smothered.

I usually dont do opposition teams player reviews but ill do them for the players I noticed:

Vlatko - Strong second half. Took a few nice grabs and kicked a goal
Bailey - On and off the field but won a lot of footy when on
Gallagher - Injured early
Nicholas - Played a solid match in the ruck
Campbell - Very busy at times during the match, got a lot of the footy
Lower - Looked excellent across half back/wing. Pacey and good skills. Slowed as the match wore on
Hill - Took a couple of nice marks and kicked a goal but was fairly quiet
Meeson - Killed in the ruck, kicked the match winner. Still looks a fair way off being a regular at league level
Bown - Excellent at CHF in the last half. A few good marks and ended with three goals
Gibson - Marked strongly in the first half, played a blinder really before fading in the second half
Bassett - Rebounded well and was a rock at half back in the last quarter
Cox - Busy player...fairly quick, nice skills.
Hughes - Mopped up well across half back early. Very quick.

[Interceptor]

Thanks for the comprehensive review Macca19.

It's only a trial game, but any win at Alberton is a good win

Happy to see some of the younger players for Norwood (Lower, Gibson, Cox, Hughes) making good contributions.
Hopefully Gallagher is not badly injured.

[manny]

Great post Macca19 much appreciated. Hopefully the Legs have improved but trial games are just that and its hard to take too much out of them. Once again thanks a lot and I look forward to more of your write ups.

[Grand Central]

Great write up!

[JK]

Nice work Macca ... I know it's only one game, but I'll be amazed if Port aren't around the money this year ... I'd imagine the Legs will present themselves with some opportunities throughtout the year, will just be a matter of whether they can take them ... Certainly Baird and Morrison add plenty to a Port team that wasn't too far away last season

[RoosterMarty]

sounds like a pretty good game, you would have to be happy with that considering its only the first hitout of the season

cant wait for the real stuff to begin

[Punk Rooster]

with tensions boiling over in the third quarter with three pretty physical brawls.

& that was just in the members bar!

[Booney]

Top stuff Macca.With cricket season still up and running,makes it hard for me to get any info on early season form.
Really appreciate the wrap up,sorry,comprehensive wrap up.

[MightyEagles]

Nice to see Port lose, even if it was a trial.

[Booney]

Nice to see Port lose, even if it was a trial.

Real heart breaker too mate,felt like losing in October does!

[Rik E Boy]

Great write up Macca. Sounds like Port will be a pretty strong side this year but Norwood will about the place as well. My early prediction was that the top four would be a fair way ahead of the rest so maybe 5th spot for the Redlegs this year.

Always good to get a win at Alberton as winning form is good form and it will be a good experience for the young Legs for their next visit to the city dump. However, I would have gladly swapped last weekend's win for that loss we suffered at Alberton late last year that effecitevely ended our season.

regards,

REB

[ca]

Agreed REB, that game at Alberton last year I think was the best game all year for hard at the ball, quick moving football.

Anyone know who won the early game?

[topsywaldron]

A quinella for the Legs.