Port Adelaide’s pressure game is the reason it beat Melbourne and the Crows lack of pressure why they lost to the Demons

THE Crows have had a big dip in form in the past month and dual Crows premiership skipper Mark Bickley says the reason is a lack of pressure, in contrast to cross-town rival Port Adelaide which is showing it has the contested game needed to succeed in 2018.

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THE Melbourne Football Club in the past month has provided a stark contrast between the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs, with their performance against our two SA sides.

On face value, the two matches could not seem more different. The Crows were outrun, outclassed, and massively outscored by the Demons who ran rampant, kicking 23 goals. Against the Power is was a dour affair, an arm wrestle, a bruising physical game that ebbed and flowed with both teams having moments where they controlled the game.

Why the comparison? Remarkably the key statistics in both games had many similarities.

Melbourne won the inside 50s, the contested ball and the clearances by similar amounts in both games. Not by small margins – all by double figure amounts.

So how can the Crows receive a 15-goal hiding and the Power win by 10 points?

The answer is the difference between the two teams at the moment.

PRESSURE.

Adelaide’s ability to slow the Demons when they played was non existent. Despite hardly having the ball that day they recorded 66 tackles, Port Adelaide in contrast had 99.

Champion Data also record pressure acts and “one percenters”. The little things that teams do to make it hard for the opposition: Chasing, spoiling, blocking and smothering – you get the idea. As you can probably guess Port Adelaide’s efforts were far greater, 75 one percenters to Port compared to Adelaide’s measly 32. The pressure acts tell the same story, Port well on top.

Fair to say most players on an AFL list should be able to chase, harass, tackle and spoil. With this in mind the injury plight Adelaide has found itself in shouldn’t stop it from showing the intent to pressure the opposition and defend if players are unable to win the ball. This is illustrated perfectly by Port’s Sam Powell-Pepper who in just his second year at AFL level and at only 20 years of age had 17 tackles and 94 pressure acts.

We all know the comparison I have used is an inexact science. Adelaide had its worst performance of the year against Melbourne. What is not up for debate though is that in the Crows’ last four losses they have had periods where their competitiveness and pressure has not been anywhere near the expected level. Most notable was the last half against Hawthorn where they kicked just one goal and conceded nine, and before that a goalless third quarter against a severely depleted Fremantle side which were able to bag four itself.

Adelaide’s defence is aggressively positioned and relies heavily on pressure coming from up the field.

When that is not at the required level they get exposed. Opposition sides have taken 54 marks inside their forward 50 over the last four matches, at an average of almost 14, and we are not talking about towering pack marks, most were uncontested. Just to give you a comparison the Crows best effort over that same period has been seven. Those two numbers illustrate Adelaide’s recent woes. Unable to move the ball fluently in offence and unable to slow the opposition in defence.

Sam Powell-Pepper of the Power recorded 17 tackles against the Demons. Picture: GETTY IMAGES

If the Crows were looking to narrow their focus against the Eagles this weekend I recommend manic pressure being the starting point.

Last year’s success was built largely on the ability to creates turnovers. No team created more, or scored as often from them as the Crows. And we know that pressure, is the precursor to winning the ball back from the opposition.

The Adelaide players have had a week off to gather their thoughts and let their bodies recover but, while they may welcome back as many as four players from injury, this is not the most important factor. The mentality they display is what I will be most interested in.

After the club has been scrutinised all last week, and everyone from the coach, to the boot studder’s role questioned, the players need to respond accordingly. The recent narrative has been the failure of Collective Mind in helping the players conquer the mental battle. Saturday night’s challenge is very much a mental one; can they bring the intensity for four quarters?

The home crowd will be willing them to recapture their best form, but at the same time they are restless with what they’ve seen in recent weeks.

Another poor showing may see the Crows fans lose patience with the club and its players, and after parting ways with Collective Mind, that means there is one less person to blame.