Port Adelaide v Melbourne: Reasons why Power do not look like flag threat
This was supposed to be the season Port Adelaide took the next step, but they are failing to overcome top end sides. These are the reasons why.
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Port Adelaide does not look like a premiership threat.
You wonder if the Power is now starting to realise as much.
Two weeks ago, after the 10-point home win over sixth-placed Sydney, Hinkley said he disliked the conversation around his side’s record against top-eight opponents.
“I just think it’s a waste of breath and waste of time when people talk about that,” Hinkley bristled post-match.
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“It’s about the (whole) season.
“I don’t know how many times we have to talk about it.”
It continued a theme at Alberton – that the club was sick of the external criticism about its form against the flag contenders this year.
But the tone was different after Thursday night’s 31-point defeat at Adelaide Oval to premiership contender Melbourne.
Although Hinkley maintained optimism, it was tempered by the reality his side was again found wanting in a crunch game, leaving it with a 0-4 record against the top four.
“Sometimes you look a little bit off it and the times, to be fair, we look a bit off it are against the better teams,” Hinkley said.
“There’s been a number of games that … we’ve been capable of being as good as the opposition we’ve played against but over four quarters that’s been our challenge against the best teams.
“We haven’t been able to do that, I’m confident we can do that, but eventually you’ve got to start delivering on that, don’t you?
“We get another opportunity to get back to work and work on closing that gap because there is a gap.”
This was supposed to be the season Port Adelaide took the next step after claiming the minor premiership last campaign and suffering a six-point preliminary final loss to Richmond.
When he signed a two-year contract extension in January, Hinkley said: “We’re ready”.
“We’re ready to have a go and we’re ready to win (the premiership) – we were in 2020,” he said.
“We plan on 2021 being a winning season for us and that’s a premiership.
“We are in a position where we have to maximise our opportunity.”
Thursday night’s loss makes it difficult for the Power to do just that.
The club will be a win outside the top four with six rounds remaining if Brisbane and Geelong prevail this weekend.
And Port Adelaide is not exactly clicking like a team that will emulate the Western Bulldogs circa 2016 and win a premiership from an elimination final.
Asked on Thursday night if his side was not as strong as it expected this year, Hinkley said: “We’re not quite as good as what we need to be”.
The Power’s problems are not all of its making.
Its injury list is long and several names on there are classy types who can help address the team’s inside 50 efficiency and forward woes – both major issues against the Demons.
On Thursday night, young gun Zak Butters rejoined fellow skilful attacking players Robbie Gray (knee), Orazio Fantasia (knee) and Kane Farrell (knee) among the club’s wounded.
Butters, who was playing his first AFL game in three months after being sidelined with an ankle syndesmosis injury then due to surgery for a nerve issue around his left knee, was substituted with what the club suspected was a jarring of his right medial collateral ligament.
“We haven’t been able to play with the consistency we’d like with the group that we’d like,” Hinkley said.
“A lot of teams have had those (injury) challenges but we just need to get some pieces in there together and let them play some footy together.
“We’re really optimistic if we can get them together, they can play at a really high level.”
Power defender Trent McKenzie told News Corp the guys who had replaced that group had done a decent job but “some are super players and it’s hard to really replicate their ability”.
Of his side’s inside 50 efficiency against Melbourne, McKenzie said the team’s delivery did not make it easy for the forwards and “when we did get it in, we didn’t capitalise”.
“We spoke about (Steven) May, (Jake) Lever and them boys (Demons defenders), and not wanting to play into their hands, but I think we did at stages, which is pretty disappointing,” he said.
Even before the injuries began to pile up, the Power spoke of having 30 to 32 players they wanted to feature this year and hinted at more rotation.
Assistant coach Nathan Bassett called it a “squad mentality” at the club’s internal trial in February and that term continued to be used during the minor round.
The constant injuries have tested the club more than it would have anticipated.
It has used 34 players so far this season – after a league-low 30 last year – and activated the medical substitute 12 times from 16 games.
Fringe players have been able to step up well enough to help the Power to a 11-5 record, but its lack of depth is getting exposed against the top sides.
Too often this season its best players have been Ollie Wines, Travis Boak, Karl Amon, Willem Drew, Tom Jonas, Charlie Dixon and Aliir Aliir.
Most of that group featured among its standouts against the Demons.
The Power is simply leaving too much to too few.
“Yeah I think that’s probably fair,” Hinkley said.
“We’ve had a few people who haven’t been at their best or most consistent form.
“Clearly we’ve been OK at times because we’re fifth … but at the moment we’re leaving things to too few.”
North Melbourne premiership player David King said on SEN on Friday the Power could only bank on a handful of guys against the best sides.
“It falls away quite sharply and there’s a group of about six that you get nothing out of,” King said.
“They just can’t beat the best teams in the comp, so where does it leave you?”
Port Adelaide will remain fifth on the ladder after the round, ahead of its clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium next Saturday night, unless Carlton beats the Cats by several goals.
The Saints game will provide Hinkley, as he likes to say, with more information about his team and how it is faring.
Right now, the evidence suggests Port Adelaide is a decent side, but will not end a 17-year flag drought this season.
Like Hinkley, McKenzie remained hopeful.
“Obviously to challenge for the flag, you’ve got to beat the best sides,” the ex-Gold Coast Sun said.
“It was obviously an important game tonight but we’re still thereabouts.
“If we can string some wins together and really get some momentum in the back half, I still think we can push for the top four.
“But we’ve got some things to work on before we get to that stage just yet.”
Hinkley: We can still challenge
Ken Hinkley remains confident he can fix Port Adelaide’s deficiencies against top sides before the finals despite the Power’s latest misfire against quality opposition.
Thursday night’s 31-point loss to Melbourne dropped the Power to fifth, with the Demons joining premiership contenders Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Geelong as teams that have beaten Hinkley’s men this season.
“There’s certainly enough time, I just think that we’ve just got to get the people we need (fit or in form),” Hinkley said.
“And some of the people we’ve already got, so I’m not sitting here complaining about what we haven’t got available to us, we just need to get a bit more polish about the way we’re doing things.
“Sometimes you look a little bit off it and the times that we look off it, to be fair, are against the better teams.
“We believe we can still be a challenger in this competition and that’s our opportunity still.”
While Port have beaten Sydney and Richmond this season, the majority of their 11 wins have come against lower-ranked teams, leading some to label the Power flat track bullies.
While the conversation around the quality of his team’s wins doesn’t sit well with Hinkley, the coach admitted there is a gap between his side and the genuine contenders that has been highlighted with each loss.
“The last few times we’ve been in this position, the information is accurate: we’ve been getting beaten in the contest more than anything,” he said.
“We haven’t been able to make the ground we would like to.
“It doesn’t mean we won’t keep at it and keep trying to make that ground up.
“I think we’ve had a few people who haven’t been at their best or in their most consistent form.
“Clearly we’ve been ok at times because we’re fifth. We’ve won enough games to put ourselves in that position.
“But to beat the best teams you’ve got to have more numbers in your favour than against and, at the moment, we’re leaving it to too few.”
MATCH REPORT: Melbourne Dee-light as Power fail test
—Jason Phelan
Port Adelaide’s struggles against quality opposition have continued, with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver starring in a 31-point win that put Melbourne’s premiership tilt back on track.
The top-four tussle lived up to its blockbuster billing, but the ferocious Demons rediscovered their high-pressure game to score an impressive 12.14 (86) to 8.7 (55) at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
Losses to Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney in their past three games had some questioning Melbourne’s premiership credentials, but the intensity at the contest and connection in the back half that propelled them to nine wins to start the season was back in full effect.
Steven May marshalled the back six expertly, Petracca and Oliver were the architects in the middle, with Petracca following up in attack with three goals as the Demons found a potent mix up front after failing to kick more than nine goals in their past three games.
Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Karl Amon toiled hard, but Port could only muster three goals in the second half to drop to a 12-5 record.
Melbourne finished a tight first term with two goals inside the last two minutes to lead it by six points at the first break.
Connor Rozee made it a one-point game with a superb checkside goal in traffic early in the second, but Melbourne’s team defence lifted a notch.
With Port struggling to move the ball in their forward half, the visitors booted four unanswered goals to lead by 26 points.
May had the better of his duel with Charlie Dixon but he gave away a free kick in the dying seconds of the first half and Power bull cut the margin to 19 points after the siren.
MITCH TAKES OFF
Mitch Georgiades was goalless and had just three touches in the first half, but he sparked the Power early in the third quarter. The 19-year-old got a perfect sit on Max Gawn’s 208cm frame and pulled down a mark of the year contender. He pushed his shot on goal right, but nailed his second opportunity just minutes later after a strong contested mark and later sliced the margin to nine points with his second.
MAC TIME
With the Power pressing, Tom McDonald stepped up with the last two goals of the third term to put his side up by 22 points. The big Demon curled his third major home after his set shot was smothered by Dan Houston with home fans still howling for an out-of-bounds call.
Zak Butters has come from the ground following this incident.#AFLPowerDeespic.twitter.com/2SkGrDr7N5
— AFL (@AFL) July 8, 2021
PORT FAILS QUALITY TEST
Hinkley thinks the conversation about his side’s poor record against highly-rated opposition is a waste of breath, but the chatter around Port’s continued struggles against quality sides will only get louder as the finals approach. The Power were fourth heading into round 17 and with Thursday night’s result they have lost to the top three above them (Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, Brisbane) and the fifth-placed Cats and seventh-ranked Eagles.
MILESTONE MEN
In something of a rarity, four players on the ground were celebrating a milestone on Thursday night: Steve Motlop (200 games), Max Gawn (150), Ed Langdon (100) and Charlie Spargo (50).
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 2.2 5.3 7.5 8.7 (55)
MELBOURNE 3.2 8.4 10.9 12.14 (86)
GOALS
POWER: Georgiades 2, Dixon 2, Amon, McKenzie, Rozee, Wines
DEMONS: McDonald 3, Petracca 3, Pickett 3, Fritsch, Jackson, Spargo
JASON PHELAN’S BEST
POWER: Wines, Boak, Amon, Drew, Powell-Pepper
DEMONS: Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Langdon, Salem, May, McDonald
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 — C. Petracca (Mel)
2 — C. Oliver (Mel)
1 — O. Wines (Port)
INJURIES
POWER: Butters (knee)
DEMONS: Nil
UMPIRES: Meredith, Gianfagna, Mollison.
VENUE: Adelaide Oval
MORE BAD LUCK FOR BUTTERS
Port Adelaide young gun Zak Butters’ return to AFL level has been stopped short after just three quarters.
The 20-year-old, who was sidelined for three months with an ankle syndesmosis injury then had surgery for a nerve issue around his left knee, was substituted from Thursday night’s blockbuster defeat against Melbourne at the final break.
The club suspected Butters suffered a stretch of his right medial collateral ligament
Butters landed awkwardly at half-forward after taking an intercept mark midway through the third quarter and came to the bench for treatment soon after.
Zak Butters has come from the ground following this incident.#AFLPowerDeespic.twitter.com/2SkGrDr7N5
— AFL (@AFL) July 8, 2021
As Power doctor Mark Fisher assessed his right knee, medical substitute Marty Frederick began warming up.
With his right knee taped, Butters then jogged and tried changing direction several times but did not look right.
At three-quarter-time, Butters did not go to the huddle, instead sitting on the bench wearing his jacket while injured Power veteran Tom Rockliff put his arm around him.
Port Adelaide confirmed his substitution from play during that break.
Power football manager Chris Davies said Butters landed heavily and the club believed there had been a “slight stretch of his MCL”.
“It’s the other one (knee) so fingers crossed,” Davies said.
“We’ll find out a little bit more during the week.”
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said on Wednesday that he was surprised at how quickly Butters had returned from surgery and he was a week ahead of schedule.
Butters played one game in the SANFL before being recalled, kicking two goals and collecting 21 disposals against Central District last Saturday.
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Originally published as Port Adelaide v Melbourne: Reasons why Power do not look like flag threat
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