SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL by Whispering Jack

Since time immemorial, pre season practice matches, be they the intraclub variety or contests between clubs played for trophies or otherwise, have always needed to be looked at with a dose of skepticism. Coaches and clubs use these games for different purposes, teams are often of different strength and there's plenty of experimentation. I will not therefore allow myself to get too carried away with Melbourne's big second half effort to defeat Port Adelaide 0.15.5.95 to 1.10.7.76 in its opening NAB Challenge match of 2016.

By the same token there were some excellent signs from the team that missed the bulk of the older, more experienced heads of its list that give cause for some optimism for the year ahead.

We know that Paul Roos historically is known to place very little store on winning these pre season games but his stand in Simon Goodwin was a bit of an unknown on that score. After his charges started slowly and hesitantly on the large sized Playford Alive Oval in Elizabeth SA, they regrouped in the second term and ran over the top of what was a close to full strength Port Adelaide team in the last half.

The turnaround was huge. For years, the Demons have been unable to mount come from behind victories. Nor have they been able to master the type of grounds where there's extra space and greater distance to goal. It requires the ability to get the contested ball in the first instance and fitness and hard running on the outside to bring the ball into the forward line quickly and decisively.

The dominance of big Maxy Gawn in the ruck (42 hitouts, mainly in the first three quarters because he sat out most of the last) gave Jack Viney who had 16 contested possessions in a game high 28, Dom Tyson, Aaron vandenBerg  and recruit Clayton Oliver an armchair ride at the stoppages. They got the ball out to the likes of Jack Watts, Matt Jones and hard nosed newcomers Tomas Bugg from the Giants and Ben Kennedy from Collingwood and if they didn't score, their work was usually finished off by the likes of Jeff Garlett, Dean Kent and James Harmes. Collectively, they stunned the crowd of just under 5,000 and the many more viewers of Foxtel and a few here and there who watched on pirated broadcasts.

Port Adelaide clearly planned their defensive game on shutting down Jesse Hogan and they achieved that by double and triple teaming him (at times with questionable methods). In the past when Melbourne had few dangerous options up forward, that tactic might have worked. The fact that the Demons are developing a good array of attacking weapons saw them to victory in this instance. And we know that there's plenty more to come.

Melbourne's defense was tidy after the poor start. In the opening stanza they were far too loose but, led well by Tom McDonald, Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn and Neville Jetta, they tightened up and ultimately strangled the opposition keeping it scoreless in the the third quarter. When was the last time Melbourne did that in any game?

The loss of Angus Brayshaw in the opening piece of play followed immediately by a hard hit on Tyson which saw him momentarily dazed followed by three goals (one of the super variety) to the home state side spelled doom and disaster. Demon fans of the fisted forever school were already foretelling that world was at an end - Armageddon had arrived ten minutes into the season. It was good then to come out with the non-existent four points and a medical report on Brayshaw that suggested a low level medial ligament injury that might see him back by round one of the real thing.

There is of course a lot to work on - Hogan's key forward partner is more likely Cam Pedersen than Sam Frost at this stage. I would like to see the club give one of its tall forwards in waiting (Sam Weideman or Liam Hulett) a cameo run next week. Perhaps some fine tuning with the midfield mix and the second ruck - these games are practice matches after all and we can't get carried away - yet.

Melbourne 0.2.2.14 0.4.3.27 0.10.5.65 0.15.5.95

Port Adelaide 1.3.3.30 1.6.5.50 1.6.5.50 1.10.7.76

Goals

Melbourne Garlett 3 Kent  Pedersen vandenBerg 2 Harmes Hogan Kennedy M Jones Salem Tyson

Port Adelaide Boak Westhoff 3 R Gray Schulz White Young

Best

Melbourne Gawn Viney Watts vandenBerg Garlett Grimes Tyson

Port Adelaide R Gray Boak Toumpas Pittard S Gray Broadbent

Injuries

Melbourne Brayshaw (left knee)

Port Adelaide Nil

Umpires Chris Donlon Jacob Mollison Craig Fleer Nick Brown

Crowd 4,981 at Playford Alive Oval