Preview Rnd 1 Preview Port Adelaide v St Kilda 1st April 2012

[SaintsSeptember]

That backline all of a sudden looks very short.

Carlile 192cm Logan 191cm Chaplin 195cm
vs
Riewoldt 193, Kosi 197 and Siposs 189cm
You shouldn't have a problem unless Stanley ends up an extra tall. ( which will make us badly top heavy IMO ).

Meanwhile the Saints defence probably won't have anyone taller than 191cm. ( Fisher , Dempster, Blake, Simpkin ) against some serious tall forwards you guys have.

 

[Phhht]

.......... Logan 191cm .........

He is barely 6ft.

 

[PhoenixPower]

think paul stewart is a better option than jacobs in that backline

 

[SaintsSeptember]

He is barely 6ft.

Oops I confused him with Stewart for some reason

 

[DonDraper]

I'd be pretty surprised if Jacobs is in our 22. We've had better performers in pre season than him, think he'll play this season don't get me wrong, but not Rd 1. Pfeiffer any chance to come in?

 

[Shooting Brake]

How about Blee to do an O'Shea 2011 and be a pick 50-something who makes the 22 for round 1?!

At least he's got some size about him and it allows p.stew to stay a bit further up the ground.

 

[Forzaport]

We have a heap of tall mids as it is so taking one out won't upset the apple cart. P.Stew is IMO the best option as a third defender atm.

 

[Powerstufff]

Hey if I have a Country membership do I just rock up with it to get in? And if I have someone coming with me who is not a member - should I get tickets before hand or just purchase one without knowing if I can get a seat next to them?

Don't you get to select from 3 games (not including Showdowns)? If unsure just check with the club. Regarding the person coming with you don't get too hung up on the actual seat numbers, the ground will be half full. Jut get him/her to buy a ticket in the same area of the ground as the one you get given by the club. You will easily find two adjacent vacant seats so you can sit together.

 

[Macca19]

I wonder if we'll play Westhoff down back and have our own three talls up forward?

 

[finbarr]

Don't worry too much about the weather yet. We're still a week out and a lot can change in that time, particularly in Autumn. Friday and Saturday's forecast is for a shower or two with temps remaining mild to warm, and usually any significant rain will come with the change, not in it's aftermath #barrypittman

Trust in finny, kids.


Mostly sunny. Winds southerly and light.

Min - 14. Max - 24.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Are you Keith Martin?

 

[finbarr]

Brian Bury.

 

[PAFC66]

Vic members out there... do we get 3 free games in Adelaide aswell as all games in Melbourne.??

 

[Kildonan]

Head To Head
Port 12
St Kilda 10

Last 5 Games
LLWLL

Highest Score
2002 – 20.19 139

Biggest Winning Margin
2002 – 83 points

Last Time against St Kilda
R16 2011 – 8.5 53 to 17.7 109

Most Goals vs St Kilda
28 – W Tredrea
18 – P Burgoyne
13 – S Dew

St Kilda will be a tough opponent, make no mistake. The Saints are one of the great unknowns of 2012. People seem to have it marked down as a given that they will continue to fall down the ladder. ‘Aging’ list, on the wrong side of the premiership window, new coach, new ideas, teething problems, but im not so sure that they should be written off so early. Any squad that boasts the likes of Goddard, Riewoldt, Fisher, Montagna, Dal Santo, Hayes, Milne & McEvoy will continue to win plenty of games. Throw in a large number of very good 2nd string players in Gilbert, Dempster, Schneider, Gram, Jones and it is still a first 18 to be reckoned with.

The main question mark will be over how the playing group reacts to the new coaching group. Scott Watters is a talented coach – he proved it with premierships at Subiaco in the WAFL and in charge of Collingwood’s defensive group under Mick Malthouse. Joining him is a man we know all too well in Dean Laidley who will look over the clubs midfield group.

The main change to St Kilda on the field that has been noticeable over the pre season is they have put the defensive, uber structure based game style on the back burner and have been looking at moving the ball long and quick, particularly out of defence. Its all about defeating the zone and getting the opposition flustered. On 83% of kick-ins through the NAB Cup they either went short to the pocket followed by a very quick, very long kick down the wing, or played on from the kick in and went long. In either case, it was all about getting the ball out of defence and hitting hot spots up on the defensive side of the wing. This then usually followed up with more quick movement to an open forward line with marking targets and plenty of small firepower.

On the negative side, in a couple of the NAB matches they struggled with their defensive structures and were well beaten by Sydney and West Coast. Too often they had holes deep in defence with the opposition able to play on quickly themselves and break down their defensive structures. Get the ball in quick and you have the opportunity to score plenty of goals.

KEY PLAYERS

Nick Riewoldt – 2011 wasn’t kind to St Nick. He started showing signs of decreasing output and seemed to struggle with his body throughout the year. But, as the Saints stormed home, so did Nick, with a number of big games to finish off the year. It would be folly to write him off and what better time for Nick to come out fit and firing than Round 1. Not to mention the fact that Nick has often enjoyed feasting on the carcass of our team over the last few years. He hasn’t dropped below 3 goals since 2007 and often our tall defenders have struggled to keep him in check on the lead. It will be the perfect test to see how far Trengove has come in the off season in becoming a premier defender.

Brendon Goddard – Shocking pre season form aside, Brendon is one of St Kildas prime movers. Like Riewoldt, 2011 saw a drop in form from his previous heights of 09 & 10 but Brendon has always enjoyed playing against the Power. He has scored Brownlow votes in the last two meetings between the clubs and averages just under 20 disposals a game against Port Adelaide. Will be interesting to see how he goes in Round 1 given that his pre season form wasn’t great at all.

Nick Dal Santo – Dominated the last meeting between the clubs with a massive 36 disposals and a goal. Nick is the danger man in the midfield, capable of winning it in tight and using it with class and precision on the outside.

YOUNGSTERS

Tom Simpkin – Looks to have beaten Beau Wilkes to the vacant Full Back position. Not the tallest KPP around at 191cm, but he has plenty of smarts uses his body well to take contested marks and also is good on the rebound. Will watch his development this year with interest.

Tom Ledger – Such an interesting prospect. Sub 180cm but a walking ball of muscle and capable of using the ball effectively. Will get plenty of chances this year to cement himself in the side, but expect to see him come off the bench against us.

Jamie Cripps – A first round pick who missed a lot of last season with injury, he has spent plenty of time in the pre season as the link man coming out of defence and will be given every chance to settle in the side as the season progresses. Like Ledger, Im expecting he will come off the bench and look at delivering the ball to the midfield and half forward line.

Jack Steven – Looks capable of moving into the top bracket of St Kilda players this year. Almost Dane Swan like in the way he moves across the turf, with a strong body, plenty of pace and able to win plenty of clearances and hard ball gets

Prediction – I think we have a real good opportunity to start the season off with a win. St Kilda will want to get off to a winning start under a new coach but I think we have the chance to match up against them pretty well. Their pre season form wasn’t great, they can leak goals against good forward lines and they will be trialling a new game style for the first time for premiership points. It will all come down to the midfield battle. If we can at the very least break even in the midfield, then I think we have the defence and the forward line to win the match. If St Kilda get on top in the middle like they did against us last year, then I can’t see us being able to get a positive result. But, it’s a new season so im going to start the year optimistic

Port by 13 points

Great post

I thought I would try and whack a team together for you

FB: Logan, Calile, Surjan
CHB: Pearce, Trengove, Chaplin
C: Hartlett, Boak, Paul Stewart
HF: Gray, Butcher, McCarthy
FF: Wingard, Schulz, D Stewart
Ruck: Redden, Cassisi, Brad Ebert
Int: Westhoff, Broadbent, Pfieffer, O'Shea.

I'm sure I have missed someone

Both clubs have been very active in player recruitment since the end of last season.

Team changes over the off-season: (excluding rookies)

Port:
Ins: Brendon Ah Chee (South Fremantle), Nathan Blee (East Perth), Brad Ebert (West Coast), John McCarthy (Collingwood), Brent Renouf (Hawthorn), Chad Wingard (Sturt)

Outs: Dean Brogan (Greater Western Sydney), Chad Cornes (Greater Western Sydney), Jason Davenport (delisted), Danny Meyer (delisted), Daniel Motlop (delisted), Marlon Motlop (delisted), Michael Pettigrew (retired)

Significant for port are the influx of ready-made players in Brad Ebert, McCarthy and a brilliant youngster in Wingard. Port lose a significant amount of experience and clear out a fair amount of dead wood.

St Kilda:

Ins: Jay Lever (national draft), Daniel Markworth (national draft), Terry Milera (GWS), Jack Newnes (national draft), Sebastian Ross (national draft), Ahmed Saad (GWS), Jimmy Webster (national draft), Beau Wilkes (national draft)

Outs: Steven Baker (delisted), Paul Cahill (delisted), Zac Dawson (Fremantle), Ryan Gamble (delisted), Michael Gardiner (retired), Nick Heyne (Carlton), Will Johnson (delisted), Tom Lynch (Adelaide), Andrew McQualter (Gold Coast), Alistair Smith (delisted), Tommy Walsh (Sydney)

The Saints under Ross Lyon were reticent to play many of the youth coming through. The consequence of this has been that the club has lost a number of developing players to other clubs. The positives are that many players who have been in the pipeline for some time now get their chance. Several of these are more advanced than your average new recruit. In combination with the fresh faces, the Saints have a number of talented youngsters who will get their chance to show their wares and try and wrench a best 22 spot from the much maligned 2nd tier players on the Saints list.

Of special significance are: Wilkes, Milera, Saad, Dunell, Simpkin, Stanley, Winmar, Ledger, Markworth, Cripps, Curren, Siposs, Newnes and Ross.

Several of these players will get a run against Port on Sunday. The senior players will be out to show that they're not done yet. So we have a healthy transitioning of eager youth into the side that is motivating the performances of the established players.

The down side is, as Port would be only too aware, that with youth comes inconsistency.

The outs for St Kilda over the off-season include our tallest defender, our senior ruckman and 2 of our developing tall forwards.

Player availability:

Port Adelaide:

Jasper Pittard (hamstring) 1 week
Jackson Trengove (finger) 1 week
Cam Hitchcock (shoulder) 5 weeks
Matthew Lobbe (hip) 6 weeks
Nick Salter (foot) 6-7 weeks

Trengove shared Port's best and fairest (with Boak) so is a major loss at CHB, Lobbe is also a big hit, but the preseason form of Redden suggests he has that spot covered. The busy small forward Hitchcock also is a loss.

St Kilda:

Daniel Archer (jaw) 1 week
Jason Gram (hamstring) 2-3 weeks
James Gwilt (knee) 3-4 weeks
Raph Clarke (hamstring) indefinite

The loss of Gwilt is a significant one. He is a medium tall with speed and the ability to shrug tackles. An immaculate kick, he is often the designated distributer out of defence. We will also miss Gram's speed and step and his booming kick. Still growing as a player, his role as defensive small has been a much improved one in 2011.

The loss of Dawson, and the unavailability of Gram, Gwilt and Clarke has meant that we were forced to rebuild our defence. Likely ins in defence are Simpkin, Cripps and Geary.

My thoughts on the squad to play Port:

Hayes, Milne, Fisher, Kosi, Riewoldt, Peake, Montagna, Dempster, Jones, Dal, Schneider, Goddard, Gilbert, Geary, McEvoy, Steven, Ledger, Cripps, Siposs, Stanley, Simpkin, Armitage, Wilkes, Milera, Blake.

FB: Geary Simpkin Dempster
HB: Gilbert Fisher Cripps
C: Goddard Hayes Peake
Foll: McEvoy Dal Santo Montagna
HF: Schneider Riewoldt Siposs
FF: Milne Koschitzke Stanley

I/C: Jones, Steven, Armitage
Sub: Ledger
Emerg: Wilkes, Milera, Blake

(Note Blake and Milera were both rested in the final quarter of the VFL match - a practice that may indicate possible inclusion in the side - possibly at the expense of Armitage and Simpkin)


Port Adelaide have a tough fixture from the start:

Home St Kilda
Away Essendon
Home Sydney
Away Collingwood
Away Adelaide

They will be looking to cause an upset in at least one of these matches so the season doesn't get away from them. The Saints have had an unimpressive preseason and look vulnerable away from Etihad.

St Kilda have a relatively soft fixture early:

Away Port Adelaide
Home Gold Coast
Away Western Bulldogs
Home Fremantle
Away Melbourne

Pundits may think that the Saints will enter the season overconfident, expecting to win their first few in a canter. That is not the case. There will be an enormous desire to win their first match with their new coach. Port Adelaide has long been a bogey side for us. The last five meetings are not indicative of the dominance Port has held over us. That memory is burned into the older players' psyche. One misstep and Port will be singing the song at the end of this. They know that.

 

[Stewies Power]

I wonder if we'll play Westhoff down back and have our own three talls up forward?

If he plays

 

[Oliver King]

Thanks for the info there Kildonan.

 

[Ralph Lorenz]

Great stuff Kildonan, appreciate the insight mate!

Lot of handy info on both sides there!

 

[DonDraper]

Cheers Kildonan!

I think Westy will play and float around the ground where he's needed. I can see him playing time on of every quarter in the defensive side of the ground

 

[philthy05]

did sebby ross and markworth play in the pre-season?? hows ross going? interested to see him as everytime i hear him described as a player i go oooooooh yeah.

 

[Kildonan]

Seb Ross has shown a bit this preseason. Will be a player. Is a nice kid too - got his head in the right space. Will play this year but won't make his mark just yet (I expect him to play ~5 matches) - maybe next year. Will be a star in the future.

I didn't see Markworth in the preseason - didn't know what was going on with him but he kicked 4 in the development squad on the weekend IIRC - so he's probably back on track after a setback.

 

[Macca19]

Yeah Ross looks a ripper. Just needs some size about him and he'll be a contributor pretty soon

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

Have heard that Renouf may play.

Going to be really hard picking a team this week tbh.

 

[Macca19]

My team:

F: D Stewart / Butcher / Phillips
HF: McCarthy / Schulz / Gray
C: O'Shea / Cassisi / Hartlett
HB: Pearce / Chaplin / P Stewart
B: Logan / Carlile / Surjan

R: Redden / Boak / Ebert
I: Broadbent / Kornes / Westhoff
S: Young

E: Pfeiffer / Jacobs / Rodan

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

Really like it Macca, just not sure they will bring in Flipper. Would love to see him in though.

Wingard for Flip?

 

[reCOGnise]

Still not convinced about the backline, having Surj & Logan in there, although i love em both!

Paul Stewart i would think will be back there more than we have seen him in the preseason to obviously cover for the loss of Treggers.

Very much looking forward to how an improved midfield effects both our forward and backline!