Janus
Advocatus Diaboli
- Sep 9, 2007
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- 57,132
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
- Other Teams
- Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls
"To the last, I grapple with thee. From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee." - Moby-Dick
The story of Moby Dick is one of obsession - of single minded desire that not only entraps the character of Captain Ahab in his quest for revenge against a white whale that took his leg, but also defines him and his entire life.
Port Adelaide has a white whale. It is the Sydney Swans at the SCG. Because this is the opening game of the season, this will be a three parter. The first thing we are going to be discussing is our forwards vs their defenders.
Key Matchups: Forwards
Jackson Trengove/Patrick Ryder vs Aliir Aliir
Aliir's strength comes from his intercept marking ability, which stems from the ability to sag off his man and provide cover to teammates. By playing a resting ruck in the forward line, it makes him accountable defensively and negates his primary role for the Swans to generate scoring chains.
Charlie Dixon vs Heath Grundy
It is vital that Trengove/Ryder and Dixon keep their separation so that Charlie draws Grundy from Aliir, because that's exactly what Longmire wants - Grundy to do the defending and Aliir to do the intercepting. I'm not expecting a huge game statistically from Dixon. His job will be to draw the defence away from guys like Eddy, Wingard, Young and Robbie Gray.
Chad Wingard/Robbie Gray vs Nick Smith
This is why Wingard playing through the midfield is such a key component of our game plan this year. Wingard is a completely different type of small forward to Gray - whereas Gray is more your traditional lead up forward that also has a great ground game and evasive skills (like a Monfries) that relies on hard work and repeat efforts, Wingard relies on natural ability and talent. These two need to grind Smith into the ground - and the biggest issue he's going to have with them is that one is a right footer and the other is a left footer, so switching to cover a different dominant side defensively should be a bit of a mind * for him.
Brett Eddy vs Dane Rampe
A battle of the mature aged recruits. This could determine the difference between a narrow loss and an epic win (the customary smashing happens in the midfield). If Dixon and Trengove/Ryder are doing their jobs, Eddy should be one on one with Rampe for most of the game. He's going to need to call on his years of experience in the SANFL taking the best defenders to expose an elite AFL defender like Dane, who loves to get involved with intercept marking.
Aaron Young vs Callum Mills
Another intense battle, and one that will require Young to focus defensively because Mills likes pushing up the ground into the midfield. He needs to ensure that doesn't happen by making himself dangerous and always presenting up forward. When Hinkley talks about us not having 'smarts' up forward, he means the ability to know when to hang back and when to follow. It's for this reason why I'd be selecting Angus Monfries and Matt White to give an AFL experienced dynamic to our forward line/midfield and playing them off the bench. A guy like Karl Amon just doesn't have the nous yet to make an elite talent like Mills think twice about going off for a run.
Next week, we will look at the midfield.
