SA Footy

Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Booney wrote:Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Carna Hawks and Carna Blues

Booney wrote:Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Wow, I didn't realise it was that bad, epic fail.

It’s hard to say there’s not much on the line when what is on the line is pride but with both sides sitting out of September action for the first time since 2019 bragging rights are all that is on offer when Port Adelaide host Adelaide Saturday night in Showdown 52.

Port Adelaide go into Showdown 52 leading the head to head count 26 to 25, a remarkable stat given both sides have spent time at the top and at the bottom of the ladder and not often at the same time since the first Showdown in April 1997.

With just 1 win separating the two teams on the ladder heading into the final round ( Port have near 20% lead on percentage ) it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have both SA sides finish the year with 9 wins and 13 losses. If you’d put money on that at the start of the year you’d have received some juicy odds.

Port Adelaide, coming into the year after back to back preliminary final losses were once again touted as a premiership challenger and Adelaide, after winning 7 games in 2021 had hoped to see some on field development from a list that had as many question marks hanging over it as it did answers.

Port, by any means you like to mention, started the year in what can only be described as disastrous fashion, 0 wins from 5 matches as losses to Brisbane, Hawthorn, Adelaide, Melbourne and Carlton effectively wiped out any chance of a top 4 finish and made any final appearance unlikely to say the least.

Over at wind swept West Lakes spirits were high as wins over Fremantle, Richmond and the Bulldogs had Adelaide 3-3 after 6 rounds and sitting percentage outside the 8. A glimmer of final hope, some confidence in the direction the club was heading.

Things turned since then though. From 0-5 Port kept winning when they had to too keep finals hopes alive winning 9 of their next 16 and fans were ready for a new head coach, finals or not, while Adelaide battled and showed spirit in most matches but ultimately since that point (3-3) 4 of their 5 wins have come against cellar dwellers North Melbourne and West Coast and fans had again begun to question where the club was going. Some wins in recent weeks and development of several younger players has changed that thinking though.

Relevant to this game though is the lead in form. In the last 5 weeks Port Adelaide have been within 2 goals of top 4 aspirants Geelong, Melbourne and Collingwood before Richmond ended any slim finals hopes with a 38 point win over Port in Adelaide, an easy road kill over Essendon by 84 points last week franking some sort of form. On the other side Adelaide come into the game on a 3 game winning streak. Easy kills over North and West Coast, an impressive upset of Carlton in Adelaide were preceded by losses to Sydney and Collingwood. So how the hell do you line up some form for this weekend?

Sportsbet ( Gamble responsibly ) have Port Adelaide heavy favourites, $1.34 to Adelaide’s $3.27. Perhaps this is weighted by the announcement out of Alberton that Port Adelaide champion and Showdown specialist Robbie Gray will play his last game for the club this Saturday night. With 5 Showdown Medal’s to his name it’s fair to say Gray might just reserve his best for clashes with the cross town rival, let’s hope it’s that way and we are treated to one more show from him on the weekend. Adelaide fans might not agree, I’m sure they don’t.

The odds suggest Port Adelaide win and win comfortably and bias aside I think they should be favourites, but not by as much as they are. While Adelaide may not have posted as many wins as they had hoped for what they have done is made themselves hard to beat, when you take the 4 points from Adelaide you earn them. One knock on them is that they have lapses in games and get scored against often in runs of goals. Port Adelaide have the same affliction. Both sides would say they’ve not often put together 4 quarters on any given day and the win/loss column would back that up.

So where does this one get won, or lost?

Both sides have seen the emergence of young key forwards this year, Todd Marshall at Port Adelaide has taken the role as the #1 Port forward, with 75 games under his belt his 41 goals from 20 matches this year his best return but his development is on show in several areas, contested marks and marks inside 50 are both at career high averages. Darcy Fogarty has had a similar growth year, with 57 games to his credit his 30 goals from 16 matches is a career high, again the improvement is in contested marks and marks inside 50. The patience offered both players by the coaching groups and not so often by the fans is paying off as the heir apparent to Dixon and Walker have emerged. An intriguing watch as these two try to lead their side to victory one last time in 2022.

Port have spent the year cobbling together make shift ruck options, GWS recruit Jeremy Finlayson is now the first option with Dixon and big bodied mids Sam Powell-Pepper and Ollie Wines as back ups up against Adelaide’s O’Brien with back up coming from Thilthorpe around the ground and Walker when inside 50. You would think Port have the edge in the ruck department around the ground with the mobility of Finlayson but Adelaide will most likely have the first hand on the ball, averaging 13 hitouts more per game than Port and 3 more clearances per game. It’s once in the open that it will play out. Port take 15 more marks per game then their opponent, over possessing more often than I’d like. Adelaide take 10 marks per game less than their opponents, suggesting they miss targets too often.

This one will be about the forward half, or, is it the back half? This is where I think Port take a slight advantage. Both sides score around 11 goals per game, Port average 10 against and Adelaide 13, across the season that had Port conceding 300 less points, Ports defence works, when it’s not opened up. Early in the year Hawthorn ambushed Port with some open run and gun, so too did Adelaide in the last quarter comeback but since then Port’s back half has tightened right up and in games against Melbourne, Geelong, Fremantle and Essendon has been the classic defence is the best attack and in those games runs of 5,7, 8 and 9 goal quarters have played out. With the ball in hand and attacking Port’s offence, built on its defence, looks more dangerous and for the last month has been fairly consistent.

Both sides go in with confidence, Adelaide with 3 wins, Port only with 1 and some form against premiership contenders before it.

Going down to the wire here I think, Port by 15 points.

Booney wrote:Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Tips Mr Boon? Especially interested in your take on Melbourne last week. Reckon the Brions might punt them from the top four this weekend even though the Dees have certainly had the wood in recent contests.

regards,

REB

Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO
South(7th) v Woodville and West Torrens(6th) Carlunga

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Rik E Boy wrote:

Booney wrote:Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Tips Mr Boon? Especially interested in your take on Melbourne last week. Reckon the Brions might punt them from the top four this weekend even though the Dees have certainly had the wood in recent contests.

regards,

REB

My tipping is shit! Ha! But I think Lions in Brisbane get it done, under 10 points.

Port should pants the Crows. Wins and losses are a false economy at the moment. Port by plenty.

MW wrote:Port should pants the Crows. Wins and losses are a false economy at the moment. Port by plenty.

Bit of reverse swing there mate? You guys are on a roll atm, excluding Geelong and Sydney you have the equal longest current winning streak.

Beaten North, WC Eagles and a disappointing Carlton so have beaten much.

Lightning McQueen wrote:

MW wrote:Port should pants the Crows. Wins and losses are a false economy at the moment. Port by plenty.

Bit of reverse swing there mate? You guys are on a roll atm, excluding Geelong and Sydney you have the equal longest current winning streak.

Not the win but who you beat IMO
We've beaten up on nobodies and had periods during those games were we looked pathetic.

Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel


wont need a Booney review this week, hes done the preview instead

I vote for whatever results see the cats go out in straight sets

Norff to hand over the wooden spoon to West Coke I reckon.

Bit of smack talk from some Port players & coaches this week. Going to make it a good one tomorrow night

cracka wrote:Bit of smack talk from some Port players & coaches this week. Going to make it a good one tomorrow night

Yeah might have to cast a passing glance at all the faux Collingwood guernseys in the crowd tomorrow...

am Bays wrote:

cracka wrote:Bit of smack talk from some Port players & coaches this week. Going to make it a good one tomorrow night

Yeah might have to cast a passing glance at all the faux Collingwood guernseys in the crowd tomorrow...

Massive difference, theirs is just black and white stripes top to bottom, like it's just rolled out and guillotined in a Turkish market. Ours looks complete.

Vamos wrote:

am Bays wrote:

cracka wrote:Bit of smack talk from some Port players & coaches this week. Going to make it a good one tomorrow night

Yeah might have to cast a passing glance at all the faux Collingwood guernseys in the crowd tomorrow...

Massive difference, theirs is just black and white stripes top to bottom, like it's just rolled out and guillotined in a Turkish market. Ours looks complete.

Yours are way better as they’re made in China.
Shanghai to be more precise

amber_fluid wrote:

Vamos wrote:

am Bays wrote:

cracka wrote:Bit of smack talk from some Port players & coaches this week. Going to make it a good one tomorrow night

Yeah might have to cast a passing glance at all the faux Collingwood guernseys in the crowd tomorrow...

Massive difference, theirs is just black and white stripes top to bottom, like it's just rolled out and guillotined in a Turkish market. Ours looks complete.

Yours are way better as they’re made in China.
Shanghai to be more precise

Glad you agree

Booney wrote:

Rik E Boy wrote:

Booney wrote:Friday night :
Brisbane (4th) v Melbourne (3rd) - Gabba

Saturday :
GWS (16th) v Fremantle (6th) - Manuka
North (18th) v Gold Coast (12th) - Marvel
Geelong (1st) v WCE (17th) - GMHBA
Essendon (15th) v Richmond (7th) - MCG
Port Adelaide (11th) v Adelaide (14th) - AO

Sunday :
Hawthorn (13th) v Bulldogs (9th) - Tas
Carlton (8th) v Collingwood (5th) - MCG
St Kilda (10th) v Sydney (2nd) - Marvel

Tips Mr Boon? Especially interested in your take on Melbourne last week. Reckon the Brions might punt them from the top four this weekend even though the Dees have certainly had the wood in recent contests.

regards,

REB

My tipping is shit! Ha! But I think Lions in Brisbane get it done, under 10 points.

Same on both counts. Brisbane need to sort thier contested ball though because if they don't do better there they aren't beating Melbourne.

regards,

REB