Young Power side handed lesson by hard-running Collingwood at Marvel Stadium
Port Adelaide was given a Friday night lesson by Collingwood, giving up a seven goal head start to lose by 39 points, but can be consoled that premierships aren’t made in May.
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Port Adelaide was given a Friday night lesson by Collingwood but can be consoled that premierships aren’t made in May.
Port lost this battle by 39 points but desperately missed star quartet Robbie Gray, Tom Jonas, Hamish Hartlett and Charlie Dixon.
Port recovered from Collingwood’s seven-goal first term to boot six of the next seven when Connor Rozee reduced the deficit to 18 points with the opening blow of the third term.
However Will Hoskin-Elliott’s goal against the run of play from a Power turnover then magic from Jordan De Goey and Adam Treloar put the visitors’ comeback on ice with a 40-point deficit by the final change.
De Goey gave Tom Clurey the slip on a greasy Marvel Stadium surface then Treloar’s remarkable ground level snap broke Port.
Final term goals from Sam Gray, Paddy Ryder and Scott Lycett were little comfort as Jaidyn Stephenson (4), Brody Mihocek (2) and Jamie Elliott (3) completed a productive night out. Darcy Moore was a defensive rock for Collingwood.
Collingwood deserved its win, dominating inside 50s (58-45) while doubling Port’s scoring shots. Port enters the Showdown sore with a 4-3 win-loss record but can learn from this reality check.
MAGPIE BLITZ
Collingwood are notorious fast starters but Port was still caught napping as Stephenson ran riot. Port either couldn’t or wouldn’t move to preservation mode early such was the animal urgency of the Pies.
“We knew what we were coming in to face and we knew how good the opposition was that we were coming to face,” coach Ken Hinkley said.
“We get a little reminder of that gap that you talk about. That’s fair.”
Hinkley made a bee-line for Ollie Wines and Scott Lycett at quarter time, with the Collingwood midfield running absolutely rampant.
“We lost the game big in the midfield early and (Brodie) Grundy got away to a good start and our midfield weren’t as clean and decisive as we needed to be and we got shown up in that area of the ground,” he said.
“No team can be exposed to 20 entries against and that’s what we had to deal with.
“I think the opposition were really on and they made us pay. They did that for most of the night, to be fair.
“They were just super aggressive around the contest, they put more pressure on and they were able to be much much cleaner than us around the ball, which was critically important.”
The Pies were running in packs, rushing Port in a manner is hadn’t encountered this season. Port’s rebound has been its trump card this season but the visitors were unable to score a goal from 14 defensive midfield chains in the first term. This was a taste of premiership pressure.
There was too much time for Magpie gems Scott Pendlebury (36 touches), Steele Sidebottom (29) and Tom Phillips streaming forward taking a pick of leading forwards including Stephenson, Elliott and Ben Reid. Port’s backmen were rattled but it the damage was being done in midfield.
This was a contest between a side with the potential to ignite in September and a hardened unit that knows it can.
Hinkley said Brad Ebert (concussion) was OK, but would be tested throughout the week and couldn’t guarantee Tom Jonas, who missed with a calf injury, would be available for Saturday night’s Showdown with Adelaide.
“We hope so, but there’s no guarantees. Soft tissue, we thought he may have been right for tonight, but it didn’t quite happen,” he said.
“The toll of the season starts.”
POWER CHARACTER
The Power stemmed the haemorrhaging in a five goal second term with goals from Travis Boak and Sam Powell-Pepper, Ryan Burton, Scott Lycett and Justin Westhoff. Boak willed himself to the contest as he has done through a stellar 250-game career for Port’s opener. It was important to Port’s psyche that it could at least lay a glove on a heavyweight opponent.
Hinkley had ripped into captain Ollie Wines and ruckman Scott Lycett with unprecedented ferocity after abysmal first quarters. All of a sudden Collingwood’s time and space was being shut down with effect.
TAG TEAM
Lycett established a premiership ruck formula with Nathan Vardy at West Coast and was out to revive Brodie Grundy’s grand final despair with Paddy Ryder.
Lycett messed up a goal line chance in the first term which was indicative of Port’s disarray. Grundy was in everything and took Port to the cleaners with 35 hitouts. The South Australian moved the ball forward for Mihocek’s first and Collingwood’s third. The Pies, through
Grundy doubled the hitouts of Lycett and Ryder at 14-7 in the first term when the game was decided.
Grundy had six contested first term possessions while Lycett had no disposals.
Lycett responded with two goals but it was far from the high of last year’s decider.
NO COX NO WORRIES
The Pies are not renowned as a high pressure forward line which was a concern without Masox Cox’s aerial supremacy? Forgotten swingman Reid revived memories of his 2010 premiership output with seven marks, providing run and a goal.
REAL DEAL YOUNG GUNS
Xavier Duursma was one of the first to fight back for his coach in the second term. Rookie enthusiasm can be electric but combating North Melbourne is a footy galaxy away from an education against Sidebottom.
Rozee worked himself into the game and his third term goal was inspirational. There is substance behind Port’s Rising Stars.
Ryan Burton isn’t a rookie but his marking under fire despite hampered by a hamstring complaint was impressive.
SCOREBOARD
COLLINGWOOD 7.6 8.12 11.17 15.18
PORT ADELAIDE 0.3 5.6 6.7 10.9
GOALS
COLLINGWOOD: Stevenson (4), Elliott (3), Mihocek (2) Beams, Reid, Hoskin-Elliott, De Goey, Treloar, Sidebottom
PORT ADELAIDE: Lycett (2) Boak, Powell-Pepper, Burton, Westhoff, Rozee, S Gray, Ryder, Marshall
BEST
COLLINGWOOD: Grundy, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Reid, Moore, Phillips, Beams, De Goey, Stephenson.
PORT ADELAIDE: Boak, Lienert, Westhoff, Burton, Powell-Pepper, Houston, Duursma.
INJURIES
COLLINGWOOD: Adams (groin)
PORT ADELAIDE: Ebert (concussion)
UMPIRES
D Margetts, R O’Gorman, N Williamson
CROWD
37,559 at Marvel Stadium
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