Port v Bulldogs Round 10
Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 2:18 pmPort head to Darwin for a must win match against the lowly Bulldogs who last weekend mustered up enough emotion to get over the line against a very poor St.Kilda. Lets face it, St.Kilda are one of those teams that can surprise ( like the win over Carlton ) but in all reality are a team finishing 10-12th. Not too far above the Bulldogs, so it wasn't THAT much of an upset.
The Bulldogs do boast one of the competitions in form big men with Will Minson and I hope Lobbe is fit to come back this week to support Redden in the ruck in hot, humid Darwin.
Port are on the back of a 4 game losing streak and at 5-4 with the bye to follow and then GWS simply must win this one to keep any finals aspirations alive. The 4 weeks after that includes Collingwood, Sydney, Essendon and Hawthorn so the next two are critical.
Butcher ( for those who were at the ground last week ) was not Ports worst player. Sure he missed some sitters, dropped a sitter in front of goal but his work rate was good and better kicking and take a grab would have seen him kick 3-4. Instead he has two OOF and no score involvement but I for one am willing to be patient with him to build a forward half of Sculz, Westhoff, Butcher, Wingard ( who has simply been sensational this year and along with Boak would be leading our BnF at the moment ) Monfries, Neade ( when back, after the bye I would think ) and midfielders rotating through.
On the midfielders, Ebert and Harlett need to lift their output. Hamish has been judged harshly over the last 3 weeks, rightly so, but this ( I think ) will be the first time he has put together 10-12 weeks of AFL football back-to-back and as much as anyone I think he would be looking forward to the bye. Ebert has been playing more of an outside role with Ollie Wines ( more on him ) taking the inside roles with Boak and Gray.
I think Wines is looking for the break too ( overwhelming how many of our blokes look tired, but the NAB Cup was good to us and so were the first 5 weeks of season proper, they have been "up" for about 12 weeks now ) and will enjoy the fortnight off.
Gray and Wingard kept Port from being stung by a big margin last week against Geelong and I think the form the two of them are in, along with Boak will help Port win the midfield battle.
Schulz has been getting further up the ground in recent weeks looking for the ball, I hope the mids give him enough supply this week to keep him inside the forward 50.
Port have more to lose in this one. Port 28 points.
The Bulldogs do boast one of the competitions in form big men with Will Minson and I hope Lobbe is fit to come back this week to support Redden in the ruck in hot, humid Darwin.
Port are on the back of a 4 game losing streak and at 5-4 with the bye to follow and then GWS simply must win this one to keep any finals aspirations alive. The 4 weeks after that includes Collingwood, Sydney, Essendon and Hawthorn so the next two are critical.
Butcher ( for those who were at the ground last week ) was not Ports worst player. Sure he missed some sitters, dropped a sitter in front of goal but his work rate was good and better kicking and take a grab would have seen him kick 3-4. Instead he has two OOF and no score involvement but I for one am willing to be patient with him to build a forward half of Sculz, Westhoff, Butcher, Wingard ( who has simply been sensational this year and along with Boak would be leading our BnF at the moment ) Monfries, Neade ( when back, after the bye I would think ) and midfielders rotating through.
On the midfielders, Ebert and Harlett need to lift their output. Hamish has been judged harshly over the last 3 weeks, rightly so, but this ( I think ) will be the first time he has put together 10-12 weeks of AFL football back-to-back and as much as anyone I think he would be looking forward to the bye. Ebert has been playing more of an outside role with Ollie Wines ( more on him ) taking the inside roles with Boak and Gray.
I think Wines is looking for the break too ( overwhelming how many of our blokes look tired, but the NAB Cup was good to us and so were the first 5 weeks of season proper, they have been "up" for about 12 weeks now ) and will enjoy the fortnight off.
Gray and Wingard kept Port from being stung by a big margin last week against Geelong and I think the form the two of them are in, along with Boak will help Port win the midfield battle.
Schulz has been getting further up the ground in recent weeks looking for the ball, I hope the mids give him enough supply this week to keep him inside the forward 50.
Port have more to lose in this one. Port 28 points.
