The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from Adelaide and Port Adelaide from Round 1
It was a perfect start for Adelaide, and an utter disaster for Port, but both will have been watching SA stud Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera on Sunday. See the likes and dislikes in The Lowdown.
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It was a perfect start for one South Australian side, and an utter disaster for the other. See the likes and dislikes from the weekend.
DISLIKES
1. PORT’S POOR EFFORTS
Some of the vision from the MCG on Saturday night is as damning as it gets for Power players. Time and time again Collingwood players just ran past them like they weren’t even there. It looked like many just simply gave up and worryingly for Port fans the lack of effort was on show in the first quarter. Yes you can get beaten, as Port have been by Collingwood at the MCG, but that was a humiliation.
When Kane Cornes is going at Jason Horne-Francis for his defensive efforts you know it is bad. The pressure rating of 170 was Port’s eighth worst return in five years, the 35 defensive half turnovers the worst return since 2019, 99 points against from turnovers the worst since 2017 and 63 points against from the defensive half the fourth worst return in 10 years.
The two — yes two — contested marks was the Power’s equal fewest since 2003. If these efforts don’t improve on Saturday against Richmond then Adelaide Oval is going to get toxic quickly.
2. YOU CAN’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN
Port weren’t at the races for most of the night against the Pies, in fact the Power weren’t even on the course. But the Power was actually in the game right into the final seconds of the first quarter. What happened from there is damning on the mindset of the Power players that night and it was going to be a Collingwood rampage from there on.
They say its damning to lose your wicket in the final over before the end of a session and what the Power did in the final seconds of the first term was incriminating. Willie Rioli’s clever use of his body had reduced the margin to 15-points with less than 30 seconds to go.
That’s something you can work with at quarter time, so just don’t let the opposition score.
But what did the Power do?
First it gave away a free-kick for high contact at the centre bounce, which allowed Collingwood to surge forward.
The kick from Lachie Sullivan was bad but the decision by Kane Farrell to handball it to Lachie Jones near the boundary and with three Magpies around him was worse. Jones had a poor game but that was an absolute hospital handpass and the Pies were able to get the ball forward once again.
Ned Long was left all by himself and Jeremy Finlayson not only lost Daniel McStay – who would go and kick the goal – but needed to do more to try and stop Long’s soccer kick from reaching the Pies forward after getting caught in between the two. He threw his arms up in the air to make the footage look even more galling for him. Yes the Power kicked the first goal of the second through Travis Boak but you aren’t winning a game if you give away cheap red-time goals like Port did to end the first term.
LIKES
1. JOSH WORRELL
He definitely isn’t at West Lakes but does Worrell fly under the radar when it comes to the wider footy world? During pre-season there was a predicted Crows best team that had Worrell as an emergency. Worrell is well and truly in the Crows’ best team. He might even be their most important all-round defender.
At 195cm he can play both as an intercepting tall or on smaller forwards. He can get the ball and defend as well. Against the Saints he had 25 disposals, nine intercepts, six marks and an impressive seven score involvements. Taken at pick No. 28 in the 2019 Draft, Worrell has become the defender the Crows thought they were getting with Fischer McAsey at pick No. 6. Don’t underestimate how much him missing three months of footy with a broken arm hurt the Crows last year.
2. COUNTERPUNCHING CROWS
Matthew Nicks rolled out the “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth” quote in his post-game media conference after the Crows’ big win over the Saints. His side landed plenty of punches on the Saints on Sunday. Their 47 points from turnovers was their best return in five years, their 47 points from forward half intercepts their seventh best return in that period while their 37 points from defensive 50 was their eighth best return in 10 years. The Saints weren’t much chop at all on Sunday, but the Crows were able to bully them for much of the day at Adelaide Oval – like good sides should be able to.
AND THE LOWDOWN ON …
As far as potential auditions went it was a very impressive one for St Kilda’s young star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Out of contract at the end of the year, the silky smooth defender is set to once again trigger a tug of war between the Crows and Power as they both circle the Glenelg product. The Power have been keen on Wanganeen-Milera for some time – he is very close with Jason Horne-Francis and Jase Burgoyne – and in fact Port had representatives at the South Australian function for the 2021 Draft just in case he fell to its pick.
The Crows have shown they are willing to offer big contracts and will be hoping Wanganeen-Milera is the one to finally accept it. While the Saints were blown away, Wanganeen-Milera finished with 27 disposals, six marks, a goal and 571m gained. Crows and Power fans will be desperate to see this every second week at Adelaide Oval from next year.
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