Port Adelaide preliminary final news: Kane Cornes reflects on Trent Cotchin’s 2014 coin toss shocker
Trent Cotchin will be back at the scene of his infamous 2014 elimination final coin toss call on Friday night. One of the Power players who benefited from his call to kick against a howling wind relives that clash six years on.
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Kane Cornes has dispelled the theory that Trent Cotchin’s call to kick into the breeze had a big influence on the last Port Adelaide-Richmond final but believes the Tigers captain will be happy to lose the coin toss when the sides face off again at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
Cotchin famously chose to kick against the northerly wind to start the 2014 elimination final and it backfired, as the Power booted the first seven goals on its way to a 57-point victory.
The 2012 Brownlow Medallist defended himself post-game, saying it was “pretty swirly” on the ground, and he was backed by coaches Damien Hardwick, who said the wind had “nothing to do with putting your head over the ball and not winning hard contests”, and Ken Hinkley, who said his side was not sure which way it would have kicked.
But commentators condemned the decision, calling kicking with the wind if you win the toss “captaincy 101” and even comparing him to former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain, who won the coin flip at the Gabba in the first Test of the 2002 Ashes, sent Australia in and watched as the hosts compiled 2-364 by stumps on day one.
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Former Port Adelaide star Cornes had 22 disposals in that final and said although it “probably wouldn’t have helped” Richmond, he did not think Cotchin’s choice mattered because “it was one of those games where everything goes for you and everyone was on.”
As the two clubs prepare for their preliminary final at the same venue, Cornes said dual premiership skipper Cotchin would surely kick with the breeze if he won Friday night’s toss.
“I would have thought so but it’s a difficult stadium and at times it’s hard to know which way the wind’s going,” Cornes said.
“I don’t see the wind playing a major factor but for Trent he probably hopes that he loses the toss.”
Adelaide weather records from the 2014 final – September 7 and Father’s Day – showed there was a strong northerly wind of about 30km/h that afternoon outside the ground, suggesting an advantage to the southern end.
Cornes said he did not know Cotchin had chosen to kick into the wind until after the game.
“As a player I never really took notice of who won the toss,” the four-time best and fairest winner said.
“The captain comes back to the pre-game huddle and you just ask which way you’re kicking.
“A lot’s made of the toss but I personally think it had little to do with the result six years ago.
“It (the first term) was the most comprehensive quarter of footy I’ve ever been involved in.”
Another talking point of that day was Port Adelaide playing in its traditional prison-bar guernsey that had to be hastily made by sponsor ISC in Fiji the week of the game.
The Power were forced to seek permission to wear the black-and-white jumper when the AFL declared that they had to don a clash strip, despite playing at home.
“It would be great if Port Adelaide could wear it tomorrow night, unfortunately that won’t happen,” Cornes said.
Cornes tipped the Power to prevail again on Friday night but this time in a tight one.
“I feel like with the week off and the fact Port Adelaide are playing at home, it does give them a 10 or 15 per cent advantage,” he said.
MEET THE MAN WHO INSPIRED PORT’S RAPID RISE
— Sam Landsberger
Port Adelaide’s stunning climb to the top of the AFL ladder started with a motivational speech from an Australian who has scaled the five highest mountains in the world.
In 1993 Queenslander Michael Groom completed Mount Everest without the assistance of bottled oxygen, and without the front third of both feet.
Groom’s heroic story – part of both his feet were amputated after he suffered frostbite descending Kangchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world, in 1987 – was lapped up by Port players last December.
Port Adelaide is celebrating its 150th birthday this year and while coach Ken Hinkley predicted in February the club could reach the AFL’s Mount Everest in what loomed as a make-or-break year for the coach, most from outside Alberton doubted they would even make it to footy’s base camp.
But Port enters Friday night’s preliminary final against Richmond as the best team of 2020 and listened attentively to Groom at its pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast.
Power assistant Michael Voss met Groom at last year’s Grand Final at the MCG and asked if he could help inspire Hinkley’s emerging side.
“I spoke (to Port Adelaide) about how I’d wanted to climb Mount Everest since I was a little fella, about five years old, and I set out to do it,” Groom said.
“But in the process I had quite a few serious setbacks, including learning how to walk again after serious frostbite.
“It took me three goes to climb Mount Everest.”
Groom was at the Grand Final with close friend Jason Akermanis when they bumped into Voss, who was searching for a guest speaker.
The high-altitude mountaineer has also recounted his incredible stories to Western Bulldogs and Carlton, although he said he couldn’t take any credit for Port’s rapid rise this season.
“I know from myself I can’t stand listening to other climbers talk about their lives, I’d rather listen to other sportsmen that aren’t climbers about how they became successful,” he said.
“So I think if you reverse that, it was probably refreshing for them to have someone that wasn’t football, someone completely different, talk about their life.
“For Australians, high-altitude mountaineering is quite unusual and if you’re not in the game you can’t sort of get your head around it and you probably wouldn’t think about it.
“They asked a lot of questions, so that’s always a good sign.
“They were good questions, you get some stupid questions sometimes.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of sporting clubs over the years, and these were a good bunch of guys.
“They were gentlemen.”
How Port has ‘evolved’ into flag contender
— Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Port Adelaide senior assistant coach Michael Voss says the Power aren’t lacking the experience required to win their way into the Grand Final, despite reigning premiers Richmond standing in the way.
After sitting on top of the ladder all year, the Power went into the finals series with few seasoned campaigners in those high-stakes matches - with former Geelong forward Steven Motlop being Port’s most experienced finals player.
But ahead of the preliminary final on Friday night at Adelaide Oval - against a Richmond side that has reached this stage for the past three seasons - Voss said the Power had more than enough experience to overcome the reigning premiers.
“There would be an argument that suggests that we don’t have the experience for this particular game,” Voss said.
“But when you stack it up against the body of work that we have been able to get this year, and the real belief that we have been able to get out of big moments or big momentum swings this year, there is enough ... for the guys to take confidence out of.”
Port Adelaide held its main training of the week on Wednesday, in which players were put through a gruelling contact session ahead of the Friday night blockbuster.
Young key forward Todd Marshall, who injured his shoulder in the opening minutes of the qualifying final win against Geelong but played out the match, got through the “last tick-off” required for him to play against the Tigers.
Voss said Port was prepared for the physicality of the Tigers, which has been discussed at length since their win over St Kilda.
“We would expect nothing else from Richmond,” he said.
“They are a seasoned group, they have been here before and they have a style that they have committed to for the past four years.
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“We expect that it is going to be a fiery clash and the contest will be really strong and that is what finals are about, we will get our turn but we know that we have to absorb at times as well.”
But Voss did say his side would need to be wary of Richmond’s ability to force turnovers.
“Richmond on the intercept are lethal, they have been that way for a long period of time,” he said.
“(Especially) when the ball is in open play and flowing in the transition of the game, (but) we feel like we have made huge strides in that area.
“If you are looking at the numbers you would say we are a really strong stoppage team and that gives us lots of looks forward of the ball, but the one area that is ignored is our ability when the ball is in play and we have to play that game that is a bit turnover to turnover.
“We’ve evolved in that space and I feel really strongly that we don’t rely on just one facet of the game to get us the territory that we need.”
Voss reiterated captain Tom Jonas’ belief that Port’s system means it doesn’t need to have a tag on Richmond superstar Dustin Martin.
“We have been a team that backs ourselves in, but it doesn’t get left unchecked,” he said.
“We put a lot of homework into what the opposition do and the challenge is always the balance between what you want and backing in what your style is, but also taking away some teeth from the opposition.
“When you have a franchise player like Dusty, what you can do is limit some of the stuff that he does, not eradicate it.”
WHO ARE THE REAL UNDERDOGS IN PRELIM SHOWDOWN?
– Reece Homfray
Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas says the Power respects Richmond but is not intimidated by the reigning premier and his side will go in as the underdogs trying to dethrone the champs in Friday’s preliminary final.
Despite having won their last meeting in Round 11, finishing on top of the ladder and playing in front of a home crowd at Adelaide Oval, Jonas said in his eyes the Power was the hunter and the Tigers the hunted as they shoot for a third flag in four years.
“It’s a bit of an individual thing, I like to feel like a bit of an underdog, like we’re trying to knock them off,” Jonas said.
“Despite beating them earlier in the year and finishing top, they’ve got the runs on the board over the last three years.
“But at the same time we’re well aware that we’ve played a lot of good footy this year and we completely back in our game plan and the way we go about things.
“We definitely shouldn’t play second fiddle or be intimidated by them.
“It’s more respect, you’ve got to respect what they’ve done and acknowledge that, but then focus on our game.
“There are obviously a lot of great players in their team and they’ve performed on the big stage for a long time so you acknowledge that and then focus on yourselves.”
Port Adelaide veteran Justin Westhoff joined the forwards group for training on Monday with Todd Marshall doing non-contact work as he recovers from a sore shoulder in the qualifying final win over Geelong. But Jonas said both Marshall and Xavier Duursma, who was concussed in that game, would be “close to 100 per cent” for the Tigers’ clash.
The Power is 5-5 from its past 10 games against Richmond and won their last meeting against the Tigers in Round 11 this year.
Both sides were missing key players who are now back in the side for the preliminary final and Jonas said his team took confidence from their last clash.
“I think that was a quintessential Richmond side, they played their same style and yeah there were a few people missing but the bones were the same and we like to think that we’ve improved as a team in that time as well,” he said.
“We’ve got that great balance of youth and excitement and blokes that just aren’t afraid, those young boys go out and play their natural game and we have those experienced guys so if things do get tight they know exactly what to do and can give some great direction.
“Having won that qualifying final in a big game that also gives you a heap of confidence as well.”
Jonas said Port Adelaide had not spoken about specific match-ups on Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt yet and he was not expecting his team to deploy a run-with role on Dustin Martin.
“He’ll (Martin) get the respect he deserves but I think we stick to our game, we haven’t shown that we have tagged players much this year and if you shut down Dusty you open a door for Cotchin or Edwards, so there are lots of threats and we just stick to what we do well,” he said.
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