AwwThatsApples
Cancelled
- Mar 24, 2019
- 1,555
- 967
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
- Other Teams
- HFL
Well I apologise if this thread is coming out the oven a little bit too early, and I understand we will all still be feeling the sting quite a bit, but I don't post here often anymore so I simply wanted to give my summary of this season for the football club.
I have to start by saying I'm incredibly proud of the club for making it this far. After how awful 2019 was 2020 feels like a massive breath of fresh air, to be not only the second-best attack but also the #1 defence in the league shows how balanced our structure has become at both ends of the ground. We smashed the league for tackles and added an element of physicality to our game that I was very welcome to.
Boak is an absolute beast, Wines is still a bit choppy but his second half to the year was huge (Would probably win the Gary Ayres award if it wasn't for Dusty) Rockliff has been criticized quite a bit going into the year but I have to say after he ditched his fantasy pig possesion-magnet game style and became a tackling machine I now have a lot of respect for him, good to see him back in the finals too.
Usually, if we lost in the midfield we would lose the game which is the biggest weakness we will need to work on, but I still think our defence was great at allowing us to keep the flood gates shut and retaliate in the second half of games we would fall behind in. I also liked this because it allowed us to get some extra players involved in the contest.
I still love our three draftees from 2018. Rozee obviously has a challenging start to the year but his work rate in both the finals games was fantastic, Duursma was also set back with cement legs after an injury earlier, but he also had a huge finals series, and Zak Butters
' ha a skillset and pair of hands out of this world, still glad he made AA squad.
I had been critical of Bassett taking the responsibility for the forward line but considering we were the second-best attack in the comp I think giving him time paid off quite well (Apart from the games we lost)
Dixon is a beast but its hard for him to play his best every week because of how predictable he is, but as long as he can maintain capacity in the forward line for years to come I think he can still be a premiership KFP. Robbie once again had a quiet first half to the year but his skills are still irreplaceable until Rozee is ready. Motlop had a couple of big games but was mostly quiet again, he'll be on his last legs next year.
I'm gonna miss Westy after all he's done for us but he wasn't actually awful this year when he played as the third forward, kicked something like 7 Goals in the first three games of the seasons restart, and basically dropped off after that.
Brad Ebert
is a ******* warrior of a player and I will still remember him as one of my personal favourites from our AFL era. I distinctly remember one of you on the board calling for him to be delisted after he got selected for round 1 *Plz own up to it * I'm still proud of you Ebo, and you actually had a pretty good year to (Seemed to be working everywhere on the ground)
I also hold great admiration for all of our major defenders this year. Jonas as solo captain was a beast and with a couple more big games definitely would've made the AA 22, Clurey was a bit hot and cold but he's still a major component of this team. DBJ deserved his AA 22 spot after how hard he's been working but maybe just needs to be a little bit more physical in the future. Hammer was also hot and cold, still think he's one of our best, but he needs to be more consistent.
Burton, please use this off-season to address your injury issues because right now you're a glass cannon. We need you in our 22 but we need you fit and ready first.
And I'm gonna say it now, Trent McKenzie
is one of our most underrated players. He's not perfect, but I recognised how much running effort he's put on the field this year and everything he's done to make it this far as a real key-defender. Would rather him over Dougal Howard
any day of the week.
Seriously though, to be on top of the ladder at the end of every round of the year isn't something that most Minor premiers can do (First since 2000) And within that time I saw some great wins for our club. Smashing the courtroom cows to restart the season by a record margin was very laughable and enjoyable (Still the biggest winning margin of the year) And beating those Eagles in the hub life was a great addition to our smashings cabinet. Waking up at 4 am in the morning and down two interchanges in the last quarter against Carlton, led towards Robbie Greats magic giving us our first siren beater since 2002. The Richmond game in the minor round fixture is still one of my personal favourites to watch for the year. And my number #1? The only game I got to go to the year, our first finals win since 2014 against the Catters in the first week of the finals.
A couple of rough games dotted throughout the season but only losing 3 for the year still showed that we were never going to lose consecutive games. Yes, the Prelim has disappointed all of us, but goddam we have never lost a final by more than 16 since 2013 and we got really close. Win a few more clearances and clean up our forward entries and we'd be in next weeks grand final. At least we don't have the same fundamental issues to our brand of football like the previous 2 seasons (and 4 of the last 5)
HOWEVER, we will definitely need to capitalize on the position this season has put our club in, and be ready to contend for a premiership in the next few years, the window is open, but we can't let this season become another flash in the pan. Not sure what we do list management wise but hopefully you guys can help with that. I'll post some stats on this board for 2020 soon as well because I can definitely see where we've lifted (And still need to lift)
And finally, let's be honest with ourselves, calm your **** about the coach. He's had a good year, and we can bring out the Sacks again next year if he starts underperforming again, but I believe he made every effort he could to lead this team towards the premiership, and 6 points off of a grand final shows our improvements will be small but pivotal. Kudos to Ken and all of the assistant coaches this season for pulling their heads together. I enjoyed this year for all it offered. Not as clean and high-paced as 2014's Port Adelaide, but no team is very attractive to watch in football right now. This was a tough year for everyone, and I'm still in awe by the resilience this club showed to get here.
8/10 B+
HOPING FOR A BIG 2021
I have to start by saying I'm incredibly proud of the club for making it this far. After how awful 2019 was 2020 feels like a massive breath of fresh air, to be not only the second-best attack but also the #1 defence in the league shows how balanced our structure has become at both ends of the ground. We smashed the league for tackles and added an element of physicality to our game that I was very welcome to.
Boak is an absolute beast, Wines is still a bit choppy but his second half to the year was huge (Would probably win the Gary Ayres award if it wasn't for Dusty) Rockliff has been criticized quite a bit going into the year but I have to say after he ditched his fantasy pig possesion-magnet game style and became a tackling machine I now have a lot of respect for him, good to see him back in the finals too.
Usually, if we lost in the midfield we would lose the game which is the biggest weakness we will need to work on, but I still think our defence was great at allowing us to keep the flood gates shut and retaliate in the second half of games we would fall behind in. I also liked this because it allowed us to get some extra players involved in the contest.
I still love our three draftees from 2018. Rozee obviously has a challenging start to the year but his work rate in both the finals games was fantastic, Duursma was also set back with cement legs after an injury earlier, but he also had a huge finals series, and Zak Butters
PLAYERCARDSTART
9
Zak Butters
- Age
- 23
- Ht
- 181cm
- Wt
- 77kg
- Pos.
- Mid
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 14.3
- 4star
- K
- 7.7
- 3star
- HB
- 6.7
- 4star
- M
- 3.0
- 3star
- T
- 2.6
- 4star
- CL
- 0.8
- 3star
- D
- 14.7
- 4star
- K
- 8.9
- 4star
- HB
- 5.9
- 3star
- M
- 3.9
- 4star
- T
- 2.9
- 4star
- CL
- 1.1
- 3star
- D
- 17.0
- 5star
- K
- 9.0
- 4star
- HB
- 8.0
- 5star
- M
- 3.6
- 4star
- T
- 1.6
- 4star
- CL
- 0.6
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND
I had been critical of Bassett taking the responsibility for the forward line but considering we were the second-best attack in the comp I think giving him time paid off quite well (Apart from the games we lost)
Dixon is a beast but its hard for him to play his best every week because of how predictable he is, but as long as he can maintain capacity in the forward line for years to come I think he can still be a premiership KFP. Robbie once again had a quiet first half to the year but his skills are still irreplaceable until Rozee is ready. Motlop had a couple of big games but was mostly quiet again, he'll be on his last legs next year.
I'm gonna miss Westy after all he's done for us but he wasn't actually awful this year when he played as the third forward, kicked something like 7 Goals in the first three games of the seasons restart, and basically dropped off after that.
Brad Ebert
PLAYERCARDSTART
7
Brad Ebert
- Age
- 34
- Ht
- 189cm
- Wt
- 90kg
- Pos.
- Fwd
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 19.9
- 5star
- K
- 11.4
- 4star
- HB
- 8.5
- 5star
- M
- 4.6
- 4star
- T
- 5.2
- 5star
- G
- 0.5
- 3star
- D
- 14.6
- 4star
- K
- 9.8
- 4star
- HB
- 4.9
- 3star
- M
- 4.4
- 4star
- T
- 3.8
- 4star
- G
- 0.6
- 4star
- D
- 12.0
- 3star
- K
- 8.2
- 4star
- HB
- 3.8
- 3star
- M
- 3.2
- 4star
- T
- 2.8
- 5star
- G
- 0.2
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND
I also hold great admiration for all of our major defenders this year. Jonas as solo captain was a beast and with a couple more big games definitely would've made the AA 22, Clurey was a bit hot and cold but he's still a major component of this team. DBJ deserved his AA 22 spot after how hard he's been working but maybe just needs to be a little bit more physical in the future. Hammer was also hot and cold, still think he's one of our best, but he needs to be more consistent.
Burton, please use this off-season to address your injury issues because right now you're a glass cannon. We need you in our 22 but we need you fit and ready first.
And I'm gonna say it now, Trent McKenzie
PLAYERCARDSTART
12
Trent Mckenzie
- Age
- 32
- Ht
- 191cm
- Wt
- 89kg
- Pos.
- Def
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 15.6
- 4star
- K
- 11.2
- 4star
- HB
- 4.4
- 3star
- M
- 4.3
- 4star
- T
- 2.6
- 4star
- MG
- 305.7
- 4star
- D
- 12.1
- 3star
- K
- 10.6
- 4star
- HB
- 1.6
- 1star
- M
- 4.7
- 4star
- T
- 1.1
- 2star
- MG
- 290.6
- 4star
- D
- 16.8
- 4star
- K
- 10.4
- 4star
- HB
- 6.4
- 4star
- M
- 3.6
- 4star
- T
- 3.8
- 5star
PLAYERCARDEND
PLAYERCARDSTART
20
Dougal Howard
- Age
- 28
- Ht
- 199cm
- Wt
- 94kg
- Pos.
- Def
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 10.9
- 3star
- K
- 7.8
- 3star
- HB
- 3.1
- 3star
- M
- 4.4
- 4star
- T
- 1.4
- 3star
- MG
- 176.2
- 3star
- D
- 9.9
- 3star
- K
- 8.4
- 3star
- HB
- 1.4
- 1star
- M
- 4.7
- 4star
- T
- 0.6
- 1star
- MG
- 171.9
- 3star
- D
- 9.0
- 3star
- K
- 5.4
- 2star
- HB
- 3.6
- 3star
- M
- 2.8
- 3star
- T
- 2.8
- 5star
- MG
- 133.8
- 3star
PLAYERCARDEND
Seriously though, to be on top of the ladder at the end of every round of the year isn't something that most Minor premiers can do (First since 2000) And within that time I saw some great wins for our club. Smashing the courtroom cows to restart the season by a record margin was very laughable and enjoyable (Still the biggest winning margin of the year) And beating those Eagles in the hub life was a great addition to our smashings cabinet. Waking up at 4 am in the morning and down two interchanges in the last quarter against Carlton, led towards Robbie Greats magic giving us our first siren beater since 2002. The Richmond game in the minor round fixture is still one of my personal favourites to watch for the year. And my number #1? The only game I got to go to the year, our first finals win since 2014 against the Catters in the first week of the finals.
A couple of rough games dotted throughout the season but only losing 3 for the year still showed that we were never going to lose consecutive games. Yes, the Prelim has disappointed all of us, but goddam we have never lost a final by more than 16 since 2013 and we got really close. Win a few more clearances and clean up our forward entries and we'd be in next weeks grand final. At least we don't have the same fundamental issues to our brand of football like the previous 2 seasons (and 4 of the last 5)
HOWEVER, we will definitely need to capitalize on the position this season has put our club in, and be ready to contend for a premiership in the next few years, the window is open, but we can't let this season become another flash in the pan. Not sure what we do list management wise but hopefully you guys can help with that. I'll post some stats on this board for 2020 soon as well because I can definitely see where we've lifted (And still need to lift)
And finally, let's be honest with ourselves, calm your **** about the coach. He's had a good year, and we can bring out the Sacks again next year if he starts underperforming again, but I believe he made every effort he could to lead this team towards the premiership, and 6 points off of a grand final shows our improvements will be small but pivotal. Kudos to Ken and all of the assistant coaches this season for pulling their heads together. I enjoyed this year for all it offered. Not as clean and high-paced as 2014's Port Adelaide, but no team is very attractive to watch in football right now. This was a tough year for everyone, and I'm still in awe by the resilience this club showed to get here.
8/10 B+
HOPING FOR A BIG 2021