AFL 2022: All the news and analysis from Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Robbie Gray is closer to the end, Steven Motlop didn’t have a great season and Orazio Fantasia cannot be trusted with his injury issues. Port Adelaide’s deficiency isn’t hard to spot.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It is usually the midfield that pundits, analysts and fans say Port Adelaide needs to improve or target.
But the Power really need to recruit, draft, find or uncover a damaging small forward if they are to get back to the ladder positions they had over the past couple of years.
Kysaiah Pickett’s stunning six-goal performance further highlighted this as he won Melbourne the game in Alice Springs on Sunday, and made Port Adelaide’s quest for finals a whole lot harder.
Pickett hasn’t been in the best of form for the Demons in recent weeks, and he plays in arguably the hardest position on the field.
But he showed just what a damaging small forward can do in big matches, and that was a big match for the Power.
Watch every blockbuster AFL match this weekend Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
He dragged the Demons into the game after they were goalless in the opening quarter with some stunning goals.
He snapped goals off either side of his body, he snared one with a great piece of skill to soccer it though the goals despite the difficult bounce.
“He was what ignited them,” Nick Dal Santo said on Fox Footy.
“The non-preferred to start the quarter and he doubled down on that … on the preferred foot from the other side, snagged another from a very difficult angle.
“He has been the difference.”
But it wasn’t just through his goals that made the difference in Alice Springs.
He didn’t lay a tackle but the pace of Pickett terrorised the Power defenders throughout the day, and he provided Melbourne with the drive it needed to claim a big win.
And he showed the area that is a bit of a problem for the Power.
Robbie Gray is a Port Adelaide legend but he is 34, Steven Motlop at 31 has not had a good season and is out of contract at the end of the season and could be in trouble.
Orazio Fantasia does give the Power the dangerous small forward it needs, but his injury issues mean that he can’t really be trusted.
Connor Rozee and Zak Butters are better off in the midfield for the Power now, Jackson Mead is playing as a smaller forward but will become a midfielder too in time.
Kane Farrell is more of a wingman, while the Power had shifted Lachie Jones forward to provide a spark — and he impressed in the role before he injured himself against Fremantle.
But the progress of Jones, and who knows what position he will end up playing, shouldn’t hide from the fact that the Power is lacking a dangerous and damaging small forward.
Pickett was already picked up by the Demons at 12 when the Power was on the board at the 2019 Draft, although Port Adelaide did originally have that pick.
And while the Power’s first choice was Miles Bergman two picks later, it would have been interesting to see what Port would have done if Pickett was still available when it was its turn.
After the preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs the midfield was spoken about as the big area the Power needed to improve.
But Rozee’s stunning form post the second half of Round 5 when he was moved into the midfield has given the Power a different dimension in their engine room.
Butters hasn’t had the impact that many thought he would this year, but he will be a good midfielder also for the Power.
Ollie Wines can be the contested beast for the Power in the midfield, Willem Drew does the defensive jobs.
It’s a midfield that should be able to mix it with the best.
Yes Melbourne were without Clayton Oliver, but the Power smashed the Demons in clearances 40-27.
This was even with the Demons having the ruck advantage with the Power again having to go with Charlie Dixon and Jeremy Finlayson as Scott Lycett remains out.
Even with the Power’s ruck issues this season, they actually aren’t too bad with their stocks.
Sam Hayes needs to improve his work around the ground but showed some promise at times when he filled in for Lycett, mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle is highly rated at Alberton while the coaches have been impressed with Dante Visentini.
Port’s small forward situation isn’t like this.
Jed McEntee has played a couple of games for the Power this season but is out of contract at the season and like Motlop faces a bit of an uncertain future at Alberton.
The Power have been impressive on the whole since going 0-5 to at least contend for finals.
If they are to get back there in 2023, and back to the top four, then they need to improve their small forward arsenal.
Because Pickett just showed what a damaging small forward can do, and how much the Power could really do with one.
Electric Pickett short-circuits Port finals charge
Melbourne has all but crushed Port Adelaide’s finals hopes and solidified its top-two spot following a 14-point win at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.
It was a rusty start with both sides failing to capitalise on the scoreboard despite 11 inside-50s from the Dees and 13 from the Power in the opening term.
Melbourne soon came to the party kicking back-to-back majors in the opening minutes of the second term as the game transformed into an entertaining shootout.
Kysaiah Pickett led the Demons’ surge with two classy snaps, but it was the Power’s Miles Bergman who easily produced the goal of the day with a brilliant banana by the boundary line.
The Power looked ready to take down the reigning premiers throughout the first two quarters and trailed by just four points at the long break, but Melbourne then unleashed seven unanswered goals to set up the 12.11 (83) to 10.9 (69) win.
And an injury to Todd Marshall threatens to further compound a Port Adelaide loss to Melbourne that has made the Power’s task to make finals an even harder one.
Marshall hurt his left quad in the dying seconds of the Power’s 14-point loss to the Demons in Alice Springs. He was grabbing at it as he came off the ground with the ball down the other end of the ground.
Losing Marshall for any games in the Power’s tough run home would be a big blow for Ken Hinkley’s side. From round 3 onwards Marshall has kicked 33 goals as he stepped up to become the leader of the Port Adelaide forward line with Charlie Dixon out.
Losses by Richmond and St Kilda had opened the door for the Power to go level with them and the Western Bulldogs in eighth spot on the ladder. But the loss leaves Port still a win and percentage outside the top eight.
St Kilda champion Nick Dal Santo said here might not be enough time left in the season for the Power to make the finals.
“It’s off the back of losing the first five games of the year, it has been a brave effort, it must be said,” he said on Fox Footy.
“They were 8-3 off the back of 0-5 coming into today, but that situation means you have to make the very most of every opportunity and it wasn’t quite their day.
“I thought they were brave.”
Pickett gave his best performance of the season, helping himself to an astounding six goals – the most scored in an AFL match in Alice Springs.
“He brings so much to the community here and I think he played with that spirit in mind today,” Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.
“He’s worked really hard in the last six or seven weeks to get himself back into some really good form, and that was on full display today.”
In what was shaping up to be a devastating defeat, the Power woke up in the final minutes with Willem Drew, Todd Marshall and Travis Boak kicking a goal each to trim the deficit to 14 points.
But the glimmer of hope was merely a tease for Port fans as time ran out on the comeback.
The tough journey home does not end here for the Power, who are set to take on Geelong, Collingwood, and Richmond over the next three weeks.
Kick it to Pickett
Melbourne had averaged fewer than 10 goals a game over its past four losses, and that concerning pattern appeared set to continue in the first quarter at Alice Springs as the Dees wasted countless offensive opportunities, kicking 0.4.
And with Jake Lever going off the ground with a shoulder concern, Melbourne again looked vulnerable.
However, everything changed in the second term through the boot of the electric Kysaiah Pickett.
Pickett snapped two brilliant majors – the first on his opposite foot – to give his team the offensive lift it needed.
But his best was to come in the third, getting his boot to a ball in mid-air to stop Port Adelaide’s momentum in its tracks.
He would finish with a career-high six goals and plenty of new Red Centre fans.
Wet track at Traeger
The Red Centre’s Traeger Park appeared to resemble a cricket wicket pre-match rather than a football oval, at first glance, going by the number of ground staff in the middle.
The centre square had reportedly been overwatered before the match and staff were forced to use blowers to remove excess moisture.
Fortunately, they managed to dry the ground in time to bounce the ball.
Port dominates everything but the scoreboard
The raw numbers pointed towards a Port victory, with the Power boasting 57 more disposals and a dominant inside-50 count (55-49).
But they could not convert that dominance into a winning score, with Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Jeremy Finlayson kept to just four goals between them.
A threatening Sam Powell-Pepper also failed to produce a goal from several shots on the big sticks.
With the game up for grabs in the fourth, the Power could only muster 3.3, albeit in a late surge.
Injury news adds salt to Port wounds
An injury to Todd Marshall threatens to further compound a Port Adelaide loss to Melbourne that has made the Power’s task to make finals an even harder one.
Marshall hurt his left quad in the dying seconds of the Power’s 14-point loss to the Demons in Alice Springs.
He was grabbing at it as he came off the ground with the ball down the other end of the ground.
Losing Marshall for any games in the Power’s tough run home would be a big blow for Ken Hinkley’s side.
The 23-year-old key forward has had a breakout year for the Power in 2022, after a rough start to the season.
From Round 3 onwards Marshall has kicked 33 goals as he stepped up to become the leader of the Port Adelaide forward line with Charlie Dixon out.
Even with Dixon back in the side Marshall has still had a key role in the Power’s forward line.
Power and Hawthorn premiership player Shaun Burgoyne, who returned to Alberton in an off-field role for 2022, said Marshall was Port Adelaide’s most important forward now.
“He has elevated himself as Port Adelaide’s best forward and most important,” he said on Channel 7.
Marshall emerging as a top key forward has allowed Hinkley, who didn’t travel to Alice Springs after testing positive to Covid-19, to shift Dixon to the ruck with Scott Lycett out.
Lycett was on the verge of returning to the Power’s side, but it was discovered he had an infection in his shoulder and he will miss two to three weeks.
Marshall missing would further compound this as the Power turns their attention to Geelong.
The loss leaves the Power still a win out of the top eight.
Losses by Richmond and St Kilda had opened the door for the Power to go level with them and the Western Bulldogs in eighth spot on the ladder.
But while they held the reigning premiers to a goalless first quarter the Power were unable to upset the Demons.
They did threaten to pull off a shock comeback late on after a flurry of goals in the fourth quarter, but their run was too late.
St Kilda champion Nick Dal Santo said this was like their season in a sense and there might not be enough time left in the season for the Power to make the top eight.
“It’s off the back of losing the first five games of the year, it has been a brave effort it must be said,” he said on Fox Footy.
“They were 8-3 off the back of 0-5 coming into today, but that situation means you have to make the very most of every opportunity and it wasn’t quite their day.
“I thought they were brave.”
SCOREBOARD
DEMONS 0.4, 5.7, 8.10, 12.11 (83)
POWER 2.1, 5.3, 7.6, 10.9 (69)
VAN DER HEYDEN’S BEST
Demons: Pickett, Fritsch, Viney, Petracca, Brown, Langdon.
Power: Rozee, Houston, Bergman, Boak, Amon, Byrne-Jones.
GOALS
Demons: Pickett 6, Brown 2, Fritsch 2, Jackson, Melksham, Cotchin, Bolton, Lambert.
Power: Boak, Marshall, Bergman 2, Finlayson, Rozee, Dixon, Drew.
UMPIRES: Brendan Hosking, John Howorth, Leigh Haussen
INJURIES Demons: None. Power: None.
CROWD: 6312 at Traeger Park, Alice Springs
VAN DER HEYDEN’S VOTES
3. K. Pickett (Melb)
2. C. Rozee (Port)
1. D. Houston (Port)
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL 2022: All the news and analysis from Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Hour of Power: Dogs’ trio of trades going down to wire
Western Bulldogs list boss Sam Power is set to make a number of pivotal decisions in the final hour of this year’s trade period. JON RALPH breaks them all down here.
Robbo: What ‘seismic’ shift in Bombers’ trade strategy means
In recent years players wanted out of Essendon. This year is different as the Bombers ship off players – and more big moves are coming, writes MARK ROBINSON.