Was Primus the right choice for Port Adelaide?

Last year on the way to watch my beloved Port Adelaide play Collingwood at AAMI Stadium, I overheard a conversation about our coach Matthew Primus.

“I would just love to see him lift that cup aloft because he never got the chance to do it as a player”.

The lady was talking about how he was going to take us back to the promised land. Having cruelly been injured in 2004 and missing out on the clubs’ premiership, it would be a great sporting moment.

I immediately got choked up thinking about this.

I’m an extremely emotional Port Adelaide fan. My mood for the week generally depends on the performance from the weekend. So recently, I haven’t been wearing the biggest grin in the office on a Monday morning.

Matty was a giant in more ways than one. An absolute leader on the field, a captain’s captain, he epitomised everything I love about my footy club. When he took over from Mark Williams towards the end of the 2010 season, the club was in turmoil. He managed to instil some belief in the playing group and scrape together some wins to round out the season, and it seemed like he could be the man for the job on a full time basis.

When the interview process began, I still wanted someone with a fresh outlook to get a crack at the top job. The club had a lot of work to do to get back to the top and having someone who, as much of a club legend as he is, was an assistant under the old failed regime, wasn’t going to be the right move in my opinion.

Primus got the job and I was happy for the man despite my doubts. Even after a truly disastrous three win, soul destroying 2011 season, I had faith that 2012 would turn it around. There was an air of excitement among many supporters after a very positive preseason. The club was going to be competitive and turn things around on the field.

Round one came along and despite me still growing back finger nails from that Sunday, we survived with a four point win against St Kilda.

The scenes on the bench when the players embraced Primus after the siren showed just how much hard work had gone into that game and how much it meant to him. When I left the ground that day I thought we were back. Not this season, maybe not even next, but in a few years this young group would take us places.

Fast forward five weeks and it’s a case of one step forward, two steps back. That’s coming from an optimistic fan too, a more likely comparison would be about five steps back.

The loss to Richmond last week, and the weak effort served up at Patterson’s stadium on Sunday show that not only are the players devoid of any on-field leadership, but the brains trust are clueless.

There is no direction and a game plan which is baffling to most supporters. The one aspect of our game which is so damning is our lack of urgency in regards to ball movement. From round two onwards we have looked lost when moving the ball forward from defence. The Richmond game was a prime example where the players literally didn’t know what to do when they received the ball.

A cute 15 metre chip to a pocket, followed by hesitation on where to move it, then finally a bomb to a contest where the opposition have 2-3 extra bodies waiting to mark and move the ball on. Our ability to hit up the oppositions unmarked ruckman week in week out is becoming laughable.

This is caused by a lack of run from the back, but most importantly, a lack of work rate. Our players don’t seem to run anywhere near as hard as the opposition, and when that is allowed to happen time and time again it sets a very low standard for the footy club and creates a bad culture which can ruin a club for years.

Some say this is all Primus’ fault, others blame the playing group or the recruiting of recent seasons. In stark contrast, over at West Lakes, Brenton Sanderson has revitalised the Adelaide Crows playing list to the point where top four isn’t out of the question, and finals are almost a certainty.

The difference in coaching approaches between the two is staggering from my point of view. Sanderson has given his young players the freedom to take on the big roles and they are reaping the benefits. Patrick Dangerfield is finally looking the type of player that he’s been hyped up to be. Rory Sloane is looming to be a great for the club, his tough in and under contested style a joy to watch, and Taylor Walker finally looks like he’s enjoying himself.

That’s not to mention Sam Jacobs dominating in the ruck, Scott Thompson looking in career best form, the emergence of Jared Petrenko and the complete transformation of the much maligned Brent Reilly. Sanderson is watching his young players grow each game by giving them big challenges and instilling in them a confidence to run and carry the ball and take the game on.

At the end of the day, they seem to be happy and enjoying their footy. How can a coach like Sanderson be interviewed for the Port Adelaide job, and not get it? That’s the question most supporters are wondering now.

The usual rumblings are that Primus was a cheaper option. I can’t imagine Sanderson would have commanded a massive contract, given it would be his first senior coaching gig. He comes from a club that I have enormous respect for in Geelong and he would have instilled a similarly strong club culture into the current playing group. I would love to know how Travis Boak, Hamish Hartlett and Danyle Pearce would be playing under Sanderson, instead of Primus.

It’s a long season and who knows what’s in store for both these clubs. Before too long, clubs will put a stop on Reilly being loose in defence and put more attention into Dangerfield and Sloane. How Sanderson responds to this will be interesting, given Neil Craig’s shortcomings as a match day coach were largely his inability to react to changes quickly. Time will tell how that will play it out, but at the moment Sanderson looks to be the real deal and Primus looks like a man who could be out of a job before too long.