Port Adelaide and the Crows can clear away the disappointment with new hope that the fans will always grasp
FOR the first time since 2011, both the Crows and Port Adelaide will close their AFL seasons without finals appearances. And then the membership sales will hinge on delivering new hope.
- ‘Pathetic’ Power clinging to finals hopes
- Tredrea: Power, Crows need review from fresh eyes
- No second ruck is Power’s biggest failure
- Lobbe opens up on family’s struggles
- No Power play for Lukosius, Rankine
AND so it ends … much earlier — by at least a month — than every Crows and Port Adelaide fan expected, let alone hoped.
Port Adelaide on Friday closes its home-and-away campaign against Essendon and should finish with 13 wins — not enough to make finals once Geelong beats Gold Coast at Kardinia Park on Saturday.
The Power will have fallen from fifth (14 wins) to ninth (13 wins). It is a disappointing return after restocking the list with hand-picked experience and an 11-4 standing seven weeks ago.
Adelaide on Saturday definitely finishes against Carlton at Etihad Stadium.
The Crows’ drop is more dramatic. Adelaide has slipped from a minor premiership (15 wins and a draw) to most probably finish 11th (12 wins).
Adelaide’s demise is the most disappointing — behind Port Adelaide and Essendon — across the 18-team national league. The Crows should have retained a top-four ranking, should have challenged Richmond for the premiership and should have been eyeing that long-awaited third AFL flag.
To have fallen out of contention — and to have tumbled so far down the AFL ladder — is not easily washed away with themes of “bad luck” and injuries.
Today, there is much dismay and unrest among both of the SA-based AFL clubs’ fans. Not since 2011 have both been left to pack away their supporter gear so soon in a season.
But in a month there will be withdrawal symptoms as there is very little to replace Australian football when it goes into recess.
There will be new optimism as the trade period begins with Port Adelaide fans to be excited by West Coast free-agent ruckman Scott Lycett returning to Alberton to support Patrick Ryder; and Crows supporters wondering what deals can be engineered to advance in the draft order to be more certain of securing SA talent, such as Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine.
Then there will be the roll out of membership packages — and the encouraging letters promising more on the field in season 2019. Port Adelaide’s pride in having the second-largest (behind AFL premiers Richmond) re-sigining rate from members will be challenged.
The Crows need not worry so much about the “churn rate” when they are counting 97,675 members to fit in a 53,500-capacity Adelaide Oval.
To re-quote Crows coach Don Pyke after a narrow loss last season, there is a fine line between pleasure and pain. Adelaide could not make the same mistakes again — and Pyke has a solid squad that is more than capable of rebounding.
There is an “age profile” with Adelaide’s squad — eight players will be 30 or older next season: Eddie Betts (32), Kyle Cheney (30), Richard Douglas (32), Bryce Gibbs (30), Sam Jacobs (31), Josh Jenkins (30), David Mackay (31) and Andy Otten (30).
But there is significant talent that should deliver finals for Adelaide next season.
Port Adelaide expects more from its list next year as the players introduced this season — in particular Steven Motlop, Tom Rockliff and Jack Watts — find their place at Alberton. The Power fans would hope so.
And that is the key note when the cheering ends for the SA-based AFL clubs this weekend. There is always new hope to bring back the fans next winter.
Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.