Port Adelaide’s goalkicking issues in the firing line after Showdown loss
Inaccuracy killed any hopes of a Power comeback in the Showdown, with one of their coaches suggesting their goalkicking woes don’t reflect the work they are doing at training.
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Port Adelaide assistant coach Tyson Goldsack says “it is almost unjust” that the work the Power has done on its goalkicking isn’t translating to games.
And the Power’s defensive coach says Port might have “went into our shells” when the “going got tough” in the Showdown, as it continues to leak significantly in 2024.
The Power have had how it is faring at both ends of the ground come under the microscope following its 30-point loss to Adelaide in the Showdown.
The Crows were able to kick five goals in the first term despite limited forward 50 entries, while the Power ended up kicking 5.18 to continue its inaccurate start to the season on the goalkicking front.
So far the Power are ranked 13th when it comes to opposition score per inside 50 percentage, 44 per cent, with it identified as an issue of Ken Hinkley’s side so far this season.
Goldsack said it was an area of concern.
“They were able to play the brand of footy that they want to play, which is fast, get out the back and execute going inside their front 50,” he said.
“That was probably the main part, especially in the first quarter they were almost scoring every time they went in their forward 50.
“I thought we pulled it back and got those middle quarters on our terms a bit more, but we didn’t really move the footy with ease.
“We have shown that we can do it, potentially we went into our shells a bit when the going got tough.”
There are also red flags when it comes to the Power’s post clearance numbers.
Port’s -9 groundball gets is ranked the worst in the competition this year, while its -6.4 contested possessions post clearance is the second worst.
Goldsack said he believed the Power had addressed this.
“They were a couple of weeks ago (a concern),” he said.
“But we have started to move some things around and get it back in our favour and in an achievable position knowing what we have.”
After the loss to the Crows, Hinkley said the Power would look at its goalkicking.
The Power are averaging the most behinds in the competition with 14.1 per game, while its goals per game of 12.6 is sixth for 2024.
Goldsack said the Power coaches believed in the process.
“We think the process is right, are we taking it into the game and actually executing it in the games like we are at training,” he said.
“Because at training it works but there is no pressure, so it is just trying to make sure that it does transfer from training to games.
“We think if we believe in the process and continue with the process then it should turn around but we will make some slight changes to make sure what we are doing is the best thing for the players.”
Goldsack said he was surprised that the amount of work the Power had been doing on the area was not translating to games.
“It is almost unjust that it hasn’t transferred into the games considering how much focus they have put into it,” he said.
“We are hoping almost for their benefit they start to see some rewards.”
With the heat rising, the Power now travel to Geelong to take on the Cats at a venue where Port haven’t tasted victory since April 2007.
The Cats also just lost their first game of the season, but Goldsack said the Power could not worry about the daunting test that is Geelong.
“If we do what we say we are going to do from Monday to Friday and we execute it on Friday night then we think it should work,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what ground it is at, what team we are playing and where they are on the ladder, whether it is a showdown or not, then the process should take care of itself.
“It is just finding out a way to make sure we do it consistently when the pressure is on.”
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