Port Adelaide 2017

[Lightning McQueen]

Did Wingard play any midfield today?

Not sure but 5AA had him pinging a hammy into an ankle into a knee then finally a thigh.

And then got shot.

[am Bays]

Did Wingard play any midfield today?

Not sure but 5AA had him pinging a hammy into an ankle into a knee then finally a thigh.

And then got shot.

Grassy knoll??

[stan]

Did Wingard play any midfield today?

Not sure but 5AA had him pinging a hammy into an ankle into a knee then finally a thigh.

Lol 5aa all over it with tbe big news.

This was over a 30 second period!

Lol, they are the best in the business.

[The Bedge]

Did Wingard play any midfield today?

Yeah little bit of time early

[hawks21]

Port looked slow and lazy today. Only a practice game but a few worrying signs

How do Port fans see Trengrove up forward? Good competitor but with a decent defender on him (and poor ball movement) he will struggle I reckon, only the 5 touches yesterday. I think he needs to go back to strengthen the backlines, not sure Clurey and the likes up quite up to taking the big key forwards each week.

Pittard hammy isn’t idea with Impey and Krakour missing round 1 already.

[The Bedge]

Port looked slow and lazy today. Only a practice game but a few worrying signs

I thought the same. There were a couple of instances where they pressured well, but they looked slow, particularly with ball in hand.

Richmond play a dangerous game, backing their players to win the contest as players sweep past in vast numbers - turn overs leave them exposed and outnumbered the other way, fortunately for them Port were unable to move the ball quick enough or efficiently enough to make them pay.

Port again look to have no direction, plan, leading pattern etc heading inside 50, then get the ball to around wing/half forward then it's a big kick in, in hope that Dixon can clunk a big mark, or create a contest and score from the crumbers.

Not all bad though, i thought Ryder looked good in the ruck, and Powell-Pepper is a fair brute, loves the rough stuff! Did like Eddy up forward - leads well, marks well and good game sense.. i'd feel more confident if he was the main target up forward than say Dixon or Westhoff.

Wines was in everything, but his disposal was poor - dont know what his DE was, but cant have been good.

Houston, Clurey and Hartlett i thought were ok as well.

[MW]

sounds like both Port and Crows have the same issues as 2016

[Booney]

sounds like both Port and Crows have the same issues as 2016

As will pretty much every side, not many clubs in the middle of the ladder ( that's not Adelaide, mind you ) change things in one summer.

Adelaide were well down on personnel yesterday and will be right in the mix in 2017. Forget the bollocks about the midfield being thin, they probably have the best forward line in the game so the midfield doesn't need to be A+.

[valleys07]

Wines was in everything, but his disposal was poor - dont know what his DE was, but cant have been good.

The D/E stat is quite misleading when it comes to inside midfielders. The grunt work involving winning the footy and distributing it quickly will always carry a higher probability of turnover. What frustrates me about Wines (and the entire Port squad for that matter), is the targets missed when space is created. 2 or 3 times yesterday Wines missed elementary handballs. Hitting basic targets and impacting the scoreboard will be what turns him into an A grade mid.

Port again look to have no direction, plan, leading pattern etc heading inside 50, then get the ball to around wing/half forward then it's a big kick in, in hope that Dixon can clunk a big mark, or create a contest and score from the crumbers.

This. Ken talked up the need to improve our ball movement under match sim pressure over the summer. David King then queried our "rustiness" with Ken after JLT 1 , to which Ken basically said "we look a bit rusty as we haven't done a lot of match sim work over the summer, and the players will take time to adjust to real pressure". Now- whether that quote had a bit of media embellishment in it, I don't know as i didnt hear the interview- but if it is the case, just what the **** have we been working on for 5 months?

Our issues are as much coaching related as player related. In 2013 & 2014 our players played on instinct, had an insatiable appetite to win the footy and work hard into space for a team mate, and above all TRUSTED in one another and the game plan.

Fast forward to 2017 and all of the above has completely evaporated from this group. We don't protect each other and talk when we have the footy, we don't provide an option for our team mates, and what game plan?

Case in point- Boak handballing directly to Nankervis when receiving a handball in space in the middle of the ground. I don't know what the hell has happened to our skipper over the past 2 years, but he is a shadow of who he was in his AA years.

As for Charlie- for a start I would hate to be a Port forward having to try and hit the scoreboard, having to deal with the shit that gets delivered from upfield, but for once I would love to see Charlie get on his bike, rather than wrestle with half of the opposition defensive group. The times where he does lead, he looks really, really good. This is the pleasing attribute to Eddy's game- my only concern there is that he is drawn too wide on most occasions. That will come with more experience and better delivery (not banking on the latter happening any time soon).

My biggest concern? our senior players.
Westhoff. LOL.
Jonas- whoever thought he was worthy of a 3 year deal needs to be shown the door immediately.
Trengove- He will clearly play his best footy at CHB, problem is we are now trying to convert him into a quasi 2nd ruck/forward based on him gap filling for us last year (manfully I might add), rather than actually dominating in this area. Lets be honest when assessing Trengove's stats last year, we were a poor performing midfield group with him as lead ruck. He is not a forward, either.
Lobbe- see Westhoff.
Hartlett- if he will be picking up between 10-20 touches off half back, I am not sure our investment in him is being rewarded with those numbers. Midfield/Forward or nothing, I am afraid.

Injuries to Pittard, and a lesser extent, Wingard, worsened a pretty sour day yesterday.

I did enjoy the performances of Atley, SPP, Houston & Clurey.

Early days absolutely, but I don't feel as though we have made any improvements to our deficiencies.

Luckily if we finish bottom 6, we have a good pick in a supposedly high draft to commence the rebuild. Oh wait*....

*Before Boon tears me to shreds, yes I understand our list managers made the move that was best for us at the time. But us having a sh*t season will make that trade extra salty for me haha.

[GWW]

I reckon that trade was as much getting some inside midfielders to relieve the pressure on Wines.

If he was to leave as well when his next contract is up, then that would make a bad situation infinitely worse.

On a similar note, if Pittard leaves at the end of the year, it will probably be a blessing, in terms of half decent free-agency compensation received for a back flanker, that we could use on a midfielder or another area of need. That's not to say that Pittard at this best, isn't a quality player, but he's probably someone we could sacrifice as part of the bigger picture. Houston playing half decent footy in the backline would probably help the decision too.

[whufc]

Not panic stations for Port but you would think Ken isn't overly happy with what he has seen in the first two hit-outs against opponents who are only in the mix for a finals place at best.

So far from what ive seen Ports skills have been arguably the worse in the comp along with Carlton

[JK]

I reckon that trade was as much getting some inside midfielders to relieve the pressure on Wines.

If he was to leave as well when his next contract is up, then that would make a bad situation infinitely worse.

On a similar note, if Pittard leaves at the end of the year, it will probably be a blessing, in terms of half decent free-agency compensation received for a back flanker, that we could use on a midfielder or another area of need. That's not to say that Pittard at this best, isn't a quality player, but he's probably someone we could sacrifice as part of the bigger picture. Houston playing half decent footy in the backline would probably help the decision too.

Port seem to have trouble moving the ball out of the back half at times, so long as they have other options then you're probably on the money.

[UK Fan]

Wines was in everything, but his disposal was poor - dont know what his DE was, but cant have been good.

The D/E stat is quite misleading when it comes to inside midfielders. The grunt work involving winning the footy and distributing it quickly will always carry a higher probability of turnover. What frustrates me about Wines (and the entire Port squad for that matter), is the targets missed when space is created. 2 or 3 times yesterday Wines missed elementary handballs. Hitting basic targets and impacting the scoreboard will be what turns him into an A grade mid.

Port again look to have no direction, plan, leading pattern etc heading inside 50, then get the ball to around wing/half forward then it's a big kick in, in hope that Dixon can clunk a big mark, or create a contest and score from the crumbers.

This. Ken talked up the need to improve our ball movement under match sim pressure over the summer. David King then queried our "rustiness" with Ken after JLT 1 , to which Ken basically said "we look a bit rusty as we haven't done a lot of match sim work over the summer, and the players will take time to adjust to real pressure". Now- whether that quote had a bit of media embellishment in it, I don't know as i didnt hear the interview- but if it is the case, just what the **** have we been working on for 5 months??.

No media embellishment it's a direct quote. When asked "why so little match simulation" ken replied "we've changed a bit so that means alot od structural block training as opposed to match simulation".

Ken needs a miracle to keep his job imho!!! SPP has potential but certainly isn't there yet IMHO!!!

Eddy looks better than Dixon for 1/12 of the cost.

[amber_fluid]

Is Hinkley contracted to end of 2018 season?
I thought this was his last season but google search shows otherwise??

[Rik E Boy]

sounds like both Port and Crows have the same issues as 2016

As will pretty much every side, not many clubs in the middle of the ladder ( that's not Adelaide, mind you ) change things in one summer.

Adelaide were well down on personnel yesterday and will be right in the mix in 2017. Forget the bollocks about the midfield being thin, they probably have the best forward line in the game so the midfield doesn't need to be A+.

I don't think the midfield being thin is bollocks at all. It's a factor that will hold them back. Not in March, but in August. As the season goes on guys who haven't had to the hard yards in the middle before are going to feel the pinch. I don't reckon they'll miss the eight, but even though they may resemble a contender at times, they simply won't be.

Regards,

REB

[Jim05]

Eddy looking right at home at Noarlunga, must be a chance of a gig in round 1. Already looks a better prospect than old concrete hand Charlie

[Brodlach]

Eddy has looked ok

Looked even better today 5.4

[valleys07]

Eddy looking right at home at Noarlunga, must be a chance of a gig in round 1. Already looks a better prospect than old concrete hand Charlie

Will absolutely play in R1.

[MW]

he's rookie listed though? who's on the long term injury list?

[UK Fan]

he's rookie listed though? who's on the long term injury list?

Port have only 39 senior listed players so no need