MATCH REPORT - Round 21

A STORM IN THE PORT by George on the Outer

It is a wind that is building around the Demons as season 2016 draws to a close and this time it was Port Adelaide that bore the brunt of the whirlwind that blew through their slim finals hopes.

An eight goal unanswered streak by Melbourne in the first and second quarters put paid to any hope that Port had of a win, especially when one of their golden lights in Chad Wingard, left the ground with a hamstring injury.  

That only served to highlight the fragility of Port who for too long have depended on a couple of individual performances to get them over the line.

It was in sharp contrast to the complete team effort of the Demons that has been carefully cultivated under Paul Roos.  In years gone by it was easy to control the outcome for opposition sides.  Just sit on Nathan Jones and one or two others and the game result was a foregone conclusion.

That is not the case now as the Demon mid-field just oozes a whole battery of talent, and Jones has the backup from Jack Viney, Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw with the irrepressible Max Gawn completely dominating ruck contests, and feeding these mids countless opportunities from his 46 taps in this game.

Oliver is simply going to be something truly special next year when he gets a decent pre-season into his 19 year old body.  His vision in tight situations and toughness around the ball are something to behold.  That he is assisted by another couple of 20 year old beasts in Petracca and Brayshaw means opposition teams will have trouble matching all of them, as Port did in this game.

But it is not just in the middle, that the change has been occurring, as the backline has been bolstered by the youth of Sam Frost, Oscar McDonald and  Jayden Hunt who earlier this year were doubtful of getting many  more than games in the season or were otherwise slated for other roles.  

It is now easy to see why old stagers like Jack Grimes, Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland can’t get a run in the seniors, as this young group provide consistent line breaking opportunities. 

That is the way that football is played today, and it is essential to be able to run through the opposition defence and provide attacking moves. With Hunt and Frost able to gain meterage by run and carry their skills open up opportunities.  Even O.Mac is finding his feet with 23 touches and some telling marks. Bernie Vince and T.Mac are now the lynch pins and final line of defence, and both contribute to that attacking style. 

The old mark and kick style is not how to win games any longer. 

Up forward Jesse Hogan had little impact on the game and may well have carried an injury into the game. He certainly wasn’t moving freely before his collision with the goal post last week, and it didn’t look all that different this week.  

However, Cam Pedersen provided much, much more as a big target and brought the ball to ground and competed in the air and dished off to the runners going past.  He has almost certainly ensured his place at the club next year, as he is providing more output that we have seen from Chris Dawes in his past games. Jack Watts in what seems to be his trademark today, slotted a momentum changing goal, just when it was needed most.  

Jeff Garlett, despite a couple of goals, simply needs to produce more in a game than he currently does, as the likes of JKH start knocking at the door. One mark and one tackle for a small forward is simply not sufficient, and he needs to start doing the simple things in a game, rather than trying for the spectacular all the time. 

It was 16 years ago that Melbourne last beat Port in Adelaide, it was the clubs first run of three successive wins since 2006 and the ignoble records that Melbourne have amassed in the past ten years continue to fall. 

Importantly, this game showed the complete change in attitude that Paul Roos has instilled.  Port fought back to within 20 odd points in the final quarter, and in years gone by, a Melbourne side would have capitulated and then rued another loss that shouldn’t have happened.  

Not this team today, they simply drew breath, stuck with their plan and style and walked away with a near seven goal win.  

The supporters were and are all too familiar with that scenario.  It may take some time for them to get accustomed to a team that now knows how to win.

Those same supporters have felt the winds of change that have been blowing through the MFC since the arrival of Peter Jackson, Roos and his team.

The zephyr that started has now built into gale force proportions, as the club has now won as many games as it has lost in 2016, and will produce its best season outcome for 10 years. 

With two more games left in the season,it could build to the hurricane that will clear all before them in the coming year.  

Melbourne 4.3.27 8.5.53 9.9.63 13.16.94

Port Adelaide 1.2.8 2.4.16 6.5.41 8.6.54

Goals 

Melbourne Brayshaw Bugg Garlett 2, Frost N Jones Kent Oliver Tyson Vince Watts

Port Adelaide Polec Young 2 S Gray Krakouer Wines Wingard

Best 

Melbourne Tyson Vince Gawn Oliver Hunt O McDonald

Port Adelaide S Gray Polec R Gray Pittard Wines

Changes 

Melbourne Nil 

Port Adelaide Nil 

Injuries

Melbourne Nil 

Port Adelaide Wingard (hamstring)

Reports

Melbourne Nil 

Port Adelaide Nil 

Umpires Bannister, Chamberlain, Mollison

Official crowd 33,426 at Adelaide Oval