Croweater
Club Legend
Round 19: Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs
Saturday, August 8th, 2015. 1.40 p.m. ACST.
Background
We enter Round 19 remaining perennially on the precipice of missing finals football for the first time in three years. We were too classy for the Saints, winning by 63 points on Sunday afternoon. Still, regardless if we keep winning, every week is do or die. Lose a game and it is season over. Simple as that.
Let's face it; we have only ourselves to blame. We all know how this season's gone. We've had patches of Port Adelaide brilliance, however our football has by and large been uninspired, lacklustre and without team cohesion. The boys give a bunch of effort, however things just haven't gelled the way they should have. It is rather disappointing, given our roster full of talented players - burgeoning for professional development and growth into a cohesive superstar team - were looked at industry-wide as the team to beat in season 2015.
If our season has been markedly underwhelming, the Bulldogs' season has been the exact opposite. Predicted by the majority of media publications and the general public to fall somewhere between 12th and 16th in 2015, the Dogs have been the surprise team of the year, sitting fifth with eleven wins and six losses. Their brand of football over the course of season 2015 has been attractive, fast-paced and at times high scoring. This brand of football was no doubt best displayed in their 87 point dismantling of Essendon on Sunday. It was impressive to say the least.
The Bulldogs aren't a team of superstars, however they have - at the very least - serviceable players on every line of the ground, which poses a problem for any team aiming to defeat them.
The Last Time We Met
Saturday, June 6th, 2015. 7.10 p.m.
PORT ADELAIDE 5.1 9.3 10.4 16.4 (100)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.5 6.5 8.6 9.8 (62)
Attendance: 41,813 at Adelaide Oval
The two sides met earlier in the season on a cool night at Adelaide Oval. It was Port Adelaide 2015 in the first three quarters, as we had more possession and more opportunities to burn the opposition, however our ball use and questionable defence at half-back got us into trouble on more than a few occasions. The Bulldogs applied some great pressure in the first three quarters, which contributed to some of our poor decsion making.
We decided to play a bit of Port Adelaide 2014 football in the last quarter, piling on the sausage rolls and negating midfield play to run out eventual 38 point victors.
Ollie Wines provided a masterful performance in the midfield, digging deep to collect 33 possessions, 5 marks and a goal, as well as playing third man up in various ruck contests, amassing 5 hitouts. Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray provided plenty of run in the forward half, collecting 3 goals and 20 disposals respectively.
The usual suspects were at it for the Bulldogs, with Jack Macrae (31 disposals, 8 tackles) and Mitch Wallis (22 disposals, 6 tackles) doing their best to drag their side over the line.
Gameday
I personally can't wait for Saturday. Both Ken Hinkley and Luke Beveridge actively encourage their teams to play hard, fast and attractive football, which makes for a great spectacle.
We are relatively well matched all over the ground. Their forward line consisting of Jake Stringer, Stewart Crameri and Tory Dickson collectively demolished the Bombers on Sunday and pose a great threat to our back six. Our forward line could pose an equally formidable challenge on Saturday, with Wingard on fire and Westhoff, Ryder and Schulz having a history of playing big games at Etihad.
The battle of this match will however be in the middle of the ground. Travis Boak, Robbie Gray, Brad Ebert and Hamish Hartlett will power our engine room, with Ollie Wines seemingly certain to miss with a dislocated shoulder. We saw how influential Ollie is in matches, when our midfield structures went to putty during his stint on the sidelines earlier in the year. He is one player we cannot afford to be without. The Bulldogs have a talented midfield group consisting of Macrae, Wallis, Bontempelli and the much improved Liam Picken and Lachie Hunter, who will all pose a challenge to our lads on Saturday.
Even with the likely absence of Ollie, I’m of the firm belief that we have enough star power in the midfield to curtail their midfields’ influence on the game.
Prediction
It goes without saying that this match looms as a massive danger game. The Bulldogs are playing fantastic football, and while we’ve played reasonably over the past month, we aren’t playing anywhere near the level we’re capable of. The Bulldogs are a talented group, but on our day, we are one of the most dangerous sides in the league. Hopefully we remind the football world of that on Saturday afternoon.
The equation is this: Win, and we continue to give ourselves a chance to be in the mix for September football. Lose, and it’s season over.
Prediction: Port Adelaide by 16 points.
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