Preview Changes & Preview for Semi Final 2 vs Hawthorn @AO

[fingerbone]

This game feels like it's gonna be a deja-vu of us playing the giants last year in the finals.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

I think there actually was a timing controversy during the game, such that it should have finished 20-40 second all sooner than it did.

But agreed - frustrating discussion. We should have beaten Melbourne early in the year. Every team has experienced the highs and lows of close games - it’s all irrelevant now.

That was just Jon Ralph looking for clicks.

The umpire blew time off because the ball was taken away from Rioli's free kick by Hawthorn. When it was returned the umpire lined up Rioli on the correct line, then blew time on and the clock restarted.

There was nothing iffy that occured. It was just more bullshit to drive a narrative about the poor hard done by Victorian golden children.

 

[Addy23]

So what we really need to do is:

- Stop this high press nonsense. Hawks will kick 200 points on us if we play that again. We didn't press that high in the last 6 rounds of H&A, so I have no idea why we went back to that against Cats.

- Hold our defenders back Aliir shouldn't be beaten by Dear and BZT shouldn't be beaten by Gunston in 1v1.

- Put Bergman on Moore, he's crucial in connecting their midfield and forward and has a big tank.

- this is left field and many will disagree but, I'd like to see Rozee at HB, Sinn on the Wing and Boak in the middle. Send McEntee to Mars and bring DBJ back forward. Boak cares and tries and won't shy away from contests especially early on.

- dropping the high press means our mids are actually in the middle of the ground rather than inside 50, which would create space. Have Marshall and Georgiades lead into that space while keeping Esava deep. Bombing it to him is an option but surround him with our smalls so when ball comes to ground it isn't an easy slingshot for Hawks.

Okay thanks for listening. I'm sorry to have wasted your time talking about something that won't happen on Friday.

 

[GremioPower]

We’ve seen this before.

It’s the game when everything is set for us to explode. Somehow, we seem to survive those.

We’ll probably win, then we get destroyed by Sydney for no avail. “Hinkley has shown he can win Finals.”

Man, this club is such a clown show. We are the jokes…

 

[GremioPower]

As usual the Port Adelaide bigfooty forum is overly optimistic.

There's no way we lose to hawthorn. We win it in a classic.

The media spends all week laughing at those who doubted Hinkley before we lose the prelim at quarter time.

"Ken has the full confidence of the board and is contracted for next year - He will coach for 2025"

Radio silence from the club until round 1 and the cycle repeats again.

I should have read the thread before posting.

 

[GremioPower]

Why does Buckley keep saying that hawthorn should’ve won last time they played us, why?

Because they had the game at their hands and blew it.

It was 12/5.7:37 to 18/12.6:78 (HAW, +41) deep into Q3.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Why does Buckley keep saying that hawthorn should’ve won last time they played us, why? We beat them fair and squarely didn’t we, I can’t recall anything controversial other than hawthorn running out of gas and us finishing the game really strong. We actually led most statistical categories that game and I do recall hawthorn getting a pretty good ride from the umps to get them going in the first half and we had 6 more scoring shots but apparently we didn’t deserve it?

And why is Riewoldt like a kid in a candy store thinking out loud about us getting smashed by hawthorn. He may be right but seemed a bit unprofessional. Why does he hate port anyway? We are literally the most inoffensive team going around that literally hasn’t inflicted pain on anyone, yet you see all these media identities like Riewoldt, Lyon, King etc barracking for us to lose. I don’t get it.


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Because when they played their natural game they got ahead.

They got nervous and went defensive too early which is why they lost. Or to put it another way, we didn't win it, they lost it.

We did win fair and square but Hawthorn were the better side before they bottled it.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

And yeah I don't know what I want to happen this weekend... we're literally 3 wins away from a premiership and should on paper be as good a chance as anyone... but we're also maybe one big loss away from finally, finally after 12 years of pain not having to hear that stupid name any more and getting back to being a real club that cares about the jumper and supporters. By 2025 we could be led by Carr and if we move fast by 2026 we could be free of all the Hinkleys and their enablers. They're both pretty good outcomes.

 

[sobrave]

We ain't winning this bruvs

 

[davesnothere]

Because when they played their natural game they got ahead.

They got nervous and went defensive too early which is why they lost. Or to put it another way, we didn't win it, they lost it.

We did win fair and square but Hawthorn were the better side before they bottled it.

Yeah the difference between now and then is back then they'd had 2 out of 3 good wins beating Saints and Bulldogs but but losing to Sydney before that and they still didn't know how good they were.

Now they do.

There's no trying to save games once in front, its just going to be **** you and keep going.

I'm seriously pissed off that we are right about Ken

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Yeah the difference between now and then is back then they'd had 2 out of 3 good wins beating Saints and Bulldogs but but losing to Sydney before that and they still didn't know how good they were.

Now they do.

There's no trying to save games once in front, its just going to be **** you and keep going.

I'm seriously pissed off that we are right about Ken

I don't think that there was ever any doubt we were right about Ken... the question I had was whether we might actually make a run at it in spite of him.

 

[Expat power]

Burgoyne "can" be good but he needs a solid pre season to actually bulk and get a better tank if he wants to play wing. He can't expect to remain slender like he is as a professional player. Fix that & his mindset and he'll be a gem. Up to him but coaches etc and his dad, uncle, need to put it up to him.

Get a better tank? He played 100% game time the week before - I don’t think we can blame his tank.

 

[Expat power]

Esava out - Marshall in
Narkel out - Sinn in
Rozee plays half back - DBJ forward
Horne-Francis 90% on field. Rests forward.
Butters 90% on field. Rests forward.
Port by 14 pts

I like this. Only issue is I can’t see Butters playing.

 

[davesnothere]

I like this. Only issue is I can’t see Butters playing.

Ribs are bruised. He'll be in pain but he'll play.

 

[Capital Power]

Alright I’ll try and do a ‘how can we actually win this game’ post.

So we don’t have our best defensive ball users. So we can’t kick through the corridor like we have been doing.

We have one tall forward, who is a lead up forward, and no one who is good at clunking a pack mark or retaining it in the forward line. So the territory game is out.

And basically we don’t have anyone that can come in. We’ve also made a hole for ourselves

The Hawks are fast, agile and skilful. They have also become tough as nails. Their outside game is excellent. They spread and stretch the ground, allowing their elite kicks to move through presses with ease and get behind defensive set ups. Their smalls lead and crumb and role up into the midfield to out number.

The hawks weakness is the tall forwards and backs. Good forwards or backs can get a hold of them. Sicily is still a lynch pin.

So how do we beat them? Realistically we don’t, it’s very much a question of the hawks by how many.

But what can we do?

Well we can try and correct some of the issues but keep the game plan. So Lord for Dixon or back Dixon in. Sinn for McEntee or Evans, Sinn to HBF and DBJ to the forward line. This is probably what we do and Mitchell will have us sorted by quarter time.

For mine I think we need to emphasise our strength and avoid theirs. So close down the game, reduce the space, make it in close, a rolling melee with heavy contests. Utilise Boak, Wines, Drew, Mead and JHF who are all good inside. Ball has to stay inside and we can’t let them feed it out. Force them to hoof it long and let our backs out mark their weaker opponents. We need to then use the width and space and have players like Sinn, Rozee, Lorenz, Burgoyne, DBJ to run and carry through that space. Our forwards will initially have to push up into the midfield to help close down the space and will then need to beeline it back to the goals, disrupting cohesion and ensuring Sicily can’t set up as their lynch pin.

That's more opposition analysis and game strategy than I've seen from our multi-million dollar coaching team in ten years. What are you doing for the next two years (starting tomorrow)?

 

[yepits2020]

I think there actually was a timing controversy during the game, such that it should have finished 20-40 second all sooner than it did.

This was a Victorian campaigner clutching at straws and playing time keeper. Had a dopy opinion that the umpire should not have called time out, and let the clock run. Talking about outright bias.

The AFL came out and declared there was no error.

Edit: somebody has given a better account

 

[PowerBaz]

Playing Rozee off half back has been mentioned by plenty - Kym Dillon has been on about it for a while and with Carr having coached him there it would surely have been mentioned, but feels like something Ken won’t do.

Butters will just be a target this week if he plays, ribs don’t mend in a week.

 

[PowerBaz]

 

[ClintEastwood]

If our players had actually of run hard enough - put in enough effort, we still would have won, regardless of giving up a few of the kind of goals shown above.

Countless times we were outnumbered around loose balls. You can't win a game it you let that happen.

 

[davesnothere]

Strange nobody has ever noticed.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

I honestly find it hard to believe that any port fan would be sitting at home watching port play in a final cheering on the opposition that includes self indulged clowns like Jack Ginnivan just because they want Hinkley sacked.




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I'll cheer for Port. Until it becomes obvious we haven't rocked up and can't win. Then I'll cheer for the Hawks.

If we can't win I want a spanking.

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[Peninsula Boy]

This game feels like it's gonna be a deja-vu of us playing the giants last year in the finals.

Yeah, an honourable defeat.

 

[Peninsula Boy]

That was pretty bloody brilliant.

He nailed just about everything in an easy, succinct way with video.

I'd follow him if I had Twitter.

And that four minutes is greater than all of the content from the Pear and that other peanut on Youtube combined.

He blamed the coaching which is fair enough but he also said that the players basically know they are on a hiding to nothing because if plan A doesn't work, there is no plan B. The players know this because plan A generally works during the season but not all the time and definitely doesn't work in finals against a good coach who will tear our obvious gameplan asunder which has happened time and time again. After that, it is only a matter of time that the boys drop their head and we get routed.

If we had some decent footy brains on the board, this would have been known as early as 2017 but you know, membership, community proud, human rights, down with the Patriarchy, marketing, etc.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Thats the best summary I have seen by a mile. Send it to every media person.

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[TeeKray]

Would be a real classic to win this and then lose a prelim against a team that we haven't lost to in 8 years and beat last month by 112 points. But we won't even get to enjoy the humour of that, we'll just get smashed in a home semi and it'll all be glazed over by the Victorian fairytale and that'll be that.