Autopsy A great effort is when you win. (vent)

[b0ydman]

Great game fellas. I'm seriously impressed! But for all those offended supporters raging over the umpires get over it!! There were controversial decisions that went both ways. We all know that free kicks never win/lose one a game. If you're good enough you'll win. Regardless of the free kicks during the game.

I'd like this ass monkey red carded till 7 pm Saturday please

 

[Chewy316]

I'm gutted. Absolutely shattered and devastated. But I'm not going to get down on it. We weren't good enough for long enough. Is their best good enough? Shit yeah. I've said it for a long time that Port's best is the best footy in the AFL. But like any young team, trying to get that best for 4 quarters isn't going to be easy. Hinkley has alluded to it all year, being able to get back the momentum when it starts to shift. We didn't execute perfectly enough tonight, it's as simple as that.

Now it comes a question of is this team going to stew on this loss and give up? Or is this team going to keep working hard to go further next year? It's really up to the playing group. They have the talent.

 

[ozph1870]

Great game fellas. I'm seriously impressed! But for all those offended supporters raging over the umpires get over it!! There were controversial decisions that went both ways. We all know that free kicks never win/lose one a game. If you're good enough you'll win. Regardless of the free kicks during the game.

that disgraceful holding the ball in our forward line with 1 minute left on the clock sealed the game for you, the 8-1 free kicks in the second quarter gave you huge momentum when port were clearly on top. watch the replay, its pretty dodgy. we did get a couple of soft ones late too, but the umps had way too much say in todays game, be grateful for the role it played in your victory.

 

[b0ydman]

We shouldn't fear anyone next year or this year for that matter.
Our best is clearly good enough. Our young side just hasn't yet realised how good it actually is. That is the belief that Janus alludes to above.
Why stop running so freely at quarter time? Why choose to look in the rear vision mirror? Why turn around to look behind us?
We had the perfect intensity and speed of play in the first quarter, and then let them wrestle the game back to their terms through stoppage dominance during the second quarter.
We will rue the missed chances, but there were soft efforts at two on two contests across HF in the middle quarters that were just as costly. There was indecision and double guessing coming out of defence that led to turn overs. We have a bit to tidy up, but do so and keep working hard and the rewards will be enormous.

Our belief will come. We are not coached by some weak-minded, hot-and-cold individual.
Our coach and skipper's resolve is strong and we will rise higher under their leadership and direction.

Today was a lesson. A lesson for Trengove that you can walk the walk all year, but let yourself down by not giving everything when your team needs you the most. His ruck deficiencies were a massive noose around us today and were punctuated by the Hale goal in the third. Lobbe needs a backup ruckman who will be an asset and complement him, not a stop gap while he rests.

A lesson for Chad that he is mortal. His first three quarters had little to do with Stratton and plenty to do with no working hard enough to get to the ball. He was barely within 50m of any contest and when he was, he spectated.

A lesson to White. When you are blessed with speed, you must back yourself and use it. He seemed afraid to unleash himself until the third quarter.

So many lessons.

But I'm proud because we fought to the end and as supporters, we believe. Now the players have to believe as much as we do.

Yep
Too many players still disappear for too long

And our pressure inside forward 50 was just pathetic

We kick wide.

We need a forward who can ruck

Kick wide kick points. Happened 4/5 times this year that lost us.

Should have had a home finals.

We are already there, so, yeah, we blew it today

 

[philreich]

Finishing third is not good enough for this great club, and I have no doubt that everyone at Alberton will leave no stone unturned, in our quest for glory in 2015. But one thing Port Adelaide now has is respect: countless opposition fans have visited our board tonight to offer their many compliments: that doesn't happen unless a club is doing a helluva lot right. Should we be satisfied with third? No bloody way!!!! But nobody (most of us included) could have imagined where we'd be when Hinkley took over two short years ago!!!!

 

[b0ydman]

We shouldn't fear anyone next year or this year for that matter.
Our best is clearly good enough. Our young side just hasn't yet realised how good it actually is. That is the belief that Janus alludes to above.
Why stop running so freely at quarter time? Why choose to look in the rear vision mirror? Why turn around to look behind us?
We had the perfect intensity and speed of play in the first quarter, and then let them wrestle the game back to their terms through stoppage dominance during the second quarter.
We will rue the missed chances, but there were soft efforts at two on two contests across HF in the middle quarters that were just as costly. There was indecision and double guessing coming out of defence that led to turn overs. We have a bit to tidy up, but do so and keep working hard and the rewards will be enormous.

Our belief will come. We are not coached by some weak-minded, hot-and-cold individual.
Our coach and skipper's resolve is strong and we will rise higher under their leadership and direction.

Today was a lesson. A lesson for Trengove that you can walk the walk all year, but let yourself down by not giving everything when your team needs you the most. His ruck deficiencies were a massive noose around us today and were punctuated by the Hale goal in the third. Lobbe needs a backup ruckman who will be an asset and complement him, not a stop gap while he rests.

A lesson for Chad that he is mortal. His first three quarters had little to do with Stratton and plenty to do with no working hard enough to get to the ball. He was barely within 50m of any contest and when he was, he spectated.

A lesson to White. When you are blessed with speed, you must back yourself and use it. He seemed afraid to unleash himself until the third quarter.

So many lessons.

But I'm proud because we fought to the end and as supporters, we believe. Now the players have to believe as much as we do.

Yep
Too many players still disappear for too long

And our pressure inside forward 50 was just pathetic

We kick wide.

We need a forward who can ruck

Kick wide kick points. Happened 4/5 times this year that lost us.

Should have had a home finals.

We are already there, so, yeah, we blew it today

 

[b0ydman]

I want 6x 100point wins next year

We need our burst football to be standard

We need to redefine football

And learn tempo and precision kicking to actually tire the opposition players.

 

[dalt]

As soon as the game was "out of reach", we started playing the football I was expecting.

I want that last ten minutes for 120 next season. We need to be the ones who apply and stand up to the pressure.

Our fitness edge is beginning to show its potential in the dying moments of the game. If we can further work on fine tuning that advantage by upping our intensity during key moments in the game, we would be a good chance for progressing to a level that not many teams can match.

 

[El_Scorcho]

I realise how negative this thread is, but it's only because I have a supreme belief that we are good enough at our best and a flag was within reach this year.

Hawthorn wouldn't have been back slapping and saying things like "proud" if we'd kicked one more goal. We shouldn't be either. We lost several games unacceptably this season and should have won the flag.

Our players are good enough

 

[Janus]

I realise how negative this thread is, but it's only because I have a supreme belief that we are good enough at our best and a flag was within reach this year.

Hawthorn wouldn't have been back slapping and saying things like "proud" if we'd kicked one more goal. We shouldn't be either. We lost several games unacceptably this season and should have won the flag.

Our players are good enough

They are good enough, but they aren't consistent enough. If we had won a flag this year, it would have been a Hawks 2008 performance - earlier than expected. As it is, I believe we'll win next year regardless, so long as we dedicate ourselves to improving our skills and fitness once again. Go to the next level, and we'll be Geelong 2007.

Another pre-season, and that lull period we had when we stacked on the training will result in wins against Adelaide, Essendon and Richmond. Next year, we won't have to fly to WA for the last round of the season, and we can prepare for our finals assault at home. Next year we finish in the top two. Our average age is 23 years old.

I'm not proud. I'm pissed off. I want another crack at Hawthorn with their full list that was going to smash us. But unfortunately, we now have to wait.

 

[RangaInTeal]

Live the Creed

 

[VineValerian]

I agree with a lot of that, but not saying how proud we are. We lived up to the creed, we exhausted human endeavour, and that is a non negotiable. We did everything we could, yes we let ourselves down, and I pray, I pray that won't be lost on the players or the coaches over summer, but we also gave ourselves every chance to win. I am proud, we fought it out, it meant something to all of them, now learn from it, learn what you did right, what you did wrong, and never, ever give up.

x 2

Not happy. Not satisfied. Not content. Totally GUTTED atm
But yes - proud that we never died wondering. Proud that we gave it our all. Proud that we were true to Fos' Creed.

Agree with almost all of the first post - except that bit.

The bolded bit above is the most important - what did we learn and where MUST we improve?

Never give up trying to get to that last hurdle, because opportunities like this never come around too often (unless you build sustainable success ala Hawthorn/Geelong/Sydney).

 

[rogerjames]

We need to recruit a strong tall to win the big dance. It needs to be easier to score. This current team is fantastic but needs enhancing.

El Scorcho, your Mum, uncle and I are so proud of the boys

 

[MinerBoy]

very disappointed and angry at the result as we should have had the game almost locked down at quarter time if we had kicked straight.

Absolutely.

Bad luck guys. We share that pain and know how it feels. You're a great club with a great young team.

When we were a basket case back in the early 2000s I absolutely hated your blokes and what I perceived as a real arrogance in the way you bullied our useless team about. Fair or not that's how I felt about you.

I have nothing but admiration for your current lot though and to turn it around in an era of compromised drafts is amazing.

 

[DonDraper]

Fantastic OP.

I agree with this sentiment but I still feel an awful lot of pride in how far we've come as a group. That's just me. I was in tears at the siren from not winning. It hurts like hell.

 

[Cos]

I disagree not so much with the contents of the OP, but the timing.

Today is not the day to be kicking the team when they have given so much. They know more than we do what mistakes were made. And they don't need to be told, in my case, by somebody who wasn't good enough to play park footy how they blew it in front of 75,000 against the best club in the comp for the past few years.

Today is the day to say we are proud. Today is the day to say thank you.

But when they come back to work is when we trust Ken to remind them that we measure our success in premierships.

#weareportadelaide

 

[brad the brain]

How many regulation goals did we miss? I'm talking, 0 - 40m, 30 degree angle? I remember a lot of shots pushed up against the boundary, or outside 50. You can't kick everything. I'm not saying it is excusable, but I am saying we need to find a better way to give our forwards a better chance (like those guys in poo and wee). We need to stop kicking to Neade 2 vs 1.

Too many shots at goal from out on the boundary line though.Too many times the ball was bombed into Jake Neade the smallest man on the ground.He should be crumbing the big blokes.I don't believe in God but please God can at least one of Shaw Harvey or Butcher develop enough to give us a big tall leading forward in the forward 30 metres of goal dead in front.

 

[brad the brain]

I'll take an honorable exit for this season.

But no more from now. Our premiership window realistically opened round 1, 2014.

It's premiership or bust from now on.

It is quite easy to slip up and go backwards.Fremantle started the year as flag favorites.I hope our boys are hungrier next year.

 

[brad the brain]

Whether you agree with El_Schorco or not his post was well laid out, well thought through, and from the heart. Personally I have a bit if a foot in both camps on this argument.
So anyway, as I was saying, he's put a lot of effort and consideration into his words and feelings and he deserves a much more respectful reply than this typical utter nonsense we've come to expect from a blow-in like you.

Don't actually remember typing that last night. Anyway you call me a blow in and others like to call me a troll. No worries to me I don't lick anyones bum cracks like you blokes seem to.

 

[Cos]

Hawthorn wouldn't have been back slapping and saying things like "proud" if we'd kicked one more goal. We shouldn't be either. We lost several games unacceptably this season and should have won the flag.

Yeah they would have. They would have reminded themselves of how hard they've had to do it this year, with an injury list (including the coach) at times that a high jumper couldn't have leapt over.

They would have said how it took a team of superfit young guns to take them down, a team that may dominate the comp over the next few years.

They would be very proud and so they should be.

 

[Beats28772]

Gutted we lost but like last season we will learn and come back better prepared for another onslaught in 2015.
Go Port!

 

[Andy_B]

we were 3 points away from over running a team that had played 4 less quarters than us and hadnt left Melbourne in 4 or more weeks.

i'm gutted with the loss, but we did our jumper, our postcode & our state proud last night. I know teams can go backwards just quick as we have come forwards, but i just dont see it for us.

Another year Under kennny and burgo+the portress. WE WILL BE BACK NEXT SEASON!!! We pick up ryder or another Tall/Ruck and ill put my house on it

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

It is quite easy to slip up and go backwards.Fremantle started the year as flag favorites.I hope our boys are hungrier next year.

Difference is that Fremantle have a closing window with age catching up to their players, and if it meant anything, I thought Freo are just as good if not better than Hawthorn.

If we're going to compare the clubs slipping it'd be 2013 Adelaide and 2008 Port. Both clubs at that stage just got too arrogant and relied on natural progression. In confident under Ken that it will not happen though.

 

[PJ Power]

It is quite easy to slip up and go backwards.Fremantle started the year as flag favorites.I hope our boys are hungrier next year.

This. We're all falling into the common trap already of assuming natural progression and improvement with a young list, which would obviously mean at least a GF appearance. The top three clubs of the past decade who have all won at least two flags and played off in multiple prelims during that time, have done so because of their resolve and willingness to work so hard. Under Hinkley we have shown the will and capacity to do so too.
We must use this disappointment, not to pat ourselves on the back for coming so close, but to work harder and longer to build a dynasty of success.
I want multiple, consecutive prelim and GF appearances similar to but more than Sydney, Hawthorn and Geelong.
The Port Adelaide of old.

 

[Dalphonso]

It is quite easy to slip up and go backwards.Fremantle started the year as flag favorites.I hope our boys are hungrier next year.

I still believe I heard that we are the third youngest list.Don't quote me however.Freo have aged dramatically and Pav and Sandy maybe only have 1 or perhaps 2 years left in them.
Ross Lyons game plan doesn't allow success.They shan't have it.