TIMING IS EVERYTHING

by Westender

The say timing is everything and if that is truly the case then the timing of Melbourne's only trip to the City of Churches for 2007 is diabolical to say the least.

The Demons haven't won a game in Adelaide since April 2001 when Andrew Leoncelli famously grabbed the ball from a boundary line tap from David Schwarz to score a goal in the final 30 seconds to bury the Crows. Their last victory over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium (or Football Park as it was then called) came a year earlier in 2000.

Even when the Melbourne team is riding high, luck always eludes it here in Adelaide. I remember making the journey to West Lakes in the week when Neil Craig took over as the senior coach of the Crows as caretaker from the sacked Gary Ayres at a time when Melbourne was in raging hot form and they were thumped by 12 goals in one of the upsets of the season. The Dees regained their composure after that and won their next five games on end to grab top position on the AFL ladder before returning to the scene of the crime to play Port Adelaide for Round 19 of 2004.

The result?

Yes, you guessed it!

Another 12 goal shellacking and the beginning of a devastating slide that saw the team miss out on the top four and then drop out of contention in the first week of the finals.

Things haven't been much different since then. Whenever the Demons have hopped onto a flight to Adelaide it's been disastersville. We all remember the final home and away round last year when they took on the injury devastated and out-of-form Crows. I do because I thought that this time, Melbourne could not possibly lose and I turned up early for the feast.

D'oh!

But if the timing of Melbourne's trips to South Australia has been ordinary in the past then just think about the timing of this weekend's journey.

Port Adelaide's form has been up and down and then up again this season. The Power had a good start to the season but by the time they played the Demons in Round 6 they were on a bit of decline. Fortunately for them however, the umpires in that game were a bit off in their timing vis a vis David Neitz and his opponent Darryl Wakelin. Every time Wakelin put his hands on Neita's back, the umpires apparently looked the other way but when the Dees' skipper returned the favour with the gentlest of zephyr of a glance in the Power defender's back, their timing was perfect and they were watching clsoely. Watching and blowing the whistle to overrule Aaron Davey's kick and what would have been the winning goal was annulled from the record books. That's what I call timing!

After that, Port nosedived from first to tenth and, as if to demonstrate how bad they were at their lowest point, they lost to Carlton at the Telstra Dome. You can't get any worse than that!

However, in the five weeks since the start of the split round, the Power has been on fire. By way of contrast, Melbourne is scraping rock bottom. Its performances in the past two weeks have been so poor and so lacking in spirit that supporters are turning off in their droves. Take away newcomer Michael Newton's hanger and the good form of youngsters Nathan Jones and Simon Buckley against the Kangaroos and there has been little to get excited about of late where the Demons are concerned.

So it's not a good time to come up against a team that is developing momentum and rocketing towards a top four finish. No side has kicked more goals since that split round than Port Adelaide. Its goal average in that time has been a tad under 20 a game - an aggregate of 16 ahead of its next rival Fremantle and 24 better than Geelong. Over the past three months the Power's average points for has been 140 points compared to Melbourne's 89.

If the Demons struggled when they come to Adelaide in good times then I'm afraid it can only spell doom and gloom when they come here in their current state.

As I said before, the timing is diabolical.

THE GAME

Port Adelaide v Melbourne at AAMI Stadium Sunday 29 July 2007 at 4.40pm AEST

HEAD TO HEAD

Overall Port Adelaide 8 wins Melbourne 8 wins

At AAMI Stadium Port Adelaide 7 wins Melbourne 2 wins

Since 2000 Port Adelaide 6 wins Melbourne 5 wins

The Coaches Williams 0 wins Riley 0 wins

MEDIA

TV Fox Sports 1 - live at 4.30pm

RADIO 774ABC SEN

THE BETTING Melbourne to win $1.09 Port Adelaide to win $6.50

LAST TIME THEY MET Port Adelaide 10.16.76 defeated Melbourne 9.17.71 Round 6 2007 at MCG

The gritty Demons were always thereabouts and looked likely winners early in the final quarter but they were unable to deliver the decisive blow that would have given them the game. The Power managed to do that through a magnificent goal from Daniel Motlop who hasn't looked back since then while Melbourne's Aaron Davey was stiff to have his shot at goal disallowed, C'est la vie!

TEAMS

PORT ADELAIDE

Backs Michael Pettigrew Toby Thurstans Jacob Surjan

Half backs Michael Wilson Troy Chaplin Peter Burgoyne

Centreline Kane Cornes Shaun Burgoyne Nathan Lonie

Half forwards Danyle Pearce Warren Tredrea David Rodan

Forwards Daniel Motlop Justin Westhoff Brett Ebert

Followers Brendon Lade Chad Cornes Domenic Cassisi

Interchange Travis Boak Dean Brogan Alipate Carlile Nathan Krakouer

Emergencies Nick Lower Adam Thomson Brad Symes

In Nathan Krakouer

Out Robert Gray (calf)

MELBOURNE

Backs Ben Holland Ryan Ferguson James Frawley

Half backs Daniel Bell Brad Miller Cameron Bruce

Centreline Brad Green James McDonald Paul Wheatley

Half forwards Nathan Brown Russell Robertson Simon Godfrey

Forwards Colin Sylvia David Neitz Matthew Bate

Followers Jeff White Brock McLean Nathan Jones

Interchange Simon Buckley Brent Moloney Michael Newton Daniel Ward

Emergencies Lynden Dunn Colin Garland Mark Jamar

In Daniel Bell Cameron Bruce Ryan Ferguson Ben Holland

Out Clint Bizzell Nathan Carroll Chris Johnson Paul Johnson (all omitted)

Umpires: Kennedy Sully Fila

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO!

I've been scratching my head all week trying to think of what I could say about this game to throw some light on how the Demons might be able to avert a full blown disaster in this game.

One way would be not to turn up at all. Someone could place a call to Andrew Demetrious and just tell him that rather than be accused of tanking the game, the club would prefer to do something more productive with its time - like stay in Melbourne and watch the grass grown on their lawns. Let them hire a circus act to perform at AAMI Stadium and that would have greater entertainment value for the Port Adelaide punters and those expatriates like me than a repeat of Melbourne's displays against the Kangaroos and Brisbane.

The idea makes good sense but I have a feeling that Andy isn't going to buy it so the Dees will indeed front at the Stadium with 22 players.

Fortunately, they have a couple of good ones back from injury and have also made good on their promise to experiment and try something different. In fact, the team selection is indicative of how Sunday's adversaries have been faring this season.

The omission from the Demon side of Nathan Carroll leaves the team with only two players to have taken part in all 17 games of the season - James McDonald and Jeff White. On Sunday, more than half of the Port Adelaide side will be in that category. It's little wonder therefore that they are currently entertaining crowds and playing exciting footy. When your team is stable and sticks together week by week, you can do these things.

This week Melbourne gets Daniel Bell and Cameron Bruce back after a few weeks off with hamstring injuries. Hopefully, they will not be as rusty as David Neitz and Brad Green were in their comeback games last week. The team has also revamped its defence with the inclusion of Ryan Ferguson and Ben Holland. Mark Jamar comes in as second ruckman to Jeff White.

The inclusions themselves are timely because we all know that the key to Port's success has been a winning midfield and a potent, multi-pronged attack. They have a lot of players kicking goals from Brett Ebert to Daniel Motlop, Warren Tredrea, David Rodan and Justin Westhoff while the Burgoynes' and Cornes' are also good for some goals here and there.

Whichever way I look at this game therefore, I can't see this Melbourne team doing any better than the ones that went before it - Port Adelaide by (check out my timing here) ten ...

goals.