R20: Port v Hawthorn review

[Macca19]

YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

YOU ****ING BEAUTY!!!

The great escape! Cant believe it. Very very lucky to win that game but who cares. Its about time we did that. We looked absolutely gone for all money so to come back and kick 2 goals in a minute was great to see. We recieved a few frees from the umps in that last quarter but who gives a toss, its about time we recieved a lucky break.

We certainly didnt play very well. Our first quarter was decent. Strong, attacking, fast play. THen we went back into our shell again. The 2nd quarter was terrible. The 3rd wasnt all that much better either. Slow, no run, couldnt hit a target, absolutely no forward line at all to speak of.

Then there was that mother of all disgraceful decisions against Motlop late in the third which resulted in a Hawthorn goal. Quite possibly the most pathetic umpiring decision seen in the history of sport. Ridiculous. Whoever the umpire who paid that should never ever umpire a game of Australian Rules Football ever again.

To come back into the contest early in the last was great for the guys confidence. They got back to within a kick in about 5 minutes and could have hit the lead after some average shots on goal.

When Clinton Young kicked that goal from the throw in I thought it was all over. Terrible defending. Then Lewis marked and it was almost game over. But he missed. Great mark by Motlop at the other end to get us close. I thought Chappy had kicked a goal with that kick into the forward line but then Ebert bobbed up with an awesome mark. Even a draw would have been handy but he slotted a tough kick on a tough angle with 7 seconds left on the clock. Shades of Scotty Hodges. For the siren to go when the ball was still in the air from the bounce down was very sweet! Great scenes after the game.

It was a very ugly win. A lucky win. But for us to beat a fellow finals contender like that would mean so much for the club. It should give us the belief that yes we can make an impact in this finals series. 2nd spot with 2 games left. Great spot to be....now onto beating the cats next week!

Player Reviews:
Brogan - thought he was decent. Took some good marks and rucked well.

Boak - Good again but had his moments. Just finds the ball with ease. Great ball winner. Needs some work on his defensive side.

P Burgoyne - Set up some plays but overall didnt think he played too well.

S Burgoyne - Thought he was down today on his output.

K Cornes - Take a bow. What a great game. One of the best games he has played for our club. 38 touches and 3 goals, wow! BOG

C Cornes - Had heaps of the ball, had an impact at times but probably wasnt consistent throughout the game.

Carlile - Didnt see a lot of the ball. Probably down on previous weeks though he had some tricky opponents.

Cassisi - Had an excellent start to the game but fell out a bit. Still one of the best.

Chaplin - Struggled at times. Looked decent at others. WOuld need to improve come finals time

Ebert - Didnt have his best game. Took some nice marks but struggled to convert. Then the magic moment! Great for him to be a match winner like that.

Lade - Did ok. A solid game.

Motlop - Great early, good late. Great to take that mark late in the last and convert. Ended with 3 goals so a decent day out.

Pearce - Better than last week. Used the ball better.

Pettigrew - Well beat Franklin today. Great job on a very tough opponent.

Rodan - Probably his worst game of the year. Turned it over and just couldnt find the footy at all.

Salopek - Quiet. Decent at times and kicked a nice goal but generally slow day back.

Surj - Needs to improve his kicking and his defensive work. His kicking isnt AFL standard.

Thomson - Won some crucial stoppages. Ok.

Thurstans - Thought was very good at times. Good game.

Tredrea - Worked hard for his touches and didnt stop running. Not much result for the effort though.

Westhoff - Great early, struggled to find the ball in the middle two quarters. Bobbed up for some important touches though. Has a great footy brain.

Wilson - Did some amazing hard stuff today.

POTY Votes:
10 - K Cornes
9
8 - Pettigrew, Wilson
7 - Boak, Brogan, Pearce
6 - C Cornes, Cassisi, Thurstans
5 - Westhoff, Motlop, Lade, P Burgoyne
4 - Ebert, Thomson, Chaplin
3 - Salopek, S Burgoyne
2 - Tredrea, Carlilie
1 - Rodan, Surjan

 

[Toots Hibbert]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

Macca did Choco change the structure at all in the last quarter?

I'm asking because I notice you said we went defensive in the second quarter and looked terrible. However what I saw was that Hawthorn went defensive and succeeded in slowing us down to that awful chipping style of play.

Earlier in the year it appeared that we went defensive and handed over the initiative to them. This time round I reckon we would have gone on with the flowing stuff but Clarkson applied the catennaccio and it seems Choco rarely has an answer when this is applied by our opposition. They strangled us and scored goals on the counter attack with fast passages of play through the middle.

So yeah, I'm wondering if we went into the last quarter with different tactics. (Haven't seen the replay of the last quarter and a half yet.)

 

[Portia]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

We did go in with different tactics. We stopped worrying about Hawthorn tackling us with the ball, because they really aren't great tacklers.

All through the first half we were doing evasive work, lots of swift handball to clearish players and so forth...but that led us to place we didn't want to go.

This game really showed just where Nathan Lonie learnt his `run at the contest, look like you'll do something' style. Hawthorn were good with the psychological pressure, but how many times did they manage to stop us when our guys took them on one-on-one through mdifield instead of doing a quick chip or sideways handball? Not many. So the psychological outweighted the actual, and in the last quarter Wilbur showed everyone that it was so.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

Second quarter was anally retentive. We just seemed afraid to put the ball up at the top of the square and make a contest and just held it and held it. 4 points for the quarter could have blown it.

But on the flip side our pressure all day was really good, some real commitment to the tackle rather than running away to defend a zone. We probably let them get through too many tackles, and senior players were just as much to blame as junior. But at least we kept at them.

Kane Cornes was awesome and I thought Brogan was superb. Great aggression, getting into opponent's faces and some amazing chasing and tackling. He was in my top 2 because he did what we usually don't do consistently as a team interstate.

Amazing finish and great result which should give us a surge leading up to and maybe into the finals.

 

[Toots Hibbert]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

I don't recall whether it was the second or third quarter where Franklin was running through the centre (heading to the right of screen) and got confronted by, I'm pretty sure, Pettigrew who laid a terrific tackle but Lance managed to just squeeze out a handball and the Hawks went on to kick a goal. It seemed at that stage that our tentativeness in the face of a packed defence was going to lead to a fair blowout as even the good things we were doing were not quite coming off. I was very concerned at that point and heartened to hear we were only sixteen points down at three quarter time.

 

[Power King]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

I don't recall whether it was the second or third quarter where Franklin was running through the centre (heading to the right of screen) and got confronted by, I'm pretty sure, Pettigrew who laid a terrific tackle but Lance managed to just squeeze out a handball and the Hawks went on to kick a goal. It seemed at that stage that our tentativeness in the face of a packed defence was going to lead to a fair blowout as even the good things we were doing were not quite coming off. I was very concerned at that point and heartened to hear we were only sixteen points down at three quarter time.

^Honestly, that piece of play by pettigrew was simply beautiful.Pettigrew flat-footed with lance coming at him at full-pelt, and pettigrew, tough as nails, took him on and stopped him dead in his path (even though he got the handball away, grew stopped one of the hawks most dangerous player's momentum by putting his body right on the line)

 

[MP_]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

I noticed on a few occasions and I think Boak was the culprit on a couple of these that the kicks into the forward 50 were going over the heads of our forwards making the marking contest extremely hard. Just a bit more accuracy and deftness from our midfielders and we could have had a few more scoring shots. With that said a win is a win and nice to know we have definitely secured a spot in the finals. Lets just hope the guys can play some more free flowing football which we all enjoy seeing port play.

bring on the cats

 

[PJ Power]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

Wow!

I've only seen three of the quarters, including the last, but the effort to come back from the dead was enormous, both at three quarter time and more so from the point that Lewis (who incidentally is a super player) missed his set shot at goal near the end.

From what I've seen Kane Cornes played one of the all-time outstanding club games. He was tough, brilliant in the contested play and pretty precise and damaging with his disposal. He kept Mitchell to no influence and that was a major influence on the result.

Pearce had a ripper - what a sight to see him charging around the way he did, especially late in the game. He was the everywhere man.

Broges wears his heart on his sleeve and plays accordingly. I thought he had a big hand in the result especially as Ladey, whose stats read well, seemed a bit off in general play.

Wilbur - on at least two memorable occasions he doubled up in the same play over about 100m of territory including the lead up to Motlop's late goal. Enormous performance.

Boak stood up pretty well in some tough hard contests. Thomson got first hands to the footy but fumbled out a few handballs that went to ground. Peter Burgoyne ran extremely hard at times to move the ball forward when we were under pressure.

Thought Pettigrew and Chappy were enormous. Troy is at his best when he is given an assignment.

Great win Port. Made me extremely proud and happy today. I loved the tackling and manning up especially in the last quarter.

There's still some chance we could finish in the top 2, especially if the Saints can beat the Eagles in Melbourne, and Sydney can knock off Hawthorn in round 22. Really looking forward to how we shape up against Geelong. Tredders will hopefully be better for the run, while the time seems very right for Wakes to come back.

 

[The Hobo]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

I been saying it for a while now, Pettigrew is the ideal match up for Franklin. Probably in the whole AFL.

 

[Lord Nelson]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

I been saying it for a while now, Pettigrew is the ideal match up for Franklin. Probably in the whole AFL.

Amen to that. Pettigrew has always had the height and pace to match it with Franklin, but I didn't realise he had THAT sort of tackle in him. I also thought again that Bob showed promising signs on Roughhead but it's time to bring back Wakes.

What a ******* great game. At the risk of being over excited by the finish today, are we seeing a golden mix of youth and experience at the club at the moment? It's a blinding flash of the obvious, but we are in with a genuine shot.

Lastly, Kane Cornes played one of the best games of footy you could wish to see. Bravo, BOG, is God etc etc

 

[thesouthernend]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

Pettigrew has been running into players with those big shoulders all year, running off down the corridor, another ripper of a game, he will only get better.

 

[Power King]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

i just find it laughable that so many crows fans sh!t on the grew.

craig was the reason for their success in 05/06, but is also the reason why they do not understand the concept of youth development in recent (and possibly upcoming) years.

pettigrew is a young gun, and will continue to elevate.

 

[Total Power]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

i just find it laughable that so many crows fans sh!t on the grew.

craig was the reason for their success in 05/06, but is also the reason why they do not understand the concept of youth development in recent (and possibly upcoming) years.

pettigrew is a young gun, and will continue to elevate.

well atleast they have meesen

 

[Portia]

Re: R20: Port v Hwathorn review

i just find it laughable that so many crows fans sh!t on the grew.

They probably shit on the grew because the Advertiser journos have traditionally shat on the grew. Prior to the halfway mark of this season, he was always listed as a fringe player likely to be dropped, and copped random negative comments even in games when he'd been fairly decent. I'm not sure why.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Pettigrew's tackle was sensational. And it was even more memorable because it highlights the ones we missed, not only this game but all season.

It was a magnificent win, but had it not been for what Rucci termed the 'Hail Mary' play at the finish, we would have been ruing a terrible opportunity lost, and asking some serious questions.

And among all the euphoria of victory, we still have to ask the questions. Choco would've copped some criticism I'm sure for the over-possessing game plan through quarters 2 and 3, where we kicked 1 goal in a half of footy. Sure the Hawks choked it up, but how often does that happen and we have no answer? And when it happens in a final how will we respond?

Why did we go so wide all afternoon? Even in the last quarter where we had the game by the throat, we took the easy option and went to the non-scoring flank again and again (which I assume Hawthorn didn't guard so diligently in their knowledge of the ground). Why were we afraid of getting the ball quickly into the F50 to create a contest (when we had players in there) and put the Hawthorn defence under pressure? And why are our players so ordinary at putting a long kicked ball to a tall forward's advantage in a marking contest?

As heroic as yesterday's win was, these issues have to be sorted for any sort of success in a finals campaign.

 

[Malibu#27]

Pettigrew's tackle was sensational. And it was even more memorable because it highlights the ones we missed, not only this game but all season.

It also wasn't a one off. Was it against the Kangaroos early in the year that he put that huge bump on ?

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Pettigrew's got a bit of mongrel in him. He's handed a few decent bumps out over his short career. Few enough to fly under the radar, but they've been bone jarrers. He's a good 90+ kg's now, has some real speed, and can rattle the bones when he brings those attributes together.

 

[MP_]

lets just hope port can find a way to play 4 quarters in the finals otherwise it will be a swift exit. so frustrating to watch them blitz a quarter like they did in the first and then capitulate in the next two.

 

[PJ Power]

We just stopped running in the second quarter. The kicking backwards is symptomatic of two things. Firstly our players not running hard enough to break free of their opponents and provide a decent lead. Secondly this bizarre reluctance (as emphasised by Rucci in the paper today) to kick to anything resembling a contest up forward.

It doesn't help that Tredders isn't quite there yet with his marking form, but there were occasions in the first half yesterday where our guys refused even to kick long to Motlop one-out with Guerra.

One of the reasons I rated Pearce and P. Burgoyne's games so highly was that they did run and try to create even when it meant taking on opponents hemmed in along the boundary line.


Also, how good would it have been if Jordan Lewis stuck around until our first draft pick in 2004? Sorry Thomilf!
Although he missed that setshot late in the game, Lewis was incredible IMO in his ability to win the midfield contests and then in the same play move forward to create the inside 50 or provide a forward target.
Absolute gun!!!!! Behind only Michael Wilson and Kane Cornes, he was the third most desperate and hardworking player out there. Would love to have him in our midfield - absolutely the sort of midfielder we need.

 

[*PAFC*13]

Don't forget the ripper Pettigrew laid on Lenny Hayes earlier in the year, broke his Coller Bone if I remember correctly.

 

[*PAFC*13]

Was anyone else surprised to see Adam Thomson named in the best players?

 

[MP_]

the couple of times they did kick to a contest in our forward 50 it was to rodan who in all fairness can't really jump

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Who ever re-programmed Kane Cornes after the break this year needs to be applauded. Starting with the brilliant job he did on Black in the Brisbane game, he has turned back into the best tagger in the game. To shut down Mitchell's influence, get 38 disposals, gone are those useless seagull type disposals, drifting forward and kicking 3 including that gutsy mark late in the last quarter was a magnificent effort. I don't know if he has become more relaxed about the health problems of his son, or this is driving him, but he has been leading from the front the last few weeks. No need for him to formally be in a leadership group! When was the last time a "tagger" got 38 disposals?

 

[Toots Hibbert]

I think the reprogramming involved nothing other than changing Kane's role in the side back to one that clearly suits his ability to maintain an intense focus. It's now Peter Burgoynes role to be the receiver across half back, and he does it much better than Kane (albeit not perfectly).

It was a good move by the coaching group to make these changes. Now if they can only learn the lessons gained from the last few minutes against the Hawks. Long and fast into attack boys.

 

[Malibu#27]

No need for him to formally be in a leadership group! When was the last time a "tagger" got 38 disposals?

40 if you look it up on Pro-Stats.

Stupid question but why do different mobs have different stat counts.

I watched Chad have 5 touches in a matter minutes in the third quarter (early) and his online stats only increased by 4 touches yet every touch was a deliberate and effective disposal. I dont understand this.