Scape Goat I've lost my faith in Ken Hinkley Part 2

[El Zorro]

Is this a family member shaking their head moment?

It depends how you interpret the "Finally".

 

[OneGreatClub]

Is this a family member shaking their head moment?

Nup his sister is just happy we won a showdown at last. And Ken did seem emotional.

 

[MrMeaner]

Nup his sister is just happy we won a showdown at last. And Ken did seem emotional.

Yeah. I was being a little mischievous in my comment.

 

[Port01]

still many many issues covered up by talent in certain areas.

 

[Power Girl]

I was moved to see the real raw emotion from Ken. It seemed like it meant as much to him as us. That is a great start for me.

 

[elee]

Nup his sister is just happy we won a showdown at last. And Ken did seem emotional.

maybe he was one loss away from being sacked

 

[manureid]

May have been explained but what was the 1-0 stuff about?

 

[SupportMe]

May have been explained but what was the 1-0 stuff about?

We're not 0-5 in consecutive Showdowns anymore.

 

[sobrave]

We're not 0-5 in consecutive Showdowns anymore.

5-1!!!

 

[raptalia]

May have been explained but what was the 1-0 stuff about?

Ken took some pressure from the media and supporters over the 5-0 Showdown tally and that was probably his way of telling the world it was now 1-0. Maybe he reads the posts on this site?

 

[sobrave]

Don't let a heroic last-gasp goal confuse you. Hinkley is still a terrible coach.

The first half had all the hallmarks of kern. Work our backsides off, win contested ball, limit their inside 50s and still kick only 3 goals in a half of footy.

 

[MrPortAdelaide]

wingard need to be thrown under the bus for his turn over kick that mcgovern got his goal through, Figjamming in the backline is not cool, you would think he would have learnt something after the finals last year

 

[PA88]

May have been explained but what was the 1-0 stuff about?

That it's now the first of a series of consecutive wins against the whores. We hope!

 

[Pappagallo]

5-1!!!

Well he’s actually 5-6 in Showdowns now but that’s a bit hard to do with only 10 digits.

 

[raptalia]

The majority Showdown XLIV had Ken's signature all over it. Realistically that was a win to savor, as any win over the Crows is, but that was about as far as it went.

That game did not contain any answers. For example most of us still do not know what Ken is trying to achieve by playing Charlie Dixon so far up the field.

Yesterday we had just three marks from talls inside our forward line. One from Westhoff and two from Ryder from which Paddy kicked goals. On numerous occasions we were kicking to Sam Gray or Robbie Gray who had three opponents.

What is the point of recruiting a 200cm 105kg key forward, paying him 500k a year, then playing him in the midfield which is where Charlie was for most of yesterday's game? It is a similar story with Jack Watts, we recruit him to play in tandem with Charlie then for the first half of the game he runs around the midfield. It was evident that when Jack did play deeper in the forward line in the second half he looked a far more dangerous. I do not blame Charlie for not influencing the game as he is clearly being used as some sort of 200cm kick chaser and not as the key forward we paid a high draft price for.

We won yesterday because we got a good run from the umpires for a change and because Robbie Gray kicked straight. Had we been on the deficit side of the free kicks and had Robbie kicked with his usual 60% accuracy we would not have won yet the same questions would still be asked.

Late in the last quarter yesterday we were disposing of the ball with 47% accuracy while our opponents had over 70% accuracy. That statistic shows that nothing much changed. I looked at the replay again this morning and when you analyse the game we probably had twenty minutes where things worked well and we capitalised, the rest of that game was very much business as usual.

Like the rest of you I rejoice in the win and congratulate Ken and the players but I think there is a way to go before we are a top four side. ​

 

[1954]

Don't let a heroic last-gasp goal confuse you. Hinkley is still a terrible coach.

Agreed, as great as it is to beat that mob we can't get away from the fact it was achieved in one good qtr and some last second heroics after it had appeared we had thrown the game away by playing 15 minutes or more of over defensive `Bassett ' ball.

The first half forward line set ups were so ridiculous they may as well have been arranged by the opposition coach himself to limit our scoring opportunities, eg Dixon getting kicks on the half back line and the go to forwards being blokes who would need a step ladder to get their mail out of the letter box.

Let's hope Ken and the rest of the coaching group learnt from last night's win, and it didn't just put more wall paper over some very large cracks in the game plan.

 

[elee]

May have been explained but what was the 1-0 stuff about?

for him the season & showdown started yesterday,,, so 1-zip

 

[Janus]

The majority Showdown XLIV had Ken's signature all over it. Realistically that was a win to savor, as any win over the Crows is, but that was about as far as it went.

That game did not contain any answers. For example most of us still do not know what Ken is trying to achieve by playing Charlie Dixon so far up the field.

Yesterday we had just three marks from talls inside our forward line. One from Westhoff and two from Ryder from which Paddy kicked goals. On numerous occasions we were kicking to Sam Gray or Robbie Gray who had three opponents.

What is the point of recruiting a 200cm 105kg key forward, paying him 500k a year, then playing him in the midfield which is where Charlie was for most of yesterday's game? It is a similar story with Jack Watts, we recruit him to play in tandem with Charlie then for the first half of the game he runs around the midfield. It was evident that when Jack did play deeper in the forward line in the second half he looked a far more dangerous. I do not blame Charlie for not influencing the game as he is clearly being used as some sort of 200cm kick chaser and not as the key forward we paid a high draft price for.

We won yesterday because we got a good run from the umpires for a change and because Robbie Gray kicked straight. Had we been on the deficit side of the free kicks and had Robbie kicked with his usual 60% accuracy we would not have won yet the same questions would still be asked.

Late in the last quarter yesterday we were disposing of the ball with 47% accuracy while our opponents had over 70% accuracy. That statistic shows that nothing much changed. I looked at the replay again this morning and when you analyse the game we probably had twenty minutes where things worked well and we capitalised, the rest of that game was very much business as usual.

Like the rest of you I rejoice in the win and congratulate Ken and the players but I think there is a way to go before we are a top four side. ​

When you watch the replay, listen to what Gerard Healy says about what happened when Polec butchered that kick to Motlop in the centre of the ground which resulted in a turnover. To paraphrase, he says that had he hit that kick properly, Gray had worked hard to be the next link in the chain, and then Dixon had sprinted 150m to get into the forward line.

There's only so many times you can do that in a game before you get gassed - which results in the smaller, fitter players being able to get back faster and create options.

On fast break opportunities from defence, you will never, ever see Dixon taking marks in the forward line for this reason. If there were turnovers forward of centre, sure, he'd be in a position to exploit them. But in the defensive half, he should be 60m from the ball, which means that he's probably not in a position to get back quick enough unless it's at the start of the game.

If I see Dixon in the forward line from a defensive half turnover, I know we've moved the ball too slow.

 

[Forzaport]

Now Lyon is in on the act

 

[OneGreatClub]

Now Lyon is in on the act

Yep, yet Ken says nuthin

 

[Chrizzt]

What is the point of recruiting a 200cm 105kg key forward, paying him 500k a year, then playing him in the midfield which is where Charlie was for most of yesterday's game?

Because our mids weren't providing leads to break the crows' zone. We were stagnant when trying to go forward and we only have Charlie and Ryder that can reliably take big contested grabs, so Charlie constantly finds himself having to run up the ground when it becomes obvious that we've moved it too slowly and are going to resort to the big kick down the boundary line in the hope that we take a contested grab.

The crows do running really well - often able to work through our zone with those 45 degree leads that either results in them taking a mark, or pulling our players around and creating a hole for another crow to lead in to. If our mids ran that hard - and more importantly that smart - Charlie could stay deeper and be more effective.

Sure Charlie is clearly in a poor patch, but the mids running better will do a world of good for him.

 

[raptalia]

Because our mids weren't providing leads to break the crows' zone. We were stagnant when trying to go forward and we only have Charlie and Ryder that can reliably take big contested grabs, so Charlie constantly finds himself having to run up the ground when it becomes obvious that we've moved it too slowly and are going to resort to the big kick down the boundary line in the hope that we take a contested grab.

The crows do running really well - often able to work through our zone with those 45 degree leads that either results in them taking a mark, or pulling our players around and creating a hole for another crow to lead in to. If our mids ran that hard - and more importantly that smart - Charlie could stay deeper and be more effective.

Sure Charlie is clearly in a poor patch, but the mids running better will do a world of good for him.

But Charlie doesn't run up the ground. He sets up at CHF when the ball is bounced then moves into the centre square where he stays for long periods. He never gets deep enough into attack to run down the ground. I have no argument with the theory you are espousing but Charlie isn't taking big contested grabs, he is winning the ball in scrambles or taking marks from short kicks. We could use other players for that, Westhoff's name springs to mind, he is more mobile than Charlie, almost as tall and has a reasonable pair of hands. In fact last year Ken was using Westhoff as a tall midfielder and Charlie as our key forward. Somehow I do not think Ken has got out of the damage control mode that he was forced into with Ryder's injury.

Why is it we are so preoccupied with how the other team plays? When are we going to focus on how we want to play and force the opposition to counter that? I agree we have a game plan based on defence and a frustratingly tedious movement out of defence but that does not mean our best big forward has to become a victim of the strategy. On that basis I think some of the statements about Dixon's form are unwarranted. Play the guy in the role he plays best then criticise.

A question for all Port supporters, which Charlie Dixon would you prefer, Charlie Dixon 2017 or Charlie Dixon 2018. I know which one I want to see and I also know that I am not likely to see it under the current strategy.

 

[The Flying Doormat]

Nup his sister is just happy we won a showdown at last. And Ken did seem emotional.

Feel the emotion Ken, feel it

 

[Visenfest]

Ken's better when he gets angry. We're better when Ken gets angry. I want a return to the days when he almost snotted Shaun Hart in the coaches box (as long as it doesn't entail Hart returning to the club in any capacity).

 

[HighBudget]

5-1!!!

Kens actually 5-6 against the crows believe it or not