Synopsis
At six wins and five losses the Power sit seventh on the ladder having claimed one big scalp against the Eagles in round five. The Power have managed to score heavily when they needed and accumulated a solid percentage of a sliver under 110%. With a relatively difficult run home, the Power will need to continue to build if they are going to contest for one of the last few spots in the eight.
What’s Gone Right?
Recruiting. This year’s crop of Power draftees have all been fantastic. Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters are all already entrenched in the Power’s best 22 and Rozee and Duursma have all already been nominated for the Rising Star Award. All three look to be stars of the future and for me, Connor Rozee is locked in a head to head battle with Carlton’s Sam Walsh for the Rising Star Award. A great job at the recruiting table by the Power this year.
What’s Gone Wrong?
If you want to play finals, you need to beat top sides. The Power have been called out for this in the past, but it’s come back to haunt them again this year. Aside from an impressive win against the Eagles in Perth, the Power have lost five games to five quality sides, with defeats at the hands of Brisbane, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Adelaide, as well as a close loss to a very undermanned Tigers side. If Port Adelaide had managed to win even two of these games, I’d be much less inclined to bring up their losses to top teams. The games against the Tigers and The Crows games should both have been wins, but in the Showdown in particular they were very disappointing. The Power need to beat some top teams if they are to compete in September.
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Stand Out Player
Travis Boak has taken his game to another level this year. The ex-skipper who is now 30 years of age certainly isn’t slowing down, racking up possessions every week with 36, 26 and 33 in just his last three matches, and plenty more throughout the season. Although Boak no longer wears the number one guernsey at the Power, he is still a key component of Port’s leadership group and will be pretty high up the list in this year’s Brownlow count. As the Power aim to push up the ladder, Boak will be an integral part of that push, and shutting him down might be the key to stopping their charge.
Run Home
Round 12: Bye
Round 13: Fremantle Dockers@ Optus Stadium
Round 14: Geelong Cats@ Adelaide Oval
Round 15: Western Bulldogs@ Adelaide Oval
Round 16: Adelaide Crows@ Adelaide Oval
Round 17: Brisbane Lions@ Adelaide Oval
Round 18: Richmond Tigers@ MCG
Round 19: GWS Giants@ Adelaide Oval
Round 20: Essendon Bombers@ Marvel Stadium
Round 21: Sydney Swans@ Adelaide Oval
Round 22: North Melbourne Kangaroos@ Marvel Stadium
Round 23: Fremantle Dockers@ Adelaide Oval
With a quirk of the fixture giving the Power four consecutive games at Adelaide Oval including the second Showdown as an ‘away’ game. There are plenty of challenges ahead for Port, with the Cats, Crows, Lions, Tigers and GWS all still to play, the Power need to capitalise on the remaining games they have against the AFL’s lower ranked sides, although finishing the season with Essendon, Sydney, North and Fremantle to end the year there are some tricky times ahead. Of their remaining eleven matches Port Adelaide really need to try and win seven to get themselves up into sixth or seventh on the ladder.
Final Grade
Although the Power sit seventh on the table, they need to win some games against quality sides. A win against Fremantle directly after the bye would be a great way to continue their charge to finals. Overall, it’s been a good season so far for Port, but there’s plenty of room to improve.
Overall Grade: B
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