Season 2018 - Port Adelaide

Football Discussion Non Essendon Stuff
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Port Adelaide

Coach – Ken Hinkley

2017 –
Points For – 2nd
Points Against – 2nd

Top 5 Best and Fairest

  1. Paddy Ryder
  2. Charlie Dixon
  3. Tom Jonas
  4. Robbie Gray
  5. Brad Ebert

2017 Rising Star Noms

Sam Powell-Pepper (Rnd 1)
Dan Houston (Rnd 21)

Ins – Jack Watts, Tom Rockliff, Steven Motlop, Trent McKenzie, Jack Trengove, Sam Hayes, Kane Farrell, Jake Patmore, Joel Garner, Dom Barry, Lindsay Thomas

Outs – Jackson Trengove, Nathan Krakouer, Angus Monfries, Jesse Palmer, Matt White, Brett Eddy, Jarman Impey, Brendon Ad Chee, Aaron Young, Logan Austin, Matthew Lobbe

My Prediction

Port managed to look like a team destined to play finals football last year without ever looking like a genuine threat to the premiership. They have gone harder than anyone in the off season to improve their list and try to change that.

The backline is arguably not as strong as last year. Losing Trengove means they start to look like they lack some depth in the KP area. Hombsch gets the job done though Jonas despite being undersized seems to match up well. I think they are gettable though by a team with multiple tall options up forward.

The midfield is stronger again. Adding Rockliff to a midfield that was already pretty strong is only going to improve them. They also have Motlop who can give them run on the outside. They ahve plenty of big bodies with Wines and SPP giving them genuine drive from the middle. Polec looks to have found his form again and you have Grey playing through the middle in bursts. There aren’t too many holes in the midfield.

The forward line is stronger than last year. Considering they were the second highest scoring forward line means that they are going to take some stopping. Dixon finally looked at home and gave them a real quality target. Watts is a quality player and being third target is going to make him particularly dangerous. Motlop gives them more speed, then there is Gray who is an absolute freak and Wingard when not in the middle gives them another target. It is a seriously good forward line.

They have the most laconic and most talented ruck in the competition. If he is switched on again this year then they will be a top four team. If he is injured, they lack serious back up for him and it will mean trouble.

As much as it hurts. I think you have to rate Port as a top four team. I think 3rd or 4th is about the mark for them. They have a better list than last year and will take some serious beating at home.

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Their current team reminds me a bit of their early noughties teams.

I can see them looking a million dollars during the H&A & then bombing out big time in finals, purely on the basis that they are front runners & don’t really like the hard stuff. Rockliff will help here, but not enough

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9th.
I’ve said in other threads they weren’t as good as their ladder position suggested. I’m not convinced at all their recruits will help them. They need a good injury run because I don’t rate their depth

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I have them at 4th. Will be good this year

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Think they can make the 5-8 region.

Would be surprised if they produce good enough form to be a challenger though.

Incorporating the new players into the squad might not be as simple as naming them which could cause problems, especially early in the season.

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Based on their recruiting a definite contender for the flakiest team of 2018.
Were already hot and cold - Ryder, Dixon, Polec, the coach, the tarps, Kochie, various girlfriends, etc.
Add Motlop, Watts, Rockliff, Thomas, who could all either win a game, or crack the sulks, go missing, and you’ve got a team that could beat almost anyone, or finish 12th.

Lose to bottom sides and cause major upsets. Probably both.

Seriously I think there are legitimate weaknesses in both depth, and in pace.
Unless the Joel Garner they’ve recruited takes after his namesake.

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Port Adelaide

Best 22
B: Byrne-Jones Clurey Jonas
HB: Hartlett Hombsch Bonner
C: Motlop Wines Powell-Pepper
HF: S Gray Westhoff Watts
F: Thomas Dixon Wingard
Foll: Ryder R Gray Rockliff
I/C: Polec Ebert Boak Houston
Emg: Broadbent, Amon, Pittard

I would like to See Bonner get a gig in the 22. so have added him in expense of Broadbent.

DEPTH
Trent McKenzie Dom Barry Jack Trengove, Jimmy Toumpas, Jake Neade, Todd Marshall

I think for Port to be a real threat, they might need Thomas to start forward in the side. I was thinking he has career over written on him, but he may be needed for their forward mix 3 tall/3 small, also have Watts as the 3rd key forward/Utility.
If they choose to use Motlop up forward predominantly they may not have the need for Thomas at all and he will play out his contrcat in the SANFL. Im still trying to work out why they picked him up.

They should win more games than they lose. If their injection of aboriginal talent pays off they may be hard to stop with excitement and dare.
If a young player like patmore or Garner can come into the side like powell-pepper did then watch out.

Anyway Port Prediction - finish 2nd - 8th.
They are a bit like us they have the potential to beat anyone on their day, or be beaten by Carlton.

8

May 10,000 seagulls ■■■■ on their tarps.

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There was a lot of hype around their off season recruiting and how much they’ve improved as a result.

Rockliff should be a good pick up but the rest (Watts, Motlop, McKenzie, Thomas & Trengove) have all lacked consistency throughout their careers.

It’s asking a lot of the football gods to expect that they will all click in the one year and so I can’t see that much improvement at all.

They do appear to have quite a reasonable draw but I don’t see them finishing in the top four.

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One thing I can’t get my head around is people putting Thomas in Ports’ best 22.
That’s crazy.
They’re talking crazy.

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Top 4.

Or collapse in a screaming heap after the bye with controversies, injuries and sacked coach.

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Port, Melbourne and Richmond succesful this year is going to be painful.

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I’m expecting them to be a premiership contender.

Often in the AFL, because the competition is somewhat equalised, we have to look back at what unusual boost a team received to vie for a premiership (eg. Hawthorn with free agency, WB with father sons, Sydney’s COLA, GWS with abundant draft picks).

I think we may look back at Port’s salary cap relief for Ryder/Monfries, leading to their FA spending spree, as a similar driver for coming success.

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Has Rockliff ever played in a good team?

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Do not like.

Will finish top 4.

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I think people overstate the influence of these elements. Plenty of teams that haven’t won flags have had access to all these things.

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I reckon they have looked hard at their list and worked out what they need to do to challenge for a flag. I think they have improved their list but not significantly.
Every player to come in has a question mark and they lost a solid defender. I still think their gains outweigh their losses. Also, looking at Bichmond the previous year, I don’t think their list improved significantly and they got the flag.
So for PA I reckon they are in the top group of teams who could win it. 7-2.

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I rate Hinkley as a coach and I admire their commitment to and support of their Aboriginal talent.

For them to do well they will have to gel as a team much more than you would expect given some of the personalities on board. Rockliff and Watts won’t increase their team cohesion I wouldn’t think.

However they have got more out of Paddy than we managed to on a consistent basis, and the strength they get from their Aboriginal players feeling more of a sense of belonging and community than they would at any other club is a wildcard which will make them hard to counter when they are on song.

Top 4 if their defence holds together. We really had their measure last year when we played them, I hope this continues.

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I agree that they looked hard at their list too but apart from really Rockliff, who does address a glaring deficiency for them, they picked up whoever was left over in trade week after we picked up the SSS’s and are now too top heavy in frontrunning downhill skiers.

Nothing would make me happier than to see this mob crash and burn significantly this season and be set back a decade on the back of this recruiting drive they’ve embarked on.

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The point being, when you are given an advantage, you need to get it right to make it count. Endless wasted high draft picks by cellar dwellers are examples of not taking advantages you are given.

Sydney is an example of a club who knows how to use its advantages, and the combination of Brisbane and Fitzroy is another that was capitalized on.