Round 3 Review vs. Essendon- PRESSure.
Port Adelaide 17.10.112
Essendon 7.9.51
Goals- Dixon, Young 3, R.Gray, Westhoff, Amon 2, Ebert, Boak, Polec, Byrne-Jones, Wines 1.
I’m not going to lie, I was absolutely shitting myself on Friday night. It was a horror week for Port Adelaide. We were embarrassed by our crosstown rival, our medical room resembled that of your local GP the Tuesday after a long weekend, Essendon were on the hop after an inspiring win, and anyone following Port Adelaide scripture would have almost marked this down as a loss based on recent form.
Taking a step back from the game itself- Port Adelaide has lost a lot of respect. In fact, it would be fair to conclude that we are almost back to where we were when Ken Hinkley first took over this group at the beginning of 2013, with only the diehards believing we are still capable of causing some damage in the 2016 season. We won’t be winning that respect back in the short term, either. Performances like Friday night do not masquerade our obvious deficiencies and still to be learnings. 61 Points does not silence the doubters, but consistency will. Let’s face it, the Dogs have filled our vacancy as challengers, the Giants are on the rise, and even the bloody crows are starting to play some decent footy. At least we still have Hawthorn. Pfft who am I kidding. Scrap that last bit, i’m getting sick of that, too.
Onto the game. How did we respond to the showdown disaster? You can only beat what is put in front of you, and I thought we responded well, with plenty of improvement still to go. Much has been made of Bassett and our newly introduced “Press”. Face it Power fans- we won’t ever see 2014 football again. Opposing teams are awake to it, the rules of the game as far as interchanges make it almost impossible to execute for 4 quarters each week, and whatever fitness advantage that we held back then has now been well and truly reigned in.
So, this “press”, eh. For the most part, we saw noticeable improvement. The general consensus over our press when analysing the first 2 rounds showed that we were pressed up around about 10m too far or were too far to one particular side of the ground. Coupled with lack of workrate from our midfield (in particular our wingmen) and poor skill execution, we were easily rebounded against, either through the corridor or switched against, and we leaked “Joe the Goose” goals over the back with ridiculous ease. Check out our Heat Map’s vs. St. Kilda and Adelaide respectively:
- Heat Map vs. St. Kilda.jpg (148.92 KiB) Viewed 756 times
- Heat Map vs. Adelaide.jpg (144.64 KiB) Viewed 756 times
The Saints map shows that we were pressed too far to the left, allowing easy access to the midfield corridor, and outside wing. The Adelaide map again shows us pushing too far into our forward 50, allowing easy access over the back, as well as access to the right flank. Adelaide capitalised on this using effective switches to open up the “fat side” and bust us open for lack of speed down the open wing.
Now look at Friday's Heat Map vs. Essendon:
- Heat Map vs. Essendon.jpg (153.33 KiB) Viewed 756 times
Notice anything different? Port Adelaide’s press is primarly centred around the middle of the ground. Not only did this enable us to repell attacks quickly and easily, it denied Essendon access to the corridor, forcing them wide which allowed Port Adelaide to kill the contest by either forcing a boundary throw in, or a stoppage set up, thus allowing our defence to set up. When we did turn the footy over, our defenders and mids were able to use the footy through the corridor, opening up corridor shots on goal (notice how the heat map is pointing in an arrow formation toward the goal square):
The first quarter and a half was extremely pleasing. Our defensive positioning was on point. We were forcing Essendon into poor turnovers by harassing the ball carrier with intent, and our press was shifting with the trajectory of the ball making it difficult for Essendon to outnumber us at the contest. Skill execution was far better than that of the first 2 weeks. Polec was getting himself into dangerous spots to receive and distribute, Pittard and Broadbent were winning the footy and rebounding with ease from our back half, and we were lowering our eyes breaking out of defence to hit up short kicks between the centre line and half forward and hitting our forwards on the lead rather than mindlessly bombing onto Dixon’s head hoping for a pack mark. It is important to note that Essendon aren’t fielding a team of mugs. There are some quality footballers in amongst their top up’s who might be past it, so fitness would be the issue more so than game smarts.
From then on it’s fair to say the game was a very boring spectacle, which would have made it interesting for our Chinese spectators trying to work out the logistics of the game whilst wondering how it can go from such a free flowing contest to a stoppage-fest in the space of 5 minutes! The Chinese may also be drawn into the false pretence that Port Adelaide are a good side
Pleasing Signs:• The return to form of Jared Polec, and the performance of Jimmy Toumpas (career high 28 disposals). Ken has acknowledged that Polly is coming from a long way back, but it is fair to say that the showdown was his worst display in a Port Adelaide Jumper. Our midfield quartet + our 2 wingman really needed to pull their fingers out and lift their workrate defensively, and I thought where we were different from our previous two weeks was the positioning of our 2 wingmen behind the footy. This saw plenty of drive generated from the aforementioned, along with Pittard and Broadbent. More of this, please, as it allows adequate defensive pressure in position following turnovers (Jared’s defensive pressure was elite on Friday night), and allows rebound from D50 either transition sideways, spot up a short kick into the midfield, or skip the line and hit up a leading target across half forward.
• Forward 50 entries were really pleasing on Friday night. The first 2 rounds have seen heavy criticism directed at us in this area, particularly against Adelaide where 70 I50’s were generated for a 10 goal loss. Friday night saw us lowering our eyes when heading into the Forward 50 and hit up leads, as well as creating space for our flankers to move into.
Area’s of Improvement:• I might be knit-picking a but here considering we kicked 17.10, but some of our set shot misses, particularly in the showdown (looking at the graph) were pretty amateur, and considering we will be amongst heavy competition for a spot in that 5-8 bracket, I feel we really need to start converting “lay me downs” that are offered to us in the corridor. Westhoff’s miss in the first quarter from 35m was the only real example from Essendon’s game, but the graph from the Adelaide game saw 6-7 misses from dead in front. Not only can we continually focus on around ground skill execution, our forwards simply must take advantage by kicking goals where delivery is put to a good spot.
Player Reviews:Top 5:Robbie Gray- (30D,12CL,7I50,2.1)- R….Gray….3 Votes. There isn’t much more to say about Robbie at the moment. A clearance beast and goes forward and consistently hits the scoreboard. There are players in the competition who are on par with him, but certainly none better. Freak.
Jared Polec- (23D,4M,6T,1.0)- Let’s hope the 6 day gulf we have just seen of Jared doesn’t rear its ugly head for the remainder of the season. Jared was at his best on Friday night, and a joy to watch it was, too. Positioned himself perfectly during that first half, was used multiple times as a link up man to send us forward, and applied some brilliant defensive pressure which is an area he has been criticised for in the past. Hoping that kick starts his season.
Jasper Pittard- (29D,9M,5Bo,2I50)- The Jasper critics are pretty quiet to start 2016, and rightfully so. 29 touches running at 93%, how can you argue with that? What I really enjoyed about Jasper’s game, and also his season, is the fact he seems to be putting his rebounding ability and skill efficiency together. 93%DE and 5 bounces to rank 2nd in the competition (Essendon recorded 0 bounces for the evening), magical reading. I have seen this before however, I need to see it for a full season. Do that, and AA beckons.
Matthew Broadbent- (27D,8M,6R50,3I50)- Loved his game. Won a stack of the footy, got in the right spots to intercept, rebounded efficiently and was clean. Ranked 10th in the competition for rebounds, he is averaging 22 touches to start the season. Hopefully that continues.
Ollie Wines- (25D,6CL,9T,3I50,1.0)- Was our major clearance winner along with Gray, and he is beginning to produce what we know he is capable of. Use of the footy can still improve (60%DE), but it was good to see him working really hard to pressure at stoppages and extract the footy.
The Rest:Jimmy Toumpas- (28D,5M,3CL,7I50)- Won a stack of the footy, but there is no point winning the footy 30 times if you waste it. I’d take a 15-20 disposal game @ 80% DE over a 30 disposal game @ 60%. Still, compared to the showdown, where our wingmen couldn’t be stuffed running hard to get in good spots to receive the footy (or defend for that matter), both Polec and Toump got themselves in the right spots all night. Much to contrary opinion on the boards, I’d persist with him, as he provided exactly what we recruited him for- just use the footy better, Dimitri!!
Travis Boak- (22D,4T,5I50,1.0)- The skipper is still nowhere near his best. 10 clearances for the season (2 on Friday night) is well below where he should be, but on Friday night was able to get himself involved in the play with 7 score involvements. A step in the right direction, but I need to see more from him inside, which we all know he is capable of.
Brendan Ah Chee- (20D,4CL,4T)- Another one who was up on his past 2 performances. Was more decisive with his disposal when he won the footy, was visibly stronger around the contest and worked hard to get involved in link up, with 6 score involvements. I love it when this bloke dishes off a handball, and the handpass which led to Gray’s 2nd goal in the last term was magic.
Sam Gray- (20D,6M,5T,3I50)- I am starting to develop concerns over his “value” when it comes to winning the footy. Similar to Jimmy Toumpas- I really want to see his disposals hit a target, and 20 touches at 50% DE isn’t good enough at the top level. A culprit of the mindless kick in hope, erode that from his game and he will take the next step.
Aaron Young- (18D,4M,3R50,3.1)- I thought he was lucky to hold his spot on the list at the end of last year, and was probably saved by the departure of Moore who played that similar role. Was seen by many as a depth player, but the loss of Monfries has opened up a huge opportunity for Youngy. He has always been tough at the footy and good above his head so it is no surprise to see him succeed in this position, but what has surprised me is the fact he has hit the scoreboard. 7 goals in 2 games- imagine getting 20-30 from him for the season!
Brad Ebert- (18D,4M,6T,2I50,1.2)- Should have finished with multiple goals for the evening, which as mentioned in the Saints review is what makes him so damaging. Still- he got in good position most of the evening to win the footy when it was his turn to create, and was tough on the inside with 6 tackles.
Tom Jonas- (16D,5M,5T,14 x 1%)- One thing about Tommy, you know he will be tough at the contest and won’t shirk the issue. He is winning a bit more of the footy this year trying to create rebound similar to 2014, but his disposal thus far has been pretty average.
Jake Neade- (15D,3T,5I50)- Really concerned for Jake. 3 games for 0.2. Now- I’m just a C grade footballer with average understanding of the game, but small forwards are supposed to kick goals, yeah? Look, his defensive pressure is first rate, he can win the footy (albeit a bit inconsistent in this area), but he simply must start hitting the scoreboard. Karl Amon may just edge him out of the side when Wingard returns.
Jarman Impey- (14D,3M,2R50)- Couldn’t work out who his primary match up was for most of the night, but the Bombers only managed 1 goal over the back all night, which was a testament to our back 6. He was heavily criticised over the last 2 weeks for some really dumb defence (mainly his positioning), so this week was a step up in that area as I didn’t notice him losing too many one on one’s. Still a way to go for Jars.
Darcy Byrne-Jones- (14D,2I50,1.0)- I’ll be the first to put my hand up and say I was wrong with DBJ, I thought he was lightyears away from a league debut. Here we are in R3, he has cracked the side and what a debut it was! Solid as a rock defensively, gave us plenty of run from the back 50, and that goal- split eyebrow and all! Kenny was so impressed, that he will be lining up against the Giants this week. Brilliant stuff!
Justin Westhoff- (14D,7M,2.1)- I didn’t mind Westy’s game, notwithstanding the fact that Essendon lacked height in their defensive 50. Took some great contested marks, but his set shots could do with a bit more penetration!
Karl Amon- (13D,5M,4I50,2.0)- As mentioned, might just shift Neade out of the side with Wingard’s return. I like Karl and I think we have a lot to work with here. Is neat with his disposal, gets involved in scoring play and hits the scoreboard. Predominately an outside player so it can be argued that Neade offers us more defensive pressure, but with the press style that we play, it is clear we are after turnover through opposition rushing possession more so than one on one defence.
Charlie Dixon- (12D,5M,4I50,3.2)- His first quarter was fantastic, and faded out as the game went on. I want to talk about his first quarter, as this demonstrated all of the solution to our problems over Rounds 1 & 2. When we decide to move the footy with precision and actually look to deliver to our forwards in conjunction with Charlie getting on his bike and leading at the footy, we look a million bucks. “Yeah, it was only Essendon” I hear you say- well name a defender in the competition that will affect the spoil on a Dixon lead, arms outstretched, without interfering. Crickets. Talia +2 feasted on highballs popped onto his head, and Dixon at times still looked for the contested mark- FFS Charlie, get on your bike and lead, nobody will outmark you full tilt on the lead without at least giving away the free.
Jack Hombsch- (11D,6M,3I50)- Not a lot to say about his game. Beat Mitch Brown, that is about it.
Paul Stewart- (10D,4T)- Standard Stewy performance. Won’t be anything more than a Selley’s gap fill type of player, and was certainly a presence around the forward 50 laying some great pressure tackles.
Jackson Trengove- (7D,2M,8 x 1%)- I thought he got the better of Daniher, with Joe taking some quality pack marks which wouldn’t have been stopped by any defender. Took some 15 marks against Melbourne, so Jacko kept him in check which was good to see.
Matthew Lobbe- (7D,2M,27HO,4T)- Leuenberger still beat him, but I thought he was more than competitive. Stoppage and centre ground clearances were almost even for both sides, which tells me his tap work is getting better, and our midfield is working that bit better to win the footy or force another stoppage.
Onto GWS this week, and it seems we are rolling out the “massive game” tag for Port on a weekly basis almost, but its warranted. GWS were up to their ears in their contest against Sydney, and it took some individual brilliance from Buddy and another jet game from Luke Parker to get the swans over the line.
Funnily enough- based on what I saw on Friday night, I am quietly confident heading into Sunday. Port’s injury report suggest that Wingard and Hartlett are subject to fitness tests, but are likely to return to the line up, giving Ken some much needed class and experience around goals and through the midfield. He has already guaranteed Darcy Byrne-Jones a 2nd game on the back of his debut performance, so you would have to think that Paul Stewart will make way for one, and one of Jake Neade or Jarman Impey will be facing a nervous week on the track.
Tom Clurey, Billy Frampton and Nathan Krakouer have been given the all clear to return through the Magpies in their next game in a fortnight’s time, so hitting the next block of 4 after the Geelong game in Richmond, Brisbane, Carlton and West Coast, hopefully names such as Krak, Clurey, Schulz can be pushing hard for selection.
See you at the footy. Carn the Pear!
Valleys.
“Think of me like Yoda, but instead of being little and green I wear suits and I'm awesome. I'm your bro—I'm Broda!”
HOGG Shield 2015 Division I Premiers.
HOGG Shield 2017 Premier League Premiers.
