Port Adelaide has been a curious case for quite a few years now beneath Ken Hinkley.
Constantly making finals, persistently difficult top-end groups, a number of prime 4 finishes and a few prelim finals to go together with that. However Hinkley and Port can’t appear to clear that closing hurdle.
The criticism levelled at Port has been that they’re a flat-track bully; they beat up on these groups that aren’t difficult however they’ll’t appear to get excessive groups exterior of the odd win at dwelling.
Is it personnel?
Is it recreation plan?
Is it motivation?
Properly, sadly, it’s a mixture of every little thing, however there’s one space that doesn’t get the blowtorch to the identical extent.
We all know Port have had defensive points up to now; previous to this yr, Aliir Aliir was the one defender with the peak to genuinely be thought-about a viable like-for-like match-up.
Queue the pursuit of Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Esava Ratugolea; each of whom have been good inclusions with out being standouts.
The ruck place was additionally in query final yr with Scott Lycett virtually limping into retirement on the finish of 2023.
Port introduced in Former tiger Ivan Soldo and ex-Bulldog Jordon Candy to bolster the ranks and supply some much-needed stability to the place.
Whereas Soldo started the yr strongly, accidents have interrupted his yr, and the shortage of continuity has uncovered his type to the purpose the place he was dropped for his or her spherical 15 drubbing to Brisbane.
So, it’s truthful to say that even with the 4 recruits, the ruck and defence nonetheless look susceptible.
However now Port has a difficulty with the ahead line, that has served them so properly, being extremely ineffective.
Charlie Dixon, Like Lycett final yr, is limping in the direction of retirement. I can’t recall too many video games this yr the place his affect has been felt.
Coach Ken Hinkley addresses his gamers. (Photograph by Dylan Burns/AFL Pictures through Getty Photographs)
Jeremy Finlayson is off form and appears at this level to be a plug-and-play kind of participant that may fill a gap whether it is desperately wanted.
Todd Marshall isn’t residing as much as his new contract and is failing to point out he can take the reins, and Mitch Georgiadis is coming off an ACL so we received’t see his greatest till subsequent yr I’d think about.
The forwards haven’t been helped by the ball motion. Port Adelaide is extremely predictable going ahead, very straight line and is straightforward for opposition defenders to learn.
That being stated, Port’s ahead press isn’t significantly efficient both which means groups have been capable of have nice success transitioning from their again half.
However none of that is significantly new data. The main concern for me coming off the again of their 79-point loss to Brisbane two weeks in the past is their midfield.
On paper you adore it; a younger core of Zak Butters, Connor Rozee, and Jason Horne-Francis, all able to being Brownlow medal gamers.
Combine in Wines, a former Brownlow medallist, and Travis Boak, a participant that might be in the identical class as Scott Pendlebury and Joel Selwood had he performed in Victoria.
Add a contact of Willem Drew and Dan Houston – and it appears to be like formidable.
So, what’s the difficulty? Properly, the difficulty is that this midfield continues to falter in opposition to high quality opposition.
Towards GWS, Port had been -19 in contested possession, and in opposition to Brisbane, it was a whopping -40 in contested possession, in addition to -15 in clearances. Earlier this yr Port was nowhere after quarter time in opposition to Collingwood and ended the sport -41 in contested possession.
This isn’t the primary time Port have been soundly crushed within the midfield. In each of their Last losses final yr Port had been bullied across the ball by the identical opposition in Brisbane and GWS.
Within the 2023 qualifying closing Brisbane received the sport on the skin registering 20 extra uncontested possessions and 16 extra inside 50s as they dominated territory. Whereas within the Semi Last GWS received clearance by 16 and contested possession by 19.
Going again to the notorious 2021 preliminary closing at dwelling to the Western Bulldogs, the Energy was out of that recreation by quarter time kicking one aim to seven. The Canine additionally received contested possession by 30, received clearances by six and had 12 extra inside 50s.
Even in a profitable efficiency earlier this yr in opposition to Fremantle the Port midfield struggled shedding clearances by 9.
We now have seen samples from over quite a few years now that Port can’t appear to deal with the largest moments persistently sufficient to realistically problem for a flag.
The most important concern from their midfield seems to be attitudinal. We simply don’t see sufficient of the onerous defensive operating efforts from the mainstays and when the sport goes in opposition to them, they attempt to battle fireplace with fireplace.
Port Adelaide is a run-and-gun staff with just one methodology: velocity. However when the opposition has momentum in these video games Port don’t have a plan B which frequently ends in different groups placing a run of objectives on the board.
Somewhat than making an attempt to win momentum again by offence, Port must have the flexibility to gradual the sport down and halt the opposition’s progress to allow them to stem the bleeding.
The Energy conceded 13 objectives to simply three within the second and third quarter in opposition to Brisbane on the weekend, with a seven-goal to 2 second quarter.
Primarily ending any hope Port had, however as a result of Port don’t have that second change, they’re unable to arrest momentum within the recreation.
Typically the movement of the sport requires a staff to revert to extra of a kick mark recreation, and with nice ball customers in Houston and Kane Farrell, Port ought to be capable of kick their approach out of defence once they wish to gradual the sport or when their run recreation deserts them.
Sadly, the talls don’t provide any offensive rebound.
None of Allir, Ratugolea, or Zerk-Thatcher are significantly good customers of the ball so very often when they can get these intercept possessions, their preliminary thought is to kick backwards or sideways to get it to a greater consumer.
All these kicks serve to do, nevertheless, is to offer the opposition extra time to arrange behind the ball and it invitations strain.
Port Adelaide’s points are far larger than simply defence and ruck as we’ve been informed over the previous few years.
Connor Rozee celebrates a aim. (Photograph by Michael Willson/AFL Pictures through Getty Photographs)
From a training angle, the staff doesn’t appear to have a plan exterior of a quick straight-line assault, which we’re seeing is less complicated for the opposition to defend, and doesn’t significantly arise when the opposition has momentum.
The midfield has an especially attacking mindset as properly, so in the event that they don’t win the preliminary contest, they get burnt the opposite approach.
Midfield coach Josh Carr is the doubtless alternative for Ken Hinkley so I wouldn’t depend on that fashion altering.
Defensively, if you can also make it by that preliminary wave of Port strain, they change into extremely straightforward to attain in opposition to.
They press tremendous aggressively and expose their backline and people defenders can’t appear to defend as a unit.
Personnel-wise although, how good do we actually assume this record is? Certain, the midfield is plagued by stars, however the remainder of the staff simply looks as if numerous B to B+ stage gamers.
Is Marshall a participant you’ll be able to construct round or is he a complimentary piece to a stronger ahead?
Willie Rioli has flashes however is nowhere close to constant sufficient to be a real A-grader.
The three talls down again are all strong and succesful, however I can’t assist however really feel none of them are at that elite stage.
Chairman David Koch has approached yearly with a win-now angle, and whereas that’s admirable, I can’t assist however marvel about Port’s street forward.
A brand new coach is a certainty on the finish of this yr or subsequent, However Port don’t have rather a lot to work with on this yr’s draft, nor did they final yr.
The record is under no circumstances previous, actually, general age shouldn’t be too huge a priority.
But when this record is run of the mill, able to beating these under however not difficult these above, then Port will face an uphill process renovating this record with out both sliding down the ladder – or probably shifting on a star participant.
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