Preview Port v Footscray, at Marvel – Round 23, 2021 (Friday, 7:20pm ACST)

[Gold Rozee]

I don't know why people are getting so hung up on the curfew thing. The whole game being played is in breach of the lockdown, the curfew doesn't change anything on that front.
[/QUOTE=
They are doing there jobs, just like every other essential worker.

 

[PowerBaz]

This game worries me.

Lose and our mental fragility against top 4 teams might creep in with the next round.

We have been starting slowly which is also another big concern.

Finish 4th or 2nd is huge.

Note: finish 4th watch the AFL stick us down Tas against the Dees.

 

[70sDinosaur]

This game worries me.

Lose and our mental fragility against top 4 teams might creep in with the next round.

We have been starting slowly which is also another big concern.

Finish 4th or 2nd is huge.

Note: finish 4th watch the AFL stick us down Tas against the Dees.

If we lose this week and play a Vic team in the first week of finals, is it better to play as the genuine away team in Melbourne (where we have a good record this year) or as the notional away team at a neutral venue?

I'm not sure but I'm inclined to think that the loss of home ground or home state advantage for the Vic teams probably works in our favour if we have to play an "away" game against any of them at a neutral venue.

A couple of fun facts to consider: Melbourne has never won a final outside Victoria and, until last year's SF and PF, neither had Geelong. Take out the umpire-assisted heroics of 2016 and Footscray also have zero finals wins outside Victoria.

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium, 7.50pm AEST

WESTERN BULLDOGS
In: R.Smith
Out: R.Garcia (omitted), A.Scott (medi-sub)

Last week's sub: A.Scott (unused)

PORT ADELAIDE
In: T.Mckenzie, S.Motlop
Out: T.Clurey (omitted), O.Fantasia (hamstring), S.Mayes (medi-sub)

Last week's sub: S.Mayes (replaced S.Lycett)

TEAMS: Dees dump veterans, emergency skipper, Tigers change half a team

Check out the line-ups for round 23

www.afl.com.au

 

[Grave Danger]

 

[Dalfino]

It is entirely possible that our next 4 weeks (if we go that far) see us up against Bulldogs, Geelong, Brisbane and Melbourne. Time to show our hand.

There's no hiding now. No wriggle room, no excuses. We are fully fit, in form and it's time to stand up. It's finals footy from now on!

The absolute scenes if we beat those four sides - who we lost to during the H&A - on our run to the premiership. Except in that scenario we forget the West Coast game, because we can't let the facts get in the way of a good stat.

 

[Sleezy]

Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium, 7.50pm AEST

WESTERN BULLDOGS
In: R.Smith
Out: R.Garcia (omitted), A.Scott (medi-sub)

Last week's sub: A.Scott (unused)

PORT ADELAIDE
In: T.Mckenzie, S.Motlop
Out: T.Clurey (omitted), O.Fantasia (hamstring), S.Mayes (medi-sub)

Last week's sub: S.Mayes (replaced S.Lycett)

TEAMS: Dees dump veterans, emergency skipper, Tigers change half a team

Check out the line-ups for round 23

www.afl.com.au

Oooh the doggies fans are gonna be pissed at that...

Start the season with 2 rucks, 2 KPFs

Martin gets injured, brings in Sweet.

Top of the ladder, basically unstoppable.

English gets injured and they're down to 1 ruck, and they never really go back.

Jamarra comes in and they try 3 KPFs and one ruck after a mini form slump. It goes pretty well.

Then Bruce gets injured, Jakarta gets dropped and they're down to 1 kpf and and 1 ruck.

Lose their next two, putting their top 4 place at risk, and spend selection fiddling around the edges, swapping marginal flankers for more marginal flankers.

Is this Hinkley circa 2013 to 2019? Or is it just de ja vu?

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Looks like the game has been moved out of Melbourne and is going to be a blood bath.

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

 

[Jojay]

A bit nonplussed about getting a W in this game. Much more important is a good hit out, no injuries and no blow out.

I'll happily take a loss if it means we get em back when the real stuff starts.

 

[70sDinosaur]

View attachment 1210665

Curtis Deboy sounds like someone who should be playing as a running back in the NFL.

 

[OneGreatClub]

View attachment 1210665

Nothing but the best

 

[OneGreatClub]

 

[manutd/dogs]

Oooh the doggies fans are gonna be pissed at that...

Start the season with 2 rucks, 2 KPFs

Martin gets injured, brings in Sweet.

Top of the ladder, basically unstoppable.

English gets injured and they're down to 1 ruck, and they never really go back.

Jamarra comes in and they try 3 KPFs and one ruck after a mini form slump. It goes pretty well.

Then Bruce gets injured, Jakarta gets dropped and they're down to 1 kpf and and 1 ruck.

Lose their next two, putting their top 4 place at risk, and spend selection fiddling around the edges, swapping marginal flankers for more marginal flankers.

Is this Hinkley circa 2013 to 2019? Or is it just de ja vu?

Nailed it mate. Bevo's lost the ****ing plot.

After seeing our team tonight, I cannot believe we are somehow favourites.

Hope you guys enjoy your home qualifying final. Obviously hope we win, but have loaded up big-time on Port.

p.s. Any chance we can get our filthy mitts on Clurey?

 

[Sleezy]

Nailed it mate. Bevo's lost the ****ing plot.

After seeing our team tonight, I cannot believe we are somehow favourites.

Hope you guys enjoy your home qualifying final. Obviously hope we win, but have loaded up big-time on Port.

p.s. Any chance we can get our filthy mitts on Clurey?

I'd take Richards plus a sweetener. But (probably fortunately) I'm not in charge

 

[Alberton Proud]

I wish they’d all stop saying “we’re not concerned what others are saying about us” when it’s patently clear they are

 

[TeeKray]

I'm not much concerned by the result and think it's more important that we play well even if we don't win. To be frank, there's an argument to be made that we're better off finishing 3rd or 4th and playing a QF at a neutral venue than having it under lights at a slippery Adelaide Oval and all of the pressure and nervousness that that situation tends to bring.

 

[Incarnate]

Note: The post above is the original placeholder. The post below was originally posted on pg.3. It can still be found there (without the spoilers).

AFL, 2021 Season - R23


Port Adelaide v. Footscray
Marvel Stadium - Melbourne

MATCH THREAD PREVIEW


---​

A concerned Port barracker from Australia reaches out GremioPower to see how he is doing with the Opening Post for Match Preview thread on the Port Board at BigFooty. Little did GP know, but the thread was already up with no OP whatsoever...

---

​

[Australian Stranger] GP, are you working on the match preview? Australia is practically one day ahead of you…

[GremioPower] I’m aware of that. I’m working on it right now, to be honest.

[AS] I'm telling you this because the thread is already up.

[GP] What do you mean by "the thread is already up?"

[AS] Precisely that. It has been up there since Sunday.

[GP] But I was still thinking about the Saturday game then. The mods really like to speed up things, don't they?

[AS] Yes, that's why I came to talk to you. I thought you might need a hand or two.

[GP] Thanks. I appreciate. I might need it, after all. Do you have anything in mind?

[AS] I do actually. I don't know if it will help you, but I would have some questions.

[GP] Great! I love questions. Shoot them!

​

1. HUMOUR?

Spoiler: Part 1 (Image)

Spoiler: Part 1 (Text)

[AS] You are good in self-deprecating humor. Can you do it this week? It seems we are good now!

[GP] It does, doesn’t it? Thank you for your kind words and for the great question! I believe that my OP last year was an exception. We were up and running in 2017, and I did a very humorous preview then. In 2018 and in 2019, if we didn’t laugh, we would be crying. The approach was necessary.

[AS] So, are we going to see more humor again?

[GP] Maybe, but I’m thinking in doing something different.

[AS] What is that you’re thinking? I’m curious.

​

2. HINKLEY

Spoiler: Part 2

[GP] You see… I’ve been very critical of Hinkley after the disaster of 2018. I wouldn’t change anything I have said; even those things that I’ve been wrong. Back then, those were my opinion, and I still believe that overall they were solid. Yet, this season we seem to have repeated what we have done in 2020 – in a different path, but with similar results. We may have found a good constancy. As head coach, Hinkley deserves some praise for that. I will probably write on this as well.

[AS] So you are pro-Hinkley, now…

[GP] No. I haven’t said that. I said he deserves praise. Besides, I want Port to be Premiers, which means I want Hinkley to be a premier coach. Still, not even a flag can change the fact that he shouldn’t be leading our squad. It’s possible to do the wrong things and get the right results. It doesn’t mean you were right. It just means you were lucky.

[AS] Lucky is good.

[GP] Indeed, it is! Lucky would be good enough for me. Do not get me wrong. A flag is not less of a flag because you won it through luck. Even doing the right things, luck is still necessary. One just needs less of it, which is desirable.

​

3. MINOR PREMIERSHIP

Spoiler: Part 3

[AS] Does it concern you that we seem unable to beat Top-4 sides?

[GP] Of course, it does. It’s impossible to win a flag without beating Top-4 sides.

[AS] Don't you believe we have a shot at all?

[GP] Mate, we are fighting to be back-to-back Minor premiers.

[AS] That’s a good point to bring it up. There has been some controversy on this.

[GP] True. To be honest, it is a weird controversy, since it doesn’t depend solely on us. We need to beat the Dogs for a Top-2 spot, and beating them is necessary for us to to have some shot at the Minor Premiership.

​

4. (NOT) BEATING THE BEST

Spoiler: Part 4

[AS] And we would have beaten a Top-4 to get it.

[GP] Not so fast.

[AS] What do you mean?

[GP] There’s a good chance that, if we win, the Dogs fall out of the Top-4. So, in a very Port fashion, if we lose, we would have lost to another Top-4 side; but, if we win, we wouldn’t have won against a Top-4 side.

[AS] Unbelievable!

[GP] Yet, it’s true. But, no worries, we can see things from other perspectives. First of all, it is difficult to beat Top-4 sides for everybody; including Top-4 sides. This season, it’s even harder, because there seems to be a Top-6. They are all grouped together.

[AS] And are we better against the Top-6 than the Top-4?

[GP] Errr… No! We are not. Port still has the worst record considering only the matches against those clubs.

[AS] (F**k me dead…)

[GP] Ports, mate…

[AS] Hahaha! Yes, yes… Ports! We should be used to it by now.

[GP] Hard, isn’t it? The things we do for love…

[AS] Hahahaha! Ok. I’m still curious about the OP. Tell me, if things don’t improve with the Top-6, why have you mentioned it? I hope you will explain this.

[GP] Oh, I will. It does improve. It actually may not be as bad as it sounds.

[AS] How?

[GP] The ladder is closer in the second half of the season than in the first. Lions and Cats have improved, but so did we. There are two games to be played, and one is ours – against the Dogs, who seem to have been struggling recently. Moreover, the Demons already “won" this “league,” but after a 5-0 start, they may end losing their last 2.

[AS] And, in the match preview, you are going to explain what this all means…

​

5. GOOD ENOUGH

Spoiler: Part 5

[GP] Mate… In brief, it means that the flag might be wide open – even for us. The 2021 Finals may be a bigger crapshoot than last year’s. The odds were good even before covid decided to star a sequel in Australia.

[AS] The pandemic! It has certainly makes things tough, but also interesting, isn’t it. Are you going to write about it as well?

[GP] I can talk about the pandemic in the thread, or in PM. Being from Brazil, I’ve gotten some experience on the subject. However, this is about footy. The point on covid is that it has added unpredictability in an already unpredictable game. That may favor us. Again, I don’t trust Port in STP. Hence, change might be good. Again, we will need all the luck we might possibly get.

[AS] Aren’t we good enough?

[GP] We are. We wouldn’t be leading the ladder for the second half of the season if we weren’t. The issue is that it’s going to be close. Everybody will need luck. We will probably need more luck than the other clubs.

[AS] Why is that?

[GP] We are good enough, but that’s it. We aren’t better than that. We might have improved, but we still struggle against the best sides. Our list seems to be healthy at the right time, but our gameplay have issues. So, I am glad that we are definitely in the mix, but I’m not confident that we may win it all.

[AS] I understand. Aren't you going to talk at all about the game?

​

6. THOSE COWARD DOGS!

Spoiler: Part 6

[GP] Is there a game to play? I have totally forgotten about it! I usually don’t talk about it. Is it going to be in Ballarat?

[AS] No. At Marvel.

[GP] Those Dogs are a bunch of cowards, aren’t they?

[AS] Yes, but I don’t know why you are saying this specifically.

[GP] Did you know that they would have a perfect record at Mars, if not for Port? Then, what do they do? They stop inviting us to play there! That’s FEAR!

[AS] Totally!

[GP] Can you imagine if we would act similarly? We would practically stop playing at Adelaide Oval. You can’t do that… But, they will see. It’s going to blow up on their faces. We are unbeaten in the Docklands this season!

[AS] They can run, but they can’t ride!

[GP] Exactly! We have let them play against us at Adelaide Oval, the least they could do to retribute was hosting us on a ground we play well. Mars would be better, but Marvel will do fine.

​

7. EAGLES & TIGERS

Spoiler: Part 7

[AS] Will you write a “Last Time We Met” section?

[GP] I usually do mention a couple of things for perspective. For instance, I could tell people about the R9 match. There has been quite some time after Round 9, though. Back then, just so you can see how far it has been, Eagles and Tigers were in contention for Finals!

[AS] What?!

[GP] Can you believe it?

[AS] Richmond and West Coast were fighting for spots in the Finals!?

[GP] Yes!

[AS] You are inventing things now.

[GP] No. I’m serious! They were both in the 8, and they weren’t far behind of the Top-4 teams. Eagles were actually tied for 4th; only 7th on %. And they both won their R9 games. The Eagles ended that round tied for THIRD!

[AS] My Lord Geezis Kroyst! It feels like a journey through ages…

[GP] Yep. I felt like an archeologist while collecting the data. Those two basket cases thought they had a chance…

[AS] Hahahaha!

[GP] I will probably not mention that, though. It will deviate from the main subject of the OP.

[AS] I think you should...

​

8. LAST TIME WE MET

Spoiler: Part 8

[GP] I know! Ok. I will try to put it there somewhere. On our previous game against the Dogs, I am only going to say a few things, like: it was a clash of 2v3 (now, it’s 3v4); they were 1 win ahead of us on the ladder; and they have beaten us quite comfortably (12.5:77 - 15.6:96).

[AS] Just that?

[GP] Well, the game started equal, but they ran us over in the second part of Q1; we reacted in Q2, but they dominated 2/3 of Q3 to put the game away from us for good. The stats don’t show any sign of their dominance, but for disposals, marks, and EI50%.

[AS] Why would that be? Any idea?

[GP] No clue. Would it be because they’ve dominated only 35 minutes of an 120' game? I don’t know. I hope people may be able to comment explaining it. The score seemed to have flattered us that night.

[AS] But people would like to know your opinion on our line-up, the Dogs’…

[GP] What could I say? The Quadrangle of Doom was in the line-up, but we didn’t have Lycett. Hence, it doesn’t count. Houston, Butters, and Duursma were also out. Farrell and Hartlett were in. Our side seems to be stronger now. I cannot comment on the Dogs. I could also say that, after the R9 match, they remained in 2nd, while we dropped off of the Top-4. Since then, however, their record is 7-5; while ours is 10-2. I don’t think I have anything else to add.


[AS] It looks that you have enough for the OP, already.

[GP] I hope so. Thanks for helping.

[AS] My pleasure.

​

 

[70sDinosaur]

I'm not much concerned by the result and think it's more important that we play well even if we don't win. To be frank, there's an argument to be made that we're better off finishing 3rd or 4th and playing a QF at a neutral venue than having it under lights at a slippery Adelaide Oval and all of the pressure and nervousness that that situation tends to bring.

That's true but if we lose the "away" QF we'll probably have a tough game against Brisbane in the SF.

If we win this week we might play Brisbane in the QF. Again, a tough game, but I think I'd rather play them in a QF than in a sudden death game.

In years gone by, finishing top 2 and losing the home QF would have been fatal to our chances because it would put us in an away PF if we won the SF. But this year it would be less fatal because we'd still potentially get a neutral PF.

If the AFL is serious about playing both PFs in Perth, then I think finishing first or second is best for us because it gives us two chances to win a game at home to reach the PF. If the PF is going to be at a neutral venue then it doesn't really matter if we get there by winning the first game or the second game.

 

[VineValerian]

Nailed it mate. Bevo's lost the ****ing plot.

After seeing our team tonight, I cannot believe we are somehow favourites.

Hope you guys enjoy your home qualifying final. Obviously hope we win, but have loaded up big-time on Port.

p.s. Any chance we can get our filthy mitts on Clurey?

Bevo saying that his team are about to start "pulsing" again, intimating that they have not had much to play for lately, and confident that they can "completely overwhelm" Port, smacks of supreme self confidence.
Maybe over confidence?
He could be right. But it gives a bit of ammo to both us and the other finalists!
Gutsy strategy.

 

[Tibbs]

A bit nonplussed about getting a W in this game. Much more important is a good hit out, no injuries and no blow out.

I'll happily take a loss if it means we get em back when the real stuff starts.

Nonplussed? ... So you will be surprised, confused, bewildered, bemused if Port win?

Or is it "not fussed"?

 

[philreich]

Bevo saying that his team are about to start "pulsing" again, intimating that they have not had much to play for lately, and confident that they can "completely overwhelm" Port, smacks of supreme self confidence.
Maybe over confidence?
He could be right. But it gives a bit of ammo to both us and the other finalists!
Gutsy strategy.

Maybe it's also an indirect plea to the umpires to do the right thing by the Dogs - it's one of my biggest fears about tonight.

 

[sobrave]

Bevo saying that his team are about to start "pulsing" again, intimating that they have not had much to play for lately, and confident that they can "completely overwhelm" Port, smacks of supreme self confidence.
Maybe over confidence?
He could be right. But it gives a bit of ammo to both us and the other finalists!
Gutsy strategy.

He should Have said it's a tough competition and someone's got to lose

 

[Windy Cindy]

Can’t win based on selection. This ones on you ken you absolute *******

we have gone too too heavy with very little forward line pressure. SPP had to get picked.

this will be finals like so the ball will be on the ground and should be tight and tough and we have gone 4 bigs.. wtf and realistically it’s not like any are massive pack markers, so when the ball hits the gro7nd we will be stuffed. Ladhams doesn’t chase, robbie neither, charlie can’t as he has normally been mugged by 3 opponents.

dogs have 1 ruck only and then I’m assuming Dunkley to pinch hit so no need to ladhams, who has struggled under the real heat of finals.

One thing I want to see is the bont tagged from the start with drew and I’d have loved to see SPP put some forward pressure on Daniel .

dogs by 30 and a golden opportunity pissed away.

 

[Schulzenfest]

Oooh the doggies fans are gonna be pissed at that...

Start the season with 2 rucks, 2 KPFs

Martin gets injured, brings in Sweet.

Top of the ladder, basically unstoppable.

English gets injured and they're down to 1 ruck, and they never really go back.

Jamarra comes in and they try 3 KPFs and one ruck after a mini form slump. It goes pretty well.

Then Bruce gets injured, Jakarta gets dropped and they're down to 1 kpf and and 1 ruck.

Lose their next two, putting their top 4 place at risk, and spend selection fiddling around the edges, swapping marginal flankers for more marginal flankers.

Is this Hinkley circa 2013 to 2019? Or is it just de ja vu?

Beveridge is a terrible coach and always has been. If not for the most golden umpiring run in the history of golden umpiring runs in 2016 he'd have been sacked years ago.

Hinkley > Beveridge. Not even joking.