Round 1 Gameday thread vs St Kilda

[Macca19]

Geez I hope we win. I've gone full circle and aren't confident at all now, but you never know. I think we'll come out and throw everything we have at the Saints. Just hope its enough to win the match.

 

[bomberclifford]

Geez I hope we win. I've gone full circle and aren't confident at all now, but you never know. I think we'll come out and throw everything we have at the Saints. Just hope its enough to win the match.

I'm confident we can still win.

We just need to kick more goals than them.

 

[FishingRick04]

I want us to be competitive, aggressive and have good structure. Win or loose I'll be happy!

Cracker of a day, I get to watch my boys play then off to watch the big boys play.

 

[rellim]

Footy has really come down to clearances, contested possessions, tackles and disposal efficiency. Generally you win three or even all four of these counts and you win the game. For us today I think the clearances and tackles are key. They obviously have a more skilled and experienced midfield so it's key we don't let the likes of Dal Santo, Joey, Goddard, Fisher, Hayes easily get the ball away from stoppages as they will hurt us. Lots of pressure and tackles on their mids and defenders as is the norm with footy these days and I think we're in with a real good shot as we've all seen / read how shaky the Saints defense is currently looking.

Seems through the pre-season we've been getting off to real quick starts so let's hope for the same today to rattle those Saints a little and let them know this isn't the Power of '11. Should be interesting to see how much the Saints lift for the real deal as we saw with Carlton on Thursday who despite an average pre-season lifted when they needed to.

Love Round 1, so much intrigue!

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

It was interesting listening to Dermie last night after the North v Essendon game.

He reckons our best 18 is good as anyones ( although I think he meant to say all but for 2 or 3 teams) and that our other 4 is very thin. You can argue that we are down to our best 16 as Trengove and Gray out and based on the pre season I can't see Lobbe, Renouf and Pittard being in there ( along with Salter and Hitchcock).

If we match Saints mid field for clearances, especially centre bounces and inside the centre square I think we will win and by 4 or 5 goals. If no we are in big trouble.

Given the good weather (finally) I am excited to see how our tall timber forward line goes if the mid field gets the ball inside our 50 often enough and quickly enough.

 

[Andre]

It's a good first test. On paper, with the home ground advantage, it's a real 50-50 match.

It all comes down to whether the mental attitude has changed, and when that inevitable part of the game happens when the other side has the momentum the players keep at it. If that's changed and they keep at it and not panic and then drop their heads, we'll just win or just lose. If all the talk of pre-season turns out to be just talk then we'll go down by 40+.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

We need to keep our structures and set ups in place when under pressure, and be able to keep the pressure up when we don't have the ball. Sounds simple enough. ;

What the pre-season games showed was that we are finally playing the same game as most other teams, not some strange version of football. It was clear we had worked hard over the summer on set ups and ball movement and those set plays were drilled into the players to become second nature.

The players showed they could execute those plays during the lesser intensity of trial games, now comes the hard part. Keeping that shape against hardened teams that can dismantle structures and confidence. Persistence is the key.

We have some very good modern thinking football brains in the coaching box now, so they should be able to exert some influence on the team.

 

[240volt]

Talking time is over ,it's now time to walk the walk....no pussy excuses,win lose or draw i want to see some effort and good old Port Adelaide spirit.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Perfect day out.

 

[BennyPower]

today really has that special aura of game day around it. Quietly confident that we can get a jump on them early and hold the ascendancy for the rest of the evening.

Looking forward to a good feed at the Port Club before the game and that first Pint at the Premiers Bar before the bounce.

Lets bring it home boys and get the vocal chords ready to belt out that song.

Go Power!!!!!

 

[Mr39]

Having Robbie out is such a massive blow to our chances, I'm still optimistic but not confident. I keep having flashbacks to just how terrible we were last season.
4 quarters of competitiveness is what I'm after.

 

[S.Patrol.G]

My expectations of today are summed up best by these words penned by Fos-

"...there can be honour in defeat, but to each of us, honourable defeat of our club and guernsey can come only after human endeavour on the playing field is completely exhausted."

 

[Shane_Mag]

I just hope we are competitive for 4 full quarters. Last year you knew in like the first 5 minutes how our day was gonna go.

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

We will win.

We are Port Adelaide.

 

[Trewth]

Seems Finbarr's weather predictions were spot on. Perfect day for it. I want to see 4 quarters of competitiveness, and I'll be happy. But I think we can win this one.

So excited, now I just need to find something to do for the next 3 hours

 

[Hellgood]

Excited. Nervous. Scared.

Welcome to another season. I really hope we can show something today, put last year behind us.

 

[Check-Raise !]

Why is today so seeming to drag?
Damn you end of daylight saving !!!

 

[Gray Day]

So pumped!

Go outside, get my freshly-washed Port guernsey, optimistic, beautiful day. Feels great! CMON PORT!!!

 

[DonDraper]

Playing the last game in Rd 1 is agony. I remember just being so flat last year game after game, today has to be different. Looking forward to seeing our attack at the contest at that first bounce.

Great weather. Chance of a decent crowd. Hopefully 25K at least

 

[El_Scorcho]

Would feel a lot better if Gray and Trengove were playing, but I'm cautiously optimistic. The feeling around the club and the team at the moment is excellent and you just hope they take that onto the field

 

[Natman]

Effort. Effort. Effort.

That is all.

At the moment, the result is almost/nearly/possibly secondary.

 

[ClintEastwood]

Caaaaaaaaaarn port!!!!!!

 

[ash_78]

Pumped. GET IN!

 

[Macca19]

Seems Finbarr's weather predictions were spot on. Perfect day for it.

This is port adelaide we are discussing. Still plenty of time for a spot thunderstorm directly over west lakes.

 

[Trewth]

This is port adelaide we are discussing. Still plenty of time for a spot thunderstorm directly over west lakes.

shoosh! Don't say that