Port Adelaide season preview 2014.
After an amazing 2013 that saw Port rise from bottom 4 to finally dip out in the semi-final to the experienced Geelong outft the 2014 season offers much interest for all AFL fans looking at Alberton and plenty of nervous anticipation for those who support the club. Exciting times ahead, I hope.
Not only from a team perspective but for individuals season 2013 was a breakout year. Under coach Ken Hinkley 2014 shapes as a challenging one heading into the city at Adelaide Oval with a tougher fixture, greater focus from opposition teams and something missing from Port fans in the last few years, high hopes.
Ken Hinkley came to the club with a strong idea built on years of assistant coaching experience not only with how he wanted his team to play on field, but how they were to behave off field, how they trained and how they saw themselves. The playing group would have felt the sacking of Matt Primus, all players would see their part in that process and confidence was low. Ken introduced an attitude and set of behaviours that the players clearly embraced. From not leaving dirty dishes in the lunch room for the wonderful volunteer ladies to clean up, to language used around the club, to the coaches deciding during training when the players can and cant go off for a drink. The players were left under no disillusion who was in charge and who was setting the tone for the season ahead.
Adopting two very telling statements of "We will never give up" and "We will get what we deserve" the playing group embraced the training methods under the world class Darren Burgess and delivered on those statements.
Troy Chaplin and Danyle Pearce were moved on, much maligned by Port fans at times and highly rated at others the trading of these two players sent a message to the group. Nobody was safe.
Travis Boak replaced Dom Cassisi as captain and young faces like Chad Wingard, Ollie Wines, Jake Neade and Sam Colquhoun were given the chance to play at AFL level. Two of them, Wingard and Wines, excelled.
Individually Boak stood out as the leader of the club earning his first All-Australian honours along with Chad Wingard who took out the clubs John Cahill Medal for the best & fairest. Ollie Wines played all 22 games and finals in his debut season and Neade showed glimpses of brilliance around the forward half while Colquhoun was the youngest player at AFL ranks last season. ( Surprising given GWS and GC lists! )
Players like Mathew Broadbent, a fitter and stronger Alipate Carlile, Justin Westhoff, Brad Ebert, Angus Monfries and Jasper Pittard had personal best seasons.Jack Hombsch, Tom Jonas,Campbell Heath and Lewis Stevenson all played roles in the back half when needed.Robbie Gray returned from injury and took a while to find his feet, then began to show the class all Port people know he has around goals and in small stints in the middle.Kane Cornes turned the clock back and looks to have given himself at least another year of AFL football under Hinkley and looks set to be Ports first bond fide 300 game AFL player.Jarrad Redden had a mixed season starting well and copping a couple of serious injuries (including a dislocated shoulder) and Matt Lobbe stepped up to the plate, carrying Ports big man duties almost single handedly for the last half of the year.Hamish Harlett began to get his body right and had an amazing purple patch early on, as did Justin Westhoff in the first 5 rounds.
For mine, Boak, Wingard, Lobbe, Monfries, Schulz, Broadbent and Ebert were Ports spine last year. All of them played consistently well.
So what can Port look forward to in 2014?
A forward half that will test most back lines. The far reaching Westhoff, the accurate and courageous Schulz with the likes of Monfries, Wingard, Boak, Gray, Hartlett and Stewart offering plenty of attacking options.
The defense will be built around talls Trengove and Carlile, running talls O'Shea and Pittard while Harlett and Cassisi will be the back line generals directing traffic. I expect Homsch, Logan and Jonas to be given roles throughout the season.
In the middle Ports options all of a sudden run deep. Boak, Ebert, Wines,Broadbent, Wingard, Cornes, Hartlett, Cassisi, Gray new recruits Polec and White. While Andrew Moore and Aaron Young appear to be getting groomed as the Cornes / Cassisi replacements as these two premiership players enter the twilight years.It's hard not to be a little excited by where Port look to be heading.
An interesting selection with Polec as the guy seems to have his critics, already he has noted how he has benefited from the fitness program at Alberton. He was recruited for his finishing by foot. Jono Brown reakons Polec has delivered him some of the best passes in his long career on the Brisbane training track. Lets hope he can take that to the centre on game day. Matt White impressed me in the training drills I have seen him in, he's much more solidly built than I recall of him. He, along with Wines and Harlett give Port some real muscle in the middle.
After all that good news, the very sudden and late loss of senior assistant Alan Richardson was not only a shock but a loss to the coaching group. Balanced by the return of Phil Walsh from the WCE, this might not hurt as much as first thought.
My best 22 :
F : Monfries Schulz Gray
HF : Wingard Westhoff Stewart
C : Polec Ebert Broadbent
HB : Hartlett Trengove Pittard
B : White Carlile O'Shea
R : Lobbe Boak Moore
Int : Cassisi Wines Cornes Jonas/Hombsch/Neade
Draw :
Home games :
Adelaide ,Brisbane,Geelong, Fremantle ,Hawthorn,St.Kilda,Bulldogs,Essendon, Melbourne,Sydney,Carlton
Away games :
Carlton,North,West Coast,GWS,Melbourne,Sydney,Adelaide,Richmond,Collingwood,GC,Fremantle
DOUBLE UP TEAMS IN BOLD
I'm expecting big things from this group in 2014 but, as we all know backing up one solid season with another is tough work. Very tough work.
I think Port will be in the mix to finish anywhere from 5th to 9th. If we don't play finals I expect and believe it will be by only a game or two.
Wins at home over Adelaide (we'll split the Showdowns for arguments sake), Brisbane, St.Kilda,Bulldogs, Melbourne and Carlton.
Minimum 6 home wins.
Wins away to Carlton,GWS,Melbourne and Gold Coast. 4 wins.
Confident of 10 wins there with the likes of Essendon, Richmond, West Coast, Adelaide, North and Carlton around the same level as us I would think 13-15 wins is achievable.