R7: Port v Kangaroos review

[Macca19]

The one that got away. Bitterly dissapointed and shattered at that. So close at the end but in reality we were never likely to win that. It took a monumental effort to get back into it in the 2nd half and to get so close....shattered. ABsolutely shattered.

The difference between the two sides was the midfield, specifically the clearances. They destroyed us in this area all night. They scored numerous goals from stoppages in their forward line and just as we did to the Crows last week, they walked the ball out of the middle all night. Everytime we won a clearance we pretty much scored. What could have been?

I will say though, the team deserves respect for fighting that out. It could have so easily been a 6-7-8 goal loss numerous times in that last half. We fought incredibly hard and raised the intensity ten fold in the 3rd quarter...only to see them kick two quick goals and it looked like it was lights out then. Then they kicked a couple of quick ones in the last quarter and again, looked like they would kick another few. Yeah Kangaroos let off the gas a lot thinking the siren would go (even though there was 6 minutes left) but at least we worked hard and gave ourselves a chance. Weve done that maybe 3 times in 5-6 years. Id rather a 5 point loss than a 8 goal thrashing.

It was the game that got away though. We never looked on in the first half. You could tell straight away, when for the first 4 minutes they were in their forward 50 and we had 5 turnovers in about 45 seconds which led to their first goal. Never looked much better after that either. The midfield was the main issue, but so many players were free 20-25 out from goal...its unforgivable. **** the zone, 3-4 times they scored after having players up to 30 metres by themselves in their forward 50. You cant win when you allow easy goals like that.

The forward line played well in patches, but werent consistent enough. Ebert kicked two rippers but made a lot of mistakes. Motlop was unlucky, but could have done more. Tredrea got us back into it with some strong grabs and goals, but his last quarter was poor. Gray wasnt sighted until he went up the ground (and was very good in the alst quarter)

Its a shame we are so up and down and its a game, if we want to be a finals side, that we have to win. Pity.

Player Reviews:

Boak - Thought he was excellent tonight. A couple of poor disposals early in the 1st, but from then on I thought he stood out as a midfielder that not only won the ball, but used it exceptionally well all through the night. He was our BOG for mine. Tough as well, a lot of tackles and his ability to wrestle the ball out of a contested situation and either give off a handball or sidestep out of trouble is second to none.

Brogan - A truckload of hitouts...maybe 4 went to our players. Was ok. Cant rate a ruckmans game when we were thrashed so convincingly in the clearances

P Burgoyne - Was great in the first quarter, then barely touched it. Spot in danger I think. Didnt work hard enough

Carlile - Hale kicked a couple of late goals but barely had a sniff all night. Bob played well and gave some decent run at times. Good game

Cassisi - Excellent second half, which he needed to do after his pathetic first half. Not just the decision to pass off when he was 30 out - a distance my nana would reach - but his disposal this year has been nothing short of awful. His decision making isnt much better. His 2nd half was the Dom we know and love, and why he was made Captain. More of that please. Not the shithouse D grade first half

Chaplin - Thought he was superb once again. Kept Petrie out of the game, amongst others, but his determination and ability to win the contested ball in defence and use the ball to our advantage was one of the reasons we got back into the game. 2nd best behind Boak. Having a career year

C Cornes - Great early, alright late, not much in between. His middle two quarters he went missing completely. Could have done more.

K Cornes - Thought he was great up until he went off. Hopefully its not too bad. Won a lot of the ball, threw himself in with no fear and thought he used the ball well again. A number of good low kicks to forwards.

Davenport - Pretty good. Pretty much a Logan clone in reality, but he was able to win the ball and his disposal was clean and effective - one of his biggest faults. Probably lacks pace, but he runs the lines and looks super fit. Tried hard. Great goal under pressure when we needed it. Should play next week

Ebert - 2 super kicks in the 3rd, but barely touched it otherwise. Such a nearly game. Nearly won the ball, nearly marked it, nearly kicked it, nearly tackled. Nearly out of the side you'd think as well. Is obviously trying hard, but just dont think hes playing well enough

Gray - Terrible first half. Came alive in the last quarter and must have had about 14 of his 18 disposals in the last quarter. Due to his first three quarters, its result is a poor game, but his last quarter was impressive and he would have been the match winner had we got up. Our number one priority should be to get him fit enough to play midfield full time. He'll be our best mid if he can.

Krakouer - Such a nothing game. Some late disposals, but was completely invisible for about 90 minutes of the game. Choco wont be happy with that

Lade - A nice target up forward, but again just isnt doing enough up there really. Tredrea needs proper support from a proper forward.

Logan - Won a bit of the ball, but was such a vanilla game. Ok but nothing that stood out as being outstanding or noticeable

Motlop - Tried hard and could have kicked a bag, but went missing for a lot of the 2nd half.

Pearce - Thumped by Harding really. Had enough of the ball but Harding got away from him too much, and Pearce didnt hurt going the other way. Front runners performance

Pettigrew - Was great early. His influence with the ball wained as the game went on. His opponent kicked 3 quick goals in the 2nd, but apart from that, Pettigrew was all over him. Good game.

Rodan - Couple of goals but really a below average performance. Held onto it too long. Didnt use it well enough

Salopek - Shattered that hes injured as hes been fantastic all year, but he was god awful tonight before the injury. Warren had his measure and he just did not work anywhere near an acceptable level to win the footy.

Surjan - Ziebell and Thomas were lively, but I thought Surj did well tonight. Probably could have defended a bit better, but at times he was excellent. Couple of usual brain fade moments though.

Thomas - Poor. Went hard as expected, but just didnt do enough with the football tonight. Needs to stay in the side, but must regroup next week with a good performance

Tredrea - The best tall forward on the ground tonight. Got us back into the game. His last quarter was completely meh, but he worked hard and took some real strong marks. In the best.

POTY Votes:
10
9 - Boak
8 - Chaplin
7 - Carlile, K Cornes, Pettigrew, Tredrea
6 - Surjan
5 - Cassisi, C Cornes
4 - Davenport, Gray, Motlop
3 -
2 - Brogan, Lade, Ebert, Logan, Rodan, Thomas
1 - P Burgoyne, Pearce
0 - Krakouer, Salopek

LTC Moment - Was a couple in the second half, probably Chaplins large run up and spoil late in the 3rd quarter.

 

[PJ Power]

Yeah, very accurate player appraisals Macca.

Boak and Chappy were the two who came closest to playing 4 quarter games.

Have to give Tredrea's opponent credit in the last quarter - I thought the Monolith was going to put in a ripper, but he got outpointed every time he went near it.

McIntosh's influence at ground level seemed very strong tonight and overshadowed our rucks.

 

[Shane_Mag]

Boak was brilliant tonight. Used the ball well and tried to set up the play numerous times but other midfielders were not up the scratch.

Chaplin was great in defense. I also loved him down forward in that last quarter. Good solid 4 quarter performance.

 

[P.A.F.C]

Thought you were a bit harsh on Krakouer, did some defensive work I wasn't sure he could do and had some inspirational last quarter plays.

 

[silverfingers]

Lost tonight because our make-shift runner made a terrible mistake, costing us a goal.

Instead of winning by 1 point, we lose by 5.

We would be sitting here saying how good we were at coming back, how close to the Creed our performance was, and thinking we had some definite improvement still to come.

Instead we're blaming the coach, saying we're mentally soft etc etc..



The same people who last week were declaring how brilliant we are..

 

[PJ Power]

The runner's error created a turnover outside their 50. They passed to yet another uncontested player (Lower) who converted a long shot from 45m out.

Falloon made an error but we still had an opportunity to stop the goal from going through. We made numerous other errors on the night that were responsible for the 5 goal deficit we faced late in the game.

Regarding Krakouer, he had a shocker bar for the last 5 minutes. 9 kicks for the game only and his direct opponent, Matt Campbell, was a real livewire for them.

 

[silverfingers]

The runner's error created a turnover outside their 50. They passed to yet another uncontested player (Lower) who converted a long shot from 45m out.

Falloon made an error but we still had an opportunity to stop the goal from going through. We made numerous other errors on the night that were responsible for the 5 goal deficit we faced late in the game.

Regarding Krakouer, he had a shocker bar for the last 5 minutes. 9 kicks for the game only and his direct opponent, Matt Campbell, was a real livewire for them.

Agree, but, on a very basic level, that was the difference.

 

[Andre]

So basically you could say whilst we are at least fighting it out more then last year, when push comes to shove we've still got the same gameplan and attitude that has us look a million dollars when the opposition allows it, but breaks down under real pressure. Gee, haven't ever had that before under Choco Not much point making finals unless it's winning some of the games when we are under real pressure and not getting to be the schoolyard bully.

 

[Power King]

Good writeup.

Regarding Salopek, I've been watching his injuries over the years with immense disappointment for the guy. Just gotta feel for him.

He's been great this year, but before he went off tonight, I counted about 4-5 unforced clangers from him, which were unlike what we've come to expect from him. Still, the guy can't buy any luck with injuries.

We would be sitting here saying how good we were at coming back, how close to the Creed our performance was, and thinking we had some definite improvement still to come.

Agreed.

 

[Macca19]

I dont like saying stuff like 'the runner cost us the game', because the rest of the game would be completely different. Its like the movie Sliding Doors. Or to an extent Donnie Darko.

We could have lost by 50 points.

 

[PJ Power]

Winning and losing matches by such small margins is a fine line, but it's what defined our rise to a GF in 2007 and to a horror run last year.

Irrespective of the result, we had alot of players below their best tonight and a number of them (Pearce, Rodan, Ebert) have been up and down all season.

Danyle has been soundly beaten in each of our three losses. Yet on the other wing Boak has been our best player against both St Kilda and the Roos - says alot about their respective characters and value to the side. I know which type of player I'd want to build my team around.

 

[Macca19]

So basically you could say whilst we are at least fighting it out more then last year,

No, not really. Its one game. The other two losses were awful.

Theres no doubt this was a game we could have and should have won. No doubt this loss is bitterly dissapointing in the context of the season. Im just content that to me, this looked like another 50 point loss in the making, but for a change we actually raised the intensity after half time and worked hard to get into it.

Doesnt change the fact this result is a huge dissapointment.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Everything about this game screamed 'danger game'. But no one that mattered was listening. After the game last week there was plenty of talk about having to back up. That beating the camries meant nothing if we didn't perform. Yet all week there seemed to be no certainty coming out of Alberton about what we would produce. Players picking the side (Kane Cornes saying Carr had to come back in), players talking about setting ourselves up for 6-2. Even the AA crew at the game were doing it. Then on the other side of the fence, a team with its back to the wall, bad injuries to key players, and getting flogged in the media. Talk about a bad moon rising.

And the absolute flogging we gave the camries at stoppages last week was always scary for me. We were never going to get the same ride this week - and North worked overtime to make sure we didn't. I've seen it happen so many times over the years, flog a team one week, especially in a certain area and it really softens you up for the next, no matter how consciously you might deny it. And yet, when we needed absolute hardness in the middle, Matt Thomas starts on the bench and never gets going. And Krakouer starts on the bench? I thought he was terrific last week, too cute a move by half. And he never gets started.

It was a bizarre convergence of events right down to the makeshift runner stuffing up a clear and repeated warning from the ump. And still we nearly pinched it. The whole thing is just too frustrating to even comment on.

 

[Power King]

Remarkably, if saints beat colingwood we'll finish the round top 3, and additionally if the crows beat the bulldogs we'll finish the round top 3 as well (unless the crows smash the dogs to gain 16 % points, in which case it'll be top 4).

A bit like our horrible loss to the saints that still left us in 4th spot.

It is a very close ladder though so that needs to be taken into perspective.

PJ Power, my man love for T-Boak have increased ten fold because of that this year.

 

[tribey]

I dont like saying stuff like 'the runner cost us the game', because the rest of the game would be completely different. Its like the movie Sliding Doors. Or to an extent Donnie Darko.

Needed to be more Glengarry Glen Ross:

[youtube]y-AXTx4PcKI[/youtube]

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Now that i think back...

will the runner who costed us a goal run for Port again?

 

[Andre]

No, not really. Its one game. The other two losses were awful.

Doesnt change the fact this result is a huge dissapointment.

Yeah true, as noted pre-match we had nothing to gain and everything to lose this week and we've undone any gains from last week. Port are like the new Fremantle - they are the team you can't tip.

I tip them against the Saints after a good performance. After that pile of crud, I (reluctantly) tipped the cows. We beat a side we've struggled against recently, so I tip us to win against a side the last 3 or 4 years we've had the woods over, only for us to roll over in the first half. Tipping aside, I swear the club want me to pull out my already thinning hair and turn me completely bald by the end of the season.

 

[Schulzenfest]

My player reviews

Boak - Definitely our BOG if not the BOG altogether. Is nearly our best midfielder already, is certainly the furthest player away from a downhill skier.

Brogan - Did some good things, but I'd say McIntosh probably beat him.

P Burgoyne - Barely noticed him tonight. Needs a big one next week.

Carlile - That one goal Hale got from Carlile watching the man and not the ball was disappointing, but a good night apart from that.

Cassisi - Continues to do the hard stuff as well as anyone in the AFL but has forgotten how to kick this year. Our captaincy is cursed.

Chaplin - What a gun. If he played for Collingwood he'd be getting talked up for All-Australian, and deservedly so. Another brilliant game.

C Cornes - Solid but unspectacular. Needs more games like last week, but at least he's been consistent.

K Cornes - Had a typical 15 nothing touches first half, but was undoubtedly our best player in the third and looked good until he went off.

Davenport - Looks like a decent find, definitely worth persisting with. Congrats on the goal.

Ebert - If Hartlett and Carr come back in next week his spot will be in serious trouble. Hasn't done enough this year.

Gray - Was quiet in the first half, but from memory 3 of his first 4 touches were goal assists. That's the mark of a good player, that even when he's having a quiet one he can still have some sort of impact. Superb last quarter. One of my favourite players after his efforts this year.

Krakouer - Stepped up when we needed him too, but didn't do enough in the first three quarters. Too early to say he's a bit of downhill skier?

Lade - Probably his best game for the year up forward, but he needs to play like that every week.

Logan - Solid and serviceable but unspectacular. Didn't really have a matchup tonight.

Motlop - What's happened to his kicking recently? If he'd kicked all of his gettable opportunities we would've won tonight. Good game overall though, led hard all game, kicked a couple and set up a couple more.

Pearce - Needs to learn to play well when we're losing or he'll be a liability. Beaten by Harding.

Pettigrew - Is pretty shit at one-on-one contests, but is as good as anyone as a third man up. When Edwards isolated him he was beaten. Still undecided on whether he has a good future.

Rodan - Falls in and out of games too much, but when he gets it you always get the feeling something's going to happen. Tries hard but he's a bit of a downhill skier too.

Salopek - The worst game I can ever remember him playing. One thing I've noticed is that although his field kicking is usually superb (although it was crap tonight) his kick outs after a behind are atrocious. We should either leave them to Krak or look for a short easy option first up every time.

Surjan - Thought you were harsh on him Macca, great performance from Surj tonight IMO. Up there with the best.

Thomas - Similar to Logan, solid but unspectacular. IMO there's only room for one in our midfield.

Tredrea - Big Wazza keeps on keeping on. Has been very consistent since Round 3, barring injury he'll probably have a 50 goal year.

 

[Macca19]

Choco pretty fuming in the press conference. Said they won all the hard stuff in the first half and that set up the win. Said that we kicked 9 goals from clearances when quiered about that topic and said that we were thumped in the first half there, but it was even by the end. Said the loss was unacceptable but when pushed about the fight back he said it was pleasing, mainly due to the fact it was the young players that led the charge. Was questioned about Davenports game and he said something along the lines of 'he was ok. its certainly a lot easier out there when the senior players help out and do what they are supposed to do, but that didnt happen out there so he had to battle himself'.

 

[*PAF]

Few things stood out tonight.

Krakouer and Sal will not find it easy to be the loose players in the backline any more, much like what happened to PB.

Our midfield's natural tendency is to start running forward of the ball carrier just before he gets the ball. When the bad Port Adelaide turns up like tonight all of our midfielders run forward of the ball carrier at once just before he gets the ball and we get screwed on the rebound every time he doesn't get it cleanly.

Choco has no plan B when things go wrong.
Yes we did come back and nearly won the game but the scoreboard flattered us in the end and it wasn't because of Choco.
Just to make sure this does not come out wrong, I sincerely hope Sal and Kane recover and play next week as they definitely are in our best 22, however they were both having awful games tonight. Yes, IMO even Kane. He was trying so hard to be the loose player in our midfield that his defensive game suffered big time since he is not fast enough to get back in time when things go wrong.
Kane and Sal went out, Krak and Gray got more involved with our midfield and all of a sudden we start winning there.
There is no way known Choco would put two of his favourite players on the bench just so that he can tinker with his gameplan. Never.

Motlop. Is he now our official FF? He plays his best games when he can roam between the midfield and the forward 50 plus go forward occasionally. Tonight it was the other way around and only roamed occasionally.

Ebert. If he was taller he'd be the best KPF in the AFL. He isn't.

Pettigrew has taken to his new role with such gusto that he is starting to overcommit himself a tad too often. Could do with picking when he can overcommit and when he shouldn’t, depending on how many team mates are about.

 

[Macca19]

Krakouer - Stepped up when we needed him too, but didn't do enough in the first three quarters. Too early to say he's a bit of downhill skier?

I think the position he plays is the epitome of a downshill skier, but across the AFL not just our club. For the loose half back to work, you need to be on the ball and you need to win your fair share of the ball.

My major criticism of Krak is that he doesnt tighten up enough and he ball watches far too much. Seems to get lost in no mans land and his opponent will end up 20 metres away with the ball.

 

[Ported]

Bit harsh on the Krak. I thought he was one of the main catalysts to getting us back in the game late when he played more on the ball.

Edit: Just noticed you gave him 0, i'd like to exchange 'bit' for 'very'

 

[Forzaport]

Leigh Harding had a night out last night. I think Pearce really is a liability for our team. When we're winning the clearances he looks great. When we're losing the clearances he's 20-30m away from his opponent (who is kicking goals). At least choco left him on the pine for the first half of that 2nd quarter after his shocking 1st quarter.

Pearce is a classic downhill skier which is dissappointing as i think he's one of our best chasers and tacklers. He gave our defence no support last night. We have other outside players in the team that pull their weight when we don't have the ball. I said it after the saints game and i'll say it again, drop him. Pearce is looking more and more tradeable imo. He's lucky we may not have the luxury of dropping him with so many mids out and i doubt choco would do it anyway with rodan and senior burger also being below par.

Compare that to boak who works his arse off and every week is playing his 'best game to date' week in week out. Kane was also fantastic tonight as was chappy. You can see we're missing Jwess in the forward line. It's a shame he's still 5 weeks away.

So now i guess our jekyll and hyde performances occur within halves of footy as opposed to over an entire game.

Frustrated overall, but happy in that we fought it out at the end

 

[Power King]

^Are we really missing the hoff that much in the forward line?

Sure, theoretically a second tall makes life easier for the main power forward, however now that tredrea is the only tall forward there, he has finally played to the level many of us have believed he can. Coincidence? I think not.

Regarding Boak, I have some serious man love for him

 

[Redline]

I always enjoy your reviews. I thought Thomas was much better than most of you are giving him credit for and had much more impact on the game than some other rated higher. Mostly spot on though with the others.