Now that the season is over, I wanted to do a bit of a write up, touching on all the highs and lows of the season. I thought of presenting the good, the bad and the ugly moments of the year for our club and thought doing it in this format allows for equal parts optimism, realism and pessimism.
Looks like it will end up a pretty bloated post if I include everything, so here is what I found to be the good in 2015, if people like the post I'll work on the bad and the ugly and post them as their own separate posts later on.
Don't know if this belongs as a single post or in another thread, mods feel happy to move if you must, but otherwise I hope everyone enjoys, feel free to voice your own personal best and worst moments of the year and add on anything I missed and any general criticism.
Without further ado, here is The Good for Port Adelaide in 2015.
The only team to beat the reigning premiers twice, both at home and away
Strangely enough, for the team that recorded losses against the two bottom teams of the competition, we were also the only side to defeat the reigning premiers twice. That first quarter against Hawthorn on our Round 4 Anzac Day match was best described by Kenny as a ‘perfect quarter of football’ and that it was. Kicking an incredible seven unanswered goals in a row in the first 17 minutes of the match, Port Adelaide looked to be delivering on all of its promises for the year.
While our win at home was a thriller, it was our win at the daunting Etihad Stadium that was actually the truly dominant performance, one which saw us own the lead for the entire game. The Hawks got close a few times, but we didn’t allow them to get in front by a single point and ended up coming home very comfortably in the last quarter with a powerhouse performance in a game absolutely no one picked us to win.
The consistent and remarkable form of our All-Australians
In a year that was marred by disappointment and inconsistency, two men in particular stood up and gave the fans a reason to watch us every weekend, even when we were suffering our most frustrating form issues. Those men were none other than Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray. Chad ended the year as our highest goal scorer, and the sixth highest overall, with 53 goals, averaging 2.3 a game. As bad as things got this year, getting to see those freakish goals from a man who has undoubtedly proven himself as the best small forward in the competition always gave us something to cheer for.
Honorable mention must also go to the classy Robbie Gray. His clean disposals and work around the clearance was as good as ever and was essential in the wins we did manage this year, and also prevented big blow outs in some of the close matches we lost. He often kept us in the fight and was an important part in allowing us to play our preferred style of football. Both players cemented their impact on the year by securing spots in the All-Australian team, a second appearance for 22 year old Wingard.
Nominations for Mark and Goal of the Year
After a year that saw us win in both categories, it was good to once again earn a few marks and goals of the year nominations throughout the season, with Matthew Broadbent, Chad Wingard and John Butcher all winning Mark of the Year nominations
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/2
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/11
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/23
And Hamish Hartlett, Jake Neade, Justin Westhoff and Karl Amon all winning Goal of the Year nominations as well
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/4
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/17
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/18
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/22
Ultimately trivial awards, I know, but still some great individual highlights to see there from our often lackluster year.
Our tribute match against Collingwood
After losing our former assistant coach, Phil Walsh in the tragedy that rocked the footy world, the team rallied together to play our tribute match to the man that helped us win a flag. In Round 15, after another disappointing loss against the Swans, we came up against Collingwood, who were having a similarly poor year. It really could have gone either way, and we almost didn't make it. It was a messy, not entirely convincing win, but it was a win regardless and one the team desperately needed.
It was a beautiful way to honor the late Phil Walsh, whose mantra was simply to 'get the job done', and one of the most emotional games this fan has ever seen. The scenes afterwards of a wrecked Ollie Wines, clutching his captain while breaking down in tears and our normally stoic coach unable to hold back his sorrow are images I will never forget. The post-game tribute was one of those special moments of the game you remember forever.
Standing up when finals hopes were dashed
Finally starting to find some good form again in the last half of the season, our loss against the Bulldogs in Round 19 was devastating and our biggest loss for the year. It also spelled the end of our finals hopes. Hinkley famously stated after the game that he was looking forward to our last four games of the season, to see who in the team would stand up when there was nothing left to play for. Well, as it turns out, a number of our players ended up responding to Kenny’s call and we went on to win our next four games against GWS, Hawthorn, GCS and Fremantle and play some of the best footy we’ve played all year.
For many fans it would be too little, too late, but it showed that our team doesn’t necessarily need a flag to play for - they will play for their fans and they will play for their pride, even when they have nothing left. It was also a reminder to the rest of the teams that despite our poor year, next year we would be back bigger and better and that one would be unwise to underestimate us come 2016.
Break out years for some of our fringe players
One of the other highlights to take away from the year and make fans more likely to view 2015 as a necessary blip on our road to our next premiership, was the emergence of some of our younger, fringe players. All year we were waiting, asking, demanding that some of our lesser players stand up and make a spot for themselves in the team. After a nauseating rotation of the same fringe players in Moore, Young, Mitchell and other underperformers, it didn't look like it was going to happen and 2015 truly was a wasted year.
But finally some of our boys broke out in the last quarter of the season. Sam Gray, now being played in his correct position, proved himself to be one of our most anticipated players of 2016, getting a run of 6 consecutive games that saw him win Best on Ground a few times and have midfield performances that rivaled the likes of our other Gray, Robbie (sometimes even besting him). Other mentions include Ah Chee, who had a break out game against Greater Western Sydney and Karl Amon who proved himself against the Gold Coast Suns.
Gray and Ah Chee were looking to be delisted by the years end, and Amon was a young player who only made his debut this year. If not for our poor year, these players may not have been given the chances they did in 2015, and thus their potential could have gone unrealized. All three have now proven that they could very easily carve themselves spots in our starting 22 next year, expect big years from all three of them.
The return of Port Adelaide aggression
The last few matches of the season continued to inspire hope for next year, which saw the return of true Port Adelaide aggression. In a season where fans often lamented we had gone soft and which saw very few threats of suspensions or fines, it was a sight for sore eyes when our players finally started to play tough, intimidating footy again. Not only in our game plan, but in the way we backed our teammates.
In all four of our last matches of the year, heated brawls broke out and a number of our boys walked away with bruises and lighter pockets. But never did we let ourselves get too caught up in it, giving it back just as hard to our opposition but ultimately maintaining the composure to still go on and win the game. This was the Port Adelaide we all knew and loved.
Port Adelaide overtakes Adelaide Crows in membership numbers
In an off-field victory, a huge milestone for our team was reached this year when we overtook the Adelaide Crows in membership numbers for the first time in our history. Now the sixth biggest club in the AFL, our growth in membership allows us to definitively lay claim to being the true pride of South Australia.
Ken Hinkley finally scratches off his last club to beat and Paddy Ryder gets revenge on his former team
Another milestone came in our defeat over Essendon in Round 17. An important win in that it was the last club our coach Ken Hinkley had left to get a win over and the first game for former Don, Paddy Ryder. In three short years Ken has taken our team from laughing stock of the comp, to one that has now bested every opposition and Ryder could not have put on a better performance over his former side, who responded to jeers from fans and teammates by kicking four magical goals.
Looks like it will end up a pretty bloated post if I include everything, so here is what I found to be the good in 2015, if people like the post I'll work on the bad and the ugly and post them as their own separate posts later on.
Don't know if this belongs as a single post or in another thread, mods feel happy to move if you must, but otherwise I hope everyone enjoys, feel free to voice your own personal best and worst moments of the year and add on anything I missed and any general criticism.
Without further ado, here is The Good for Port Adelaide in 2015.
The only team to beat the reigning premiers twice, both at home and away
Strangely enough, for the team that recorded losses against the two bottom teams of the competition, we were also the only side to defeat the reigning premiers twice. That first quarter against Hawthorn on our Round 4 Anzac Day match was best described by Kenny as a ‘perfect quarter of football’ and that it was. Kicking an incredible seven unanswered goals in a row in the first 17 minutes of the match, Port Adelaide looked to be delivering on all of its promises for the year.
While our win at home was a thriller, it was our win at the daunting Etihad Stadium that was actually the truly dominant performance, one which saw us own the lead for the entire game. The Hawks got close a few times, but we didn’t allow them to get in front by a single point and ended up coming home very comfortably in the last quarter with a powerhouse performance in a game absolutely no one picked us to win.
The consistent and remarkable form of our All-Australians
In a year that was marred by disappointment and inconsistency, two men in particular stood up and gave the fans a reason to watch us every weekend, even when we were suffering our most frustrating form issues. Those men were none other than Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray. Chad ended the year as our highest goal scorer, and the sixth highest overall, with 53 goals, averaging 2.3 a game. As bad as things got this year, getting to see those freakish goals from a man who has undoubtedly proven himself as the best small forward in the competition always gave us something to cheer for.
Honorable mention must also go to the classy Robbie Gray. His clean disposals and work around the clearance was as good as ever and was essential in the wins we did manage this year, and also prevented big blow outs in some of the close matches we lost. He often kept us in the fight and was an important part in allowing us to play our preferred style of football. Both players cemented their impact on the year by securing spots in the All-Australian team, a second appearance for 22 year old Wingard.
Nominations for Mark and Goal of the Year
After a year that saw us win in both categories, it was good to once again earn a few marks and goals of the year nominations throughout the season, with Matthew Broadbent, Chad Wingard and John Butcher all winning Mark of the Year nominations
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/2
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/11
https://markoftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/23
And Hamish Hartlett, Jake Neade, Justin Westhoff and Karl Amon all winning Goal of the Year nominations as well
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/4
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/17
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/18
https://goaloftheyear.afl.com.au/vote/round/22
Ultimately trivial awards, I know, but still some great individual highlights to see there from our often lackluster year.
Our tribute match against Collingwood
After losing our former assistant coach, Phil Walsh in the tragedy that rocked the footy world, the team rallied together to play our tribute match to the man that helped us win a flag. In Round 15, after another disappointing loss against the Swans, we came up against Collingwood, who were having a similarly poor year. It really could have gone either way, and we almost didn't make it. It was a messy, not entirely convincing win, but it was a win regardless and one the team desperately needed.
It was a beautiful way to honor the late Phil Walsh, whose mantra was simply to 'get the job done', and one of the most emotional games this fan has ever seen. The scenes afterwards of a wrecked Ollie Wines, clutching his captain while breaking down in tears and our normally stoic coach unable to hold back his sorrow are images I will never forget. The post-game tribute was one of those special moments of the game you remember forever.
Standing up when finals hopes were dashed
Finally starting to find some good form again in the last half of the season, our loss against the Bulldogs in Round 19 was devastating and our biggest loss for the year. It also spelled the end of our finals hopes. Hinkley famously stated after the game that he was looking forward to our last four games of the season, to see who in the team would stand up when there was nothing left to play for. Well, as it turns out, a number of our players ended up responding to Kenny’s call and we went on to win our next four games against GWS, Hawthorn, GCS and Fremantle and play some of the best footy we’ve played all year.
For many fans it would be too little, too late, but it showed that our team doesn’t necessarily need a flag to play for - they will play for their fans and they will play for their pride, even when they have nothing left. It was also a reminder to the rest of the teams that despite our poor year, next year we would be back bigger and better and that one would be unwise to underestimate us come 2016.
Break out years for some of our fringe players
One of the other highlights to take away from the year and make fans more likely to view 2015 as a necessary blip on our road to our next premiership, was the emergence of some of our younger, fringe players. All year we were waiting, asking, demanding that some of our lesser players stand up and make a spot for themselves in the team. After a nauseating rotation of the same fringe players in Moore, Young, Mitchell and other underperformers, it didn't look like it was going to happen and 2015 truly was a wasted year.
But finally some of our boys broke out in the last quarter of the season. Sam Gray, now being played in his correct position, proved himself to be one of our most anticipated players of 2016, getting a run of 6 consecutive games that saw him win Best on Ground a few times and have midfield performances that rivaled the likes of our other Gray, Robbie (sometimes even besting him). Other mentions include Ah Chee, who had a break out game against Greater Western Sydney and Karl Amon who proved himself against the Gold Coast Suns.
Gray and Ah Chee were looking to be delisted by the years end, and Amon was a young player who only made his debut this year. If not for our poor year, these players may not have been given the chances they did in 2015, and thus their potential could have gone unrealized. All three have now proven that they could very easily carve themselves spots in our starting 22 next year, expect big years from all three of them.
The return of Port Adelaide aggression
The last few matches of the season continued to inspire hope for next year, which saw the return of true Port Adelaide aggression. In a season where fans often lamented we had gone soft and which saw very few threats of suspensions or fines, it was a sight for sore eyes when our players finally started to play tough, intimidating footy again. Not only in our game plan, but in the way we backed our teammates.
In all four of our last matches of the year, heated brawls broke out and a number of our boys walked away with bruises and lighter pockets. But never did we let ourselves get too caught up in it, giving it back just as hard to our opposition but ultimately maintaining the composure to still go on and win the game. This was the Port Adelaide we all knew and loved.
Port Adelaide overtakes Adelaide Crows in membership numbers
In an off-field victory, a huge milestone for our team was reached this year when we overtook the Adelaide Crows in membership numbers for the first time in our history. Now the sixth biggest club in the AFL, our growth in membership allows us to definitively lay claim to being the true pride of South Australia.
Ken Hinkley finally scratches off his last club to beat and Paddy Ryder gets revenge on his former team
Another milestone came in our defeat over Essendon in Round 17. An important win in that it was the last club our coach Ken Hinkley had left to get a win over and the first game for former Don, Paddy Ryder. In three short years Ken has taken our team from laughing stock of the comp, to one that has now bested every opposition and Ryder could not have put on a better performance over his former side, who responded to jeers from fans and teammates by kicking four magical goals.
