Autopsy Round 6, 2021: Port Adelaide v St.Kilda

[gringo2011]

I don't hate him - its just that I don't have as much love as others.

Since Jake has been rucking, Battle has been playing hb/hf depending on who's playing ruck. Played a fair bit forward when we went with a shorter forward line.

People say don't move him around it stops his development but that's nonsense because most of the players are trained to be able to play multiple positions to give us flexibility in the game. Like I said - given his height and his lack of real "athletic" prowess I think he will struggle to effectively hold down a kp post.

Been watching the replay in dribs and drabs - can't help wondering why we didn't chase Aliir Aliir a bit more. He and Howard would be a great combo for the next 5 years. Money I guess.

That's what I said as soon as I had heard Port were getting him. If he was available why the * weren't we in the line. He looks exactly like what we need and he wasn't even expensive. It was right in our wheel house too....future second rounder.

They are great list managers. Sold Howard who was depth for a first round pick upgrade after getting him for a super late pick in a s**t draft and replace him with a player of similar standard on the cheap. Hard not to be jealous.

 

[gringo2011]

Looks like no Plan B in Ratt's bag of tricks..maybe time for Plan C?

What's crazy is that watching the game I thought all our most positive bits of play were when we were unpredictable or chaotic. We want to play a West Coast style with skills like a VFL side. You could see exactly what we were going to do because we are predictable and all they had to do was pressure the guy where you already knew the ball was coming too.

Seb Ross was really effective because he doesn't think, he just hacks the ball anywhere blindly and it came off, Danny Mac has been effective because he's frenetic and moves like a boiling kettle. No-one can read what he's about to do next, possibly even him. Gresham is also good at making the unexpected happen but obviously we don't have him.

We'd be much better basing our game on Richmond than peak Hawks. When you're predictable, you have to have the skills to win contests and keep the ball off the opposition.

 

[gringo2011]

looking like a bottom 4 - 6 side

Paddy Ryder might be the reset, probably too late for finals but I think if we get on a roll we might finish better than that.

Stats insider has us finishing 13th, below sides like Carlton, Essendon and Hawks but above Collingwood.

 

[kernelT]

Paddy Ryder might be the reset, probably too late for finals but I think if we get on a roll we might finish better than that.

Stats insider has us finishing 13th, below sides like Carlton, Essendon and Hawks but above Collingwood.

Things look bad right now but we’ve probably lost 3 out 4 to top 4 sides, the main problem is the utter capitulation. A bit of confidence might improve a lot of players overall skill and some early scoreboard pressure would go a long way.

 

[Mowman]

I still have no idea what we were doing last draft. There were good players taken after our picks, Berry that went after Allison looks exactly like what we would have needed. Poulter, O'Driscoll, Eddie Ford, Isiah Winder etc all look more like needs. We took a speculative less developed version of Battle and an older Wilkie clone. Strange when you only have a couple of picks. The sooner we realise you have to invest in recruiters the better. It reminds me of the Lyon era where we just threw away all our picks with no interest in the future.

IMO Club had to be thinking we were a top 4 side and a chance for a flag only reason they drafted like they did.
Still think we done well getting Higgins and Crouch, Higgins has kicked 11 goals and it can’t be easy playing in that forward line at the minute

 

[BrutThough]

OK - but it then raises the questions - who gets dropped so that player X is afforded the luxury of playing a fixed position?

If Battle played full time at CHB last week then how do you manage Marshall/Carlisle because they don't play 100% of the game? How do you allow for King to spend time off the ground? How do you have the flexibility to change the structures to go smaller/taller etc?

In that scenario, you would have done the same time management that we did in the West Coast and Richmond games since the forward set up would have been the same as those games.

Now, a lot of us thought we looked slightly short up forward in those games so moving Battle forward made some sense structurally. But from Battle's perspective, he played rd1 up forward, spend ads 2 and 3 rotating up on the wing with some stints forward then played rd 4-5 down back before being asked to go forward again. It is great for us that we have someone who can plug holes as we need them but from his perspective, not getting anything consistency in his game and having what he is expected to do changing every week would be a very difficult task and make it much harder to get the most out of himself.

 

[BrutThough]

That's what I said as soon as I had heard Port were getting him. If he was available why the fu** weren't we in the line. He looks exactly like what we need and he wasn't even expensive. It was right in our wheel house too....future second rounder.

They are great list managers. Sold Howard who was depth for a first round pick upgrade after getting him for a super late pick in a sh*t draft and replace him with a player of similar standard on the cheap. Hard not to be jealous.

Port had been working with him behind the scenes for a few years. Good job by them finding someone who could fill a hole they created for themselves and realising Sydney has salary cap issues that needed fixed.

Every club pulls off great trades like that. We've had multiple of our own in recent years.

 

[Crusty Undies]

I wouldn't be writing us just yet , the team has a lot of class and believe it or not most of them have good disposal but the way they are playing you wouldn't think so.

Steele is a genuine star and Marshall is very close to it when right.
Brad Crouch is a A Grade midfielder though he is not showing it atm , but once we can keep the same midfield together for a few games he should start to show it.
Having King and Howard as book ends are as good as anything you could wish for but we can't expect King to be a world beater at 20 yrs of age.
Coffield , Clark are slowly getting there and every game played the better they will become, Paton who is injured is also better than average.
Also we all know the ability of Butler , Hill , Higgins , Membery , Billings , Gresham , Jones and they are all more than useful.
I still feel losing both Marshall and Ryder at the start of the year derailed us , even one of them in the team at the start would of settled the team down but then again I 'm stilled baffled why they have not used Carlisle in his best position and still throw Battle around like a Mr fix it.
Anyway they need to win the next 2 games or the season cooked.

The unbridled optimism from you blows my mind sometimes premo. Never change mate

 

[bergholt]

Paddy Ryder might be the reset, probably too late for finals but I think if we get on a roll we might finish better than that.

Stats insider has us finishing 13th, below sides like Carlton, Essendon and Hawks but above Collingwood.

I trust Squiggle more, has us 17th with 8 wins but terrible percentage:

Basically only a game and percentage from 10th though so a lot of possibilities there, if we just get a wriggle on.

That said, maybe we'd rather finish 17th with 8 wins than 10th with 10 wins - much better draft pick.

 

[D2D3]

I trust Squiggle more, has us 17th with 8 wins but terrible percentage:
View attachment 1113340
Basically only a game and percentage from 10th though so a lot of possibilities there, if we just get a wriggle on.

That said, maybe we'd rather finish 17th with 8 wins than 10th with 10 wins - much better draft pick.

Has a side finished 2nd last with 8 wins before? Seems like more than you’d expect

 

[kernelT]

Not sure how you can get a good gauge on freo, they haven't played a single side that finished in the top 8 last year yet.

They have a great draw, but are just as likely to fall apart and only win another 4-5 games.

I'm not putting money on them playing finals.

 

[kernelT]

Same for Sydney, they came out of the blocks hard, but just lost two games that a top 8 side should win.

 

[LiterallyNobody]

I’d prefer to finish in the bottom six - better draft pick and potentially better draw. Either way too six is out of the question so no worries about a draw such as this one.

 

[Pardon me]

I'd prefer to try and win every game personally.

 

[Crusty Undies]

I’d prefer to finish in the bottom six - better draft pick and potentially better draw. Either way too six is out of the question so no worries about a draw such as this one.

The season is not cooked though. We all sort of expected 2-4 right? That was a distinct possibility. The manner of reaching 2-4 and the way we lost isn't ideal but how about we give it till mid season to throw in the towel at least...

 

[ScrappyDo]

My hypothesis is that because Ben is marginally less gifted, he had to work a little bit harder on the basics, and its serving him well. Not that I know anything about their junior careers...

If we'd play a style of footy that utilized our other forwards then Max would more often be one out on his defender and be able to do his thing properly. It's the monotony of our bombing to packs that's f****** everything else..

 

[Roddy Grant]

I think the season is over for us. I'm looking at the midyear draft and the end of year draft and wondering how many years will it take for us to stop being a cellar dweller.

Maybe I am being overly optimistic but I honestly believe that this will be next year.

Some harsh lessons this year, a group that is relatively new having to go through adversity of poor performance (through a tough draw) together.

It will either bring the guys together or drive them apart. I hope for the former and think we have the talent on the list to give it a shake when it clicks.

 

[LiterallyNobody]

The season is not cooked though. We all sort of expected 2-4 right? That was a distinct possibility. The manner of reaching 2-4 and the way we lost isn't ideal but how about we give it till mid season to throw in the towel at least...

Absolutely the season is not cooked but in all honesty it’s going to take an absolute miracle to turn it all around. I’m not sure I gave the faith in us to do it. The hope for sure but the faith and belief has been sapped out of me. Will only return if we can knock off someone I didn’t expect to.

 

[LiterallyNobody]

I'd prefer to try and win every game personally.

Obviously that’s what I want too but that looks most unlikely.

 

[ScrappyDo]

People say don't move him around it stops his development but that's nonsense because most of the players are trained to be able to play multiple positions to give us flexibility in the game. Like I said - given his height and his lack of real "athletic" prowess I think he will struggle to effectively hold down a kp post.

Sorry Pebbs this is real tripe.
Flexibility is built from a base of competence which players learn in their first few seasons by learning one position well and building from there. If you throw them around too much in their early days you deprive them of the basics that see them through their careers.
This is true in all sports and most facets of life.

 

[bergholt]

Has a side finished 2nd last with 8 wins before? Seems like more than you’d expect

Yeah it does hey? Good point, I'll have a quick look through.

 

[Saintbloke]

Probably doesn't matter what kind of game plan or style the team is supposed to play.. if most of the team is playing bruise-free footy, then nothing will work.

 

[ScrappyDo]

I still have no idea what we were doing last draft. There were good players taken after our picks, Berry that went after Allison looks exactly like what we would have needed. Poulter, O'Driscoll, Eddie Ford, Isiah Winder etc all look more like needs. We took a speculative less developed version of Battle and an older Wilkie clone. Strange when you only have a couple of picks. The sooner we realise you have to invest in recruiters the better. It reminds me of the Lyon era where we just threw away all our picks with no interest in the future.

Whilst I agree with not understanding the strategy for last draft, if taken in isolation each move can be justified.

.We already had Bytel and Byrnes to feed into the squad this year.

.We probably did need someone like Allison to develop, and I still think he'll be offered up with some picks for Bing at some stage. I was on the Poulter band wagon as you know.

.Highmore was a need despite our raft of HBFs. Gears and Jimmy can't be part of future planning, and we were/are probably lacking some size about our defenders. He also allows Coff to eventually transition out of defense and Longy to be dropped.
I think it will be Highmore for Coff, and Connolly for Long eventually.

.Winder and Ford were late picks for a reason. I think we here just got sucked in by the draft nuffies on the main board. I this case I think it's reasonable to pass on a pick 58 for the form 19yo in the mid season draft. I heard someone from North talking about Eddie ford recently and it sounds like some maturity issues are afoot along with a good highlights package without that much else. He would have been a feel good story, but now I'm not even slightly bothered we passed on him.

.As for the rookies, all the good ones were gone by our pick

Our strategy won't be played out till after the mid season draft, so no point trying to dissect it now.. It may turn out to be a masterstroke..

 

[LiterallyNobody]

Has a side finished 2nd last with 8 wins before? Seems like more than you’d expect

Off the top of my head I thought if 1997 and then looked it up. Hawthorn had eight wins in 1997 ahead of Melbourne with four wins.

interesting quirk of 1997 is Melbourne are the first and so far only wooden spooner to win both their first and last games.

 

[bergholt]

Has a side finished 2nd last with 8 wins before? Seems like more than you’d expect

Hawthorn in 1997 is the most recent time, in the 80s and 90s sides would more frequently finish with 6 or 7 wins in second last, but since the 2000s it's never happened. More tanking, I guess.