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Opinion
After a despondent Port Adelaide lost a preliminary final to Richmond in 2020, they have largely been overlooked in their 2021 campaign to bigger sides such as Melbourne, Geelong and the Bulldogs.
While it is true that Chris Scott and Patrick Dangerfield both deserve a premiership for overseeing all their club’s time at the pointy end of the ladder, it’s been Port that have been equally solid over the last few seasons.
Clubs such as Melbourne and the Dogs have had seasons where they can jump up the ladder at random times, but can be very inconsistent at other times with losses to bottom-end clubs such as Collingwood and Hawthorn.
But it’s been Port that have beaten all these sides by comfortable margins.
Let’s take a look at their team. They have the perfect mix of older, experienced players like Travis Boak, Robbie Gray, Darcy Byrne-Jones, and Ollie Wines.
(Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
But then again, they possess some of the best young guns in the AFL with the likes of Xavier Duursma, Zak Butters, Connor Rozee, Miles Bergman and Mitch Georgiades.
These players sit comfortably inside their best 22, and they’re probably going to become big stars of the competition in the future.
All the last-quarter goals against the Bulldogs came from dominant centre clearances where one of these players such as Rozee or Bergman were continually driving the ball to a determined forward line consisting of stars such as Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Steven Motlop.
And that’s how they win games.
Their second halves are the main reason they can resurrect their games. The first half of the game on Friday night completely belonged to the Bulldogs.
Port couldn’t generate anything out of the middle, and Jack Macrae and Marcus Bontempelli were running rampage at centre half forward.
But they couldn’t put Port away just yet. That one goal in the second half from Rozee making a contest was all Port needed.
That was the spark that ignited a flow of Port Adelaide goals. Rozee’s goal was late in the second quarter, and Port went into halftime with all the momentum.
They used it for a surge of three goals early in the third, and then it was really game on. This is how the Power have been playing this year.
They concede early goals, and then fight their way back every single time. That is how they never lose easy matches like other teams do.
That is always their game plan, and that’s how they intend to keep it.
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