A strange comparison came to mind while watching Port Adelaide beat the Gold Coast Suns. The Power are the North Korea of the AFL.
Over the last couple of years people have been pointing and laughing, preferring to highlight the friendly neighbours to the south.
Most of the AFL world is unable to comprehend the supporters’ loyalty to a broken club.
All of a sudden there is a new leader. He has been sitting quietly on some weapons and now people are shifting uneasily and eyeing this threat with trepidation.
Port Adelaide will go to Coast to Coast this week. After dispatching the Gold variety they will host the Eagles from the West next weekend at Football Park.
The build up for Port fans starts now. They will be second-guessing the performance of the Power. Yet again they have beaten a team that will be at the bottom of the ladder come September.
The critics will say that it’s nothing to get excited about.
However the Port Adelaide that beat the Gold Coast is a good team.
They are fit, they are committed and they are ruining tipping competitions everywhere. Fitness coach Darren Burgess is rightly taking a lot of the plaudits for the improvement in the fortunes of Port Adelaide.
He left the Power in 2007 and went on to assist The Socceroos and Liverpool FC before returning to Alberton this year.
With a significant number of off-season surgeries and a team that famously couldn’t play four quarter footy, he had a big task.
He seems to have fixed the players, who now look fit enough to play for five quarters. He also suggested that the players had an ‘easy’ pre-season and promised to go harder in 2014.
The first quarter at Metricon Stadium was a tight affair with both teams working hard and the scores close. Gary Ablett looked like the loss of a hand affected him as much as it did Luke Skywalker.
Going into the first break Port Adelaide trailed by seven points. However in the second quarter the returning Dom Cassisi moved onto Ablett and limited him to two possessions for the term, Port Adelaide kicked nine goals and never looked back.
Gold Coast rallied in the final term but the contest was essentially over by the major break. Port played for all four quarters and controlled the game.
Gary Ablett Jr showed why he is the best player of our generation racking up 35 possessions despite essentially spectating in the second term and playing with one hand.
Justin Westhoff showed consistency kicking three goals, leading the way in marks, contested marks, and marks inside 50.
The return of Robbie Gray was uneventful and Dom Cassisi was his usual workman-like self, doing the dirty work, setting up the midfield and the fearsome run from behind which allowed Jay Shulz to kick 4.1.
When your key forwards kick 7.4 between them, with a helping hand from goal kicking midfielders, people have to take notice.
The resurgence of the players that promised so much and gave so little over the last few seasons, must feel like a first meal to the Alberton faithful, after starving for nearly six years.
There are no injuries to write home about, so The coaching group and Darren Burgess can concentrate on getting his men ready for next weekend.
Port goes into next weekend unblemished after an accomplished and controlled display in Queensland. Ken Hinckley has his finger hovering over the big red button and his weapons are ready to fire.
The rest of the AFL is hoping that like North Korea, the missiles are dud.
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