Port Adelaide players are putting in the effort but being let down by poor skill execution

WHY Port Adelaide players need to relax and trust their instincts if they are to improve their poor disposal effeciency ranking and have any hope of being a serious AFL finals contender.

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HALFWAY through the first quarter of last Sunday’s vital Port Adelaide clash with Greater Western Sydney, Port’s midfield bull Ollie Wines, who incidentally would walk into any team in the league, marked the ball on the half-forward flank.

He had four team-mates in the clear at centre-half forward. Unfortunately his kick pin-pointed the opposition’s Toby Greene, almost as if Greene was wearing a Port jumper.

In what was a 12-point play, the Giants rebounded, allowing Tim Taranto to walk in for an easy goal. It was a snapshot of the rest of the game, which Port inevitably lost by 22 points.

Jasper Pittard of Port Adelaide spills a mark during the round 18 loss to the Giants at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

They are much better than that.

It is one of football’s great mysteries why Port Adelaide’s disposal skills are so poor. After 18 rounds of the 2018 season, only one team has a poorer kicking efficiency than Port.

Throw in handballs and the Port boys are 16th in the competition for disposal efficiency.

For a team that aspires to compete on the big stage in September the skill level is appalling. They continually give the ball back to the opposition with poor decision-making and poor execution. Assistant coach Nathan Bassett tried to explain the inexplicable quandary by saying the Power’s midfielders were competitive, aggressive inside players who won the ball with their physical grunt but they weren’t great ball users.

Charlie Dixon of Port Adelaide rucks against Dawson Simpson of the Giants during the round 18 AFL match at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

He has a point because so many of the game’s great midfielders have poorer kicking efficiency. Coaches, however, accept that players like Patrick Dangerfield and Dustin Martin, having won the ball under intense pressure, will occasionally spray it.

There is no such excuse for other Port players who, when clear, have an uncanny ability to pick out an opposition player. Ironically, in the other key performance indicators like contested ball wins and pressure acts, they are as competitive as any.

In fact, they are the best team in competition in defending their turnovers and winning the ball back. A cynic would say they should be, because they get plenty of practice at it!

Ironically, this malaise is not because the Port players don’t have the skill to execute correctly. They could all kick and catch well enough when they were drafted and you would expect their skills to improve the more they are involved in an elite program. However, that is not always the case. Natural or inherent skill can only take you so far.

The explanation for the Port players’ poor execution of the basic skills of the game can be attributed to one of two factors. Either they don’t work hard enough on improving their skills, or it is a psychological problem. In other words, they are choking when the responsibility falls to them.

Why do Charlie Dixon, Justin Westhoff and even Robbie Grey miss relatively easy shots for goal when they just have to be kicked?

The answer to both those issues can be found in an outstanding book — Bounce, by Matthew Syed, “one of the world’s most influential thinkers on the science of high performance”. Admittedly, that accolade comes from his own website, so perhaps it has to be regarded in the vein of “self-praise”, but the rationale behind his theories is sound.

As it could apply to Port, Syed’s theory is that most people with an elite skill don’t practise purposefully after a certain point.

The true champions, asserts Syed, try to constantly improve and develop skills beyond their current level, which involves accepting and learning from failure. Port Adelaide has a skill acquisition coach and the team does spend much time on its “craft sessions”.

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However, only those within the club can answer (and they declined to do that yesterday) whether enough time is allocated to those skill development sessions and whether the players are challenged adequately enough to attain a higher level of skill. Or do they train “safely”, fearful of making mistakes?

The psychological process or “choking” as Syed describes it is more easily explained by referring to the two systems under which the brain functions.

The “explicit brain system” is activated when we try to consciously control our movements – when we don’t want to make a mistake. For example, when we take an important shot for goal. Conversely, the “implicit brain system” allows us to perform tasks automatically without thinking about it.

That’s why Eddie Betts prefers to take shots for goal on the run. To avoid choking, Syed says the athletes have to convince themselves that the contest or the kick is irrelevant. Admittedly that would be reasonably difficult to do if you have to kick after the siren to win a game. Difficult, but not impossible.

Port’s season is on the line. They have wasted opportunities to consolidate with wasteful, inefficient use of the ball.

However, Ken Hinkley can’t constrict his players. That will only make it worse. The instinct for success is developed, not only on the training track but also in the meeting rooms where the mental process is further developed. Then all Hinkley can do is encourage those players to trust that instinct.