Port 2014 - Pre-Season/General Discussion

[Booney]

Had trouble placing Polec, White, Broadbent and Harlett in a "position".

But in all reality anyone who isn't a key back or forward ( Schulz, Trengove,Carlile ) pretty much play in a midfield rotation anyway.

[Spargo]

Injuries, as with all sides, will play a big part in how they fare.
Port had an extremely good run in 2013 where their depth wasn't really stretched at any time.

[Booney]

Fair point, although we didn't have Redden or Renouf most of the year leaving Lobbe to shoulder the ruck duties, which he did. I expect big things from him this year.

I think we've added good depth with Polec and White. The likes of Mitchell, Stevenson, Heath, Young and Logan will be back up's through the midfield.

We need Mason Shaw to develop as an extra tall forward, quickly.

[Failed Creation]

Fair point, although we didn't have Redden or Renouf most of the year leaving Lobbe to shoulder the ruck duties, which he did. I expect big things from him this year.

I think we've added good depth with Polec and White. The likes of Mitchell, Stevenson, Heath, Young and Logan will be back up's through the midfield.

We need Mason Shaw to develop as an extra tall forward, quickly.

Especially since Butcher needs a breakout year or we can all stick a fork in him.

[Ruben Carter]

Don't undervalue the influence of a much fitter & more confident R Gray in 2014. He was really only a passenger last season. I think he'll be much better than that.

[carey]

We're not handling Essendons pressure very well at all.

Why is Renouf such a spud?

[The Dark Knight]

Andrew Moore spuding it up big time, so is Leroy Jetta, as usual. This is a terrible quarter of football, so many stupid errors, especially from Port. Dropped uncontested marks from both sides!! O'Shea, Westhoff and Wines are having a red hot crack. Daniher started well same with Pears at the other end.

And yes Carey Renouf is a massive spud.

[Failed Creation]

We're not handling Essendons pressure very well at all.

Why is Renouf such a spud?

Agreed. Give him the arse and draft a young ruckman.

[carey]

F##k!!!!!

Hope it's just rolled.

Great mark tho

[carey]

Polec been super as has Pittard. On the down side Butcher (the time has come to bite the bullet his done) and Renouf (spud) and of course the injury to Schultz.

[Failed Creation]

Polec been super as has Pittard. On the down side Butcher (the time has come to bite the bullet his done) and Renouf (spud) and of course the injury to Schultz.

Spot on. We have no ready-made key forwards if Schulz and Butcher are out of the side. Westhoff is the closest thing we have, but we also need him floating down back.

I do remember saying that we should've made a serious play for Podsiadly once he became available because with him, you'd have time to develop a key forward or two (e.g. Shaw and Harvey).

[The Dark Knight]

Polec been super as has Pittard. On the down side Butcher (the time has come to bite the bullet his done) and Renouf (spud) and of course the injury to Schultz.

Spot on. We have no ready-made key forwards if Schulz and Butcher are out of the side. Westhoff is the closest thing we have, but we also need him floating down back.

I do remember saying that we should've made a serious play for Podsiadly once he became available because with him, you'd have time to develop a key forward or two (e.g. Shaw and Harvey).

Butcher is a spud and will never be in Ports best 22.

Why would Port want Podsiadly? He'd offer no value for them, too old which Port would never want.

[Failed Creation]

Polec been super as has Pittard. On the down side Butcher (the time has come to bite the bullet his done) and Renouf (spud) and of course the injury to Schultz.

Spot on. We have no ready-made key forwards if Schulz and Butcher are out of the side. Westhoff is the closest thing we have, but we also need him floating down back.

I do remember saying that we should've made a serious play for Podsiadly once he became available because with him, you'd have time to develop a key forward or two (e.g. Shaw and Harvey).

Butcher is a spud and will never be in Ports best 22.

Why would Port want Podsiadly? He'd offer no value for them, too old which Port would never want.

Pods is a 30-45 goal forward, and a good short-term option, especially when key forward depth is at a low, which it quite obviously is at the moment. I think he'd have worked well in tandem with Schulz.

[GWW]

Only NAB pre-season rubbish, but more positives than negatives tonight for Port. Injury to Schulz is a concern, although the coach is optimistic he'll be ok for round 1.

[whufc]

lol @ Butcher!!!!!

[piccachu]

I was really keen for the power to pick up Mitch Thorpe in the draft, was a top 10 draft pick who had a rough trot with injury at Hawthorne, and battling injury trying to compete with Franklin and Roughhead was never going to be easy, at 24 now i think he is in the right age bracket and coming off a season were he won the Medal in the Tassie league i think he is a much better option than Butcher, Im a big fan of Hombsche and am a little interested to see if he has the capacity at all to play forward if need be, unfortunatly i think he is going to find it hard to find a spot in the back 6 once Trengove and Carlisle are back.

[valleys07]

My thoughts on last night:

Our ability to play 4 quarters is still an issue- but that is not surprising. We have the 4th youngest list in the comp and consistency will take time. We are still running out games really strongly, and our ability to wrestle control in the 1st quarter, and then run away with the game in the 3rd and last, shows an increased fitness level, and added experience to slow the game down when a side gets a run on.

Schultz will be fine hopefully. According to Hinkley's presser, he struggled with a mid-foot sprain for much of last year, and minus the information from a scan, believes its something similar. Kenny is confident Round 1 will be the return, and i'm confident that Burgo and his team will get him up and about.

Positives:

Polec. Port chased him hard and for a reason. 87% disposal efficiency is huge, and he showed he is not just an outside ball winner, with a few contested possessions amongst his 23 touches. Fitness was a must and he clearly has a base behind him, we saw some hard running from him and it enabled us to cut through the corridor with precision passes into the forward line.

Pittard: Played out of his skin last night- another clean user who we need out of the back half. Nearly 30 touches, with disposal efficiency above 80% is another very solid performance. He was one who I thought would be under pressure for a spot this season, but seems well entrenched.

Wines: Gun. Will be the best inside mid along with Liberatore in 3-5 years time. His clearance work in that 3rd quarter was pivotal to us breaking the game open. To think he is 19…

Our back 6: We have some depth here- Trengove and Carlisle to come back in- along with Hombsch and Jonas to play tall and small, with O’shea, Pittard, Clurey, Broady all displaying positive signs. Future is very bright for our backline.

Concerns:

Forward line Depth: The fact that we never made a play for Jesse White, or to a lesser extent, the J-Pod, irks me a little. Schultz going down has really exposed a hole that I don’t think we can fill at this stage. Butch is getting there- I know you will laugh at me there, but the fact that he is actually jumping at the footy is showing improvement on where he was last year. Yes, when he had shots for goal he was very poor, but kicking actions can be refined, and improved, but instinct for jumping to take a catch and creating a contest can not. Harvey and Shaw are a fair way off- so Schultz and Westy desperately have to play full seasons for us to have a tilt at the 8. There was a comparison in the telecast last night between westhoffs action when shooting for a set shot, in comparison with Butchers attempt in the 3rd quarter that went out on the full. Butch is dropping the ball with both hands up around groin height! Show that footage to the lad and teach him to guide the footy onto his boot, and all of a sudden, confidence might grow and he might actually want the footy in his hands.

I do believe that this year, we may hover around the same position, perhaps even drop back a bit. This I have no problems with as we are still very young side- with talent that obviously takes time on our list to develop. 2015-16 is still the time I think for us to begin to challenge- getting another season into kids (even if there performances can be inconsistent), IMO, will be more beneficial in the long run. Hinkley is well aware of this, and is already sticking to last years mantra of “we will get what we deserve”- a good sign from a coach who is very well aware of where the list is at.

[Rik E Boy]

I reckon Port can go by Carlton, Geelong and Collingwood this season.

regard,s

REB

[JK]

I reckon Port can go by Carlton, Geelong and Collingwood this season.

regard,s

REB

x2

[valleys07]

I reckon Port can go by Carlton, Geelong and Collingwood this season.

regard,s

REB

A lot of luck with injuries will be the key this year REB.

Given Redden wont return until around rounds 8-10, we have limited flexibility with Ruckmen, and Lobbe will shoulder a lot early in the season. Lose him and Renouf comes in- he rucked well last night i thought but not sure the consistency is there- we have a tougher draw so a good start to the season is imperative.

Forward line worries me. We lose Schultz for an extended period and you could almost put a line through us for the year. When adelaide lost Tex last year, it was almost a blessing in disguise, as it gave the crows a real look at Jenkins, Johnston, Lynch, and now with Pods and Betts, their forward line looks quite potent with many options.

As i said, im a little peeved that we didnt seek cover in the form of White or Pods, as Harvey will spend a year with the Maggies, and Shaw probably isnt ready to get thrown into the fray, and would benefit from a year of league footy. I would have liked Butcher to really earn his spot- but it wont be disadvantageous to him to have some game time and try and get some confidence happening.

No injuries, we can push for 5th. Lose a few KPP's, 10th-12th.