Port Adelaide leads the Crows in every measure and needs to cash in on perfect start to 2020 AFL season
How big is the gap between South Australia’s AFL clubs? Dual premiership captain Mark Bickley paints a depressing picture for Adelaide Crows fans
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Anything less than a top-two finish for Port Adelaide this season would be a failure.
The Power has emerged from the COVID break as the best performed team in the competition.
Undefeated and almost a quarter of the way through a shortened season the Power has the highest scoring offence and the most miserly defence.
The question mark is no longer about their capability and the doubts surrounding its consistency are now also disappearing.
With expectations of a return to Adelaide Oval in the back half of the season, Port must target a top two finish.
How has Port Adelaide made the leap from non-finalist in 2019 to second favourite for the flag with the bookies in 2020, all whilst facing the challenging restrictions the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at AFL clubs and the competition?
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Their coaching staff is one of the most stable and experienced in the AFL.
Along with Ken Hinkley who has been in the senior role since 2013, Michael Voss, Nathan Bassett, Jarrad Schofield and Brett Montgomery have had extensive AFL experience with multiple clubs.
The group has been together now for some time, and with so much disruption, the continuity of coaching staff and relationships must have been comforting for the players.
The measure of a coach is always, are they getting the best out of the players?
Almost to a man the answer is yes.
Senior players in particular, Travis Boak, Charlie Dixon, Justin Westhoff, Brett Ebert, and Hartlett are all in or close to career best form.
This is complemented by a well documented emerging group of young stars which this year now includes key forward Todd Marshall, who after 20 games in his three previous seasons looks like he believes he belongs at the level.
The other measure of a good team is who you can’t fit into it.
The players that provide depth when the inevitable injuries hit. Already we’ve seen Dixon covered in round one, Ryan Burton replaced after being injured in round two and Kane Farrell proving a worthy replacement for Xavier Duursma after he was hamstrung in round three.
Still in the wings is promising ruckman Peter Ladhams, defender Jarrod Lienert, experienced recruits Watts, Mayes and Sutcliffe as well as the young and exciting Mitch Georgiades.
The blend of youth and experience is also in the sweet spot. An urgency provided by the senior players, desperate for a premiership before retiring and the brashness of youth not burdened with the fear of failure.
And as if things couldn’t get any better for Port, two of their biggest rivals, flag favourites at the start of the year, Richmond and West Coast look all at sea.
Both have lacked form and motivation and could slide from contention if not addressed quickly.
Port Adelaide has all the ingredients and they must not waste this opportunity.
The depressing thing for Crows fans is that every measure that Port Adelaide is excelling in, it seems Adelaide is at the other end of the spectrum. Including the most important one, the premiership ladder.
If we run through the same list of measures as above it’s not pretty. The Adelaide coaching staff is one of the AFL’s least experienced and has endured a revolving door of changes in recent years. David Teague, James Podsiadly, Josh Francou, Don Pyke, Scott Camporeale and this year Marty Mattner.
Almost all replaced with a person of less standing and experience.
The Adelaide defenders have had four different defensive coaches in four years. The forward coach changed three times in three years.
With players having to form new relationships with coaches each time they change roles. That lack of continuity can impact performance.
As for which players are producing something close to career best form, well thats easy, there aren’t any.
The senior players in particular have been well off, with the exception of Daniel Talia who has been his usual dour self, Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane, Brad and Matt Crouch, Rory Laird Brodie Smith and Lynch all need to provide greater output than what they are producing at present.
Even with the poor form of many players representing Adelaide in the league team, there isn’t obvious talent in the reserves providing options to replace them.
Kane Farrell was Port Adelaide’s least experienced player on the weekend with 13 games, Adelaide took the field against Brisbane with eight players with less experience than Farrell.
It highlights the size and scope of the rebuild. It also shows the lack of opportunities available to some of these players as Adelaide had one final shot at a flag in 2019, playing its ageing stars.
If you used the analogy that building a list to contend for a premiership is like creating a work of art. Port Adelaide’s canvas is almost full.
The bulk of the work done over the previous two seasons with some minor techniques and additions over the summer break, it’s getting close to completion and you can see the beauty.
The Crows on the other hand have hardly put brush to canvas.
Right now it’s rather abstract, hard to distinguish how it will finish up, still lots of paint on the pallet.
But it is very early days for Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks, and many an artists’ inspiration has come from their darkest hour.
Not dissimilar to Ken Hinkley who took over from the disaster of 2012 and may just be on the verge of delivering a masterpiece for the Port Adelaide Football Club at years end.
Originally published as Port Adelaide leads the Crows in every measure and needs to cash in on perfect start to 2020 AFL season