The Moment on Monday: Port’s Dougal Howard and Todd Marshall produce emphatic response to being dropped in the first month of the season
Dougal Howard and Todd Marshall are seen as Port’s linchpins for the next decade yet both have been dropped already this year. On Friday night they were in the Power’s best and in one moment Howard put the ‘full stop’ on the stunning win over West Coast.
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FORM will dictate who gets dropped but the art of coaching is when, so to illicit the best response, and Port Adelaide’s match committee has been spot on this season.
The first big call came in pre-season when Dougal Howard was left out of JLT 2 for Jack Watts who shone in his new home at half-back.
The second came after Round 2 when Todd Marshall was axed for his slow start.
Two big calls given they’re what Port hope will be their centre-half-back and centre-half-forward for the next decade.
But coach Ken Hinkley is also coaching for the now and clearly knows what makes his players tick and the message they need both publicly and privately.
Both were playing their third game of the season against West Coast on Friday night and were outstanding. And the man who came in for Marshall a fortnight earlier — Sam Gray — was in the best three players on the ground.
Howard’s moment arrived early in the third quarter. Port had absorbed five minutes of pressure as the home side tried to wrestle back momentum.
As Andrew Gaff peeled off half-back he delivered a perfect pass for Josh Kennedy at half-forward but not perfect enough. Howard’s closing speed saw him arrive to spoil then in the same motion lunge at Lewis Jetta who was about to take off with the footy and caught him holding the ball.
Instead of the ball going inside West Coast’s 50 it went forward for Port, Gray kicked a set-shot goal and it was 69-14.
“Outstanding”, “fantastic for his teammates”, “a real lifter for himself” is how Power assistant coach Brett Montgomery described it.
“It certainly almost put the full stop on the game,” Montgomery said.
Just before that Howard affected a double-spoil on Ryan to thwart another Eagles attack up the middle and he finished with a team-high eight one per centers.
Eric Hipwood kicked the best part of six goals on him in Brisbane in Round 3 but since returning to the side he’s been very important.
Then there was Marshall who on Friday night stood the player Dermott Brereton considers the “most valuable” in the game — Jeremy McGovern.
He beat him and the Eagles’ defence, and he did it by playing in front. He marked in front of McGovern and won free kicks in front of Shannon Hurn and Will Schofield.
All that was matched by his workrate and pressure to create opportunities for others such as knock-on then handball for Xavier Duursma’s goal in the first quarter, chase down tackle on Tom Cole and intercept mark from a kick-in in the last. It was the perfect response after a week in the twos.
Last week it was Steven Motlop who was axed. His response was to have 31 disposals and 10 clearances in the SANFL. Whether his senior recall comes this week or next, based on that performance and the response of Howard and Marshall before him, Port’s tough love could be the perfect tonic.
GAME NOTES
POWER V EAGLES
COACH Ken Hinkley said: “The most pleasing part of tonight was that our team’s behaviour didn’t change, no matter the score.” Port took the game on and worked in numbers, but above all had a hunger for the contest for four quarters. And case in point was with eight minutes to go and leading by 46 points, Todd Marshall and Dan Houston both laid chase-down tackles in their forward half. Marshall on Tom Cole and Houston on Liam Ryan which he celebrated with a 50m goal. After their tackle count had dipped to 47 and 39 in the past two weeks, it was back up to 54 (+6) against West Coast.
THERE’S a set shot from last year’s Showdown Ollie Wines would like to have again but he hasn’t missed in three games this season. The new co-captain kicked 1.0 against Brisbane, 2.0 against Richmond and 1.0 against West Coast and two of those have been clutch set-shots. During the week Wines posted a photo on his Instagram of the numbers 16 and 42 painted on a wall in Alberton. On Friday night he had 35 disposals and Tom Jonas — along with Tom Clurey — kept Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling to 1.0 between them. Not a bad endorsement of the new leadership model.
ROBBIE Gray has been quiet by his standards but just his presence is enough to contribute to the scoreboard. Defenders terrified of his positioning often concede a free kick and on Friday night he cleverly disguised two clear holds as shepherds to make sure a teammate’s kick went through for a goal on the line. Smart players like Gray don’t need big numbers to hurt you.
WE saw Connor Rozee’s pace on show at the Gabba a fortnight ago but his ability to burn off two Eagles opponents, bounce the footy like a basketball and kick the goal just before three-quarter-time was absolutely electric.
QUOTED
“It felt like the boys had my back, and they said before the game they wanted me to feel like I’m a part of Port Adelaide now and I definitely felt that this week.”
— Scott Lycett after playing against West Coast for the first time.
MR ONE PER CENTER
Who are the unsung heroes of SA footy? The players who have an impact on their team without hitting the stats sheet. Champion Data records one per centers by tallying spoils, knock-ons, shepherds and smothers every game.
Here’s the leaderboard from Port Adelaide and Adelaide after Round 5:
42: Tom Jonas (Power)
34: Daniel Talia (Crows)
32: Dougal Howard (Power)
31: Jake Kelly (Crows)
27: Tom Clurey (Power), Alex Keath (Crows)
22: Scott Lycett (Power)
20: Paddy Ryder (Power)
18: Wayne Milera (Crows)
15: Dan Houston (Power)
14: Ryan Burton (Power)
13: Brad Ebert, Connor Rozee (Power), Rory Laird, Brodie Smith, David Mackay (Crows),
12: Kyle Hartigan (Crows)
11: Justin Westhoff, Darcy Byrne-Jones (Power)
10: Riley Bonner (Power)
SUPERCOACH TOP 10
HE’S not the most popular player among SuperCoaches across the country but Sam Gray showed again why he’s so highly valued internally at Port with 127 ranking points in their win over West Coast. Here’s the top 10 SA SuperCoach scores from Round 5:
1. Sam Gray (Port) 127
2. David Mackay (Adel) 121
3. Brodie Smith (Adel) 110
4. Dougal Howard (Port) 110
5. Ollie Wines (Port) 110
6. Cameron Ellis-Yolmen (Adel) 108
7. Matt Crouch (Adel) 108
8. Paddy Ryder (Port) 108
9. Willem Drew (Port) 105
10. Brad Ebert (Port) 97
TIPS
An early look at Round 6 tips:
As strange as it sounds I think MELBOURNE can beat Richmond on Anzac Day eve, COLLINGWOOD over Essendon, PORT over North, BRISBANE in the Q-clash, CROWS in an upset over the high-flying Saints, GWS to end Sydney’s season, FREO over the Dogs in Perth, HAWKS over Blues and the EAGLES to topple the Cats on the road.
POWER RANKINGS
1. ST KILDA (4-1)
St Kilda on top of the rankings after Round 5. Unbelievable. Hope Alan Richardson is given the credit the same way he cops the heat when they’re struggling.
2. GEELONG (3-1)*
Playing Hawthorn on Monday then West Coast next Sunday.
3. RICHMOND (3-2)
Challenged by the Swans but got it done again without Riewoldt. Dusty Martin back in made a big difference though.
4. COLLINGWOOD (3-2)
Way too good for the Lions at the Gabba and easy to see why that one meant something to Dayne Beams the way his teammates got to him after a goal in the final quarter. Now for Anzac Day.
5. GWS (3-2)
Crashed back to earth after an impressive fortnight with a loss to Fremantle in Canberra. Big Sydney derby coming up this week.
6. PORT ADELAIDE (3-2)
Willem Drew has gone under the radar a little given the sudden emergence of the three first-year kids but his desperation is exactly what the Power’s win on Friday was built on. Out-worked Luke Shuey at one contest and threw himself at everything.
7. WEST COAST (3-2)
Very disappointing against Port Adelaide at home. Darling and Kennedy no influence but only 38 inside 50s for the night.
8. HAWTHORN (2-2)*
Playing Geelong on Monday then Carlton on Sunday.
9. FREMANTLE (3-2)
Fremantle have proven a few wrong in the first five weeks and Saturday’s win over the Giants is proof that maybe finals are possible.
10. ESSENDON (3-2)
Unlike a lot of teams this round, the Bombers won when they were expected to against the Roos.
11. ADELAIDE (2-3)
Stunning return to form, or is it? Crows must beat the Saints in Melbourne to prove it wasn’t a false dawn.
12. GOLD COAST (3-2)
Would have made the Crows very nervous at quarter-time but they were smashed after that.
13. BRISBANE (3-2)
I didn’t think they were as bad as some who saw them live but got a reality check that they’re not in the same class as Collingwood which is a top-four team.
14. WESTERN BULLDOGS (2-3)
That’s three losses on the trot for the Dogs after a 2-0 start and Sunday’s loss to the Blues the worst of the lot.
15. SYDNEY (1-4)
It’s time to stop talking about Sydney as the Sydney that we know. The names are still there but that working class grit is fading.
16. CARLTON (1-4)
How did we not see this one coming. In a season of upsets, Carlton was always a big chance and made all us tipsters look silly. Again.
17. NORTH MELBOURNE (1-4)
Last week’s joy was short lived after a Good Friday shocker.
18. MELBOURNE (1-4)
Could well be the worst team in the competition at the moment.
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