What a freak out of a game!!!
I was really hoping our midfield would stand up to the Melbourne midfield and they were brilliant but the team was really good overall.
When you have a great to elite midfield, they paper over a lot of cracks in the rest of the team. Fantastic Job.
I wanted to talk about the Melbourne midfield because Petracca was a bit injured. He started in the forward line so that tells you a lot. Also, Tom Sparrow was out with a suspension, maybe injured, and he has been good on the back end of the rotation. Having said this, you can only beat what you go up against and we dominated that game except for the 3rd Quarter. What happened in the 3rd Quarter - Christian Petracca played out of his mind on ball. To have the Demons play well in that 3rd and be down at the last break was a bit disappointing but the boys have a lot of skill and a lot of heart and they really played their freaking guts out and went in hard and came up with the victory. Unbelievable team effort.
The great thing about our midfield - Butters, Rozee, Horne-Francis, Drew, Wines is that they aren't afraid to go in hard when they need to. It really sets the tone for the rest of the team. Today and last week Rozee went in hard and get hit and he got up and kept playing and helped win both games. They are ultra skilled and talented but tough as nails. They can take a hit and get up and keep playing, still with Eye of the Tiger. That's Port Adelaide.
Our midfield and all around general play during the contest is borderline elite and to do it against the Demons in the wet is no mean feat. Going in and going hard. Inspirational play.
Bergman and Dylan Williams playing down back has really helped us. Both are excellent one on one and can take a mark. This adds an extra dimension with Aliir usually being a good mark too. They have straightened us up in a way. Both cool under pressure. They have really helped a lot.
Also, the team has their brand of football. In NBA terms, we have an identity. We are a front forward, stoppage team. We can also do the elite in the midfield but we like to camp up forward and feast on stoppages. I have not seen a Melbourne team kicking dump balls out of defence. So the boys know what they are doing and are confident in it. The structures are known and adhered to and trusted for 4 Quarters. The only two times we have looked average was against Collingwood and the final quarter in the Showdown and they play hard contested footy so I am super keen to see how we stack up against those two teams again. I believe we play them both in the minor round so we can get tested again.
And as everyone knows who watched the game, if we kicked straight, we would have blasted them back to Mount Buller.
Butters - I am going to go overboard here and ask is there a bit of Gary Ablett Jr to his game. 41 possies, 32 of those effective, 10 clearances, 2 goals, 12 scoring involvements, 8 intercept marks and numerous times going in hard and helping his team mates. Has anyone got 30 coaches votes in 3 weeks in a row.
Rozee - Another great game from the Rosebud. A quiet 31 possies in the guts but overshadowed but for those watching the game Rozee was fantastic. He also kicked the winning goal.
Horne-Francis - very good game. Considering how good Rozee and Butters are as individuals and playing together, the Hornet could eclipse them both in the future and that is saying something. Up forward and in the middle, I can't wait to see him as he builds his body.
Drew - I am thinking about calling it. Is he our 4th banana not our 5th. Has he surpassed Wines? I dunno but he played a great game. 22 possies but 10 tackles. He had some very good kicking into the F50 as well. There was one bullet in the 4th and if I think Lord hadn't fallen over it would have been special.
Wines - very good game in the midfield. Not spectacular hard in and under it. He stood under two balls in the 3rd or 4th and I appreciate that. He seems to be building form. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that he was mid-30s. Did some really good work to get the ball out too.
Boak - went off early and never came back
Lycett - an old man battling manfully. A good game and kept at it. I thought Gawn was underdone or something is going on with him. Not quite his usual self. He is our best ruck. He evened out the two of Gawn and Grundy even though they doubled his hit outs with hard work and 9 tackles which helped in the centre. No marks around the ground though.
Bonner - played a decent game on the wing. A bit quiet.
Mead - quiet when he was on.
Houston - when Houston is playing well, he is almost like that Nick Daicos but he can go in and do the dirty stuff some times. Had some really good spoils and IIRC a couple of pivotal ones in the last quarter. His kicking really complements the midfield and when he gets some space, his kicking is usually pretty special. Like Rozee, a quiet 33 possies. A fair whack of metreage gained as well. 10 intercepts for good measure. Having a great year.
Aliir - has been a bit quiet but he has done his job really well. With our midfield, he doesn't have as many contests to come 3rd up in but teams are trying to draw him away from the action. Still keeping his opponent very honest.
Williams - another great game. So composed and some of his kicking is sublime. According to most, he wasn't burning it up in the SANFL and has lit a fuse in the backline for the Power. The thing about Williams is that he can defend. Super high IQ.
Bergman - like Aliir, didn't have to do as much but still impacting. What I will say which to me speaks volumes is that he played the last quarter on Fritsch who was basically their own avenue to goal for the whole game and Fritsch didn't sniff a sausage. Great play and exceptional coaching. Like Williams, he can defend one on one and does so much more. He will only get better and I think his game will eventually be midfield.
Farrell - not my favourite but a great game from him. Kept last year's match winner quiet in Kosi. Spent some time with Spargo and kept him quiet. I think the best game I've seen him play. He could become that small close defender we are craving.
Jonas - not the best game but did a few decent things.
McKenzie - a good game. Having a strong year down back. A bit no nonsense. Got beat on a lead once IIRC but that happens. Happy with his game.
Burton - a goal up forward and played the last quarter at least down back to cover for McKenzie. He is a very good player and had a very good year last year. I just wish he would take the game on more. Just a persona thing with him as his kicking is top notch.
Finlayson - he needs to change those teal boots and hopefully he can convert better. Like last week, a good game which could have been close to BOG with a straight boot. He is finding it though and creating opportunities so pretty darn good overall.
Powell-Pepper - a couple of goals, got his possies up after a couple of lull weeks. I just wish he would curb his free kicks and 50 metre penalties. The umpires and watching him like a hawk so Pep, just chill bro and kick some goals.
Lord - love watching him go at it. He kicked a crucial goal in the last quarter. Played pretty well for a young guy. Like the way he plays. He doesn't seem to smash into other Port players. Will be a pity when he goes back to SANFL.
Byrne-Jones - a good defensive game. I wish he'd kick at least a goal a game but had 12 tackles so defensively impactful.
McEntee - quiet
Evans - quiet
I don't really hold much stock in playing a team like West Coast or the Kangaroos and if a player plays well, then so be it. But to play against a top tier team in Melbourne and come away with the points was just amazing. And the thing is we have a lot of improvement to do with some of the players in the team, some of the players whose position will be filled with better players and guys waiting in the SANFL with some real talent to them.
Given the rainy conditions, the boys played a great brand of footy that never says die. You can say the team has heart, sure, but really we have an elite midfield that keeps on keeping on. We have some crazy top end talent and at the moment, quiet a few spots that could really do with an upgrade. With the right coach, we could really shake the comp for the next 10 years.
Extra edit - even though the game was played tough and hard, there seemed to be a mutual respect and a bit of fraternity with the Melbourne boys. I noticed a couple of times their player or our player helping the opposition up which I found a bit weird. But we won.
I was really hoping our midfield would stand up to the Melbourne midfield and they were brilliant but the team was really good overall.
When you have a great to elite midfield, they paper over a lot of cracks in the rest of the team. Fantastic Job.
I wanted to talk about the Melbourne midfield because Petracca was a bit injured. He started in the forward line so that tells you a lot. Also, Tom Sparrow was out with a suspension, maybe injured, and he has been good on the back end of the rotation. Having said this, you can only beat what you go up against and we dominated that game except for the 3rd Quarter. What happened in the 3rd Quarter - Christian Petracca played out of his mind on ball. To have the Demons play well in that 3rd and be down at the last break was a bit disappointing but the boys have a lot of skill and a lot of heart and they really played their freaking guts out and went in hard and came up with the victory. Unbelievable team effort.
The great thing about our midfield - Butters, Rozee, Horne-Francis, Drew, Wines is that they aren't afraid to go in hard when they need to. It really sets the tone for the rest of the team. Today and last week Rozee went in hard and get hit and he got up and kept playing and helped win both games. They are ultra skilled and talented but tough as nails. They can take a hit and get up and keep playing, still with Eye of the Tiger. That's Port Adelaide.
Our midfield and all around general play during the contest is borderline elite and to do it against the Demons in the wet is no mean feat. Going in and going hard. Inspirational play.
Bergman and Dylan Williams playing down back has really helped us. Both are excellent one on one and can take a mark. This adds an extra dimension with Aliir usually being a good mark too. They have straightened us up in a way. Both cool under pressure. They have really helped a lot.
Also, the team has their brand of football. In NBA terms, we have an identity. We are a front forward, stoppage team. We can also do the elite in the midfield but we like to camp up forward and feast on stoppages. I have not seen a Melbourne team kicking dump balls out of defence. So the boys know what they are doing and are confident in it. The structures are known and adhered to and trusted for 4 Quarters. The only two times we have looked average was against Collingwood and the final quarter in the Showdown and they play hard contested footy so I am super keen to see how we stack up against those two teams again. I believe we play them both in the minor round so we can get tested again.
And as everyone knows who watched the game, if we kicked straight, we would have blasted them back to Mount Buller.
Butters - I am going to go overboard here and ask is there a bit of Gary Ablett Jr to his game. 41 possies, 32 of those effective, 10 clearances, 2 goals, 12 scoring involvements, 8 intercept marks and numerous times going in hard and helping his team mates. Has anyone got 30 coaches votes in 3 weeks in a row.
Rozee - Another great game from the Rosebud. A quiet 31 possies in the guts but overshadowed but for those watching the game Rozee was fantastic. He also kicked the winning goal.
Horne-Francis - very good game. Considering how good Rozee and Butters are as individuals and playing together, the Hornet could eclipse them both in the future and that is saying something. Up forward and in the middle, I can't wait to see him as he builds his body.
Drew - I am thinking about calling it. Is he our 4th banana not our 5th. Has he surpassed Wines? I dunno but he played a great game. 22 possies but 10 tackles. He had some very good kicking into the F50 as well. There was one bullet in the 4th and if I think Lord hadn't fallen over it would have been special.
Wines - very good game in the midfield. Not spectacular hard in and under it. He stood under two balls in the 3rd or 4th and I appreciate that. He seems to be building form. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that he was mid-30s. Did some really good work to get the ball out too.
Boak - went off early and never came back
Lycett - an old man battling manfully. A good game and kept at it. I thought Gawn was underdone or something is going on with him. Not quite his usual self. He is our best ruck. He evened out the two of Gawn and Grundy even though they doubled his hit outs with hard work and 9 tackles which helped in the centre. No marks around the ground though.
Bonner - played a decent game on the wing. A bit quiet.
Mead - quiet when he was on.
Houston - when Houston is playing well, he is almost like that Nick Daicos but he can go in and do the dirty stuff some times. Had some really good spoils and IIRC a couple of pivotal ones in the last quarter. His kicking really complements the midfield and when he gets some space, his kicking is usually pretty special. Like Rozee, a quiet 33 possies. A fair whack of metreage gained as well. 10 intercepts for good measure. Having a great year.
Aliir - has been a bit quiet but he has done his job really well. With our midfield, he doesn't have as many contests to come 3rd up in but teams are trying to draw him away from the action. Still keeping his opponent very honest.
Williams - another great game. So composed and some of his kicking is sublime. According to most, he wasn't burning it up in the SANFL and has lit a fuse in the backline for the Power. The thing about Williams is that he can defend. Super high IQ.
Bergman - like Aliir, didn't have to do as much but still impacting. What I will say which to me speaks volumes is that he played the last quarter on Fritsch who was basically their own avenue to goal for the whole game and Fritsch didn't sniff a sausage. Great play and exceptional coaching. Like Williams, he can defend one on one and does so much more. He will only get better and I think his game will eventually be midfield.
Farrell - not my favourite but a great game from him. Kept last year's match winner quiet in Kosi. Spent some time with Spargo and kept him quiet. I think the best game I've seen him play. He could become that small close defender we are craving.
Jonas - not the best game but did a few decent things.
McKenzie - a good game. Having a strong year down back. A bit no nonsense. Got beat on a lead once IIRC but that happens. Happy with his game.
Burton - a goal up forward and played the last quarter at least down back to cover for McKenzie. He is a very good player and had a very good year last year. I just wish he would take the game on more. Just a persona thing with him as his kicking is top notch.
Finlayson - he needs to change those teal boots and hopefully he can convert better. Like last week, a good game which could have been close to BOG with a straight boot. He is finding it though and creating opportunities so pretty darn good overall.
Powell-Pepper - a couple of goals, got his possies up after a couple of lull weeks. I just wish he would curb his free kicks and 50 metre penalties. The umpires and watching him like a hawk so Pep, just chill bro and kick some goals.
Lord - love watching him go at it. He kicked a crucial goal in the last quarter. Played pretty well for a young guy. Like the way he plays. He doesn't seem to smash into other Port players. Will be a pity when he goes back to SANFL.
Byrne-Jones - a good defensive game. I wish he'd kick at least a goal a game but had 12 tackles so defensively impactful.
McEntee - quiet
Evans - quiet
I don't really hold much stock in playing a team like West Coast or the Kangaroos and if a player plays well, then so be it. But to play against a top tier team in Melbourne and come away with the points was just amazing. And the thing is we have a lot of improvement to do with some of the players in the team, some of the players whose position will be filled with better players and guys waiting in the SANFL with some real talent to them.
Given the rainy conditions, the boys played a great brand of footy that never says die. You can say the team has heart, sure, but really we have an elite midfield that keeps on keeping on. We have some crazy top end talent and at the moment, quiet a few spots that could really do with an upgrade. With the right coach, we could really shake the comp for the next 10 years.
Extra edit - even though the game was played tough and hard, there seemed to be a mutual respect and a bit of fraternity with the Melbourne boys. I noticed a couple of times their player or our player helping the opposition up which I found a bit weird. But we won.
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