Port Adelaide 2015 / 2016 Discussion

[powersuperkents]

Ollie Wines out for the season  :'(

If we are any chance of making the finals now. Andrew Moore needs to stand up and perform the role he was drafted to before Wines proved the better fit.

I have been incredibly critical of Moore over the past two seasons. In 2013 I thought he was finally coming through as a prospect, however in 2014 & this season he's been one of my least favourite players (Butcher still my least favourite). There is a silver lining though, last weekend, against St Kilda, Andrew Moore played the best game of AFL football I've seen from him. It wasn't spectacular, and it wasn't comparable to Wines but it means the talent is there and he's just struggling to utilise it. It was the only game in the last two years where I didn't despise him and think "why did Hinkley select him to play?".

Wines injury could be the blow that ends our season without a chance, or it could be the opportunity Moore needs to prove himself. If he consistently performs like he did against the Saints, I will have faith. If he continues to build and improve each week, my confidence in Port will remain as strong as it's been over the past 4 weeks. It's nearly impossible from here - we literally can't lose a game to be guaranteed a spot or lose one game and hope things fall into place (I prefer the former, but realistically the best case scenario will be the latter - Hawks are too good and Freo will hopefully rest players (still unlikely). But if there is any group of players that have proven to defy the impossible over the last two seasons it's Hinkley's Port Adelaide (I mean Wingard does the physically impossible every game, and Westhoff every 3rd game  :P ). Going to be tough, but I think if we are any chance at this hoop dream, achieving it rests with many factors, and one of the most crucial factors will be Andrew Moore.

[Grazz]

Ollie Wines out for the season  :'(

If we are any chance of making the finals now. Andrew Moore needs to stand up and perform the role he was drafted to before Wines proved the better fit.

I have been incredibly critical of Moore over the past two seasons. In 2013 I thought he was finally coming through as a prospect, however in 2014 & this season he's been one of my least favourite players (Butcher still my least favourite). There is a silver lining though, last weekend, against St Kilda, Andrew Moore played the best game of AFL football I've seen from him. It wasn't spectacular, and it wasn't comparable to Wines but it means the talent is there and he's just struggling to utilise it. It was the only game in the last two years where I didn't despise him and think "why did Hinkley select him to play?".

Wines injury could be the blow that ends our season without a chance, or it could be the opportunity Moore needs to prove himself. If he consistently performs like he did against the Saints, I will have faith. If he continues to build and improve each week, my confidence in Port will remain as strong as it's been over the past 4 weeks. It's nearly impossible from here - we literally can't lose a game to be guaranteed a spot or lose one game and hope things fall into place (I prefer the former, but realistically the best case scenario will be the latter - Hawks are too good and Freo will hopefully rest players (still unlikely). But if there is any group of players that have proven to defy the impossible over the last two seasons it's Hinkley's Port Adelaide (I mean Wingard does the physically impossible every game, and Westhoff every 3rd game  :P ). Going to be tough, but I think if we are any chance at this hoop dream, achieving it rests with many factors, and one of the most crucial factors will be Andrew Moore.

I actually borrowed a mates membership pass as he was crook and couldn't go so i said i'll use it which was surprise to him and he asked why knowing i'm a Crows supporter " are you thinking of coming over to the Power" he said, told him i thought he was smarter than that haha then said no i'd really like to go and watch Ollie play and i was hoping GM would be at the game and we could catch up for a beer or twelve. You can imagine my dismay when Ollie was injured so early and GM wasn't able to go to top it off.  :(

I enjoy going to games and watching certain players where i have no emotional attachment i just enjoy footy and seeing games where your team isn't involved are pretty enjoyable from a footy purist point of view.

[powersuperkents]

Ollie Wines out for the season  :'(

If we are any chance of making the finals now. Andrew Moore needs to stand up and perform the role he was drafted to before Wines proved the better fit.

I have been incredibly critical of Moore over the past two seasons. In 2013 I thought he was finally coming through as a prospect, however in 2014 & this season he's been one of my least favourite players (Butcher still my least favourite). There is a silver lining though, last weekend, against St Kilda, Andrew Moore played the best game of AFL football I've seen from him. It wasn't spectacular, and it wasn't comparable to Wines but it means the talent is there and he's just struggling to utilise it. It was the only game in the last two years where I didn't despise him and think "why did Hinkley select him to play?".

Wines injury could be the blow that ends our season without a chance, or it could be the opportunity Moore needs to prove himself. If he consistently performs like he did against the Saints, I will have faith. If he continues to build and improve each week, my confidence in Port will remain as strong as it's been over the past 4 weeks. It's nearly impossible from here - we literally can't lose a game to be guaranteed a spot or lose one game and hope things fall into place (I prefer the former, but realistically the best case scenario will be the latter - Hawks are too good and Freo will hopefully rest players (still unlikely). But if there is any group of players that have proven to defy the impossible over the last two seasons it's Hinkley's Port Adelaide (I mean Wingard does the physically impossible every game, and Westhoff every 3rd game  :P ). Going to be tough, but I think if we are any chance at this hoop dream, achieving it rests with many factors, and one of the most crucial factors will be Andrew Moore.

I actually borrowed a mates membership pass as he was crook and couldn't go so i said i'll use it which was surprise to him and he asked why knowing i'm a Crows supporter " are you thinking of coming over to the Power" he said, told him i thought he was smarter than that haha then said no i'd really like to go and watch Ollie play and i was hoping GM would be at the game and we could catch up for a beer or twelve. You can imagine my dismay when Ollie was injured so early and GM wasn't able to go to top it off.  :(

I enjoy going to games and watching certain players where i have no emotional attachment i just enjoy footy and seeing games where your team isn't involved are pretty enjoyable from a footy purist point of view.

Yeah, with a player like Wines you have to think about the long-term, even if that makes the remainder of the season impossible (Hinkley has taken the same precautions with Polec this season as well). He is one of the players I hate to see injured (I thought R3 was bad, however to dislocate his shoulder in such a trivial play is devastating - a hip-and-should to win possession which literally had no negative ramifications if he lost).

The Bulldogs are a formidable side, however if we lose we didn't deserved to make finals:

Matched up against
Sydney twice (lost both)
Adelaide twice (lost once)
Bulldogs twice (one once - 2nd tbd)
Hawthorn twice (one once - 2nd tbd)
Freo twice (lost once - 2nd tbd)

I just think it's crucial that if you want to challenge for the top 8 - you've got to win at least one of these match-ups twice (a bit ridiculous that we had to play 5 top 8 teams twice but that's the expectation placed upon a team finishing 3rd and they couldn't handle it this season). Bulldogs, Hawks, and Freo will be crucial match-ups and I'm worried that GWS and the Suns could be surprise packages. It's a tough run on paper and having our best contested mid gone is only going to aggravate the draw. I'm still hoping but we'll have to beat the three other teams and one of Freo & Hawthorn just for 'a hope' of mathematically slipping through - and we aren't a side known for maintaining 'good form', like, for example, the Tiges. I'd only list Collingwood as a further chance to make it out of all the contenders. 

[PowerBug]

I did the ladder predictor with us winning all games, the rest how I think they will happen. I still had us outside the 8 on %. Whilst we can I will believe, but it won't happen unfortunately. Need some of the sides to fall over completely, and Geelong are back to playing very well.

Let's just try to end the season with some wins :)

[powersuperkents]

I did the ladder predictor with us winning all games, the rest how I think they will happen. I still had us outside the 8 on %. Whilst we can I will believe, but it won't happen unfortunately. Need some of the sides to fall over completely, and Geelong are back to playing very well.

Let's just try to end the season with some wins :)

Same outcome, we needed Essendon to beat the Bulldogs last week. So already it hasn't worked out  :P

Essendon will need to win a few of their match-ups for us to stand a chance, the Demons will need to beat the Bulldogs as well. I don't think the Bulldogs will throw away the win against the Demons like they did last time. It's almost impossible to make the 8, but in the end - if we don't make finals, doesn't everyone lose (missing out on the most entertaining finals team of the last 2 years) :P

[powersuperkents]

Unlikely now, I think the Crows or Geelong will take the remaining spot.

On my ladder predictor I was expecting the Crows to lose to the Tiges (who definitely won't fall out of the top 8). One good thing is that at least a team who deserves to make finals will be there (i.e. the Crows, Bulldogs, or Geelong). The Crows outplayed Richmond last night and showed they were a real finals team (they made Richmond look horrible - excluding Dusty). I think the top 8 will be:

Freo
WCE (could lose their place to the Hawks but guaranteed top 3)
Hawthorn
Sydney
Richmond
Nth Melbourne (actually guaranteed 6th spot based on their remaining games)
Bulldogs/Geelong/Crows (for 7th and 8th)

I would say this is a good finals fixture. If the hack Magpie or GWS made it, I would feel like it was unfair (as those two teams were given easy draws this season and aren't real finals teams as of now (both will definitely be in the future though). The 9 teams listed above played ordinary and were much more consistent than us (only the Swan, arguably, had a form slump - that lasted two weeks... and Fremantle still won during their form slump). North had a tough draw to start the season and will comfortably return to where they should be. I'm sad we are probably not going to make finals but I can't complain (I feel all the teams above deserved it more - in fact we would be on 40pts right now if we didn't throw away two easy wins  :-[ - that is really what made the difference in the end - Carlton & Brisbane...)

We have a young side (no players over 30 yet - Schulz is close though), all we need is one of our key forwards in development to stand up and we will be challenging for the next 5 years. Also, as Adelaide & West Coast have shown over the last 2 years, a pick from 10-12 in the draft can do big things as well or we could use it to try and steal Scharenberg from the Pies (apparently he's not liking Melbourne)  :P

Just with Polec, Wines, & Carlisle out (our only fullback - Hombsch has still been fantastic though). It seems like an insurmountable effort. Furthermore, we had to rely on the Cats, Bulldogs, & Crows giving in and it doesn't look like they plan to (demonstrating they are finals quality). Honestly though, a team's season becomes a joke when they start off as premiership favourites and lose to the worst team (Brisbane), by 40, and the only other team the worst team has beaten (Carlton) haha. I'm confident that we will bounce back hard next year (an easier draw (if the AFL doesn't screw us over again, the only top 8 team we'll play twice is the Crows), a higher draft pick, and the return of my favourite outside mid in the AFL we certainly make things easier for us) 

[powersuperkents]

Here's the list of players I want to see fired/replaced by next season:
1. Jay Schulz (try and recruit Dixon - the guy is a has been - leading score since arriving, first year he hasn't been, therefore time to move on)
2. Sam Gray (useless)
3. Aaron Young (useless)
4. Sam Colquhoun (how does this guy get games...)
5. Tom Clurey (I haven't liked anything I've seen from this kid)
6. Cam O'Spud (name says it all)

Andrew Moore would be on this list but he has performed quite well over the last 2 weeks. These spuds better be gone next season. I want to see the club try and target Dixon, Scharenberg, or Motlop (if we can recruit one it would be a success).

Finishing that way was disgusting and I can't believe the team will actually play the Hawks & Dockers in the coming weeks (literally just formalities for the two clubs 4pts they will inevitably gain). If Wines & Polec are really that crucial, the leadership group should be ashamed because even with Boak, Hartlett, & Gray I could not see us winning a game without Wines, Wingard, & Polec - literal dependence. Hinkley better make some big flowering changes, because losing to the Bulldogs is not bad, getting humiliated by them like Essendon did last week is not okay. His job should be on the ropes just to provide him with the incentive to remove the spuds and devise a new flowering gameplan  >:(

[TomK]

Time to drop Lobbe? 2 disposals is just unacceptable.

[powersuperkents]

Time to drop Lobbe? 2 disposals is just unacceptable.

He's had an absurd season and Ryder is obviously the significantly better ruck (barring his below-amateur hit out through the goals in the final quarter  >:( ). Lobbe is younger though but I would be open to the club trading him for value. However, I think he has upwards potential (last 2 years he was fantastic) and could just be in a slump. It could be a bit rash, but I would not miss any of the players listed above (only would miss Schulz if we didn't have a starter to replace him - would need to transfer someone in).

[Big Mac]

Time to drop Lobbe? 2 disposals is just unacceptable.

He's had an absurd season and Ryder is obviously the significantly better ruck (barring his below-amateur hit out through the goals in the final quarter  >:( ). Lobbe is younger though but I would be open to the club trading him for value. However, I think he has upwards potential (last 2 years he was fantastic) and could just be in a slump. It could be a bit rash, but I would not miss any of the players listed above (only would miss Schulz if we didn't have a starter to replace him - would need to transfer someone in).

Did Ryder give away a goal?  :P

[powersuperkents]

Time to drop Lobbe? 2 disposals is just unacceptable.

He's had an absurd season and Ryder is obviously the significantly better ruck (barring his below-amateur hit out through the goals in the final quarter  >:( ). Lobbe is younger though but I would be open to the club trading him for value. However, I think he has upwards potential (last 2 years he was fantastic) and could just be in a slump. It could be a bit rash, but I would not miss any of the players listed above (only would miss Schulz if we didn't have a starter to replace him - would need to transfer someone in).

Did Ryder give away a goal?  :P

Yeah Mitch Robinson style. But to be fair, it was Jasper Showerttard's fault when he slipped over the line during a kick out - thus, resulting in a ball-up infront of our goals.

Lobbe won just about every hit-outs, however I can't recall one of them going to our team (almost as if he was the Bulldog's ruckman because he set up most of their 2nd & 3rd quarter clearances...)

The team has a lot to work on, if we want a premiership, big changes need to be made over the next 3 years - the spuds hide well when he had our running gameplan. There's no place for them to hide now (need a 'play well or leave' mentality like Leppa)

[Ringo]

Rumour is strong up here that you are favoured to sign Charlie Dixon because of his relationship with Hinkley and Hart.

[Grazz]

Rumour is strong up here that you are favoured to sign Charlie Dixon because of his relationship with Hinkley and Hart.

Port don't have alot of cash spare in their cap apparently, can they come up with a deal that gets him. Crows could offer him a better deal i think.

[powersuperkents]

Rumour is strong up here that you are favoured to sign Charlie Dixon because of his relationship with Hinkley and Hart.

Port don't have alot of cash spare in their cap apparently, can they come up with a deal that gets him. Crows could offer him a better deal i think.

Crows are after Motlop and if they want him it will cost the $600k freed up by Dangerfield. Scharenberg is another the two teams will take a punt at. Port will have cash to spare, if we don't extend Schulz's contract (on of our highest paid players). 

[Grazz]

Rumour is strong up here that you are favoured to sign Charlie Dixon because of his relationship with Hinkley and Hart.

Port don't have alot of cash spare in their cap apparently, can they come up with a deal that gets him. Crows could offer him a better deal i think.

Crows are after Motlop and if they want him it will cost the $600k freed up by Dangerfield. Scharenberg is another the two teams will take a punt at. Port will have cash to spare, if we don't extend Schulz's contract (on of our highest paid players).

We've still got room in the cap this year, think you guys are close to 100% now.
His relationship with Hinkley would have you guys in the box seat particularly if Schultz leaves as you said mate theres the cash right there.