Let's talk Ports!

[Comettski_1]

So worth the price of the ticket...haven't laughed so hard at a show in years...

Speaking of the price of tickets - holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! That's expensive for a comedian.

 

[Comettski_1]

Rather than making a new thread I thought this could sit in here:

Whether you think we’re cooked or still a chance to give the finals a shake, there’s no denying this year has been a rollercoaster. This has been typified by the individual performances of most of our players. Regardless of how the year ends I think we’re in a position now to look at how each player has developed throughout the year. The #1 thing I wanted/expected out of this season was that our young group would develop and take their respective games to new levels.

Rather than this being a season review type deal, I’d prefer to look at development expectations vs. reality up to this point (as a whole or individual player).

So without further “The season is not over yet, fool” deflecting ado: How do you think our development has been this year? I’ll start.

Hombsch - exceeded expectations: It became obvious on the weekend that Jack “The 1%er” Hombsch has been one of our big improvers in 2014. A great match up for Buddy and surprisingly even made him look slow/less agile on a couple of occasions. Has been reliable and brave in his 18 games this year and has gone from depth/fringe player to, in my opinion, overtaking Jonas and O’Shea as our best medium-tall defender.

Impey – exceeded expectations: I think any time a draftee can come in and not only play more than 5 games but play an important role for the side is a win. Have seen some nice things from Jarman this year and he kind of reminds me of Wingard in his first year; a bit of dash, creativity and dare but not always the execution. Would like to see him again in 2014.

 

[tangolikelama]

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2014-08-11/gray-looking-to-extend-stay-at-alberton



I'd cry if he left. But as long as Boaks there Grays there.

 

[Andre]

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2014-08-11/gray-looking-to-extend-stay-at-alberton



I'd cry if he left. But as long as Boaks there Grays there.

He wants to start contract talks over a year before his current one is due to expire. I think we can safely put him down as staying. Contrast with wincey, whose contract ends at the same time.

 

[Andre]

Rather than making a new thread I thought this could sit in here:

Whether you think we’re cooked or still a chance to give the finals a shake, there’s no denying this year has been a rollercoaster. This has been typified by the individual performances of most of our players. Regardless of how the year ends I think we’re in a position now to look at how each player has developed throughout the year. The #1 thing I wanted/expected out of this season was that our young group would develop and take their respective games to new levels.

What's been most disappointing is no one stepped up on-field during Trengove's absence and demanded the players follow them. I say step up because Boak led well from the front, but was already doing that. No one else appeared to say I'll take extra responsibility on and get in the oppositions face, protect my teammates, rally the troops etc. as Trengove does.

 

[I Dont Care]

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2014-08-11/gray-looking-to-extend-stay-at-alberton



I'd cry if he left. But as long as Boaks there Grays there.

I wouldn't cry if he left, I would nearly die. Gray is elite, we don't have another player close to him. Wingard is a freak, Boak is a champ, but Gray is elite

 

[proman_x]

I wouldn't cry if he left, I would nearly die. Gray is elite, we don't have another player close to him. Wingard is a freak, Boak is a champ, but Gray is elite

I highly doubt the lad would leave. He has publicly stated he wants to be a 1 club player and wants to reward our club for having faith in him, he has had a few injury over his term so far as we know. Really looking forward to seeing Robbie get another pre season under his belt. Lets hope a few more of the lads start firing again to assist him. Currently his set shot goal kicking is probably his biggest weakness.

You stated in another post the ability of Robbie to be an elite play maker, I totally agree!............... The difference watching him play compared to others on our team who are content in just taking the ball out of bounds within our forward area for a set play is very obvious. You know when he gets the ball, if he is given half a sniff it is going to be a 85% chance of a very positive result!

I can not wait until we have some bigger guys to pick from to bolster our Forward stocks, that is when we will see the true brilliance of Wingard, Neade, Gray and others in my humble opinion.

 

[AdamMarrett]

Good stat set up at the start of this thread.Shows how much and how fast our younger brigade is coming with their rapid improvement.The fact so many key parts of our list are under 25 and with a lot more improvement to come is only a good thing.If we get another couple of finals into em,another good pre season I always felt 2016 is going to be the year we break out.A lot of our players will be reaching that 70-80 game bracket experience wise the experts all believe and tout that ya flag window genuinely opens, though I'm not giving up on the dream of 2014 yet, but we aren't far away just yet.

 

[Byrons Firen]

What bothers me of late is us having all our players in defence then breaking clear and virtually NO-ONE
up forward. It wasn't like that so often when we were winning. Shulz's is no speedster and too often goes to ground.
If teams have worked us out its time for Ken to tweak the model.
We've just gotta WIN this weekend and win well. Of course I'd take 4pts no matter what, but a comprehensive win
is needed badly.
Carn the Maggies as well

 

[BIG MATTY WHITE]

Yeah I know we do this in pretty much every thread but every now and again there seems to be a flurry of Port chat in the General AFL talk thread.

There's some interesting discussion there but it gets lost in the end. So here's a dedicated Port thread, kind of for discussion that doesn't deserve its own thread ... hmm sounds familiar. And maybe discussion here if robust enough can be hived off to its own thread.

There has been some talk of our season stalling and whether we've really improved so here are a few stats for comparative purposes.

Scoring for
2014: 14.13
2013: 13.12
2012: 11.11

Scoring against
2014: 11.10
2013: 13.11
2012: 14.12

Contested possessions
2014: 142.3 (=7)
2013: 137.4 (13)
2012: 135.7 (15)

Marks I50
2014: 13.2 (2)
2013: 12.9 (=4)
2012: 9.0 (16)

Clearances
2014: 39.9 (=4)
2013: 37.4 (=9)
2012: 37.7 (10)

Centre Clearances
2014: 12.5 (=6)
2013: 12.4 (=13)
2012: 11.7 (15)

Tackles
2014: 71.2 (6)
2013: 66.4 (3)
2012: 59.7 (13)

Last year we won 12 games in the minor round. We're already there now. 2012 we won 5 games.

We've improved in a range of critical team stats across 3 years. As Ken builds the squad he wants we will continue to get better. Last off-season he added pace. A fit Redden would have given us a bigger more flexible and robust forward/ruck structure.

Yes we've had a mid-season stall but as anyone with experience with KPIs will tell you, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to concentrate on short term results and ignore the big picture.

We've had issues with injuries to key players where we don't have depth, a loss of confidence, young players hitting the wall, bodies that aren't ready yet for the tough winter slog.

Ken is working to a strategic picture and will continue to build and develop this squad. This year might be beyond our reach and Ken has acknowledged that. But he's not done yet.

Good post...

Thoughts on gameday tactics in comparison to last year ford?

 

[ploppy]

What bothers me of late is us having all our players in defence then breaking clear and virtually NO-ONE
up forward. It wasn't like that so often when we were winning. Shulz's is no speedster and too often goes to ground.
If teams have worked us out its time for Ken to tweak the model.
We've just gotta WIN this weekend and win well. Of course I'd take 4pts no matter what, but a comprehensive win
is needed badly.
Carn the Maggies as well

the no-one up forward game plan has cost us a few games now its time for ken to change it. That has been worked out by opposition and we need to forget it and move on. ken still believes in it but he is wrong on this idea.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Robbie Gray is equal 2nd in the AFLCA award only 12 votes behind Nat Fyfe.

2014 AFLCA votes
Overall Leaderboard
95 – Nat Fyfe (Freo)
83 - Robbie Gray, Josh Kennedy (Syd)
72 – Gary Ablett (GC), Matt Priddis (WCE)
65 - Scott Pendlebury (Coll)
64 – Joel Selwood (Geel)
60 – Lance Franklin (Syd)
58 – Dyson Heppell (Ess)
57 – Travis Boak (PA)

Gray closes gap

 

[questionable]

amidst all the gnashing of teeth over recent form, there doesn't seem to have been much talk about the likelihood of still finishing top 4. looking at the way the ladder has panned out, it comes down to a surprisingly simple formula despite there being three rounds left to play. and port's destiny is still in its own hands.

hawthorn, sydney and geelong are virtually no chance to drop out (it would require one of them to lose all three remaining games, port to win all three, freo to win their next two but lose to port. and even then, it would be on percentage - and swans and hawks have a big gap on freo and port). TL;DR - zero chance of swans, hawks or cats missing top 4.

north are a game clear in sixth with 11 wins, and are virtually no chance of making it in. 14 is their maximum possible number of wins, which would require freo to win no more than one, port no more than two, and improve their percentage by 16% and 13% on those two clubs respectively. OR freo losing all their games and port winning only one - in rd23 against freo) TL;DR - lol norf, not gonna make top 4.

SO... it's all about freo now, and the equation is simple.

basically, to make top 4 port have to either:

- match freo's record over the next two weeks (both go 1-1 or both go 2-0), beat freo in rd 23, and make up the current 2.7% deficit on freo in that time; OR

- better freo's record by one game over the next two weeks (freo 0-2/port 1-1 or freo 1-1/port 2-0) and beat freo in rd 23; OR

- if freo go 0-2 and port 2-0 over the next two weeks, port could theoretically lose in rd 23 and still make it as long as they have the better percentage.

for the record, freo have hawthorn and brisbane in the next two weeks, so at least one of those games is a decent chance for a loss.

basically, can't afford to go 0-2 over the next two weeks (against gold coast and carlton) and can't afford to go 1-1 if freo go 2-0. other than that, fourth place will definitely be decided at subiaco in rd 23. oh boy wowee

p.s. thank you david mundy for missing after the siren

p.p.s. **** you cameron wood you spud for kicking 15m down the line from the defensive goalsquare straight to a freo player

 

[Nemisis]

No matter how many times I go over the next 3 games it always works out that Crows finish 8th and Port 5th. Port would have to beat Freo in the last match to go fourth.

 

[questionable]

i was just surprised at how simple the equation is this far out, because as it turns out there are only two clubs who are a realistic chance for one spot in the top 4, and they happen to be playing each other in the last round. there's a very good chance that game will be a playoff for fourth spot.

i don't care who finishes 8th, and there are about seven clubs that are a chance to get it anyway.

 

[Janus]

No matter how many times I go over the next 3 games it always works out that Crows finish 8th and Port 5th. Port would have to beat Freo in the last match to go fourth.

And that's so impossible, right? We just need to turn the corner. The engine has stalled, and Ken is busy getting the jumper leads out and trying to crank it over...it's almost started....might need to give it a push starting this weekend.

 

[Power Raid]

1st Priority - Draft/Trade for a KPF!!!!

and a ruck or one who can do a bit of both.

with that, a flag could be ours for the taking

 

[TeeKray]

Crazy to think we are still very much in the mix for 4th spot. In fact, our destiny is in our own hands! And I know Freo lost narrowly at the weekend but it's pretty deflating to look back at our catalogue of near misses this season and ponder just how easily we could be in the box seat rather than the chasing pack.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

It's that whole swings and roundabouts thing. We won our fair share of close ones last year to make the finals.

 

[Steve Dore]

and a ruck or one who can do a bit of both.

with that, a flag could be ours for the taking

Jarrad Redden says hi.

 

[proman_x]

and a ruck or one who can do a bit of both.

with that, a flag could be ours for the taking

To a certain degree I think we already have that, if we can keep Reds fit, he can ruck and also go forward. We have Harvey, Butcher, Shaw and couple of others who could be that KPF we are seeking. Picking up another 1 or 2 via a trade or draft would be a bonus.

 

[TeeKray]

It's that whole swings and roundabouts thing. We won our fair share of close ones last year to make the finals.

You're right Ford but it's pretty cold comfort really.

 

[Power Raid]

Jarrad Redden says hi.

I agree, he has the potential to be a champ but that is 80 games away......or four years

we need someone for 2015 and 16

 

[mic59]

Offsetting the bargain pick 28 for Hombsch/Neade was the wasted pick 33 for Brent Renouf.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Said it before and will say it again but Redden has all the attributes to be an All Oz ruckman except for 1 and has another problem.

1. His engine isnt big enough, but Burgo can fix that over time

2. He spends too much time injured. His injuries have been collision injuries mainly. Lets hope he gets some good luck for the next 26 months.