Port Adelaide 2016

[PatowalongaPirate]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

[Spargo]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

You going tonight, Pirate?

[Jim05]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

Luey will towell up Lobbe at ball ups but Lobbe should be too good around the ground. Ambrose and Daniher will give him a chop out around the ground but the big fella will probably ruck 80% of the night

[stan]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

Luey will towell up Lobbe at ball ups but Lobbe should be too good around the ground. Ambrose and Daniher will give him a chop out around the ground but the big fella will probably ruck 80% of the night

Agree Jim Leunberger is a better ruckmen but heck will he stay in the park?

[Jim05]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

Luey will towell up Lobbe at ball ups but Lobbe should be too good around the ground. Ambrose and Daniher will give him a chop out around the ground but the big fella will probably ruck 80% of the night

Agree Jim Leunberger is a better ruckmen but heck will he stay in the park?

That's the million dollar question.
Fingers crossed he can because he has been fantastic so far, was really good against the Suns and then gave Gawn an absolute bath last week.

[MW]

I see Port are having their names in Chinese on the back of the jumpers. Interesting little fact, Port will wear 4 different jumpers in the first four rounds...without even wearing the white strip. merchandisers dream!

[daysofourlives]

Trengove will play on Daniher, he will go into the ruck when Daniher does.

There you go boys, problem solved, cheers Daisy

[am Bays]

Have been thinking the same thing, am, its been a Perfect Storm of bad planning, bad luck and bad coaching.

I disagree. Its Poor Execution.

I won't take credit for what I am about to post, but this is brilliant analysis from BigFooty highlighting exactly where our defensive press is breaking down.

Yes, these injuries are not helpful. But it is workrate and structure- in that order, but also associated, that is seeing us look amateur out there at the moment.

I still hold out hope that this will be an Adelaide United type situation. United in the first 6 games of the season leaked goals like a sieve. Why? Structure and workrate. It took our players a good ¼ of the season to fully understand the new game plan, and what is required, formations etc. Once that happened- United started winning games, and looked highly impenetrable.

Our defensive press and its deficiencies can be broken down into 3 parts:

Part 1:

The difference between a successful press and an epic failure can be measured in a distance of around 10m. 10m is the difference between a long kick going to a one on one/two on two contest where speed and skill are the determining factors rather than numerical supremacy.

In the Adelaide review thread, I pointed out a time early in the match where we had the correct shape, but because the line was pushed too high up the ground it allowed Adelaide to move the ball out of defence pretty easily.

Diagram 1.jpg

The player in the back lines has the ball. He has three options - he can do a short kick to one of the players that is tucked in between our two lines of defence, he can bomb it long to a one on one between Robbie Gray and Scott Thompson, or he can take the option he did and kick long to a mismatch contest between Wayne Milera and Tom Jonas, with another player from both sides joining in to make it a 2 on 2.

Now, I don't know about you, but when you've got clear space behind you, the ball getting to a fast player like Milera I think is quite a bad thing. What that kick also does is bypass the 5 players who were setup to press. It takes them out of the play and renders them useless defensively. But watch what happens when we move the line back 10m to inline where Jonas and Gray actually were:

Diagram 2.jpg

Now, instead of kicking the ball to Milera in a one on one/two on two, Port has three players in the vicinity and it's no big thing for one of them to intercept the kick, because they don't have to turn first before they move toward the contest. The spacing means that even if Adelaide takes the short option at the 50m arc, those players won't be able to immediately play on due to the first and secondary lines being able to quickly collapse on him from both in front and behind like a vice. Which gives the defence time to setup properly and the forwards to push down into midfield.

The reason we are playing a press is two fold - it creates pressure in the forward line but it also slows down the play - and the slower you can make the opposition move the ball the more likely it is statistically that they will turn it over. On a ground that is over 120m in length, I'd much rather force our opponent to kick the ball 5-6 times and do the required running into space which increases fatigue than let them move the ball easily out of defence with 2 or 3 kicks and then hope that our flood/slingshot can turn the ball over in our defensive 50. Call me crazy, but that sounds like Defensive Tactics 101 to me.

Uncontested marks by our opponents aren't the enemy...it's where they receive the ball that is the key issue. 10m is the difference between a rock solid defence and a defence that leaks goals easily. That's why I keep saying it's easily fixed, and why when they DO fix it we'll have one of the best defences in the league.

I see some real genius in the way we are trying to play. It will work once the players don't get caught up in this stupid selfish idea that they need to be close to the ball in order to influence the result. In soccer, defenders aren't judged on their individual performance so much as how they work as a unit, with the only stat worth mentioning being how many goals the defence has conceded. I don't give a **** if Impey never touches the ball if he's doing his job and keeping the shape so it makes it difficult for opposition teams to move the ball toward goal. And you shouldn't either.

However, there is more to the failure of our defence than just spacing, and it involves what our wings are supposed to do when the ball crosses center. The next post will discuss what is happening vs what should be happening - and when you see that, you'll get a better appreciation of what we are trying to do.

<Insert the other three posts here>

Anyone at Port heard of the KISS principle???

[stan]

Trengove will play on Daniher, he will go into the ruck when Daniher does.

There you go boys, problem solved, cheers Daisy

Possibly a good option. They might choose to have Trengrove remain at home and Westoff pinch hit.

[stan]

Maybe they are backing in Lobbe to beat Luenberger as the Bombers don't really have a second ruck option. This would allow the tall defenders to stay put. Whoever is on Daniher would want to be able to jump.

Luey will towell up Lobbe at ball ups but Lobbe should be too good around the ground. Ambrose and Daniher will give him a chop out around the ground but the big fella will probably ruck 80% of the night

Agree Jim Leunberger is a better ruckmen but heck will he stay in the park?

That's the million dollar question.
Fingers crossed he can because he has been fantastic so far, was really good against the Suns and then gave Gawn an absolute bath last week.

And thats the only issue with big Hamburger. He is a good player and solud ruckmen but hust injuries have been harsh to him. If he stays fit will be a fantastic puckup.

[The Bedge]

Any truth to the rumour circulating FB that Dixon could be a late out tonight?

[Jim05]

Any truth to the rumour circulating FB that Dixon could be a late out tonight?

Was mentioned on SEN not long ago that he is battling knee tendonitis, think it's only a rumour at this stage

[marbles]

Trengove will play on Daniher, he will go into the ruck when Daniher does.

There you go boys, problem solved, cheers Daisy

3 brownlow votes for daniher then. Piss easy night for him

[Jim05]

Trengove will play on Daniher, he will go into the ruck when Daniher does.

There you go boys, problem solved, cheers Daisy

3 brownlow votes for daniher then. Piss easy night for him

Trouble is Joey will either kick 8.0 or 1.7, there is no middle ground at the moment. Let's hope he is on tonight

[Dutchy]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

[Booney]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

I think they will too, however I expect a strong game from Ports leaders. Boak, Wines, Ebert, Westhoff and Hombsch must be up for the challenge tonight.

Interesting night ahead. Now, where's that first cold one?

[nuggety goodness]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

I've tipped port but with minimal confidence.

Essendon are up and about while port are not and mindset goes a long way!

[MW]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

I've tipped port but with minimal confidence.

Essendon are up and about while port are not and mindset goes a long way!

Essendon beat Melbourne...just. Hardly up and about. Port should smash them using the Magpies squad.

[nuggety goodness]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

I've tipped port but with minimal confidence.

Essendon are up and about while port are not and mindset goes a long way!

Essendon beat Melbourne...just. Hardly up and about. Port should smash them using the Magpies squad.

Moreso confidence i was talking about. They have energy about them and belief.

[Jim05]

Port have 12 players that have played over 100 games, only half of them take the field tonight, Bombers side doesn't look too bad, reckon they will do OK.

Yeah hard to get a gauge on it. Port were whacked by a pretty good Crows outfit and we played well against a deplorable Demons side. Don't underestimate how bad the Dee's were last week. We have gone in unchanged with only 4 top up players in the side and there are a heap of young draftees and unproven mature guys in the side. Our defence still looks undersized and will not cause too many headaches if the ball is delivered well. Just can't see where our goals will come from, Joe will need to kick 4 or 5 and hope guys like Stokes and the Merrett's chip in with a couple each and even then I'd be surprised if we kick more than 10-12 goals. I'm still expecting Port to win quite comfortably and the bookies share the sentiments