Robbie Gray shines as ruthless Power pounds dismal Dockers at Adelaide Oval
PORT Adelaide has thrashed an awful Fremantle at Adelaide Oval by 89 points in its first home game of the season. In the process it went to the top of the ladder and set up a tantalising Showdown.
Port Adelaide
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THE last time Port Adelaide won its first two games in a season it went within a kick of making the grand final.
While there is a long way to go for the Power to reach the heights of 2014 it is on the right track after upsetting grand finalist Sydney on the road in Round 1 and on Sunday night thrashing Fremantle by 89 points in its first home match of the year.
But Port, which has missed the finals in the past two seasons after appearing to be on the verge of an era of success, could be back in a big way.
It has gone top of the AFL ladder on percentage after Round 2.
Led by a six-goal masterclass from brilliant small forward Robbie Gray, its performance in dismantling one-time strong defensive side Fremantle at Adelaide Oval was full of merit.
Sure, the Dockers are bad. Very bad.
But the Power — with its best players fit and firing again — looks good. Very good.
The run-and-carry and speedy ball movement is back.
The kicking is better after a summer dedicated to improving skills and the midfield, with Round 1 Rising Star nominee Sam Powell-Pepper being the perfect complement to fellow “Bash Brother’’ Ollie Wines, has a harder edge.
Up forward, there is a posse of small forwards, led by triple club champion Gray and Chad Wingard, which is causing opposition defences nightmares while giant forward Charlie Dixon had one of his best games for Port, kicking four goals and clunking his marks.
It all came together against Fremantle.
Gray (six goals and 30 disposals) and Wingard (two) kicked eight goals between them, Wines was superb with 30 disposals and two goals, Powell-Pepper showed he was no one-hit wonder and wingman Jared Polec was back to his classy, hardrunning best of two years ago.
In contrast, the Dockers — winless after two rounds — were a rabble.
Once tough to beat and tough to score against, they don’t appear to have a game plan — coughing up a big score at one end (145 points) and managing just eight goals at the other.
The Power suffered a blow pre-game when playmaking defender Hamish Hartlett was forced to withdraw through illness.
He was replaced by key forward Brett Eddy, who was unluckily dropped after making his long-awaited AFL debut at age 27 against Sydney in Round 1.
Port signalled its intent in the opening minute when Robbie Gray capitalised on a mistake from Docker Garrick Ibbotson to cleverly goal with a left-foot snap.
Another Fremantle howler from Lee Spurr paved the way for Wingard to cut off his across-goal pass and stroll into an open goal, giving the home side the flying start coach Ken Hinkley had hoped for.
The Power’s small forward brigade was causing all sorts of trouble for the Dockers’ defence, with Jarman Impey coming off the interchange bench to make an immediate impact.
Suspended for Round 1 by the leadership group for his off-field indiscretion in December when he crashed his car following a team party at teammate Angus Monfries’ home, Impey brought the crowd to its feet with his first touch when he sped down the western wing, taking two bounces before kicking inside 50.
He then goaled from a mark as Port kicked the opening six goals to burst to a 38-point lead.
It took a former Power player, Danyle Pearce in his 250th game, to end the home side’s unanswered goal blitz when he booted a long bomb from 50m.
Port bagged a seventh major for the term when Eddy finally got the first AFL goal he had waited so long for.
And it was one to savour.
His snap from just inside 50m bounced at right angles before splitting the sticks.
Strangely, Fremantle had 21 more disposals in the first quarter but trailed by 32 points.
While it fiddled around with the ball in the back half, Port used it with great precision — a far cry from last year when it had the worst kicking efficiency in the AFL.
The Power continued to dominate, extending its lead in each quarter.
Its win sets up a titanic Showdown against Adelaide on Saturday, with both clubs having started 2-0 together for the first time.
HIGHLIGHTS
By Michelangelo Rucci
THE MOMENT
WELCOME back, Jarman Impey. He was on the scoreboard in the 12th minute with a stock-standard set shot from in front of the old scoreboard at Adelaide Oval. But the house would have shook had Impey, after burning off Fremantle midfielder Lachie Weller two minutes earlier with a couple of bounces on the western wing, finished off his first play with a goal rather than a flat kick at the northern goal.
KEY STAT
IT’S all about the scoreboard in this game. Basically, Port Adelaide kept the ball inside its forward-50 zone for a third of the game — three times longer than the Dockers. The more scientific statistics say Port Adelaide dominated the inside-50s, 69-42. The scoreboard says the Power loaded up percentage by almost trebling the Dockers’ score, 145-56.
THE STAR
ROBBIE Gray. What a luxury for Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley that he can spare his star from the repetitive bash-and-crash of the midfield contests to let him work his perceptive mind against defenders. Gray’s six goals on Sunday night overshadowed — just — the man who is enjoying the tumble in the midfield, teammate Ollie Wines.
VERDICT
PORT Adelaide crossed another bridge by doing what was expected — a major working over of a very poor and far-from threatening Fremantle side that still looks to be locked in a bottom-four ranking (as it was last season, 16th of 18). The Power backed up the win against Sydney. It did as everyone expected from outside the clubhouse by winning with conviction. And it appears very well primed for the heavyweight Showdown 42 against second-ranked Adelaide on Saturday night. All in all, the script could not be better for the derby.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 7.3 11.8 18.9 22.13 (145)
FREMANTLE 2.1 3.3 7.4 8.8 (56)
BEST — Port: R. Gray, Wines, Powell-Pepper, Ebert, Polec, Boak, Dixon, Wingard. Fremantle: B. Hill, Neale, Fyfe, S. Hill.
GOALS — Port: R. Gray 6, Dixon 4, Wines, Wingard, Eddy 2, Boak, Powell-Pepper, Young, Impey, Polec, S. Gray. Fremantle: Fyfe, D. Pearce, B. Hill, Griffin, Weller, Mundy, Kersten, Neale.
INJURIES — Port: Hartlett (ill) replaced in selected side by Eddy.
UMPIRES — R. Chamberlain, C. Fleer, B. Ryan.
CROWD — 38,388 at Adelaide Oval.
Originally published as Robbie Gray shines as ruthless Power pounds dismal Dockers at Adelaide Oval
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