I think Port's problem was every time they picked up that missing piece, it wasn't actually the right piece.
Ryder is the missing piece! - no, you've already got a ruckman, wait you're playing this guy as a forward? WTF? oh and he took drugs, whoops bye.
Dixon is the missing piece! - right, you finally got a key forward, just you picked the worst one you could find, can't play more than 15 games a season, body dodgy, hasn't really done anything with his career, and you're paying him how much? Why??
Meanwhile, their mids have either stagnated or gone backwards - to the point now where suddenly their top 4 list, no one wants to touch at trade week, and I certainly haven't heard the words 'destination club' bandied around.
Whereas Adelaide know - just like nearly everyone on here has worked out - exactly what their missing piece is: outside class. We did a very cheap 'missing piece' job last year when we got Hampton and Seedsman, now everything else looks right we're trying to get that exact missing piece by directly targeting someone who's perfect for it.
I think we're doing exaqctly the same thing as Port, except properly.