Round 7 - Port Adelaide Match Preview

By smooth
Last time I wrote a match preview for B-Blitz, Bomber fans were on a high. An impressive Round 1 victory over recent bogey side North Melbourne, kicking 19 goals with 11 players scoring majors, conceding just 9 in the process, and a near full-strength side to choose from.

Oh, how things have turned. And quickly!!

In the space of 5 weeks, we have been beaten 4 times by an average losing margin of over 10 goals, have leaked scores that teams in the IPL would be happy with after their 20 overs, (even in our only win during this period, against Carlton in Round 3, 23 goals were scored by the Blues), conceded the 2nd most amount of inside 50s in the AFL (only woeful Melbourne have allowed their opponent greater entries into their back 50) and there are more players in the medical room than out on the Windy Hill training track. Somehow, Matthew Knights and the Essendon match committee have to find 22 fit and able players for Sunday’s twilight match-up against a Port Adelaide side that is just starting to hit its straps.

LAST ROUND

The Bombers put in a listless effort against Collingwood in the 14th ANZAC Day match in front of just under 89,000 spectators at the MCG. When Kyle Reimers goaled from close-range to put the Dons in front midway through the 2nd quarter, few would have guessed that the Pies would slam on the last 6 goals of the half in time-on. And then kick 12 goals to 6 after half-time, en route to a record 73-point win. There were few Bombers who could hold their heads high for such a shameless effort in perhaps football’s 2nd biggest game of the season. Jobe Watson with 30 touches worked tirelessly at the coalface with little assistance around him, Jason Winderlich played in an uncustomary role deep in the defensive half and finished up with 19 possessions, whilst David Hille was left to battle alone (I say alone, as the only thing Jason Laycock did for the day was turn up) against Josh Fraser and Cameron Wood.

Port Adelaide won its 2nd game on the bounce after a 0-4 start to the campaign against St.Kilda at AAMI Stadium Saturday night. The Saints rarely looked capable of posing an offensive threat as once again Ross Lyon seemed to be too pre-occupied in his team stopping goals than kicking some themselves, a 32-point deficit early in the 2nd quarter proved the difference in a 21-point win. Kane Cornes and Peter Burgoyne were the prime movers in midfield, whilst Captain Warren Tredrea was also among Port’s best.

THE TEAMS

Both sides have named extended squads of 25 for Sunday’s encounter. Essendon have made what must be a near league record 8 changes to the defeated ANZAC Day side. Darcy Daniher, son of former Bomber full-back Anthony, becomes the 5th member of this famous footballing family to pull on the red and black, and the first to do so since uncle Chris retired in 1997, after some impressive displays for Bendigo in recent weeks.

David Myers, the club’s 1st pick (#6 overall) in the 2007 National Draft also lines up for his debut game, as does 23-year old Jarrod Atkinson, promoted off the rookie list, thanks to the long-term injuries that have beset the Essendon roster. And if you thought 3 debutants in one week was enough, it might well be 4, with Tasmanian ruckman Tom Bellchambers also named in the 25. Others included in the squad are veteran on-baller Jason Johnson, and youngsters Leroy Jetta, returning from a hamstring injury, Tom Hislop and Jay Neagle. Four injury-forced omissions have been made, starting with Dustin Fletcher (groin), Jason Winderlich (groin), Kyle Reimers (foot) and Adam Ramanauskas (ill), whilst Jason Laycock was dropped due to a string of, to put it mildly, poor performances.

To add insult to injury (or is that injury to yet more injury?), midfield warhorse Damien Peverill managed to break his jaw playing in the VFL against Sandringham and will miss 4-5 weeks, whilst the promising Scott Gumbleton, just recovered from a pre-season hamstring injury, will be unavailable for the next 3-5 weeks after straining the medial ligament in his left knee during training on Thursday. The young West Australian will return to an already lengthy casualty list that includes Fletcher, Peverill, Winderlich, Reimers, Ramanauskas, star forward Scott Lucas (knee), livewire Alwayn Davey (knee reconstruction), Mark McVeigh (hamstring), speedster Courtenay Dempsey (was hamstring, now shin splints!), young midfielder Sam Lonergan (hamstring), Heath Hocking (groin/OP), and finally Andrew Lee (shoulder).

No such worries out Alberton way. Although star utility Chad Cornes will miss a month with a broken bone in his right hand, Port have a near-on full-strength side, and have added Gray, Lonie, Stewart and Lower to their squad.

THE TACTICS

MIDFIELD

We all know Mark Williams’ team plays a high-possession, precise, short-kicking game. Port’s players are well-drilled, highly skilled by foot and when on song play some breathtaking football. The sublime talents of Peter and Shaun Burgoyne, Kane Cornes, Danyle Pearce and David Rodan drive a slick engine room that is spoon-fed at stoppages by Brendan Lade and Dean Brogan, perhaps the best ruck duo in the competition. The Power are a ‘front-running’ side, many of the aforementioned midfielders ‘cheat’ and run forward of the play, and it works well when Kane Cornes, Dom Cassisi, and Steven Salopek win the inside ball.

Unfortunately, this is where Essendon has struggled the past month. Jobe Watson aside, the Bombers simply do not have the manpower at the coalface to generate enough ball for the outside runners in Brent Stanton, Ricky Dyson, Andrew Lovett, Jay Nash and Bachar Houli. Angus Monfries, now in his 4th season at AFL level and with 56 games under his belt, must step his game up and take greater responsibility in the middle of the park to help out the son of a gun in the #4 guernsey. His slight frame and lack of endurance has meant being stuck in a forward pocket for the majority of his career to date, but the young South Australian has put in a big pre-season, looks noticeably bulkier and should have developed an engine that will allow him to have greater impact in close. He’s brave, knows where to get the footy and has wonderful hands. Time to step up, Gus.

DEFENCE

Losing Fletcher will impact on the defensive structure, from a match-up and rebounding perspective, as the 16-season veteran is probably enjoying some of the best football in his career as a zoning defender. This leaves Mal Michael and Patrick Ryder to look after Warren Tredrea and Justin Westhoff. The Port skipper’s knees mean that he is no longer able to crash packs, double and triple-lead or provide second and third efforts at ground level, traits that made him one of the premier key forwards 4-5 years ago. He will do most of his work out of the goalsquare, and this should suit Mal, who has of recent weeks struggled to find an appropriate opponent at full-back. Brett Ebert and Daniel Motlop will pose major match-up headaches for the Essendon match committee. Paul Medhurst, Leon Davis and Alan Didak proved that the Dons are struggling for small-medium sized defensive options, all three looking dangerous at various times, with Medhurst booting 7 goals en route to an ANZAC medal-winning performance. Nathan Lovett-Murray did a decent enough job on Dale Thomas to suggest he will at some point play on either Motlop or Ebert, given both players abilities at ground level and in the air. He can match either with his height (189cm), pace off the mark and agility. Both aren’t exactly accountable for their direct opponent, so Nat-Rat should run-off and provide an option on the rebound from the back 50 wherever possible. Port’s wildcards will be their resting ruckman. Fletch out means that our backline looks a little light-on for height, so either Lade or Brogan will push forward when resting from on-ball duties.

ATTACK

At the opposite end of the field. Port could have trouble finding a suitable opponent for Matthew Lloyd. His regular minder in recent matches against the 2 sides, Darryl Wakelin, is now retired, and it’s a much more youthful looking Power back six than the crusty, experienced unit that took them to premiership glory in 2004. Toby Thurstans is not a household name by any stretch, but he has found a niche down back, and will stand the Essendon captain at the first bounce. But should Lloydy get on top early, one can’t see an obvious Plan B. Troy Chaplin is more of a zoning, run-off defender and would struggle one-out, as would Michael Pettigrew, whilst Atipate Carlisle is largely unproven at the top level. Centre Half Forward again poses a quandary for the Bomber brains trust. Lucas is still 5 weeks from returning, whilst Gumbleton’s latest setback pushes his likely return date back by around 6-7 weeks, given that he will require match conditioning at Bendigo before he gets a look-in. Dare I say it, but Courtney Johns should be allowed a decent opportunity at the position. He doesn’t have to be a star, but with his size and strength, a solid, earnest contest across half-forward should be the minimum expected of him. This will allow Adam McPhee, who has been asked up plug the gap at CHF, to play further up the ground on the wing and around half-back in a bid to improve our defensive transition.

THE VERDICT

Matthew Knights said he was going to give his young Bombers plenty of opportunities at senior level. Given the injury crisis, it has forced his hand even further. With Daniher, Myers and Atkinson all confirmed as certain debutants, and Bellchambers will also get his first start if he makes it in the 22, added to that the likes of Tayte Pears (3 games), Tom Hislop (3 games), Leroy Jetta (7 games), and Jay Neagle (1 game), that is 8 players who have a combined total of 14 games of exposure at senior level. This must be one of the least experienced Bomber line-ups for many a year, maybe even in the history of the club. As a result, it is very hard to see how this team can get the job done against last year’s defeated Grand Finalists. The one thing that will work in our favour is that Port will show little, if any, respect towards Essendon. It may allow Brent Stanton to be free of a tag for once, it could allow Ricky Dyson to roam unattended, collecting possession at will and picking Port to pieces with his left foot. Perhaps Myers could have a slashing debut. We just don’t know, and as long as there are 22 players against 22, anything can happen. My tip? We will be fierce early, after such a diabolical effort ANZAC Day, we have to be. We will chase, tackle and harass and put the Power under pressure to execute their precise game style. But, I can’t help but think we will be like that kid with his finger in the dam wall, trying to stop the leak. Eventually, Port’s class should tell in the end.

Port Adelaide by 38 points

The Team
B:	Houli	Michael	Myers
HB:	Lovett-Murray	Ryder	Dyson
C:	Atkinson	Watson	Slattery
HF:	Welsh	McPhee	Daniher
F:	Hislop	Lloyd	Lovett
R:	Hille	Stanton	Jetta
INT:	Johns	Monfries	Nash
	Neagle
EMG:	Bellchambers	Johnson	Pears

Port Adelaide Team
B:	Pettigrew	Carlile	Surjan
HB:	P. Burgoyne	Thurstans	Cassisi
C:	Boak	Thomson	K. Cornes
HF:	Rodan	Tredrea	Ebert
F:	Motlop	Westhoff	Lade
R:	Brogan	Salopek	S. Burgoyne
INT:	Chaplin	Gray	Logan
	Pearce
EMG:	Lonie	Lower	Stewart

Last Time – Round 12 2007 – AAMI Stadium
	1/4	2/4	3/4	Full Time
Essendon	1.3	5.8	7.13	13.17.95
Port Adelaide	4.4	13.6	19.10	19.12.126
Full Match Report

Best Players
Essendon	J. Johnson, McPhee, McVeigh, Peverill, Watson, Winderlich
Port Adelaide	C. Cornes, Cassisi, K. Cornes, Tredrea, Wakelin, P. Burgoyne

Goals
Essendon	McVeigh, Peverill, McPhee 2, Lucas, Heffernan, Laycock, Bolton, Lloyd, Welsh, Nash
Port Adelaide	Gray, Ebert, Tredrea 4, Westhoff 2, S. Burgoyne, Ebert, Rodan, C. Cornes, White

TV Coverage
Fox Sports Australiawide	4:30pm AEST	Live

Radio Coverage
ABC Melbourne	4:30 PM
SEN Melbourne	4:00 PM
MMM Adelaide	3:30 PM
5AA Adelaide	3:40 PM
ABC Adelaide	4:00 PM
ABC Hobart	4:30 PM
ABC Darwin	4:00 PM

Betting
Essendon	$3.15
Port Adelaide	$1.36

BomberBlitz.com ‘Expert’ Tips
Andy	Port Adelaide by 45 points
SuperSonic	Essendon by 9 points
Pazza	Essendon by 3 points
Bomberman007	Port Adelaide by 89 points
Koala	Essendon by 32 points
Awesome_Scotty	Port Adelaide by 53 points
No32	Essendon by 55 points
Riolio	Port Adelaide by 89 points
smooth	Port Adelaide by 38 points

Posted 2 May 08 in News Match Preview