March 20, 2008
ROUND 1 PREVIEW
Port Adelaide v Geelong
AAMI Stadium
8:45pm, Friday 20 March
Teams
GEELONG
B: Tom Harley, Matthew Scarlett, Josh Hunt
HB: Darren Milburn, Andrew Mackie, Corey Enright
C: Cameron Ling, Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel
HF: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Paul Chapman
F: Ryan Gamble, Tom Hawkins, Mathew Stokes
Foll: Mark Blake, Gary Ablett, Joel Corey
I/C: Trent West, Shannon Byrnes, James Kelly, Kane Tenace
EMG: Harry Taylor, David Johnson, Brent Prismall
New: Trent West (Gippsland Under-18)
PORT ADELAIDE
B: Michael Pettigrew, Alipate Carlile, Jacob Surjan
HB: Peter Burgoyne, Toby Thurstans, Domenic Cassisi
C: Travis Boak, Chad Cornes, Kane Cornes
HF: David Rodan, Justin Westhoff, Danyle Pearce
F: Daniel Motlop, Warren Tredrea, Brett Ebert
Foll: Brendon Lade, Steven Salopek, Shaun Burgoyne
I/C: Dean Brogan, Tom Logan, Matthew Thomas, Paul Stewart
EMG: Greg Bentley, Nick Lower, Fabian DeLuca
New: Paul Stewart (Woodville-West Torrens)
Umpires
Donlon, Rosebury, Avon
Past five
GF 2007 Geelong 24.19 (163) d Port Adelaide 6.8 (44) MCG
R21 2007 Port Adelaide 16.10 (106) d Geelong 15.11 (101) Skilled Stadium
R9 2007 Geelong 16.20 (116) d Port Adelaide 8.12 (60) AAMI Stadium
R15 2006 Geelong 9.14 (68) d Port Adelaide 8.10 (58) Skilled Stadium
R16 2005 Geelong 18.18 (126) d Port Adelaide 7.5 (47) Skilled Stadium
Betting
Geelong $1.60, Port Adelaide $2.30
_________________________________
This game is worth so much more than four points.
A Grand Final humiliation means that Port will be jumping out of their skin to regain some respect. Geelong, meanwhile, will waste no time digging at the mental scars of their creation; another win against Port would build a serious psychological barrier between them and a potential Premiership threat.
At the selection table, Geelong has almost a quarter of its Grand Final team absent. Premiership heroes King (St Kilda), Nathan Ablett (pondering the meaning of life) Ottens (ankle), Rooke (calf) and Wojcinski (finger) will all be missing and so the match presents the real first test for quite some time of Geelong’s famed depth.
Mark Blake gets his chance to prove that his Grand Final omission was a mistake. Trent West debuts after solid pre-season ruck form. Tom Hawkins will slip into the void left by Nathan Ablett. Ryan Gamble has been rewarded for his lively work up forward over summer and Kane Tenace has yet another opportunity to carve out his niche.
On Port’s side of things, the medical room looks much more sparse with Michael Wilson being the only forced absentee.
The absence of Brad Ottens draws immediate concern about the ability of Blake and West to combat Lade and Brogan. After all, the ill-famed decision to omit Blake and include Steven King was based on the premise that the bigger bodies of Port’s ruckmen would pose problems for Blake.
But the desire by Blake to silence his doubters will be strong. He is still on the steep curve of improvement that young ruckmen experience at his age, 22. Criticisms of his game in the past have centred around his competitive ability at around the ground contests and, at times, his foot skills. There is little doubt he would have spent a large chunk of his summer rectifying this.
The other thing driving Blake now is what he sees in his rear-view mirror – Trent West. In some ways West poses a more significant threat to Blake than King did in 2007. West, at 198cm and 90kg, moves well across the ground and has excellent skills below his knees for a player of his size. West excelled at VFL level last season, averaging 23 hitouts and 13 possessions a game. Blake will need to be at his best, and on the improve, to hold out the pressure that West will exert in 2008.
Lade and Brogan will provide a serious headache for Geelong, particularly around the stoppages in Port’s forward line. The Burgoynes, Motlop and Rodan are a handful at the best of times. But on the receiving end of first-class service from their ruck division, they will be even more potent.
Perhaps one other question mark over the Cats will be their ability to cover the loss of Nathan Ablett. At times in 2007, the younger Ablett looked lost and lacking in motivation – such signs would prove to be telling. Tom Hawkins – all 197cm and 105kg of him – will step into the role. One gets the feeling that the Cats would have wanted to ease him in through another half season in the VFL. Without that luxury though, we’ll get to see a sink or swim experiment play out with a precocious young talent.
The question will be whether Geelong can plug the holes and get enough ball through the midfield to counter a hungry and determined Port team. Geelong’s midfield looks imposing and on paper, the selected side minus five premierships stars barely looks weaker.
Ordinarily, the ruck advantage alone wouldn’t be enough to tip the balance in favour of a side that, on one view, starts 119 points behind. But Port are a quality side and a proud club. They have quality all over the ground – a strong forward six, a speedy and skilful midfield and a dependable, if lacking in stars, defence.
On this occasion, the revenge factor and Ottens absence just tip the scales in favour of the Power.
Port by 13 points.
Posted by catempire at March 20, 2008 01:01 PM
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