The jubilation on the coach’s face as he danced a celebratory jig by the playing bench after the final siren sounded to record his team’s four-point victory over the Demons when the teams last met, said it all.
On that rainy Friday night at the Adelaide Oval, Ken Hinkley’s young midfield secured much more than four points on offer. The victory over one of the big dogs of the competition after a succession of wins over some of its lesser lights gave his team respect and validation for their 2023 premiership campaign.
Saturday’s rematch promises much the same for the winning team — respect and validation for that which lies ahead. We know such things mean very little at this early stage of the year but the confidence and momentum gained can make a difference as a season unfolds.
Melbourne’s quest to achieve validation after a turbulent summer that left its list short by two primary list players was made even more difficult by the end of Round 2 with two All Australian key position defenders under an injury cloud. Steven May was in hospital with two broken ribs and a small transverse process fracture while Jake Lever was sitting on the bench wearing a tracksuit top on the bench, nursing a sore knee that turned out to be not as bad as first thought. But the injury list is long and a five day break before the Gather Round clash against the Crows will test the club’s depth.
You can take it straight from the coach’s mouth that the possible absence of the two keys on top of the Bowey injury from Round Zero isn’t the end of the world. The coach, Simon Goodwin, spoke immediately after the Hawthorn game and maintained that he has plenty of material necessary to cover the loss of players:
“I thought Harrison Petty, Tom McDonald, and Marty Hore did a great job down back for us.
“We’ve got guys that can play those roles. Clearly Harrison’s done it previously. We’ve got some other guys, Adam Tomlinson will play tomorrow in the VFL.”
(Tomlinson worked hard under adversity for Casey and did well enough to be considered if required).
“So, we’ve got some options in that space which is pleasing, so we’ll assess that during the week.”
And while the issue of depth (especially in the big man department) will be crucial against Port Adelaide, I think it could be a double-edged sword for the home team on a hot Autumn night. They have key forwards Dixon, Finlayson and Marshall, at one end with tall defenders in Aliir, Ratugolea and Zerk-Thatcher. They have plenty of height, but their issue might be one of having to handle the Demon small brigade, particularly if the Melbourne midfield gains the initiative.
The engine room will, as usual, be the place where the game will ultimately be won and this is where things get interesting. Melbourne’s ace is Max Gawn who should beat Ivan Soldo even if the Demon skipper is subjected to the usual roughhouse tactics that are emblematic of Port’s routine strategy against him. Problem with that is the umpiring fraternity is onto this and paying greater attention to such an approach these days.
Then there are the midfield pieces on both the inside and outside. Melbourne has the advantage of the bulls in Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Tom Sparrow and (congratulations to 200 gamer) Jack Viney with occasional appearances from Kozzie Pickett, Christian Salem, Trent Rivers and the peripatetic Alex Neal-Bullen and, on the outside, Ed Langdon, Caleb Windsor and Jack Billings adding class.
Port’s equivalent is led by Butters who took the game by the throat last year to bring home the bacon for a rampant Port Adelaide assisted by Rozee and Horne-Francis (who has a hamstring injury and in doubt to play). They also have Brownlow Medallist Wines, Drew, Farrell, Houston and the evergreen Boak. In the final analysis, I put the Demon engine room ahead by a small margin, perhaps one per cent.
There are a few other one percenters that should work in Melbourne’s favour. Despite last year’s Gather Round fiasco and the loss to Port Adelaide in Round 10, both can be considered as outliers because of the conditions in which they were played. Otherwise, the Demons have a good record at the Adelaide Oval including a strong finals win over the Lions in the club’s premiership year.
The club is treating the next week or so with far more thought for the playing group than it did last year. Sticking around the City of Churches for an extended period will galvanize the group, and partially offset home ground advantage. And the bottom line is that the Demons not only have the depth, but they have an extra charge in terms of greater all-round flexibility. This will be a major factor in a game where whoever is available, you must play well enough on the day to beat your opponent in your next game.
And beat them is what Melbourne will do. By 27 points.
THE GAME
Port Adelaide v Melbourne on Saturday 30 March 2024 at 7.30pm at Adelaide Oval.
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall Port Adelaide 22 wins Melbourne 16 wins
At Adelaide Oval Port Adelaide 4 wins Melbourne 3 wins
Past five meetings Port Adelaide 2 win, Melbourne 3 wins
The Coaches Hinkley 4 wins Goodwin 4 wins
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Port Adelaide 11.14.80 defeated Melbourne 11.10.76 in Round 10, 2023 at Adelaide Oval
The game was a slog in wet conditions. Port dominated early but the Demons came back strongly to lead by 17 points only seconds before the final break. The game that was there to be won was to be prelude to Melbourne’s end of season issues. Clayton Oliver’s hamstring pinged in its frenetic latter stages. Lachie Hunter’s backside collision with Connor Rozee led to his suspension and a Port Adelaide goal. This happened late in the third term just after a controversial umpiring decision against Tom McDonald (his opponent was suspended in the aftermath) - potentially caused a twelve point turnaround. The home side took the initiative and a late goal sealed the deal for them.
All things considered, the four premiership points would have seen Melbourne finish with a home qualifying final against Brisbane rather than Collingwood, perhaps a better outcome given the way things panned out for them.
THE TEAMS
PORT ADELAIDE
B R. Burton, E. Ratugolea, B. Zerk-Thatcher
HB L. Jones, A. Allir, D. Houston
C M. Bergman, W. Drew, T. Boak
HF D. Byrne-Jones, T. Marshall, C. Rozee
F J. Finlayson, C. Dixon, W. Rioli
FOLL I. Soldo, O. Wines, Z. Butters
I/C F. Evans, K. Farrell, J. McEntee, J. Mead
SUB J. Burgoyne
EMG T. Clurey T. McKenzie, D. Visentini,
IN J. McEntee
OUT D. Williams (omitted)
MELBOURNE
B J. McVee, J. Lever, B. Howes
HB T. Rivers, T. McDonald, C. Salem
C E. Langdon, C. Petracca, C. Windsor
HF T. Sparrow, B. Fritsch, K. Pickett
F A. Neal-Bullen, J. Van Rooyen, K. Chandler
FOLL M. Gawn, J. Viney, C. Oliver
I/C J. Billings, B. Brown, M. Hore, H. Petty SUB T. Woewodin
EMG T. Fullarton B. Laurie, A. Tomlinson
IN T. Woewodin
OUT S. May (ribs)
Injury List: Round 3
Jake Lever — knee/ Test
Clayton Oliver — hand/ Test
Ollie Sestan — concussion/ Test
Lachie Hunter — calf/ 1 week
Steven May — ribs/ 1 week
Daniel Turner — hip/ 2 - 3 weeks
Charlie Spargo — Achilles/ 2 - 4 weeks
Shane McAdam — hamstring/ 3 - 5 weeks
Jake Bowey — shoulder/ 7 weeks
Jake Melksham — knee/ 12 - 14 weeks
