Well, well, well Port Adelaide – it’s best not to believe the hype, they have been thrashed by 70 points at Etihad Stadium by Essendon on Saturday night.
Essendon were brilliant from early in the first quarter, kicking seven goals with little in reply.
They ran the ball off of the half back line with ease. Cale Hooker got the Essendon forward line off to a massive start taking some great contested marks and kicking five goals for the night.
Joe Daniher and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti also kicked four goals apiece with an even performance across the board from the Bombers forwards.
As brilliant as Essendon were, it has to be said, the Power were in incredibly poor form. Every time they managed to get possession of the ball they seemed to make a terrible decision, with Essendon scoring over the vast majority of points from turnovers.
It’s genuinely hard to pick a positive here from Port, the performance was truly pitiful.
A series of behinds to save some percentage in the last quarter really said it all, with stars Robbie Gary and Ollie Wines not in the game at all.
As a consequence they find themselves losing 14 percentage points and looking absolutely nothing like top four material.
The only positive to take from this is that most of the great sides in the competition this year have had a few awful weeks – let’s hope this is the case for the Power, or maybe they are just pretenders rather than contenders after all.
Essendon jump from 12th to 6th off of the back of that win. It’s a horrendous cliche, but everyone in the side really contributed this evening.
In addition to the forwards, a special mention should go to Zach Merrett for his 39 touches, Heppell for his 34 and Watson for his 29.
They were truly untouchable tonight and as a footy fan, after everything this club has been through it was absolutely sensational to watch. Perhaps a fantasy 2017 performance isn’t off the agenda just yet.
Essendon head into a bye next week, while the Power will have a lot to prove to a voracious Adelaide media who have absolutely nothing better to talk about but will be hoping to make amends against the Lions at home next week.
Final score
Essendon Bombers 19.17.131
Port Adelaide Power 8.13.61
Brendon the 1st
Guest
+1 to all of this
Sammy
Guest
Roger. Do you still stand by your thoughts on GWS after they lost to carlton?
Pelican
Guest
Picking an upset win this year is nothing special. You didn't pick Carlton. I suppose GWS are pretenders too. The Cats lost to the Bombers and Suns are they dishonest. What about the Crows loosing at home against the Dees. Kaniel your arguments can be applied to any team who looses a game. Get some perspective. Most of your posts are school yard taunts that make you look like a school playground bully. This is an opinion site and you are entitled to yours but you would get more traction if you put forward an adult argument and supported it with reason. Or keep on trolling who cares. Few people who have played footy hold such hatred for opposition. Have a nice day Kaniel.
Cat
Roar Guru
Carlton just proved anyone can win against anyone else. There are no givens. If GWS want it they'll have to earn it like everyone else.
Pelican
Guest
The competition is so even I can't even imagine what upsets are coming. If a teams collective head is not in the right space on the day they are gone. Essendon were switched on Port were not. I would put Port in a similar place as the Tigers and Essendon. They have developed their physical game but tactically are not quite at the level of the teams currently top three. They are improved this year and are still a very young side. In 2014 Port were riding on youthful exuberance and a bit of luck winning the close ones. 2015 and 2016 were a reality check but they learnt skills and got bigger. The first half of this season they have shown this and sit on the ladder about where you would expect for a team in their stage of developement. Call them what you like but they are not going to go away and will probably make finals this year. Well done to Essendon last night they were terrific. Even Goddard. Pretzels for everyone.
Rick
Guest
In 2012 West Coast finished 5th, so I guess beating up on weaker sides means any team below them. This year out of the 7 teams above them they've played 5 and beaten last years premier and a slog against Port in Adelaide. Also beat Sydney off a 5 day break after playing in Melbourne. Try and view things with a little less negativity and vitriol.
Cat
Roar Guru
Gonna be a lot more 'surprise' results before this season is over.
Pelican
Guest
'You' don't get to choose who plays finals. As Cat said earlier, anyone can loose to any other team this year. Chaos rules not order and we are only half way.
Brendon the 1st
Guest
Dude, you need some positive influences in your life, I've yet to see you post anything remotely positive on this site.
Cat
Roar Guru
Except this time they got beat up by a lesser side
hal
Guest
+1
Asd
Guest
It's obvious Essendon are underestimated.
Rissole
Guest
Good point. By many years ago I was thinking around 2012/13. This current West Coast team doesn't even beat up on the mediocre anymore.
Crowbot
Guest
Rissole, don't think you have to go back "many years" for West Coast to fit that description.
Kaniel Outis
Guest
The headlines should scream: Front Runners Exposed! I picked this. Port Adelaide are dishonest, selfish, one way bullies who beat up lesser sides but always get exposed against better sides. This side should not be playing finals. Enough is enough.
Roger of Sydney
Guest
Sammy, I am big fan of the crows as and ex South Aussie, but IMO there is still something lacking when it comes to the big games, hope I am wrong but wins early in the season are different than late in the year and do the Crows have another level for finals. didn't last year.
Cat
Roar Guru
If anything, this season has shown any team can beat any other team on any given day
sammy
Guest
the only team that could beat GWS is Sydney!! Forgetting that the crows have already beat a virtual full strength GWS by 10 goals this year...but we won't mention that one
Rissole
Guest
Great win and enjoyable footy to watch by Essendon. The team was always going to be inconsistent this year as they settled on a best 22 and developed team cohesion. So who is the real Essendon? The team who comfortably beat top 4 aspirants Geelong, Port and (at the time) West Coast or the team who meekly capitulated to Melbourne, Fremantle & Carlton? Port remind me of West Coast many years ago. Beat up against the weaker teams to inflate their percentage but go missing when the going gets tough.
Roger of Sydney
Guest
Essendon have some great players so it is not surprising to see them rise. I believe Port have been playing above their ability so not surprising to see them fall either, and it may not be the last of it as teams now learn how to dominant them exactly like last year. The final four and eight are no where near settle and the first 10 games has not really told the full story. The only team that still stands out is GWS and for what it is worth I think the only team who could beat them at full strength in the GF would be the Swans. Just my opinion of course but can't wait for the next 10 weeks