R2: Port v Sydney review

[dalt]

I had a feeling we weren't up to the task of beating Sydney, or any top four side, on that particular weekend. When that happens, I guess there is some comfort and benefit in playing around with selection and tactics, than to win or lose playing our A game, and the confidence that goes with it.

The other teams, such as the one we recently played, also took a while to adjust to their newly acquired players, so I suspect the same would be true for us. However, if anyone should be having to play last year's runner up on the second round, after comming home from Perth on a 5 day break, it should be none other than the reigning premiers.

 

[FishingRick04]

I had a feeling we weren't up to the task of beating Sydney, or any top four side, on that particular weekend. When that happens, I guess there is some comfort and benefit in playing around with selection and tactics, than to win or lose playing our A game, and the confidence that goes with it.

The other teams, such as the one we recently played, also took a while to adjust to their newly acquired players, so I suspect the same would be true for us. However, if anyone should be having to play last year's runner up on the second round, after comming home from Perth on a 5 day break, it should be none other than the reigning premiers.

The reigning premiers who lost to the Bombers today after a short break too.... I'm in the Macca camp, there are some issues but it's not through the water out of hte bath yet. My major concern is if we are bashed to 0 and 4 can the team recover it's confidence or be behind the 8 ball for the rest of the season.

 

[Portwon]

You don't lose ability that gets you playing "Port Adelaide football" over nearly two years and gets you to a PF in a pre season/ two weeks so here is my take on the situation/theory. Probably BS but hey I will get it off my chest.

To me it looks like at the end of last season we reviewed why we didn't win more games through the season and what we needed to improve (as you would expect). Grabbed Paddy as part of this.

We then spent a good part of the preseason working on trying to speed up (mainly by hand and pretty well almost always in a forward direction) our ball movement (noted in a couple of players comments in pre season interviews re being even quicker). This to me is evidenced by the number of times in the pre season and in the first two games you would see a Port Adelaide player get the ball run forward and pretty well straight away handball forward and to the left or right and then the receiving player look to do the same again and then the next do the same again (this then becomes habit/instinct in all parts of the ground) rather than an giving an earlier outlet handball and a kick to space or a gut running player (as we did last year). That kick/attempted kick to space/player is coming later in the possession chain.

This to me says the coaches are trying to work on keeping the team "quick" but adding in a possession based style/option as well to make us difficult to predict so that ultimately we keep our strength "running football" and the team works on what the coaches feel we need to take us to the next level (as Ken says working on "making the right decisions under pressure").

The problem I think is that the change (although seen by the coaches as needed for longer term sustained success) isn't one that "evolves" in a few weeks and although looking and performing sensationally in a drill when performed poorly in the real world (under pressure) actually slows things down rather then speeds things up leaving time for defenders to man up a person or a zone creates 2/3 v 1 and leads to back door outlets/transition football from the opposition and makes us look crap. This to me shows why we think our defenders are doing well (they are) but our midfielders look inefficient and our forwards are always looking out of position despite getting a reasonable number of inside 50's

So the bubble hasn't burst, the sky isn't falling, baby and the bathwater and all that. The effort is there (even though it does not look like it) but structurally we are nowhere near where we should be to pull off what we are trying to achieve Nooooooooooooo...........where.........near.

The question is do we go back to what got us where we were last year or do we continue to try and evolve? Do we continue to take the risk of going backwards to go forwards?

Time will tell if we work through it in 2 weeks or 6 but I back our leaders to get us up and about again and I see us at 11 and 5 at round 16.

 

[OneGreatClub]

You don't lose ability that gets you playing "Port Adelaide football" over nearly two years and gets you to a PF in a pre season/ two weeks so here is my take on the situation/theory. Probably BS but hey I will get it off my chest.

To me it looks like at the end of last season we reviewed why we didn't win more games through the season and what we needed to improve (as you would expect). Grabbed Paddy as part of this.

We then spent a good part of the preseason working on trying to speed up (mainly by hand and pretty well almost always in a forward direction) our ball movement (noted in a couple of players comments in pre season interviews re being even quicker). This to me is evidenced by the number of times in the pre season and in the first two games you would see a Port Adelaide player get the ball run forward and pretty well straight away handball forward and to the left or right and then the receiving player look to do the same again and then the next do the same again (this then becomes habit/instinct in all parts of the ground) rather than an giving an earlier outlet handball and a kick to space or a gut running player (as we did last year). That kick/attempted kick to space/player is coming later in the possession chain.

This to me says the coaches are trying to work on keeping the team "quick" but adding in a possession based style/option as well to make us difficult to predict so that ultimately we keep our strength "running football" and the team works on what the coaches feel we need to take us to the next level (as Ken says working on "making the right decisions under pressure").

The problem I think is that the change (although seen by the coaches as needed for longer term sustained success) isn't one that "evolves" in a few weeks and although looking and performing sensationally in a drill when performed poorly in the real world (under pressure) actually slows things down rather then speeds things up leaving time for defenders to man up a person or a zone creates 2/3 v 1 and leads to back door outlets/transition football from the opposition and makes us look crap. This to me shows why we think our defenders are doing well (they are) but our midfielders look inefficient and our forwards are always looking out of position despite getting a reasonable number of inside 50's

So the bubble hasn't burst, the sky isn't falling, baby and the bathwater and all that. The effort is there (even though it does not look like it) but structurally we are nowhere near where we should be to pull off what we are trying to achieve Nooooooooooooo...........where.........near.

The question is do we go back to what got us where we were last year or do we continue to try and evolve? Do we continue to take the risk of going backwards to go forwards?

Time will tell if we work through it in 2 weeks or 6 but I back our leaders to get us up and about again and I see us at 11 and 5 at round 16.

I like your synopsis, but with a name like yours I'm not sure if you are permitted to post this week.

 

[Portwon]

Well played sir!.

Yeah it was a toss up between that and Genelgwinsaflag but I thought Portwon would allow me to post more.

Seriously though I chose it on another site (I dare not mention the name lest I out myself as a "mouthbreather") right around the time of the oneclub, nearly going under etc. I thought when am I the happiest?. It was always when Port won so it sort of grew from there.

 

[tribey]

He wouldn't have got a kick against the Swans defence

Or he could've stretched them, taken a couple of clunks and provided a deep threat while Schulz worked his arse off upfield.

Either way we kicked 6.8 from 700 F50 entries, so ¯\__/¯

 

[Pedro59]

My take on what has gone wrong is in the offseason we have been trying to play like Hawthorn whereas the bombers beat the Hawks by playing more like last years Port

Last week and this week at no stage did I think we were going to get a run on and some momentum
Our transition is now the opposite from last year

Was it our measured perfect SHORT KICKS that nearly saw us overrun the Hawks in the PF?

No ......it was the long kicking fast running in to gaps style that did it .... Even with our supposedly weak ( missing a KPF ) forward line then

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Or he could've stretched them, taken a couple of clunks and provided a deep threat while Schulz worked his arse off upfield.

Either way we kicked 6.8 from 700 F50 entries, so ¯\__/¯

Who knows maybe you are right but if Butch had played Paddy who still looked underdone would have been the sole recognized ruckman again.. a shit sandwich anyway you look at it with how we played, it does amuse me that a 4 goal game against Souf at higgethbottoms car toot park gets a bunch of ppl screaming Butch would of been the difference.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Who knows maybe you are right but if Butch had played Paddy who still looked underdone would have been the sole recognized ruckman again.. a shit sandwich anyway you look at it with how we played, it does amuse me that a 4 goal game against Souf at higgethbottoms car toot park gets a bunch of ppl screaming Butch would of been the difference.

Nobody is saying we would have won the game, but he couldn't possibly have been a worse selection than Redden.

Hinkley and co made a mistake and it cost the team.

 

[Dylan8]

... gets a bunch of ppl screaming Butch would of been the difference.

That's not a thing

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Nobody is saying we would have won the game, but he couldn't possibly have been a worse selection than Redden.

Hinkley and co made a mistake and it cost the team.

I can see why they took the punt on Redden is all I'm really saying plus you have to take into account that Butch has been a constant disappointment at AFL level.. what makes you think he would of done anything?

 

[El_Scorcho]

I can see why they took the punt on Redden is all I'm really saying plus you have to take into account that Butch has been a constant disappointment at AFL level.. what makes you think he would of done anything?

I thought I could see why they took a punt on Redden when I thought he might be anywhere near match fit.

Redden was a liability. Smashed in the ruck and offered zero around the ground. Was gassed before half time.

A customary Cameron Hitchcock 15 minutes of nothing before pinging his hammy would have offered more.

Butcher would have at the very least have still been able to cover ground in the third quarter.

 

[tribey]

I can see why they took the punt on Redden is all I'm really saying plus you have to take into account that Butch has been a constant disappointment at AFL level.. what makes you think he would of done anything?

Because if he was given a string of games to bed into the team, allowing him to develop a partnership with his fellow key forwards and giving his midfield an extended chance to get used to the timing and direction of his leads and general route preferences he might, just might, have a genuine breakout game for the betterment of his own career and the team as a whole.

We've spent the past 5 years pointing and laughing at Richmond for not recognising they had a gem under their noses all those years - they traded him for Mitch Farmer(!) - when we're not giving an even shake to one of our youngsters who has shown enough to suggest he's capable of getting there in a pretty big way if it's allowed to all click.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Butcher has never played more than 5 consecutive games.

 

[mando235]

I can see why they took the punt on Redden is all I'm really saying plus you have to take into account that Butch has been a constant disappointment at AFL level.. what makes you think he would of done anything?

What makes you think he wouldn't have? He was our best performed forward in pre-season and had no less output last week against Fremantle than Schulz & Westhoff. I understand people think we tip toe around Butch's confidence too much but if I was in his shoes I'd feel pretty cut down by the fact we dropped him for a player who hasn't played a proper game of AFL in 2 years.

I think the fact Butch came out the way he did on Friday night in the $ANFL shows he deserves another crack. The four goals he kicked friday night are the types of goals everyone said he didn't get last year. They were solid set shots EARNED from marks!

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Butcher has never played more than 5 consecutive games.

I wonder why

 

[tribey]

Butcher has never played more than 5 consecutive games.

And he probably never will.

If we select him this week and he doesn't kick 3.0 from 7 marks it'll be back to the gym under the Williams Family Stand.

 

[PepeSilvia]

I wonder why

Now you're on the right track! We also wonder why he's never been given a decent run in our AFL side.

 

[El_Scorcho]

I wonder why

I don't know but Kane Mitchell has, so

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Alright I'm done i don't wanna bash the guy I just don't see what you guy's do in him... I'm more than happy to be completely proved wrong infact I'd be crazyballs happy

 

[rogerjames]

We seemed to expend so much energy for little gain. The current game plan is unsustainable. I get exhausted just watching it. Be brave coaching staff

 

[Pedro59]

We seemed to expend so much energy for little gain. The current game plan is unsustainable. I get exhausted just watching it. Be brave coaching staff

Be brave and go back to last years gameplan that being brave worked with

Hard to be brave doing short perfect little kickypoos

 

[Pedro59]

We seemed to expend so much energy for little gain. The current game plan is unsustainable. I get exhausted just watching it. Be brave coaching staff

Be brave and go back to last years gameplan that being brave worked with

Hard to be brave doing short perfect little kickypoos

 

[Pedro59]

Sorry about the stupid double post

 

[simba_]

we looked like PUSSIES out there