Port Adelaide v St Kilda: Young forward Todd Marshall to miss up to six weeks with broken thumb
Port Adelaide is already stinging after being upstaged at home against St Kilda – now it’s been revealed the Power will also be without young gun Todd Marshall for some time after he badly damaged his thumb during the loss.
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Port Adelaide’s defeat at the hands of St Kilda has proved more costly, with key forward Todd Marshall likely to be out for up to six weeks after breaking his thumb in the third term of Saturday night’s disappointing 29-point loss.
Marshall, who kicked a goal and had six disposals on the weekend, underwent surgery on Sunday.
Power assistant coach Nathan Bassett said Marshall broke his hand as he smothered a ball.
“He’s had the surgery, it will keep him out for a while, he’s been great for us, but someone else will have to come in and do his job,” he said.
Bassett said Marshall’s injury was a big loss for Port’s forward line and the coaches would this week look to see how he would be covered.
“We’ve got to look to see how a few injured guys work through this week,” he said.
“Scott Lycett, we’re still waiting on, Mots (Steven Motlop) is another, we’ll see how they go for this week.”
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Bassett said players like Tom Rockliff would also come into selection talk, along with Willem Drew after they both performed well in a scratch match against the Crows’ unselected players on Saturday.
Drew played his first game back in the scratch match having been sidelined for 16 weeks with a foot injury.
“Joey Atley played really well in the midfield as well, we saw some good things from our midfielders out here on Saturday,” Bassett said.
“We saw those guys have got some form and opportunities will come up at this period of the year where we lose a player for up to six weeks, that could be nine games which will present opportunities for other guys to come in and play.”
FED UP HINKLEY SLAMS UMPIRING AFTER LOSS
— Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has taken aim at the confusion around the rules of the game, saying the umpires should not be having a “week to week” focus and fellow coaches should not weigh in.
The rules of the game and how they are officiated have come under intense scrutiny in the AFL in recent weeks after Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson blamed the umpires for congestion in games for not calling enough holding the balls.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan also weighed in saying he thought more free kicks should be paid in games.
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After the Power’s 29-point loss to St Kilda at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night — in which the Port crowd voiced their displeasure at the officials on numerous occasions — Hinkley said it had become confusing for everyone.
“I’m not an umpire basher at all but gee that was an interesting game,” he said.
“The umpires got a howling and that’s not their fault most of it, the game should not get adjusted from week to week.
“The rules are the rules and shouldn’t change we just need to umpire them consistently. Like I want my team to play consistently.”
Hinkley said the umpires should be left to umpire, and adjustments didn’t have to be made just for the sake of it.
“You can’t tell me that coaches talking about the umpiring, Gill talking about the umpiring or me talking about the umpiring and trying to make an adjustment it doesn’t work that’s not the way the game should be,” he said.
“And for umpires to have a week to week focus, their focus shouldn’t change from Round 1 to round whatever we play because their focus should be on umpiring the rules that are written.
“There is absolutely no doubt that it is more confusing than it has ever been, the umpiring should be left to the umpires by the umpires.
“We should play it with the same rules every week, I don’t know if we need to make adjustments. We shouldn’t behave like there is something that needs to be fixed every week with umpires.”
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Hinkley said the ladder-leading Power outfit needed to improve its contested ball and entries into its forward half after being shocked by the rapidly improving Saints.
“There is no doubt they were better around the ball than us … they were physically stronger,” he said.
He said young ruckman Peter Ladhams had a tough night against the Saints gun ruck duo of Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder — but said it was part of the development for Ladhams.
Hinkley also defended Justin Westhoff, whose shanked kick to Dan Butler was the sealer for the Saints in the final quarter, but said the veteran — who was a late inclusion for Trent McKenzie who suffered from back spasms – needed to find some form.
“Turnovers are always pivotal … but they always happen during the night,” he said.
“It’s not one person’s fault it’s just what happens in a game of footy.”
SAINTS MAKE STATEMENT AS POWER GOES OUT
St Kilda waited six years to taste victory at Adelaide Oval, the Saints now have two victories there in less than a week.
For the first time since 2016, and just for the second time in a decade, the Saints have defeated the top of the ladder team with a 29-point win.
With 11 goals and no behinds after halftime the Saints showed will be right in the mix for finals in 2020, as they entered the top four with a massive scalp as they ended a run of eight straight losses to the Power.
As with their win over the Crows on Monday night, the Saints had to survive a third-quarter onslaught when the Power had nine forward 50 entries in a row but Port could not impact the scoreboard.
Dean Kent then hit the Power with a big sucker punch and then three straight Saints goals to open the fourth had St Kilda marching on.
RUCK AND ROLLIN
Who said Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder couldn’t play in the same team?
After playing a starring role in the Saints last win with his tap work in the middle of the ground, Ryder produced more of the same against his former side.
Matched up Peter Ladhams, the new Saint schooled his old teammate in the middle of the ground.
Ryder finished off with 29 hit-outs, giving the Saints’ midfield the first look time and time again.
Shifted further forward, Marshall made a St Kilda attack that used to have Tim Membrey as its focal point a multi-headed beast both in the air and on the ground combining very well with young gun Max King and the Saints’ fleets of smalls.
UNDER THE RADAR NO MORE
Darcy Byrne-Jones has flown under the radar for much of his Port Adelaide career.
He shouldn’t now as the rebounding defender continued the form that has him well and truly in the mix for an All-Australian selection.
Playing as Port’s highest defender Byrne-Jones caused havoc for the Saints with his rebound off half back.
It was surprising that the Saints didn’t put captain Jarryn Geary on him as they have to their opposition’s best defender in recent weeks.
MAN OF STEELE
Champion Data had Travis Boak as Lachie Neale’s nearest Brownlow Medal rival during the week.
Jack Steele showed that he could very well be in the conversation after another sensational game in the middle.
Just a tagger no more, Steele is having a fine 2020 and he showed this with a dominant performance in the middle of the ground as the Saints smashed the Power in the clearances by 12.
He finished with 22 disposals, five clearances and 11 contested possessions and laid six tackles for good measure.
And after Boak had a fast start to the match Steele put the clamps on the Port superstar, who couldn’t get near the ball in the third quarter.
Paddy Ryder!
— AFL (@AFL) July 25, 2020
It doesn't get better than that against your old team 🤯#ColesGoals | #AFLPowerSaints pic.twitter.com/HArXJMnYuW
PORT ADELAIDE 2.1, 4.4, 6.6, 6.8 (44)
ST KILDA 1.1, 5.1, 7.1, 12.1 (73)
BEST
Port Adelaide: Byrne-Jones, Wines, Houston, Duursma, Powell-Pepper
St Kilda: Marshall, Steele, Hunter, Butler, Ryder
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Powell Pepper, Marshall, Gray, Georgiades, Duursma, Dixon
St Kilda: Butler, Ryder, Marshall, Membrey 2, King, Kent, Hind
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Trent McKenzie (back) replaced by Justin Westhoff, Marshall (thumb)
St Kilda: Kent (knee), Hill (leg), Ross (calf)
VOTES
3 – Rowan Marshall (St Kilda)
2 – Darcy Byrne-Jones (Port Adelaide)
1 – Jack Steele (St Kilda)
HOW ‘R WORD’, 2018 TRIP PLAYING KEY ROLE IN PORT’S STRONG START
-Matt Turner
As Gillon McLachlan stood outside AFL house to announce more tweaks to the fixture after another hurdle in a season full of them, he spoke about the teams most likely to win this year’s premiership.
“Those who accept and adapt to the challenge – those who show their resilience – will be those who will do best,” the league’s chief executive said last month.
Resilience happens to be a focus for league ladder leader Port Adelaide.
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Listen to press conferences from Power coach Ken Hinkley or captain Tom Jonas this season and you will usually hear that r word.
“There’s something about the team at the moment, the boys’ belief in themselves and their resilience,” Hinkley said on Sunday, after Robbie Gray’s post-siren goal sealed a thrilling three-point win over Carlton that moved Port to a 6-1 record.
“Two down (injured), back-to-back travel games where we’re up at 5 (am) – there was a few things going against us.”
On Thursday, Jonas said the team had displayed “resilience we may not have shown in previous seasons, where we’ve been challenged and we’ve been able to respond”.
“We’ve invested a lot of effort into the resilience space and building on that, so I think we’re starting to see some of the benefits there,” Jonas said.
Port might be showing the fruits of its labour now, but a turning point came after missing the finals in 2018.
Not only was that the time the Power rejuvenated their list by trading Chad Wingard, Jared Polec and Jasper Pittard to ensure three top-20 picks, it was also when Hinkley, senior assistant Michael Voss and Power football manager Chris Davis undertook a course called “Energising People for Performance” at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois, US.
The Power leaders emerged from that trip wanting to make the team closer.
To help do that, they engaged Hugh van Cuylenburg, the founding director of the Resilience Project, who Davies knew of via mutual friends.
Connection has become an AFL buzzword in recent seasons and Richmond has tapped into it better than any club while winning two of the past three flags.
The Resilience Project provides positive mental health strategies while focusing on principles of gratitude, empathy and mindfulness.
Starting as a few talks in the 2018/19 pre-season, van Cuylenburg now holds monthly full-squad Zoom sessions with Port and chats regularly with the likes of Voss and Travis Boak.
He has presented to every NRL club and 10 AFL teams, but the Power are the only side he is working with in a 2020 campaign that is testing players’ and coaches’ resilience like no other.
“Research says the key ingredient to having resilience is positive emotion,” van Cuylenburg told News Corp.
“So in challenging times, the more positive you are, the quicker you will adapt.
“We’ve done a lot of work on practising gratitude – that’s when you pay attention to what you’ve got, not what you don’t have.
“In the case of COVID, the boys have had to jump on a plane at 4.30am or been in a hub for three weeks, but when you’re grateful you’re focusing on playing footy, spending the day with your mates – ‘how lucky am I, I’m in Queensland in July in 25 degrees’ – so focusing on that not the travel or having to be in a hub.”
Boak uses a gratitude journal to diarise what he is thankful for and the positives of a day, believing it has changed his perspective on life to become more glass-half-full.
“When you have a high-pressure job, like Travis does, if your default setting is to scan the world for the positives, you’re going to be a more resilient person,” van Cuylenburg said.
In December, Van Cuylenburg spent two days with Port on its pre-season camp in Maroochydore, where connection and resilience were two key themes.
The Power’s choice of accommodation, Lake Kawana’s Sports Hub, forced players to leave their compact rooms and interact, usually on the outdoor deck or via games of table-tennis.
Outdoor conversations were in casual settings but the ones inside at night encouraged players to tell stories about their lives, often including their struggles.
In March, Port youngster Zak Butters revealed to News Corp that he opened up to teammates and coaches in those deeply personal sessions about his sister’s three-year ice addiction battle.
“The way you build connection is through vulnerability,” van Cuylenburg said.
“We’ve done a lot of work in creating really safe spaces for the boys to talk about not just the good things, but the things they’re struggling with so they can all support each other in a safe environment.
“(Those sessions) gave players an opportunity to share a story about their lives – they didn’t have to but if you did, the floor was yours – and it gave the rest of the players an opportunity to know how to support you and be there for you, knowing what their life is really like.”
Van Cuylenburg said Port’s tight-knit bonds were now being revealed to the football world.
“They’ve been celebrating each other’s success behind closed doors for the whole pre-season and that kind of celebration and joy for each other has spilt out onto the field now, which is nice to watch,” he said.
Van Cuylenburg said he could not take credit for Port’s unity or strong start because he was simply facilitating the sessions and that Hinkley, Voss, Davies and the players were driving it.
“You can see how much they’re loving doing what they do and I think that’s the result of leaders at the club understanding it’s a game and it’s there to be enjoyed,” he said.
Port has working on building connection and resilience away from its sessions with van Cuylenburg.
Coaches have learnt more about their squad over the past two years in “360 meetings”, where they will sit with welfare staff to learn more about players’ interests outside of football, work or study plans and what is going on in their lives.
Davies told News Corp the team was as close as he had seen in his nearly six years at the club and that was being displayed in “their willingness to help each other, willingness to talk through the issues that they may be having, willingness to work together”.
He said there were many reasons behind why the club had jumped out to a 6-1 start but its connection was “without doubt a contributing factor”.
“It has to have a football department buy-in, not just the players,” Davies said.
“I absolutely agree with Gillon’s view that each club is going through their own issues at the moment and, no doubt, the team that comes out at the end of the year is going to have to had overcome some serious barriers in order to achieve the ultimate success.”
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The Power are a long way to go from winning anything substantial this season but they can move to a 7-1 record if they beat St Kilda on Saturday night.
Speaking on Friday, Hinkley said the game would be another test for his in-form team – then he dropped that word again.
“We’re becoming a little bit more resilient, consistent and reliable at all things,” he said.
“(Resilience for Port) pretty much means to just hang in there and know when you need to keep grinding away.
“But we’ve got to continue to improve if we want to be staying around that (top) area of the ladder.”