AFL Round 13 Port Adelaide v Bulldogs: The rise of Lachie Jones and the Power’s young defence
Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis take the spotlight – but there is another trio of Port young guns who deserve the attention. Here’s why.
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The omission of Ryan Burton raised eyebrows, particularly at a time when Port Adelaide was leaving its captain, Tom Jonas, out of the team for a second straight week.
But the Power match committee’s decision to opt for a young defence and stick to picking players based on form was vindicated in the 22-point win over the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
Without Burton, 26, Jonas, 32, and with Darcy Byrne-Jones, 27, now a forward, Port’s backline featured three 21-year-olds.
Dylan Williams (11), Miles Bergman (46) and Lachie Jones (26) have played 83 AFL games between them.
They are all top-25 draft picks – Williams at No. 23 in 2019, Bergman at No. 14 the same year and Jones at No. 16 the following November.
Williams has been poised in possession since coming into the side in round 4 and Bergman has been in strong form, as rival clubs’ interest grows and he delays signing a contract extension.
Jones is becoming a good story.
On Friday night, the mullet-haired defender registered a game-high 11 intercept possessions, a career-best 19 disposals (13 contested), four tackles and four score involvements.
Port Adelaide’s coaches love his power and speed.
He showed that against the Bulldogs, recording the third-most sprints in the match with 20.
But the Bute product is also making good decisions with and without the ball, not biting off more than he can chew.
Several times in the second half on Friday night, Jones got the Power out of backline trouble, often by approaching the footy at full speed, accelerating away from chasing opponents then kicking to a contest on the wing or finding a shorter target.
The hard nut shone a fortnight ago against Richmond, beating Tigers superstar Dustin Martin in a few one-on-ones.
But Friday night was perhaps Jones’s strongest all-round game of his career to date.
“That was a young backline tonight,” coach Ken Hinkley said post-match.
“Lachie Jones, what a game for an emerging, young defender.
“Some people at a time in their careers have those moments, have those games and I thought Lachie had one of them.
“I thought last week was pretty good by Lach and the week before, but I thought tonight was at another level.”
Hinkley said on Thursday that he was confident Jonas would come back into the side.
You would also expect Burton to return soon.
The way Jones is playing, it is unlikely to be at his expense in the near future.
Port’s other defenders on Friday night – Aliir Aliir, 28, Trent McKenzie, 31, and Kane Farrell, 24 – were very good.
Farrell gained more metres than any other player with 696 and also had five score involvements.
His ball use was crucial to the Power regularly threatening to score from defensive chains, such as his pass to Jed McEntee just outside 50 that helped set up a Charlie Dixon goal.
What’s really driving the streak
Port Adelaide has built its 10-game winning streak off a front-half game and manic pressure.
The Power scored 62 of its 107 points on Friday night from turnovers.
Of the seven players on the ground to register at least 20 pressure acts, the visitors had six: Ollie Wines (26), Willem Drew (25), Dan Houston (24), Connor Rozee (22), Zak Butters (21) and Travis Boak (21).
The fact his side’s engine room led the way in that area would thrill Hinkley.
Byrne-Jones had the most tackles on the field with 10 and led the inside 50 tackle count (four).
Port had more inside 50 tackles than its opponent for a sixth consecutive game, ahead 14-9 on Friday night.
Rozee recorded the equal second-most tackles with seven, while Wines was equal fourth with six.
Butters’s baulk then goal and his bursting run to help set up Jason Horne-Francis’s brilliant late major will get plenty of airtime externally this week while the former’s Brownlow Medal odds tumble.
Two of Butters’s tackles in the last quarter deserve nearly as much adulation.
The first was a chase-down near the 50m line, leading to a holding-the-ball free kick, which Butters handed off to Dan Houston, who could not convert.
Then Butters’s desperate tackle created a stoppage about 20m out, he won possession and then assisted Sam Powell-Pepper’s match-sealing major.
No doubt the Power would highlight Drew’s effort to start the passage Horne-Francis finished.
Drew smothered Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli’s kick at half-back then ran hard to provide support for Butters, who drew an opponent then handballed to him before the redhead kicked inside 50.
Horne-Francis gathered one-handed, turned and slotted a sublime goal that sent Twitter abuzz, but it started with the unheralded Drew.
Drew ranks below average among midfielders this season for disposals and metres gained, and average for clearances and score involvements.
Unsurprisingly the Victorian is above average for pressure and he must sit very high in the competition for repeat efforts, two-way running and workrate.
Before the game, the Victorian ranked fourth in the AFL for tackles this season with 88, behind only Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell (108), Bontempelli (98) and Adelaide’s Rory Laird (94).
Drew laid four on Friday night.
Port Adelaide’s free-wheeling footy is exciting to watch, but its extra efforts, as much as anything, are helping the Power stretch its club AFL record winning streak, which now stands at 10 games.
Don’t forget Lycett
Port was well beaten in clearances (47-31).
The last time it lost them by at least 16 and still won the game was against Melbourne at home in round 14, 2018.
Clearances were 54-38 to the Demons that day as Paddy Ryder battled Max Gawn in the ruck.
Scott Lycett was still at West Coast, on his way to winning a premiership.
Lycett is now playing a significant role in the Power’s tilt at trying to end a 19-year flag drought.
He has bounced back from four weeks out of the side and three games in the SANFL to perform well in four successive matches.
Hinkley thought Lycett won the battle against Western Bulldogs All-Australian contender Tim English on Friday night.
Although the Dogs had a large clearance advantage, that never really translated on the scoreboard.
Port’s midfielders and defenders worked tirelessly to ensure many Bulldog clearances did not lead to clean forward 50 entries.
Lycett was smashed by English in Gather Round eight weeks ago, but responded through a hard-working performance.
He attended 67 ruck contests, had 43 hit-outs, 11 disposals (six contested), four score involvements and three centre clearances.
Lycett also used his large frame to stifle English’s run at the ball, particularly earlier, both in ruck and around the ground, as the Bulldog was restricted to four first-half disposals.
English came into the game more after the main break, including kicking a goal in the last quarter when Lycett was off the field.
But he finished with fewer hit-outs (20) and clearances (one).
“I thought Scott won the battle – and Tim English has been in outstanding form,” Hinkley said.
“The team helped Scott as much as they could.
“He’s been pretty good, he’s been big-hearted for us the last three or four weeks.
“He had to rebound himself.
“There’s been some players at our club who’ve had to go back (to the SANFL) and earn their spot back, and Scott’s done that.
“It looks like a fair bit to him to be in the team.
“I hope he can keep going because he’s pretty important.”
‘Untenable’ to 10 straight: Butters leads another Power surge
- Matt Turner
Commentator Hamish McLachlan pondered it – Zak Butters must be just about the most confident player in the game right now.
McLachan made that comment not long after Luke Hodge said this one on Channel 7: “That’s insane from Butters”.
Those sorts of lines have been used when talking about Collingwood young gun Nick Daicos, Melbourne star Christian Petracca and Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli this season.
But Butters is right alongside them for influence, output and eye-catching exploits in 2023.
Over the past month or so, he may even be ahead.
Going into Friday night’s game against the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, the Power midfielder sat behind only Daicos in Brownlow Medal betting and level with the Magpie in AFL Coaches Association voting.
Expect those Brownlow odds to tighten over the weekend and Butters to probably poll the maximum from the coaches for a fifth time this season and second versus the Dogs.
The 22-year-old finished with a team-high 31 disposals, six clearances, six inside 50s, 11 score involvements, five tackles and a goal on Friday night.
His second quarter in particular was electric.
He added 14 touches, five clearances and some moments of magic, such as a brilliant pass on the run out of defence using the outside of his right boot to veteran Travis Boak, who did not have to break stride.
The kick was so good, it elicited the aforementioned comment from Hodge.
“He does it inside, he does it outside, he’s got the vision of the players that we love to see because he sees things that others don’t,” Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy.
“He’s a joy to sit back and watch.”
Butters’s third term was not as prolific, but then in the last, as the Bulldogs stormed back into the contest, cutting the margin to eight points, he scythed through the middle of the ground, arching his back, going past opponents, using his speed, poise and power, before setting up a stunning Jason Horne-Francis major.
Then he created a late stoppage with a crunching tackle and assisted the sealer from Sam Powell-Pepper.
“He’s tough, he’s good in and around the stoppages, he uses the ball well around the stoppages, he gets himself involved in transition,” Jordan Lewis said of Butters on Fox Footy at halftime.
Tom Liberatore was excellent for the Bulldogs, but Butters’ polish, class and acceleration stood out and he should get the three votes on Brownlow night as well as another 10 from the coaches.
He is oozing confidence and so is the Power on a 10-game winning streak.
MATCH REPORT: POWER ROLL CONTINUES ON
- Ronny Lerner
Champion midfielder Marcus Bontempelli’s Brownlow hopes could be hanging in the balance as his Western Bulldogs slumped to their third loss in a row on Friday night against Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.
Bontempelli collided with the Power’s Dan Houston in the second quarter as the pair contested a loose ball, and in doing so made heavy contact with Houston’s shoulder/head region, dazing the Port defender for a few seconds.
Houston dusted himself off and resumed playing, but given the current climate surrounding head knocks in the AFL, especially hot on the heels of St Kilda forward Dan Butler’s one-week suspension for his tackle on Sydney’s Nick Blakey on Thursday night, Bontempelli could be staring down the barrel of a suspension.
Bontempelli with a big collision with Houston and collects him high. Anything to worry about here?
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 9, 2023
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The Power extended their club record winning streak to 10 matches in downing the Dogs by 22 points, and if this is what “untenable” looks like, then just imagine how good Port Adelaide will be when coach Ken Hinkley gets his act together.
The club’s unprecedented run of victories started after club legend Warren Tredrea described Hinkley’s tenure as “untenable”, unwittingly sparking a “reverse curse” for the team he captained to their sole AFL premiership in 2004.
The 16.11 (107) to 13.7 (85) result continued a worrying slump for the Bulldogs who are at risk of slipping out of the top eight this weekend after starting the year with a sparkling 7-3 record.
The Bulldogs midfield dominated most of the match, helping their team comfortably win the disposals (382-312) and clearances (46-32), while they also had a slight edge in contested possessions (135-133).
But the Power’s ball use and forward delivery were superior to the Dogs, and the visitors actually won the inside 50s (54-51) as their rock solid defence, led brilliantly by Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones, held firm.
If Bontempelli is rubbed out, Port star Zak Butters’ path to the Brownlow will be made even easier after he registered 31 disposals (12 contested), six clearances, five tackles and a goal, while Charlie Dixon, playing in his first game since Round 8, sparked the Power with three of his four goals coming in the opening term.
For the Bulldogs, Tom Liberatore was spectacular with 34 touches (21 contested), 11 clearances and six tackles, and Bontempelli was influential too with 31 disposals (14 contested), nine clearances and a goal.
The game got off to an explosive start as both teams split the first eight goals inside the opening 21 minutes. Dixon wreaked havoc, completely outplaying direct opponent Josh Bruce, while down the other end, star Bulldogs goalsneak Cody Weightman also lit it up with three majors of his own.
The Bulldogs midfield, led by Liberatore and Bontempelli, registered 11 of the first 12 clearances and halfway through the quarter, the ball had spent 68 per cent of the time in the Dogs’ forward half.
However, the Power’s exquisite ball use kept them in touch and they forced the fourth lead change of the quarter, three minutes into time on, as they kicked three of the next four goals, making the most of a couple of horrible missed set shots from Dogs forwards Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Rory Lobb.
Port turned the tide in the territory battle, with four of their first seven majors generated from the back half, as they opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter after both teams went goal-for-goal for the period.
The Bulldogs’ inferior forward delivery, and general ball use, prevented them from taking the lead before halftime, and the Power led by four points at the major break after racking up 12 intercept marks in the first half.
The Dogs’ midfield continued to dominate into the third quarter, but couldn’t capitalise as the Power’s backline held firm, and on the counterpunch the visitors kicked three consecutive goals to open up a game-high 22-point lead.
POWER SEE OFF DOGS CHARGE
Seven of Port’s first 11 goals were from turnovers, and the ball lived in their forward line for a large portion of the term, but a pair of wayward straightforward set shots from Todd Marshall and Connor Rozee kept the Bulldogs alive, and the hosts made the most of their reprieve by cutting the deficit to 12 points in time on against the run of play.
The Power steadied to stretch their buffer back out to 20 early in the final stanza, but five minutes later, the Bulldogs’ got back within eight points as their pressure skyrocketed. However, as they did all night, Port Adelaide had the answers, kicking the next three goals to kill off the contest.
HORNE-FRANCIS STANDS TALL
Midway through the final quarter, with the Bulldogs coming hard, Jason Horne-Francis burst from the congestion inside 50 after breaking the Anthony Scott tackle, straightened up and from 25m out put Port back in front by 14.
UMPIRE CALL DEFLATES DOGS
With 5:30 left in the game, Weightman thought he kicked his fourth goal to get his side back within eight points. But Oskar Baker was controversially penalised for shepherding Ollie Wines on the goal line. From the ensuing transition, Sam Powell-Pepper split the big sticks to put the Power out to a 20-point lead, snuffing out the Dogs’ challenge.
A massive call sees a Bulldogs goal overturned from a goal line shepherd😮
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 9, 2023
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DOGS 4.5, 7.5, 9.6, 13.7 (85)
POWER 6.1, 8.3, 12.7, 16.11 (107)
LERNER’S BESTDogs: Liberatore, Bontempelli, Weightman, Daniel, Treloar, Dale, B.Smith. Power: Butters, Aliir, Dixon, Jones, Rozee, Lycett, McKenzie.
GOALS Dogs: Weightman 3, Ugle-Hagan 2, Naughton 2, Treloar, Daniel, West, Bontempelli, English, Macrae. Power: Dixon 4, Marshall 2, McEntee 2, Finlayson 2, Horne-Francis 2, Powell-Pepper 2, Butters, Rozee.
UMPIRES Foot, Johanson, Rosebury, Williamson
VENUE Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 Tom Liberatore (WB)
2 Zak Butters (PA)
1 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
Originally published as AFL Round 13 Port Adelaide v Bulldogs: The rise of Lachie Jones and the Power’s young defence
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