SA Footy

carey wrote:

JK wrote:I don't see Sydney as flag favorites, probably still the Hawks but there's so much to happen still. Would just about have the house on Hawks, Ports, Swans or Dockers taking the flag out. Probably come down to who cops the luckiest /unluckiest breaks from here on.

Fair call.

Although I don't think the Dockers can win the flag. 3 horse race for mine albeit very close in order Sydney, Hawks, Port.

North & Freo can win the flag.

Spargo wrote:

carey wrote:

JK wrote:I don't see Sydney as flag favorites, probably still the Hawks but there's so much to happen still. Would just about have the house on Hawks, Ports, Swans or Dockers taking the flag out. Probably come down to who cops the luckiest /unluckiest breaks from here on.

Fair call.

Although I don't think the Dockers can win the flag. 3 horse race for mine albeit very close in order Sydney, Hawks, Port.

North & Freo can win the flag.

I think North can win a final or two but cant see them winning a flag. Winning a flag from outside the top 4 is near on impossible.
Tonight summed North up, their best is very good but their worst is diabolical

Both North & Freo can still finish top 4 - but both are still a bit off their best at the moment.
If one or both click though.....

Well after 2 weeks of uninspiring wins, and a host of our stars under performing- one could be forgiven for thinking we needed to win, and win big in this one to be any chance against the swannies. Well I sit here after a 70 point win, and 3 big names set to return- thinking hopefully we have done enough to give ourselves the best possible chance to firm as premiership faves by next Saturday night.

Last night though wasn't all easy. As was the game against Melbourne, we started strongly with the 1st 4 goals and looked headed for a big night. Then came the lapse. As per the Melbourne game, we slipped into cruise mode, completely rid ourselves of the fundamentals of our game style, and cockiness and laziness crept in. As can so often be the case when you play the bottom sides, sometimes you can be sucked into their defensive smother, but I began to get fed up with our look away handballs, cheeky kicks, zoning off. Its all well and good to pick your moments for that sort of stuff, especially when your 10 goals up, but when your 2 goals up halfway through the 2nd quarter, it smacks of arrogance, and really good sides will slam on 4-5 goals and leave you looking right royal mugs.

Thankfully- whatever was said to the group at half time (Schulzy, Kenny), completely switched us on, and out came the port we have come to know and love this season. We defended really well, picking our moments to zone off, spread and switch the play. Our midfield began to win centre clearances at will, and got the footy into our forward line at such a pace to allow 1 on 1 contests, and gave our forwards a chance to work their magic- and work their magic they did. Schulz, Gray and Chad finished with 10 goals, Our stars all worked their way back into form, and it allowed our 2nd stringers and youngsters to play cameo roles. Overall a pleasing performance, but still a way to go.

My best players:

Hamish Hartlett- Some port supporting work colleagues and I discussed the idea of sending Hammer back through the Magpies this week to "punish" him for the indiscretion against the Hawks- Quite obviously Ken had other ideas, believing Hamish had served his punishment, and boy did hammer have a point to prove, and trust to be re-earned. He did both in splendid fashion. 36 possessions, 5 tackles, 8 marks, a 60 meter sausage roll, and that was almost the complete game. Imagine if we could see that on a regular basis port fans? St. Kilda gave him far too much latitude across HB to pick off loose footy and Hamish needs little time to hit up targets. He and Polec in the same side offer port alarming flexibility with quality ball users, and we saw the effect on Polec when Hamish wasnt in the side, indicating he is an important piece of ports premiership puzzle.

Robbie Gray- I've run out of superlatives for this man. He is now elite in my eyes. Great above his head, one of the very best on the ground, super difficult to tackle, smart around goals, he has the complete bag of tricks. I'll stand by my call this week that he will be comfortably leading ports B&F at this point, would be a walk up start in the AA side, and is firming week by week as a challenger to GAJ for the ultimate individual accolade. 25 touches, 4 goals, 3 assists, 3 tackles. Genuine out and out A grader.

Jarman Impey- 4 weeks ago there were calls for this lad to be put back to the magpies to find touch. Enormous faith was shown by Hinkley to not only keep him in the side, but give him arguably his toughest match up in Balllantyne. Since that day he has hardly looked back and went to new heights on saturday afternoon. 20 touches (at 90% DE), 5 rebound 50's (a team high), 3 I50's and a superb pick up and goal was absolutely mouthwatering. Very excited for what this lad offers us- he looks composed in 1 on 1's, knows when to take the game on, and is growing week by week. Will play about as important a role as any against Parker/McGlynn this saturday afternoon.

Chad Wingard- No port player can lay claim to a great first half. Enter the wizadry of Wingard. Seriously- when he goes into freak mode like that he is just about unstoppable, and after half time, just reached into his (deep) bag of tricks and added more to an already amazing highlights reel. That mark was something special and left me with serious trouser movement, and add 20+ touches, 3 goals and assists to that, and you have the ultimate Chad Wingard game. Call this lad what you like- he is a bloody gem to watch- The amount of kids I saw on Saturday night with #20 on their backs- he is worth 10-15,000 bums on seats alone.

Matthew Lobbe- Forget the hitout stat- Longer is young and I would have been disappointed in Lobbes had he not destroyed that count, but 11 touches, 8 tackles (2nd to Ebert for the game), and a goal and you have a fair night out for the big fella. Would still like him to impose himself around the ground a bit more, but you cant ask much more of a man that is so so so important to our hopes for 2014. Just keep doing what you are doing son.

Moving forward to the biggest test of 2014- Will Franklin cop a week? Will Tippett miss? Would you like to see us play a full strength Sydney outfit to really gauge where we are at? Will be the least bit surprised to see us drop this one, but all I ask for is competitiveness. Serve up the sh*t in the 2nd quarter and we will get cleaned up- bring4 quarters similar to the last half and we will snare the points and shoot to favouritism.

Can.Not.WAIT for saturday.

Carn the pear!

Spargo wrote:Both North & Freo can still finish top 4 - but both are still a bit off their best at the moment.
If one or both click though.....

Freo's draw for me says they can potentially go the rest of the year without another loss....

North ain't Fremantle....yet. Yes they beat them but I suspect Freo are timing their run. Same as ly.

North are under achievers and their coach is over rated. Their performances with that squad are unacceptable imho.

Spargo wrote:

carey wrote:

JK wrote:I don't see Sydney as flag favorites, probably still the Hawks but there's so much to happen still. Would just about have the house on Hawks, Ports, Swans or Dockers taking the flag out. Probably come down to who cops the luckiest /unluckiest breaks from here on.

Fair call.

Although I don't think the Dockers can win the flag. 3 horse race for mine albeit very close in order Sydney, Hawks, Port.

North & Freo can win the flag.

I think North have form with their best, but dont when it comes to consistency. You're probably right they're a chance, but they have to show something that they haven't previously, which makes them hard to rate among the top contenders.

What are the chances of Boak coming good for Saturday?

woodublieve12 wrote:What are the chances of Boak coming good for Saturday?

He, along with White and Monfries will be fine.

Boak missed last week because it was St Kilda....

Booney wrote:

woodublieve12 wrote:What are the chances of Boak coming good for Saturday?

He, along with White and Monfries will be fine.

Boak missed last week because it was St Kilda....

he looked very sore on the news last night... i'd probably rest him if i was Ken... it's a marathon not a sprint

Will Sydney be kissed on the d*ck if we have a few outs.....like we are with Tippett missing?

valleys07 wrote:Will Sydney be kissed on the d*ck if we have a few outs.....like we are with Tippett missing?

1 quality out doesn't equal a few...

i for one hope he plays...

have to be a first though. Some how a side who has the best record in AFL at the moment is the under dogs... Baffling...

R13 team v Sydney @ SCG, Sat 2.10pm EST.

IN: Boak, Monfries, White.

OUT: S Gray (omitted), Polec (ankle), Newton (omitted).

Boak ain't fit & it'll come back to bite them on the arse. Sydney 24-39pts

League teams- David Parkin

'Ollie Wines a C grader'

Might be time David.

carey wrote:League teams- David Parkin

'Ollie Wines a C grader'

Might be time David.

Yeah some of those ratings were hard to work out

carey wrote:League teams- David Parkin

'Ollie Wines a C grader'

Might be time David.

One too many head knocks. Wines is a gun.

regards,

REB

Rik E Boy wrote:

carey wrote:League teams- David Parkin

'Ollie Wines a C grader'

Might be time David.

One too many head knocks. Wines is a gun.

regards,

REB

I wouldn't say "Gun", just yet. B grade Mid Fielder at the moment. But he has only played a couple of seasons. No doubt will be "A Grade" within a few years. Depends what your version of gun is. "Gun" to me is Ablett, Pendlebury, Swan, Selwood, etc. definently better then C grade tho.

helicopterking wrote:

Rik E Boy wrote:

carey wrote:League teams- David Parkin

'Ollie Wines a C grader'

Might be time David.

One too many head knocks. Wines is a gun.

regards,

REB

I wouldn't say "Gun", just yet. B grade Mid Fielder at the moment. But he has only played a couple of seasons. No doubt will be "A Grade" within a few years. Depends what your version of gun is. "Gun" to me is Ablett, Pendlebury, Swan, Selwood, etc. definently better then C grade tho.

I agree. In my mind, if you put an A grader in a terrible side (ie, G Ablett@Suns), they hold their own and bring others into the game. I'm not sure Wines is up to that standard just yet. He will, no doubt, but not just yet.

I tell ya what, despite some good wins in the last couple of years they still hadn't gained my respect but ironically in a loss today they did and did it big time.
I was in awe of their effort today, premiership favs for my mind now and that's no troll.
Respect Port, Respect.

"We lost. I don't like that".

Those were the words of Ken Hinkley post game- and sentiments I share. Don't get me wrong- i'm a realist- we were coming up against our most powerful opposition this season, on their home deck (a ground we have won at only 3 times in our history), on the back of some un-inspiring football from us of late. I was expecting a ripping game, and what a ripping contest it was. I'm an incredibly proud supporter at the minute - but we lost. That is the defining point. Our expectations as a football club need to reflect this attitude too- we can no longer be proud of very honorable performances- we must win at all costs, and if we don't, the playing group must understand why, and learn. A message that Ken is delivering beautifully. A Geelong mentality.

Some numbers, that as a fan i'm not too happy seeing given the result:

Hit Outs: 52-29
Contested Possessions: 165-139
Disposals 424-369
Clearances: 51-33
Stoppage Clearances: 34-21
Tackles: 81-81
Inside 50's: 62-51

These numbers, believe it or not, are all in Port Adelaide's favour.

So where did it go wrong? Skills, and 1%ers. When the game was in the balance in the last quarter, and was a real contest for the best part of the 1st 3, it was Sydney, who not only executed the basics just that fraction better, but it was their work off the footy, that won the game.

How's this stat:

1 percenters: 65-45 in favour of Sydney. Forget Buddys overall scoreline. Yep- he single handedly won the game in the last, but look at how he got 2 of his last 3 goals. A brilliant chase down tackle brought about his 3rd goal when Bob decided to zone off for the clearing Pittard kick, and his 5th was a result of a mark outside 50, and the cheekiest, but most efficient block by Nick Smith gave him the 2-3 steps needed to gain enough momentum to bomb from 50. Those 2 moments won the game for mine. That stuff wins you premierships.

Congratulations to the swans- i can't wait for our encounter in 6 weeks time.

My top 5:

Robbie Gray- if I could rate a game 11/10, this would be it. 35 possessions (16 of them contested), 10 clearances, 7-8 score involvements and 3 tackles. I remember saying after the showdown last year (as did Tim Watson), that Chad Wingard after that performance booked himself into the AA side, and I cant help but think Robbie's game had that feel about it. Keep that form up, and not only is he a monty for AA, but an outside chance for the charlie. One must admire his form post knee recon. Remarkable.

Brad Ebert- THAT is the Brad Ebert I got used to seeing early this year. The bloke that oozes leadership, and puts his mates on his back and wills them and himself to contest after contest after contest. 40 touches (18 contested- a game high), 9 clearances, 5 tackles, 8 I50's and a goal. Went away for a bit there, but hopefully that is the return to form for Ebo that hangs around for the remainder of the year. We need big game players- he is becoming a serious cog in our midfield unit.

Jay Schulz- Just about as lionhearted a performance as it gets from Jay. Played on Richards for most of the day and got just reward in 4 goals for effort after effort. Richards had a quality game himself, picking up 4 rebound 50's and 6 1%ers, so it was a great dual to watch unfold.

Matty Broadbent- I thought he took a while to get into the game, and was a bit indecisive with his skills in the first half, but was huge as the rebounding half back in the 2nd half. Finished the game with 24 touches, 4 rebound 50's, 4 inside 50's and helped himself to a goal. Only thing that let him down was poor disposal efficiency (54%), but had a solid day for mine.

Kane Cornes- Loved his defensive game on Hannebery, kept him to 13 touches whilst collecting 18 himself. It was the pure defensive game from Cornes yesterday, and Hannebery was forced a lot of the time into winning contested ball in the Kennedy mould, rather than working his magic outside. 0 I50's and just the 1 goal (courtesy of a dumb free IIRC).

You could throw Wingard, Monfries, White, Boak, Westhoff, Hombsch all in there as honourable mentions. In the end, Sydney's 18-21 just got the better of ports.

I'd expect 2 changes this week against the dogs. Kane Mitchell showed yesterday that no amount of effort and gut running makes up for quality ball use and clear thought process against quality opposition. Turned the footy over far too often, missed some sitter set shots, and that bump on Josh Kennedy which saw Kennedy bounce off, and kick the goal, had me almost throwing the remote at the telly and sending my poor dog running for cover. He and Hammer, who i'd expect to miss with his ankle (seriously, 5 ankles in 4 weeks- what is up with that?), will make way for Polec and hopefully Benny Newton, who picked up another 29 for the pies today.

Im confident we will redeem against the dogs this week (who played mighty well today against the pies i might add), but hopefully Kenny gets the lads up and about for another strong rebound performance, just like round 4 against Brisbane.

Carn the Pear!