- Aug 21, 2007
- 31,670
- 99,023
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
- Other Teams
- Aston Villa, San Antonio Spurs
The best season we've had since 2007 was 2014.
Carlile (27), Hombsch (21), Jonas (23) and Trengove (24) were the main defenders then. These were their averages per game (Carlile, Hombsch, Jonas and Trengove):
Kicks - 6.6, 8.5, 8.6, 5.9
Handballs - 5.6, 5.1, 6.5, 7.7
Marks - 3.0, 5.0, 5.0, 3.5
Tackles - 2.0, 2.4, 2.2, 2.2
Inside 50s - 0.8, 1.1, 1.6, 1.4
Goal Assists - 0.1, 0.1, 0.2, 0
Contested Possessions - 4.3, 4.1, 4.8, 6.7
Uncontested Possessions - 7.7, 9.4, 10.2, 6.5
Effective Disposals - 9.1, 10.8, 12.1, 10.1
Contested Marks - 0.9, 0.4, 0.6, 0.9
Rebound 50s - 1.9, 1.8, 1.9, 1.1
Compare that to Jonas (28), Clurey (25), Howard (23) and Lienert (24) this year:
Kicks - 11.0, 9.4, 9.0, 16.2
Handballs - 5.1, 3.2, 4.7, 5.5
Marks - 6.0, 4.8, 5.3, 6.7
Tackles - 2.0, 1.8, 1.8, 1.5
Inside 50s - 1.0, 0.9, 1.4, 2.2
Goal Assists - 0, 0.1, 0, 0.2
Contested Possessions - 5.0, 4.3, 5.3, 4.7
Uncontested Possessions - 10.6, 7.2, 8.3, 15.0
Effective Disposals - 13.1, 10.4, 10.9, 17.3
Contested Marks - 0.6, 1.1, 1.4, 0
Rebound 50s - 3.3, 3.3, 2.9, 6.5
In pretty much every single statistical category, the 2019 players are better, even though the game style has changed from a back half team (slingshot) to a forward half team (press). This is the difference between a preliminary finalist calibre team and a premiership calibre team.
That's why I say wait for some continuity in the back line and get Dixon back in the side before you start judging whether this season is a write off or not.
The slingshot was about winning the ball and then getting it out of defence as quickly as possible. We weren't chipping it around trying to find a way through a set defence.
We've definitely got a more mobile, better ball handling defence than we did in 2014, but so does every other club as well. The game has changed, nobody has purely negating defenders in 2019.