Game Day Showdown 44

[EskimoPAFC]

I don't get this line of thinking. We were the fatigued team. We had just done two hard trips to Etihad and Optus Ovals and Adelaide haven't left the state. We had played two hardened teams in the top eight. We tackled and pressured in that last fifteen minutes like our lives depended on it. We might have gotten lucky with a couple of those frees but we certainly played harder and were first to the ball, which is usually where we win them. The whole way through the final quarter from the very start of it, I was wondering when we'd run out of legs. I'm am actually totally satisfied with them taking the lead with less than a minute to play and us still finding a way to win. It's something we wouldn't have done in the past couple of years.

Yeah I think that this is a pretty valid post.

I guess I'm just saying that we are gonna face tougher tests than a depleted Crows, who while they are very good in terms of skills, structure etc, are mentally probably one of the softest sides in the AFL, and I wish we had just put them away.

Honestly though I'm still recovering from blowing that 17 point lead with 3 minutes to go. Felt like hell opening up for a brief period haha, as good as the finish was.

 

[G3TWOTYAD3S3RV]

A step closer to the normality of Adelaide being Shelbyville and only beating us almost half the time. It's felt so wrong them being ahead.

Let’s build a lead & keep it that way.

 

[Lagooner]

A step closer to the normality of Adelaide being Shelbyville and only beating us almost half the time. It's felt so wrong them being ahead.

It’s kinda funny though that they were behind for donkeys and when they finally got ahead of us it only lasted one game.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

It’s kinda funny though that they were behind for donkeys and when they finally got ahead of us it only lasted one game.

Yep and for that entire 9 months they were the dominant, relevant club in Adelaide. Honestly I think I heard more about the Showdown tally in the last 9 months than in the preceding 9 years.

 

[bomberclifford]

Honestly though I'm still recovering from blowing that 17 point lead with 3 minutes to go.

My brother picked it before it happened. Cool as a cucumber said, "you wait, they'll kick 3 goals in 2 mins".

 

[Us against the rest]

Robbie Gray has been attacked in an online sledge by a Crow fan relating to his recent illness, according to channel 10.

 

[raman]

Robbie Gray has been attacked in an online sledge by a Crow fan relating to his recent illness, according to channel 10.

 

[Chachi]

Robbie Gray has been attacked in an online sledge by a Crow fan relating to his recent illness, according to channel 10.

Yep, CD addressed it but bet your bottom dollar this gets **** all coverage.

 

[tribey]

C'mon would love to see Motlop to seal the game with a goal and finger twirl.

quoted because I only just saw this

 

[GremioPower]

My brother picked it before it happened. Cool as a cucumber said, "you wait, they'll kick 3 goals in 2 mins".

I spent all that scoreless eternity during Q4 looking at the scoreboard worried that a three-goal advantage wasn't big enough. And it wasn't...

 

[Stryke]

Yep, CD addressed it but bet your bottom dollar this gets **** all coverage.

Contrast that to when that port supporter made the (also awful) remarks about Betts a couple of years ago and was then wheeled out to do a tearful apology like she was Steve Smith .

 

[mynameissilver]

I wonder if the pre 97 AFL, original supporters are more "we can win this" no matter what point it is in the game. Some of our more demanding are post 97??

But who cares as long as you do not BARRACK for the crows...

In retrospect I posted this in the wrong thread. It was a very emotional game. It was born out of frustration from the negative drivel that a minority of posters had posted in other threads. I love the passion that so many posters display in this forum. We don't always agree but that is football.

 

[mynameissilver]

Don't overthink it. They are just pure passionate manifestations. No logic is applied; and that's fine. It's football...

You're right. And when a Brazilian wants to give me advice I stand to attention and go Slap Slap Slap.

 

[GremioPower]

You're right. And when a Brazilian wants to give me advice I stand to attention and go Slap Slap Slap.

Clever!

 

[El Zorro]

Clever!

I didn't get it!

 

[GremioPower]

I didn't get it!

Me neither!

 

[wannabejack]

......
Another observation. Gees Pyke is an entitled one. Fits in beautifully with that mob. And despite winning the previous 5, Crows supporters I have talked to are incredulous they lost that game. Such entitlement.

 

[mynameissilver]

Me neither!

You guys crack me up

 

[Harlott]

Another observation. Gees Pyke is an entitled one. Fits in beautifully with that mob. And despite winning the previous 5, Crows supporters I have talked to are incredulous they lost that game. Such entitlement.

Yes. It's showing itself in how many times I've heard over various crow centric media how they could've done things differently in the last 40 secs. Like they lost the the game rather than Port actually ripping it out of their hands.

 

[Janus]

Let’s code this game - specifically the unforced ****ups and the great passages of play:

1st Quarter

17:38 - Some good handball movement in traffic is undone by Ebert stupidly deciding to handball to an under pressure Powell-Pepper, who fires the handball back to Ebert. Brad has three players in space behind him that he could have flicked the ball to, but instead goes for territory with a scrubber kick and turns the ball over, which ends up being a goal to Adelaide.

15:25 - Bonner plays an underpowered handpass to Byrne-Jones which results in a turnover and an inside 50 to Adelaide.

14:20 - Houston attempts a 45 degree kick from centre half back to the right flank boundary to pin point Powell Pepper who was surrounded by Adelaide players. Maybe when he’s 26 and has enough experience he’ll be able to pull that off, but it just ended as a turnover that luckily wasn’t capitalised on.

14:09 - The first clean passage of play for the game. Houston takes the free kick from a wayward Matt Crouch kick and delivers to Ryder, who moves the ball on laterally with a 20m kick to Robbie Gray, then across again with a 15m kick to Byrne-Jones. Byrne-Jones hits up Watts with a kick up the corridor, and Watts, not liking what he sees up the ground (probably because no one had made position yet) kicks laterally back towards the wing to Jonas, who then hits up a leading Westhoff at half forward flank. Short kick up the boundary to Polec, who then delivers inside 50 to a leading Powell-Pepper that is about 1m too far behind the kick. Sam probably could have marked it if he attacked it with more intent.

10:30 - Not sure why Clurey goes for a round the corner clearing kick to the right half back flank and a two on one situation with Sam Gray being the target. If he had just ran a few more steps he could have easily put the ball over the back of the contest and given Gray the opportunity to exploit Otten and Atkins. Instead, it ends up being a turnover.

8:40 - Wines does what Houston could not and picks out Houston with a 45 degree kick into the corridor, which releases Robbie Gray to kick to the advantage of Neade who can’t take the mark. Watts wasn’t working hard enough here - he should have been where Neade was and Neade should have been deeper. The resultant free and 50m that Watts gives away was him trying to rectify his **** up. What should have been a Port Adelaide goal ended up being an Adelaide one due to lack of work rate.

8:00 - I don’t know why Ebert is in the centre if all his clearances are going to be aimless kicks around the corner that end up as turnovers. As Healy said, he should be dishing off a handball to players coming off the back of the square. Ebert gets a clearance stat, Adelaide gets the goal from an easy transition play. Dumb dumb dumb.

6:11 - From the kick-in - Bonner to Polec in the right pocket, to Rockliff leading up the wing into defensive 50, over to Ebert on the right boundary at half back, back to Bonner who switches it on the 45 to Byrne-Jones, back to a leading Bonner in the corridor (still in defensive 50) who then kicks to Dixon and Westhoff on the left wing. Dixon halves the contest and the ball spills to Westhoff, who kicks to Rockliff in the corridor - handball to a running Westhoff who is almost set on by Adelaide players, so he handballs back to Rockliff (pay attention Ebert), who then pin points Powell-Pepper in between two Adelaide players. Powell-Pepper drives long to Watts and Motlop deep inside 50, and Motlop tries a snap that goes through for a point.

The entire play takes about 50 seconds. 12 kicks - 4 seconds each.

3:05 - A good move forward is ruined by a Houston kick up the corridor that is to the advantage of neither Sam Gray or Motlop, who are in a 3 on 2. Made even worse by the fact that Westhoff was on the boundary miles in the clear and could have cut back into the corridor at a better position. Stay in the middle, sure, but not if it’s suicide.

2:06 - Sam Gray misses a regulation set shot.

:30 - Sam Gray misses another regulation set shot.

 

[Janus]

Quarter 2

19:30 - Neade misses a regulation set shot

18:25 - Howard ****s up a handball to Jonas that ends up putting him under pressure

17:20 - Polec misses Wingard in the centre of the ground with a scrub kick and not only costs Port a goal but gives Adelaide one. Both players at fault - Wingard could have moved towards the ball and Polec could have hit it better

15:40 - Neade does what Geelong did to us when we played them - he runs the ball down the boundary and then instead of bombing the ball inside 50, crosses laterally to Motlop who is trailing through the corridor, which opens up the entire forward line and enables Sam Gray to take an easy mark on the lead and goal

14:47 - Polec slips over trying to baulk Atkins because everyone knows he’s going to his left. Don’t have a right foot? You can at least run right - there was acres of space available to do just that. Costs a goal.

5:50 - Westhoff doesn’t hit Neade on the run and probably costs Port a goal.

1:55 - Healy makes a salient point about how all Port Adelaide’s entries are to players running toward goal instead of leading toward the ball. This means the players are positioning themselves correctly to make their defenders have to cover both options.

1:48 - As if they heard him, Jonas takes an intercept mark on the left wing, quickly switches laterally to Byrne-Jones in the corridor who chips to Motlop at true centre. Motlop hits up a leading Powell-Pepper coming down the ground, who wheels around and hits up Wines at centre half forward...who then chips to a leading Robbie Gray. This play took 20 seconds - with 5 kicks...that’s 4 seconds per possession. This is what I’m talking about when I say possession football can also be fast football, and it set the tone for the third quarter.

 

[Zakk Wylde]

LOL this thread

 

[Andre]

LOL at Prison Bars going back through the thread and giving out likes. I stand by my comments. At the time we were playing poorly and I’ll continue to get overly emotional in game day threads win or loss, despite the result here.

 

[chiwigi]

LOL at Prison Bars going back through the thread and giving out likes. I stand by my comments. At the time we were playing poorly and I’ll continue to get overly emotional in game day threads win or loss, despite the result here.

I liked all the comments that matched my feelings at the time. As I was at the game I couldn't post, and said afterwards I was glad I couldn't .

 

[tribey]

LOL at Prison Bars going back through the thread and giving out likes. I stand by my comments. At the time we were playing poorly and I’ll continue to get overly emotional in game day threads win or loss, despite the result here.

rofl this.

that first half was a concentrated trash fire.

the third quarter, with the talent this team has, should be closer to the norm than an impromptu OMG IS THIS REAL LIFE?! festival.