JUGGERNAUT by Whispering Jack

[Demonland 73,140]

The Port Adelaide juggernaut which has cut a swathe through some of the AFL's leading lights in recent weeks takes on a different direction this Saturday. Their last three outings at Adelaide Oval have produced wins against quality opposition in the form of Geelong, Fremantle and Hawthorn (somewhere in between there was also a routine away victory over GWS Giants), but this week the Power head into uncharted territory in the centre of the country to take on a rested Melbourne team in Alice Springs.

Ken Hinkley and his men will need to remind themselves that whilst they are taking on opposition that is nowhere near the quality of those his side has beaten of late, this is not the same Melbourne that it faced and gave a spanking to when they last met on the day he officially took the reins at his club a season and a half ago.

Paul Roos has installed more than just a sense of belief into this outfit and, if you look at its season to date, there seems to be a definite pattern emerging.

In the first three games, there was still some hesitancy among many of the team to fall into line with the new regime and players lapsed back into some of their past habits. Lacking the best of their tall forwards and ruckmen, the team performance was only marginally better than in its past couple of seasons with the result that it sat at the foot of the table with a 0 - 3 record and, thanks to a massive capitulation at the hands of the Eagles, a percentage in the 50s. Although it was early days, many were suggesting that the club would struggle to win a game.

The coach was able to see the positives of these early games and when the team beat Carlton in Round 4, they had the support of most of the football world. It was a sympathy vote for the downtrodden but most had little belief that they could sustain winning form for very long. They did make a fairly good fist of things in the next couple of rounds against the Suns and the Swans at the MCG, both definite top four contenders. The infusion of tall, strong players - first Chris Dawes as a key forward, then Mark Jamar in the ruck - saw to it that the Demons were now becoming more than just competitive for long periods of time. The second group of three matches matches to date yielded a 1 - 2 record and the team was off the bottom.

The trip to Adelaide saw an inspired Melbourne produce one of its best halves of football in years in the first, topped off with a gritty, determined battle to hold on and win its first game after a dozen barren years in that city. They were unlucky to lose an arm wrestle against the Bulldogs a week later but followed it up by winning a scrap of a game against Richmond. That made it 2 - 1 in the last group of three games and for a brief period the team found itself out of the bottom four. The scalps to date include two of last year's finallists and a team that was strongly touted to be there in September after also making top four in 2012.

There should be no illusions for the Demons about the road ahead or the fact that they are about to face some tough challenges in the coming month but, for the first time in years, a clash against a top-of-the-table adversary doesn't fill me with as much apprehension as it would have done in the very recent past. Nor does the memory and the pain of Round 1, 2013. And that feeling is based on more than the mere fact that the team suddenly has belief in itself ...

THE GAME

Melbourne v Port Adelaide on Saturday 31 May, 2014 at 1.40pm at TIO Treager Park, Alice Springs

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Melbourne 11 wins Port Adelaide 15 wins

At TIO Treager Park Melbourne 0 wins Port Adelaide 0 wins

Past five years Melbourne 3 wins Port Adelaide 5 wins

The Coaches Roos 0 wins Hinkley 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy Channel Live at 1.30pm

RADIO - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand

THE BETTING

Melbourne to win - $8.00 Port Adelaide to win - $1.08

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Port Adelaide 19.19.133 defeated Melbourne 8.6.54 Round 1, 2013 at the MCG

The Demons were hit with a sledgehammer on its home turf in the opening round. They were woeful with only a single goal after the main break, the only bright lights being the tireless work of Nathan Jones and the debut of Jack Viney.

THE TEAMS

MELBOURNE

B: Colin Garland, Tom McDonald, Dean Terlich
HB: Neville Jetta, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes
C: Daniel Cross, Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince
HF: Rohan Bail, James Frawley, Jack Watts
F: Cameron Pedersen, Max Gawn, Jeremy Howe
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney
I/C: Matt Jones, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Aidan Riley, Christian Salem
EMG: Jordie McKenzie, Daniel Nicholson, Jimmy Toumpas

IN: James Frawley, Neville Jetta

OUT: Chris Dawes (suspended), Jimmy Toumpas (omitted)

PORT ADELAIDE

B: J Hombsch, A Carlile, J Impey
HB: M Broadbent, J Trengove, J Pittard
C: J Polec, T Boak, K Cornes
HF: A Moore, J Westhoff, M White
F: R Gray, J Schulz, C Wingard
FOLL: M Lobbe, O Wines, B Ebert
I/C: K Mitchell, J Neade, P Stewart, A.Young
EMG: K Amon, S Gray, B Newton

IN: P Stewart, A Moore, J Neade

OUT: D Cassisi, A Monfries, H Hartlett

A TOWN LIKE ALICE

The location of this fixture, the first match in VFL-AFL history to be played for premiership points in Alice Springs, is at the heart of the AFL's Indigenous Round. Both clubs are well represented by indigenous players and the game also recognises the MFC's initiative in entering its partnership with the Northern Territory during the time when Jimmy Stynes led the club.

Without wishing to dwell too much on the lamented Liam Jurrah as he languishes in prison (and rightly so because of his guilt for a serious offence) the circumstances, the place and the recent timing of racial taunts against Adam Goodes and Neville Jetta all highlight the fact that so much more work needs to be done in relation to the issues that divide this nation's community of peoples and in particular, problems in remote Aboriginal communities like Jurrah's home of Yuendumu which is down the road (give or take a few hundred kilometres) from where this game will be played.

Melbourne welcomes back James Frawley who has some big shoes to fill in the form of those that belong to Chris Dawes who symbolised the team's revival his great physical presence earlier in the season. It's a big task but Paul Roos has faith in him as the primary forward target this week.

"Dawesy has been in good form and we're going to miss him, there's no question, but certainly having Frawley come back you almost get a like-for-like [replacement]. They're different types but they're going to play similar positions," Roos said on during the week.

Neville Jetta replaces Jimmy Toumpas (omitted) and will be relied upon to stop one of a few important opposition goal sneaks.

Port Adelaide didn't get to the top of the table without reason and, as Roos pointed out, the "strength of Port is their evenness ... they don't have too many weaknesses."

He will need to be able to identify and exploit any weaknesses this team might have if the Demons can proceed on their slow march forward. Port has lost Cassisi, Monfries and Hartlett but although this will help the Melbourne cause, it remains the outsiders to win. However, I expect that it's going to be another tight affair and, in those circumstances, anything can happen.