Port Adelaide 2016

[Booney]

Got to wonder why he is flying back and forth to Perth when the break is only 3 days?

He is 3 weeks into a hamstring recovery program, was due to be training again next week if all was well, the club allowed him to go.

[Dutchy]

Got to wonder why he is flying back and forth to Perth when the break is only 3 days?

He is 3 weeks into a hamstring recovery program, was due to be training again next week if all was well, the club allowed him to go.

No dramas with the club letting him go, just wonder why anyone would fly to Perth if you have 3 days off and lose one of those days to travel.

[Wedgie]

Got to wonder why he is flying back and forth to Perth when the break is only 3 days?

He is 3 weeks into a hamstring recovery program, was due to be training again next week if all was well, the club allowed him to go.

No dramas with the club letting him go, just wonder why anyone would fly to Perth if you have 3 days off and lose one of those days to travel.

And one to the drink and one to a hangover.
Reminds me of my trip to Hong Kong.

[Grahaml]

Seems like he wasn't fully committed to life as an AFL footballer. Probably missed the coin when he wasn't playing but if you don't have the drive, you're not going to survive unless you're a superstar talent. Even then, plenty have missed despite all the talent in the world. Port should run a line through him. No great loss anyway.

Sponsors won't jump off unless it turns into a habit or their business is based around not going out drinking.

[stan]

Seems like he wasn't fully committed to life as an AFL footballer. Probably missed the coin when he wasn't playing but if you don't have the drive, you're not going to survive unless you're a superstar talent. Even then, plenty have missed despite all the talent in the world. Port should run a line through him. No great loss anyway.

Sponsors won't jump off unless it turns into a habit or their business is based around not going out drinking.

I think your spot on. He doesn't seem committed to be honest.

[Booney]

Seems like he wasn't fully committed to life as an AFL footballer. Probably missed the coin when he wasn't playing but if you don't have the drive, you're not going to survive unless you're a superstar talent. Even then, plenty have missed despite all the talent in the world. Port should run a line through him. No great loss anyway.

Sponsors won't jump off unless it turns into a habit or their business is based around not going out drinking.

I think your spot on. He doesn't seem committed to be honest.

Agreed. He had his chances.

From '07-10 he played 40 games with Port, walked out in a pretty poor manner to join the Suns, 13 games in their first year ('11) on a three year deal and walked away after just one....found his way back to the Magpies in '14 and had a solid year and was given a lifeline at AFL level at the rookie draft in 2015. I think his card is stamped now.

[JK]

Which would be a shame because Imho the bloke can seriously play .. No one to blame but himself though if he never scales the heights his ability Could allow him to climb.

[valleys07]

NAB 3 Review vs. Richmond- I like big Dixon I cannot lie!

Richmond 1.4.12.45
Port Adelaide 0.13.15.93

Goals- R. Gray, Schulz, Wingard 2, Ah Chee, Broadbent, Dixon, S. Gray, Neade, Westhoff, White 1.

Port Adelaide finished its 2016 pre-season campaign in style with an 8 goal win against the Tigers, however it wasn’t without spotfires, interesting rule interpretation, cramps, and a coaching decision never before seen in my time watching football.

Port Adelaide fans and coaching staff alike, would have been hoping for improved intensity around the contest, and a ferocious attack on the footy.

The First Quarter was a pretty sloppy affair, but Port started well on the back of Wines and Ebert winning some early clearances, a welcoming sight after both were well below their best against the Demons. Jay Schulz took a fantastic pack mark and converted, and when Westhoff kicked Port’s 2nd I thought we were away. From there- things got interesting. The AFL gave us first look at their direction re. deliberate out of bounds. To see Jarman Impey gather a ball under pressure deep in our defensive 50, clear the footy and watch it trickle over the line only to be called deliberate…PLEASE! AFL, I implore you not to turn our game into “last touch”. The primary factor when calling a player holding the ball is making an attempt to release the footy, and the umpires officiate in a manner to keep the ball moving at all costs. I understand why the game is officiated in such a mentality, yet when players do make an effort to keep the ball moving and the ball trickles out of bounds after about 12 bounces with players within 5m of keeping the ball in play, the player with the last disposal is paid a free against? Surely the boundary throw-in isn’t a major inconvenience on the game? Not to say that decision impacted on the result of the quarter, Richmond began to get on top around the stoppages, and definitely opened us up over the back on more than one occasion.

From there however, Port put their foot down across all areas of the contest. Sam Gray, Ebert, Wines and Ah Chee began to win clearances with regularity, our full oval defence was outstanding after quarter time often forcing Richmond sideways to maintain possession or rushing them into long kicks into their forward 50, where the likes of Broadbent, Carlile and Impey were able to mop up and rebound, and our forward-line looked versatile with options tall and small, contained energy and I really enjoyed the defensive pressure from both talls and smalls- to record 11 tackles inside our forward 50 against the Tigers, compared with 4 against Melbourne was really pleasing. On the contrary, things only got worse for Richmond. Not only did they manage 2 goals post quarter time, but injuries to Edwards, Grigg and Conca forced Hardwick to make one of the more bizarre coaching moves seen on a football field, and one I agreed with, funnily enough. Whilst it didn’t look great for the spectacle and Mark Evans rightly went over and told Dimma to reel it in, who can blame the bloke? 4 injures with Round 1 to prepare for- A serious injury to a Rance, Riewoldt, Deledio could impact hugely on their top 4 aspirations, so why risk it when you aren’t playing for points? A coach who has the primary goal of Round 1 at the forefront- good on him. Had Ken been faced with the same dilemma, I’d hope he’d do the same.

Things that went right:
• Ken quite rightly critiqued our NAB 2 effort at the contest, and I was hoping for real improvement in this area. Irrespective of Hardwick’s tactics in the final quarter, and Richmond having depleted midfield rotations losing Edwards and resting Deledio, I thought for 2 ½ quarters we dominated the contested footy and tackled really well. Ollie Wines put in a performance that we all know he is capable of, and Ebert (despite the fact he seems to have zero faith in his left foot) won a heap of the footy around the stoppage. Perhaps what was most pleasing for me was the R1 claims staked by Sam Gray and Brendan Ah Chee. Gray’s rise is simply phenominal. He was a lock to be delisted at seasons end halfway through 2015, and now he looks set to have a cracking season at AFL level. Ah Chee is a point of difference that we haven’t had for some time- he is tall and strong around the contest, is great at ground level and over his head, and knows where the goals are. Really excited for the shaping of our midfield heading into this season. Now where is that ruckman…
• Team defence- No Port fan could whinge at the way we defended after quarter time. Nothing can be read into the last quarter, but to keep the tigers to 1.9 between quarter and 3 quarter time, whilst kicking 7.4 was fantastic to watch. I thought we forced Richmond into multiple cross ground movements to retain possession (similar to the way we defended in NAB 1), and when we won the footy, we were able to move it quickly and get ourselves in ideal positions to shoot for goal, with a majority of shots taken from the corridor 25-45m out. Exactly what I wanted to see, however whilst we are well on the right track to get ourselves into premiership contention defensively (both Grand Finalists last year averaged under 80 points against along with Fremantle, Sydney and Richmond), we are a fair way away from propelling ourselves into a premiership winning attack (considered to be averaging over 100 points per game). This isn’t necessarily due to lack of firepower, but we definitely need to improve our movement of the footy.

Areas of improvement:
• Whilst the interchange cap looks to have enabled Port to somewhat recapture their 2014 running game (opposition simply don’t have the engine capacity to get back and flood our forward line), I haven’t been impressed with our skills over NAB 2 & 3, particularly when clearing from a stoppage, and to a lesser extent, exiting from the back 50. Irrespective of the final disposal efficiency numbers which were almost even for both sides (67 and 68% for Richmond and Port respectively), for players like Brad Ebert (40%), Boak (61%), S.Gray (67%) to register lower than 75%, it’s an area of improvement that could see us turn from a 6-9 side to a 3-5 side. I might be knit picking with Boak, but Port looked a million bucks in early 2014 with Ebert playing arguably career best footy and I feel he needs to return to that level, and consistently, for us to be efficient when moving the footy. I would like to see us have all of our mids have a disposal efficiency level of >70% per game. To further emphasise this- Hawthorn’s NAB 3 against North Melbourne saw only Brad Hill record a DE of <70% out of the midfield group.

Player Reviews:

Top 5:
Sam Gray- (28D,8CL,5T,1.0)- His turnaround in form has been nothing short of phenominal. Despite his finish to the 2015, I must admit I was unsure where he would fit into our 2016 structure with a fully fit squad. Well, not only is he a Round 1 lock (probably was after NAB 1 to be truthful), I’m confident the contributions of he and Ah Chee will enable Ken to use Robbie forward much more often, giving us a dangerous small forward contingent. This bloke just continues to win stacks of the footy on both the inside and outside, and can hit the scoreboard.

Brendon Ah Chee- (24D,7CL,6I50,1.2)- A Round 1 lock now, make no mistake- absolutely awesome I thought. Similar to Gray, was able to win the footy in close, spread hard and hit the scoreboard. The only fault of his game was that he didn’t capitalise on the scoreboard- could have easily finished with 3-4 goals.

Ollie Wines- (26D,7CL,3T,4I50)- There he is! That is the Ollie we know and love! Smashed in all night, cramped up just after half time but just pushes himself to contest after contest. Our most important midfielder this season, as when fit, provides that first release to the Boak’s, Ebert’s, Gray’s of the side to run and carry.

Robbie Gray- (19D,3R50,4I50,5T,2.1)- Some might say that he was rusty, but I saw enough to suggest Robbie will sit in the top 3 small forwards in the comp by seasons end. Kicked a couple and could have finished with 4-5 had he been cleaner on a couple of occasions, but just gets himself in damaging spots repetitiously. Christ we will be scary up front if he and Chad are perma forwards for us this season.

Jake Neade- (13D,6T,5I50,1.0)- Much better performance from Jake this week. Lively around the contest, was able to get over the back on a number of occasions, and was terrific defensively. My issue is his consistency, NAB 1&3 were really pleasing, NAB 2 a stinker. Fix the gap between his best and worst and he will be an important part of our first 22.

The Rest:
Hamish Hartlett- (25D,5CL,3T)- A typical game from Hamish I thought- produced really good numbers without being outstanding, but in fairness to him, he is beginning to develop consistency to his game. Lucky to get away with the small headbutt to Townsend- has to rid his game of that **** if he is to be a true leader.

Brad Ebert- (20D,3CL,4T,7I50)- Won a stack of footy from the stoppage, but as alluded to above, just wasted it. Seems to have absolutely no faith in his left foot. I hate to say it, but he is a liability to our midfield if he can’t use the footy- 40% DE simply isn’t good enough.

Travis Boak- (18D,4CL,5T,3I50)- Did what he needed to without being outstanding. I would like to see him up around the 7-8 clearances per game range. For us to have true midfield dominance, he needs to be winning the contested ball, or breaking away from stoppages to deliver. Just priming in time for Round 1.

Matthew Broadbent- (15D,5M,5R50,1.0)- Enjoyed Brogsy’s game off half back. Barely wasted a possession (93% DE), and hit the scoreboard too. His best football sees >4 rebound 50’s and inside 50’s, so hopefully he can find more of the footy up field and get it in long to the likes of Schulz/Dixon/Westhoff one on one.

Jasper Pittard- (14D, 2R50,9 x 1%,2I50)- Much like Brogsy, I thought he was solid off half back. Seems to have turned a corner with his decision making, and his skills are as good as I have seen them early on. 9 x 1% acts shows he is solid as a rock defensively, an act I have never questioned of him.

Justin Westhoff- (14D,5T,4I50,1.0)- A neither here nor there game from Westy. Won some footy, got involved some scoring chains, but didn’t have a huge impact.

Chad WIngard- (14D,5T,3I50,2.1)- Half rat power for Chad, and he still finished with 14 touches and a couple of goals. He and Robbie will be scary up forward this year.

Alipate Carlile- (12D,3R50,6 x 1%,2I50)- Defended Riewoldt really well for a majority of the evening, with Jack getting on top when Richmond were able to get quick clearances. Super important to our premiership campaign.

Jarman Impey- (12D,3R50,4T,3I50)- Thought he was much better than in NAB 2. Defended well, gave us some offensive movement and used the footy really well when he had it. His chip kick to Toumpas setting up a goal was magical- took the hit, remained composed enough to hit the target. More of that please, Jarman!

Jimmy Toumpas- (11D,4M,5T)- Wasn’t as influential as NAB 1&2, but I am still confident he will make our best 22 for Round 1, exceeding 85%DE for all 3 NAB games. He and Polec on the wings will ensure that our outside ball will hit targets. Hopefully he makes the most of his 2nd chance.

Jack Hombsch- (10D,4T,8 x 1%)- Defended really well as per usual. Not a lot else to comment on.

Karl Amon- (9D,2T,2I50)- Came on after half time and didn’t impact the contest. Still waiting for him to develop some consistency. On the cusp of senior selection, and will be one to watch closely during the early parts of the SANFL season with the Magpies.

Jay Schulz- (9D,4M,6T,2.1)- I really enjoyed his first half, and his 2nd half gave Port fans a glimpse of his work in tandem with Dixon, combining for a goal. If anything, he will offer our forward line great versatility.

Jackson Trengove- (9D,2M,7 x 1%)- Kept Chol and Vickery to minimal influence, continues to offer workmanlike performances week in week out.

Charlie Dixon- (7D,3M,2I50,1.0)- Dead set, I got hard watching his first 15 minutes. A towering mark setting up a Schulz goal, a monsterous tackle on Grimes and pushing over 3 Richmond players after a stoppage like a bully in the school playground. Gassed a bit towards the end of the half (expect that recovering from surgery), but I can’t recall us having such brute strength since the great W.G.Tredrea hung up the boots. Cannot wait to see what he produces this year, but one thing is for sure- Gray and Wingard are every chance to kick 50 each this season whilst this man shrugs 6 opposition defenders off of his back. #bigdix

Dougal Howard- (7D,3M,4I50)- Improving by the week, I can’t wait to see what he produces for the Magpies early on. I am still nervous with our lack of ruck depth, but It wouldn’t stun me to see this lad debut this season and be able to create a contest. He offers one thing Lobbe doesn’t which is a contest around the ground (can take a contested grab!).

Tom Jonas- (5D,3T,7 x 1%)- Jonas is very solid defensively, but seems to have lost the offensive dare that propelled him in 2014. One player IMO that is shaky in our back 6, and is probably safe courtesy of the injury to Tom Clurey.

Matthew Lobbe- (5D, 31HO,5T)- Rucked well and managed to get some hitout’s to advantage. Will struggle with ruckman who can leap, and was subsequently beaten by Hampson. Negating weekly simply won’t cut it, and must discover something heading into Round 1.

Matthew White- (3D,1.0)- Played a half again and contributed a goal, but outside of that, not a great deal. Get the feeling that he will be used as a “sub” despite their being no official role, and will be regularly brought into the fray after half time to break the contest open with breaking runs.

Well that is NAB Challenge footy done for another year, and thankfully our squad will enter the premiership season with Clurey and Krakouer the only long term injuries.

One thing is for certain this season, we will know by Round 5 if we are somewhat fair dinkum about redeeming the horrors of 2015. It is a marathon and not a sprint, but bugger the clichés, I want to see a Saints mauling on March 27. Get down to Adelaide Oval Power fans, and strap yourselves in- #yesweken

See you at the footy- Carn the Pear!

Valleys.

[Rik E Boy]

Port look good for the eight this year I reckon. Interesting point about the rotation cap slowing down flooding. I think the introduction of the ten metre safety zone will actually enable flooding and zone defence so I don't think flooding is dead just yet. Some of these NAB games are a bit of a mystery in terms of form pointers due to the discrepancy of interchanges used. Richmond by necessity were down on interchanges for this match.

While Richmond are a better team than the Saints I think you'll find the young side has plenty of running power, but you'd expect a Port victory at home next week.

regards,

REB

[The Bedge]

Dead set valleys07, I bloody love your reviews.. I would much rather sit here for 5-10min and read it thoroughly than go buy the stupid Advertiser!

[valleys07]

Dead set valleys07, I bloody love your reviews.. I would much rather sit here for 5-10min and read it thoroughly than go buy the stupid Advertiser!

Cheers Zartan, I really appreciate the feedback, mate.

[valleys07]

Port look good for the eight this year I reckon. Interesting point about the rotation cap slowing down flooding. I think the introduction of the ten metre safety zone will actually enable flooding and zone defence so I don't think flooding is dead just yet. Some of these NAB games are a bit of a mystery in terms of form pointers due to the discrepancy of interchanges used. Richmond by necessity were down on interchanges for this match.

While Richmond are a better team than the Saints I think you'll find the young side has plenty of running power, but you'd expect a Port victory at home next week.

regards,

REB

It is an interesting discussion point, because I actually think the 10 metre safety zone will encourage sides such as Port, Hawthorn, Bulldogs to move the footy quickly, which will break down most defensive structures if the skill level is clean.

[Booney]

IMO, will be policed hard early, will soften as the year goes on and nobody will notice it happening by round 18, umpires included.

[bennymacca]

Not even sure why the 10 metre rule is coming in, i didnt see it as much of an issue last year.

It will suck when someone runs through 7m away chasing an opponent, not even worrying about the dude with the ball, getting pinged for 50m.

Will it also see guys running behind a player with the ball knowing that their opponent cant follow?

[daysofourlives]

Not even sure why the 10 metre rule is coming in, i didnt see it as much of an issue last year.

It will suck when someone runs through 7m away chasing an opponent, not even worrying about the dude with the ball, getting pinged for 50m.

Will it also see guys running behind a player with the ball knowing that their opponent cant follow?

I assume you can follow you're opponent as you currently do ie if he runs through the mark you can follow him.

The rule has been bought in to try and curb the Mighty Hawks, we were the experts at guarding the mark sideways at 5m in general play. Much like the rushed behind rule was changed after our 08 thumping of the Cats. So much for the old saying "If ya cant beat em join em"
It may also have been bought in because the umpires cant judge 5m when a guy is having a set shot from the point post and wants to turn sideways

[PatowalongaPirate]

Not even sure why the 10 metre rule is coming in, i didnt see it as much of an issue last year.

It will suck when someone runs through 7m away chasing an opponent, not even worrying about the dude with the ball, getting pinged for 50m.

Will it also see guys running behind a player with the ball knowing that their opponent cant follow?

I assume you can follow you're opponent as you currently do ie if he runs through the mark you can follow him.

The rule has been bought in to try and curb the Mighty Hawks, we were the experts at guarding the mark sideways at 5m in general play. Much like the rushed behind rule was changed after our 08 thumping of the Cats. So much for the old saying "If ya cant beat em join em"
It may also have been bought in because the umpires cant judge 5m when a guy is having a set shot from the point post and wants to turn sideways

I think it was Joel Bowden vs Essendon who initiated the rule change for this one.

[Rik E Boy]

Not even sure why the 10 metre rule is coming in, i didnt see it as much of an issue last year.

It will suck when someone runs through 7m away chasing an opponent, not even worrying about the dude with the ball, getting pinged for 50m.

Will it also see guys running behind a player with the ball knowing that their opponent cant follow?

I assume you can follow you're opponent as you currently do ie if he runs through the mark you can follow him.

The rule has been bought in to try and curb the Mighty Hawks, we were the experts at guarding the mark sideways at 5m in general play. Much like the rushed behind rule was changed after our 08 thumping of the Cats. So much for the old saying "If ya cant beat em join em"
It may also have been bought in because the umpires cant judge 5m when a guy is having a set shot from the point post and wants to turn sideways

I think it was Joel Bowden vs Essendon who initiated the rule change for this one.

No mate Football wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for Hawthorn.

regards,

REB

[Booney]

Some of the good from the weekend :

Trengove looked fit and moving freely, he's important as our tall in defence and the "other" option if Westhoff is playing well and Lobbe needs a rest. ( He'll get a mention in "the bad" )

Dixon competed well in the air, could have perhaps kicked 5 or 6 if he'd held a couple more marks and he would have been involved in around 7-8 goals, he did enough in his first game to show he's a worthy addition.

Sam Gray in the middle racking up big numbers allowing Robbie Gray to stay close to goals where he can be the games best small forward if he spends lots of time there. Wingard and R.Gray inside F50 all day every day? Yes please.

Pittard took the game on as he does, looks to be in good shape and his run and carry is important, he'll make mistakes, I, like Hinkley, am prepared to take the odd cock up for the space he creates.

The bad :

What do we do with Lobbe? I'm not throwing him out yet, I'm going to back him in, but he needs to show something against Jacobs this week, He's Jacobs' bitch when we play Adelaide, this is a big week for the big lobster.

Getting caught on the hop when we turned the ball over in the middle, sides loves the cheap ones out the back, it's the modern game as defenders all push up the ground, space opens up in Pagans Paddock and the goals are easy to come by. Need to tidy up disposal in the middle and/or tighten up at the back. Both please.

[The Bedge]

Some of the good from the weekend :

Trengove looked fit and moving freely, he's important as our tall in defence and the "other" option if Westhoff is playing well and Lobbe needs a rest. ( He'll get a mention in "the bad" )

Dixon competed well in the air, could have perhaps kicked 5 or 6 if he'd held a couple more marks and he would have been involved in around 7-8 goals, he did enough in his first game to show he's a worthy addition.

Sam Gray in the middle racking up big numbers allowing Robbie Gray to stay close to goals where he can be the games best small forward if he spends lots of time there. Wingard and R.Gray inside F50 all day every day? Yes please.

Pittard took the game on as he does, looks to be in good shape and his run and carry is important, he'll make mistakes, I, like Hinkley, am prepared to take the odd cock up for the space he creates.

No mention of Hombsch? I thought his game was first class, he dominated Riewoldt.

Also Broadbent was good I thought.

[Spargo]

Riewoldt looked like he was carrying an injury.