Review Power v Blues - Bye Bye Sweet 13

[Handyandy]

you just expose your own lack of intelligence then

it was worth reading. i disagreed with a few things, and believe Burgoyne played well overall and is worth investing games into.

no need to be just mean

Short attention span, I am a product of our throw away consumer society, anything worthwhile saying should be 2-3 paragraphs max, tad hypocritical to claim someone with young kids & a sick mum unintelligent because they can’t be bothered reading a lengthy manuscript on an Internet forum, I could add another 1000 words or so

 

[sobrave]

Ok no need to commit hurry curry lol ...

7 players is a big turn around ..

We will bounce back

Hurry curry at Grange used to do a ripper vindaloo.... Really brought on a good sweat

 

[TheTruthBeTold]

Intent was the big difference. Skill wise Carlton weren't that impressive, basically played like the 8-10 team I rated them at the beginning of the year. Their intent on football and player was at least double ours. They desperately wanted to win, our players barely turned up. The next three weeks is going to be tough. Jonas and Mead dropped for the rest of the year. Dumont and Orazio in. Rioli back in, JHF and Dixon only if fit.

 

[Handyandy]

We didn't lose the game because of 's**t' clearances. And even if we did, most of the time Lycetts isn't kicking the ball champ.

We lost the game entirely based on turnover and thats pretty evident to the eye and is clear from the stats.

Yep big things that stood out to me were Carlton’s intercept marking and winning clean clearances

 

[KenGaveUsWhatHeDeserved]

That was a truly bizarre game. Usually when Port s**t the bed there are clear signs statistically as to where things went wrong. Just take round 2 vs Collingwood where the contested ball was in Collingwood's favour by 57, inside 50s by 10, clearances by 12 and tackles by 17.

Today's game though defied the numbers statistically. The GPS Telstra Tracker data was similar for both teams so it wasn't a case of being outworked either. And then when you look at the raw numbers, Port were -2 in contested ball (essentially break even, were +5 at 3/4 time), +1 in clearances (break even), -2 in tackles (break even), +3 in inside 50s yet the margin was a whopping 50 points. In that case, the numbers do not tell the full picture of the game, and this one is going to have to be broken down by the eye test of the evaluators (ie coaches).

From my perspective, Carlton were simply much cleaner and more direct with the footy. For whatever reason they were able to break the lines in the stoppages and would run in waves having multiple men available for easy overlapping handpasses to break Port's defensive press. It was reminiscent in that sense of how the Crows got out the back in round 3 late on, and how Collingwood waltzed through Port's press the week prior.

Despite breaking even on the stat sheet, it was clear watching the game that the quality of the clearances Port had were poor. I suspect it was a combination of poor decision making (I'm looking at you in particular, Ollie) and opposition pressure. Concerning that they were not as clean with the footy - but at the same time, I'm not panicking about the result.

The biggest concern obviously is the defensive setup when Jonas is in the side. We can talk about the defensive press being terrible today which meant a lot of space for Carlton's forwards to run in out the back, but at multiple points in a game your defence is going to be under pressure as individuals and they have to hold up in 1 on 1 contests. Jonas is nothing more than a liability out there right now. Hinkley talked about him playing as a KPD this week on Curnow or McKay. It never really happened. He first made Silvagni look like a champion, then he spent some time on Jesse Motlop and got abused. Then he moved onto Jack Martin but not before getting in the way of Aliir making an easy intercept mark costing Port another goal. So the reality of the situation is that he was not played as a KPD from the start of the game anyway. This to me suggests that Ken was simply looking for an excuse (McKenzie's injury being said excuse) to get Jonas back into the team - and it has backfired woefully. Whilst this hasn't been reported publicly, I know that Carr has been very vocal in keeping Jonas out of the team. I hope his voice is listened to this week at selection, because the entire defensive structure is forced to change as a result of playing such a liability that is Jonas down there. No one can say with a straight face that Jonas should be in the team ahead of Burton regardless of how bad they think Burton might be playing defensively this season. If they continue to play Jonas in any capacity at AFL level, it is proof that this Club is not serious about winning.

There were plenty of other players who simply were not up to the standard required. Mead would be front and centre of that discussion. Seems to be one of those good at SANFL bad at AFL type players who are a dime-a-dozen. Got a 2 year extension last year when I thought he would be lucky to get 1, so the Club are likely stuck with him. Shouldn't get a game for a while though after today. Didn't think Burgoyne was too bad today but I don't think he's in their best 23 if everyone is fully fit. Quite a few passengers today - Finlayson, Bergman, Farrell and Williams were all down on their usual impacts. Butters was invisible after half time and i hope he is going to be fit to play next week. Powell-Pepper tried hard without much clicking for him. Ollie Lord is this decade's John Butcher. Disappointing that DBJ got concussed but this opens up change to be made in the forward line which I'm not too upset about given I think the personnel in that area has skewed too far towards pressure and not enough towards creating goal scoring opportunities.

This side has done a lot right to win 13 in a row this season. Which imo made the decision to make changes to a third of the team this week seem so bizarre. Nonetheless, there's plenty of scope for improvement and I would expect a much better performance next week against Collingwood.

Need 18 wins for a top 2 spot which will give them a real shot at the flag. I think they'll win their last 3 games of the home and away season, which means they'll need to win one of the next three games to hit the 18 win mark. Whilst today isn't time for panic stations, I hope this is a significant wake up call for them to realise they need to markedly improve the quality of their performances which simply have not been up to scratch since the bye.

great insights. I really enjoyed reading them.

you were there? your comment here was spot on..."which meant a lot of space for Carlton's forwards to run in out the back"

this and their overlap.

Jonas cannot play next week. bring him on any other game I don't care ss much. but he can't play next week. for the reasons you said

so little about today's game made any sense. so much people not at the game would have missed

 

[Handyandy]

That was a truly bizarre game. Usually when Port s**t the bed there are clear signs statistically as to where things went wrong. Just take round 2 vs Collingwood where the contested ball was in Collingwood's favour by 57, inside 50s by 10, clearances by 12 and tackles by 17.

Today's game though defied the numbers statistically. The GPS Telstra Tracker data was similar for both teams so it wasn't a case of being outworked either. And then when you look at the raw numbers, Port were -2 in contested ball (essentially break even, were +5 at 3/4 time), +1 in clearances (break even), -2 in tackles (break even), +3 in inside 50s yet the margin was a whopping 50 points. In that case, the numbers do not tell the full picture of the game, and this one is going to have to be broken down by the eye test of the evaluators (ie coaches).

From my perspective, Carlton were simply much cleaner and more direct with the footy. For whatever reason they were able to break the lines in the stoppages and would run in waves having multiple men available for easy overlapping handpasses to break Port's defensive press. It was reminiscent in that sense of how the Crows got out the back in round 3 late on, and how Collingwood waltzed through Port's press the week prior.

Despite breaking even on the stat sheet, it was clear watching the game that the quality of the clearances Port had were poor. I suspect it was a combination of poor decision making (I'm looking at you in particular, Ollie) and opposition pressure. Concerning that they were not as clean with the footy - but at the same time, I'm not panicking about the result.

The biggest concern obviously is the defensive setup when Jonas is in the side. We can talk about the defensive press being terrible today which meant a lot of space for Carlton's forwards to run in out the back, but at multiple points in a game your defence is going to be under pressure as individuals and they have to hold up in 1 on 1 contests. Jonas is nothing more than a liability out there right now. Hinkley talked about him playing as a KPD this week on Curnow or McKay. It never really happened. He first made Silvagni look like a champion, then he spent some time on Jesse Motlop and got abused. Then he moved onto Jack Martin but not before getting in the way of Aliir making an easy intercept mark costing Port another goal. So the reality of the situation is that he was not played as a KPD from the start of the game anyway. This to me suggests that Ken was simply looking for an excuse (McKenzie's injury being said excuse) to get Jonas back into the team - and it has backfired woefully. Whilst this hasn't been reported publicly, I know that Carr has been very vocal in keeping Jonas out of the team. I hope his voice is listened to this week at selection, because the entire defensive structure is forced to change as a result of playing such a liability that is Jonas down there. No one can say with a straight face that Jonas should be in the team ahead of Burton regardless of how bad they think Burton might be playing defensively this season. If they continue to play Jonas in any capacity at AFL level, it is proof that this Club is not serious about winning.

There were plenty of other players who simply were not up to the standard required. Mead would be front and centre of that discussion. Seems to be one of those good at SANFL bad at AFL type players who are a dime-a-dozen. Got a 2 year extension last year when I thought he would be lucky to get 1, so the Club are likely stuck with him. Shouldn't get a game for a while though after today. Didn't think Burgoyne was too bad today but I don't think he's in their best 23 if everyone is fully fit. Quite a few passengers today - Finlayson, Bergman, Farrell and Williams were all down on their usual impacts. Butters was invisible after half time and i hope he is going to be fit to play next week. Powell-Pepper tried hard without much clicking for him. Ollie Lord is this decade's John Butcher. Disappointing that DBJ got concussed but this opens up change to be made in the forward line which I'm not too upset about given I think the personnel in that area has skewed too far towards pressure and not enough towards creating goal scoring opportunities.

This side has done a lot right to win 13 in a row this season. Which imo made the decision to make changes to a third of the team this week seem so bizarre. Nonetheless, there's plenty of scope for improvement and I would expect a much better performance next week against Collingwood.

Need 18 wins for a top 2 spot which will give them a real shot at the flag. I think they'll win their last 3 games of the home and away season, which means they'll need to win one of the next three games to hit the 18 win mark. Whilst today isn't time for panic stations, I hope this is a significant wake up call for them to realise they need to markedly improve the quality of their performances which simply have not been up to scratch since the bye.

Too long a post and paragraphs to read , sorry

 

[tribey]

Agree but how do you explain Motlop, Martin and Fogarty making Bergman, Williams and Jones go to water in marking contests in the first half?

Sh¡t-scared of Curnow and McKay’s impending influence from the off — I’ve never seen Williams look so rattled.

 

[Handyandy]

One is the captain

Yes get the donkey and village idiots ready

 

[Handyandy]

Hurry curry at Grange used to do a ripper vindaloo.... Really brought on a good sweat

I saw Keays there the other day asking for it extra spicey

 

[KenGaveUsWhatHeDeserved]

Short attention span, I am a product of our throw away consumer society, anything worthwhile saying should be 2-3 paragraphs max, tad hypocritical to claim someone with young kids & a sick mum unintelligent because they can’t be bothered reading a lengthy manuscript on an Internet forum, I could add another 1000 words or so

you betrayed your intelligence by_saying_you didn't read it because it was too long. and to be fair there was no reason to besmirch someone who went to that effort.

anyway..."Short attention span, I am a product of our throw away consumer society".......what is it?....there's no highs, no lows,,
how does it feel? "myeh"

hope the old girl feels better soon ️

 

[Chewy316]

We need 2 key position defenders. Aliir and one other.

And no, Burton and Bergman are not key position defenders.

Aliir, McKenzie, Clurey, Jonas and Pasini are the ones on our list. Two need to play most games for structure purposes.

Jonas hasn't been a KPD for many years. He is not one to be able to go onto the team's 1st or 2nd KPF anymore. He's always been best suited as someone who can take the 3rd KPF or the medium sized forwards like Gunston. This season though, he's not worth anything. Too small to play on a KPF but too slow to play on medium and small forwards. He is getting exposed every time they play him. Today he was moved all over the place because every matchup they gave him would dominate him.

So in that sense there is no need to pick Jonas for structural purposes because he's not playing as a KPD to begin with!

Play Bergman and Jones and undersized KPDs - at least they have shown in patches this year that they can handle the role if only temporarily. Whereas we know that whoever Jonas matches up on is going to look like a superstar.

great insights. I really enjoyed reading them.

you were there? your comment here was spot on..."which meant a lot of space for Carlton's forwards to run in out the back"

this and their overlap.

Jonas cannot play next week. bring him on any other game I don't care ss much. but he can't play next week. for the reasons you said

so little about today's game made any sense. so much people not at the game would have missed

I wasn't there but you could see it on the wide angles of the TV views that Carlton had acres of space in midfield and when entering the forward 50. I do suspect this will be a once-off and they should be tighter in defence with Jonas out of the team but you can never be certain under Ken. As stated earlier, if they continue to play Jonas they're not serious about winning.

 

[The Hobo]

That’s been the case forever with our undersized back six.

It’s why the enduring lack of key defensive depth is so annoying.

Once an opponent puts the 188cm-194cm types (Jonas, Carlile, Hombsch, Clurey, McKenzie, Burton) under sustained pressure, the lone 195cm+ giant (Trengove, Westhoff, Howard, Aliir) is on a hiding to nothing, and the scoreboard starts rolling like a flipbook.

When things are rolling our way, the ‘team defence’ looks worthy of the latter stages of the Champions League.

Completely agree - but it's how we've chose to operate.

It's why we're susceptible to teams with giant forwards - Geelong, Brisbane, Carlton etc.

 

[MrMeaner]

I’m serious when I say playing Jonas makes the defence play worse than the sum of its parts.

Yes, there were problems all over the ground but Jonas was an absolute cancer to the defence.

 

[bomberclifford]

Ended our season winning streak.
Ended our streak at Marvel.
Ended Dylan Williams winning streak.
Destroyed Jonas
Destroyed Mead
Broke Lycett

Good job team.

 

[bomberclifford]

I’m serious when I say playing Jonas makes the defence play worse than the sum of its parts.

Yes, there were problems all over the ground but Jonas was an absolute cancer to the defence.

His time is done. No shame with making the call, but he needs to step away and not try to eek out a few more games.

 

[JimmyBC]

Not gonna go full banana on Lycett he had a couple of good games before his latest issue, if that's the best he can manage with his leg juiced up though we better start looking at other options more seriously before September.

 

[TeeKray]

Probably the most concerning thing was how brittle our defence looked and how lame our forward line looked without 31 year old Trent McKenzie

12

Trent Mckenzie

Age

32

Ht

191cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

4.4

3star

M

4.3

4star

T

2.6

4star

MG

305.7

4star

D

12.1

3star

K

10.6

4star

HB

1.6

1star

M

4.7

4star

T

1.1

2star

MG

290.6

4star

D

16.8

4star

K

10.4

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.8

5star

and 32 year old Charlie Dixon

22

Charlie Dixon

Age

34

Ht

200cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.7

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

4.7

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.6

5star

D

10.5

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.5

2star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.5

2star

G

2.5

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

4.4

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.8

4star

respectively. Everyone raves about the midfield but the whole spine is held together by a pair of over 30 ex Gold Coast SUNS that get injured regularly and can't have too much football left in them. It's very worrying.

 

[Handyandy]

you betrayed your intelligence by_saying_you didn't read it because it was too long. and to be fair there was no reason to besmirch someone who went to that effort.

anyway..."Short attention span, I am a product of our throw away consumer society".......what is it?....there's no highs, no lows,,
how does it feel? "myeh"

hope the old girl feels better soon ️

No offence taken and hopefully none received, you sound like a youngster studying journalism or something similar, and I am sure you had some worthy observations, when I have time sitting in hospital I will read them, but my advice, and it was the same from my editor, is to make it short, sharp and shiny. I just finished cormac McCarthys blood meridian and the great writers can say so much with so few words.

 

[Handyandy]

Probably the most concerning thing was how brittle our defence looked and how lame our forward line looked without 31 year old Trent McKenzie and 32 year old Charlie Dixon respectively. Everyone raves about the midfield but the whole spine is held together by a pair of over 30 ex Gold Coast SUNS that get injured regularly and can't have too much football left in them. It's very worrying.

I was more concerned with our midfield and Lycett

 

[JohnHinckleyJr]

Probably the most concerning thing was how brittle our defence looked and how lame our forward line looked without 31 year old Trent McKenzie and 32 year old Charlie Dixon respectively. Everyone raves about the midfield but the whole spine is held together by a pair of over 30 ex Gold Coast SUNS that get injured regularly and can't have too much football left in them. It's very worrying.

McKenzie yeah ..

But the forward line issue was the smalls missing we missed Jr once DBJ went down we had no smalls ..

Next week hopefully having two good smalls back will help

 

[johnnycjay]

Few deep breath needed in here. We’ve exceeded every possible expectation in the past 3 months and tonight it caught up with us. They’ve looked distracted by the winning streak for a few weeks.

Every possibility we come out and roll Collingwood this week.

Winning 3 or 4 or 5 in a row is very hard to do. We just knocked over 13 .

No team is perfect all year.

As per my picture, one bad night at the dome isn’t the end of the world.

 

[TeeKray]

Not sure about being grateful, but it would be ridiculous to think we were gonna continue this streak much longer when blokes are injured & need a rest.

Take it as you like, I've always felt a loss can drain the bathwater & sharpen you at times.. we'll see.

I guess the problem in this specific case is that we probably didn't need to set ourselves up for a streak ending loss on the eve of the most difficult stretch of games imaginable. The fact is we could play excellent football in the next 3 weeks and still lose all 3 games. And the 3 after that aren't much less difficult. It's very easy to see us going from 14-2 to 15-8 or 16-7 and going into finals in terrible form with no confidence. We are nowhere near a good enough club or team to flirt with form in the way we did today.

 

[Chewy316]

Probably the most concerning thing was how brittle our defence looked and how lame our forward line looked without 31 year old Trent McKenzie and 32 year old Charlie Dixon respectively. Everyone raves about the midfield but the whole spine is held together by a pair of over 30 ex Gold Coast SUNS that get injured regularly and can't have too much football left in them. It's very worrying.

Take any side's full forward and full back out - it's going to be a big test.

The bigger issue particularly in the back line is the lack of foresight to prepare adequately for the future. KPD has been a need going back to 2020 and still hasn't been addressed. Aliir has helped but he's not a true shutdown guy and gets exposed too often to be reliant as a Matthew Scarlett/Mal Michael type.

The forward line has functioned well without Dixon in the past - today's performance is an outlier in that regard.

 

[Handyandy]

Sh¡t-scared of Curnow and McKay’s impending influence from the off — I’ve never seen Williams look so rattled.

Possibly just signed a new contract, but seriously our ruck/ midfield was soundly beaten, regardless of stats. Said before the game we need to start well, X, win the midfield battle, X, and take our chances going forward, X.
Bit of a shite effort from all involved, the apprentice schooled the master

 

[Handyandy]

And whoever was on Motlop qtr2 should be hung, drawn and quartered. Full military discipline. Still no answer on who was on him?