We hear it every year – AFL clubs that have had a tough preseason, certain players are flying and the teams are ready for a big year.
We get drawn into believing it, and these comments help pick our fantasy teams and create hope for the new year.
But do we really believe it? I guess it depends on who says it. What about when Travis Boak says it?
Port Adelaide start the 2015 preseason with expectation, and with expectation comes hard-work.
Ken Hinkley knows the football community expects results in 2015, he won’t admit it but he knows that anything less than a preliminary final will be seen as a failure. So when Travis Boak says in Dubai that the running he’s doing is the hardest he’s ever done, you believe it.
Make no mistake, this year is Port Adelaide’s most important year since the David Koch-KeithThomas inception. When Thomas took the reigns in 2012, he and David Koch devised a three-year plan – to make Port Adelaide a profitable football club by 2015.
The on-field success has been building, but the off-field success is yet to be seen. Next year Port supporters expect the football club to be back in the black.
Expectation is something Port Adelaide hasn’t had to deal with since 2008. They’ve been a shambles as a football club in the past, but they’re not now. They walk into the 2015 season with the weight of expectation firmly placed on their shoulders.
Port transformed the AFL landscape in 2014 with their game day experience, their fitness levels and their supporter interaction. They’ve become the benchmark for any team who want to get back to the top quickly.
How they deal with the expectation will define their season, most see the recruitment of Paddy Ryder as the missing link in their premiership tilt, and although the Power will never admit it they believe it to.
While the word expectation will be used sparingly by the football club, as by definition it refers to the future, the word consolidation though, will be heard excessively. Port Adelaide believes they’re where they need to be as a football team, they just need to stay there and consolidate.
Except it’s hard to believe it’s all about consolidation when Travis Boak says in Dubai it’s the hardest running he’s ever done. That’s called expectation and Port Adelaide will be covered in it next year.
Balthazar
Guest
No, I think a tougher draw because Port has quite a few 6 day breaks and weird spacings (some quite long) and because of the strong teams Port play twice, not specifically about playing Freo in the first round. As you say, maybe the other teams should be worried about playing Port twice. But Hawks, Sydney and Fremantle are pretty seasoned campaigners
andyl12
Guest
How about you give us your opinion Mr Gooch? Oh sorry I forgot, you don't have any!
Nevertheprideof
Guest
Excellent observation Ryman! The end of round 5 is now marked in my 2015 calendar. Those 2014 losses had been conveniently forgotten by myself (at least). There's a zillion permutations possible in an AFL season of course, and that's why we love our game, but for a reasonably early indication of Port's progress (or lack of), I see no better marker than what you have presented. This fan would be grinning with five and content with four. There are no other numbers...
Bob Gooch
Guest
Good on ya Andy, what great expertise you have, monumental vision
Radelaide
Guest
"Chattering classes" :) that's funny, everyone says we have a much harder draw because we have Freo at home rd1. Personally the teams with the hardest draw are the one's who have to play us twice.
Ryman White
Editor
And it shouldn't take too long to see if they are truly up for a tilt or not! Starting off against five teams they lost to in 2014 - Freo, Sydney, North, Hawthorn and the Crows - means we'll know by Round 6. Question is, how many wins should fans be happy with after those five games?
Gyfox
Guest
"But do we really believe it?" From the Port Adel club song...."true believers, one & all" :-)
Balthazar
Guest
Why would there be pressure on Freo? It seems to me they've been pretty much dismissed already as too old by the chattering classes. I think you're wrong about the lack of pressure on Port. Other teams will have examined their game plan a lot more closely over the off-season and will have a much better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of Hinkley's style. They will also face a much harder draw. Not sure about how Sydney will react to 2014. Defeats of that magnitude are hard to recover from but there's no doubting the amount of talent in their team. I expect that 2015 may prove to be a much more even competition than previous years, There won't be so many assumptions about easy wins - I can see GWS the Saints and Demons all consolidating and the Dogs have already started that process, having some really good young players to build their team around.
Leigh Devlin
Roar Rookie
It's a fair point regarding sponsorship, apparently KT will be announcing another sponsor in coming weeks as well. It's true about the AO deal being flawed but I guess we'll know more when Fagan and Thomas announce the results from the review this week. Either way, I doubt Port Adelaide would be claiming some kind of success from increased sponsorship and membership numbers, yes they're on the road, but they're not there yet. This year will determine the success of the club and the success of the Koch/Thomas 3 year plan
andyl12
Guest
I'm a Hawthorn fan and I think Port Adelaide are our biggest threat in 2015. While there is expectation there isn't excessive pressure like there will be on Sydney and Fremantle, and that will allow them to carry on with the game plan that's served them so well thus far. There is always a weak link at any club and there is always the possibility of injury striking (such as Port's July 2014 slump which was caused by injuries to key defenders), but all in all they have a good list, a good on-field setup and are in the right mood.
Kevin Martin
Guest
Off field success yet to be seen ... ummm...no Renault and EssentialEnergy are now our major sponsors ... OAK just jumped on as a premier partner. AO deal was flawed otherwise 2014 would have been profitable. The rest of your article is ok