Port Stormed Without Success

June 27, 2018 by sally
Filed under: NSW Demons

As a relatively new Demons fan, I’ve only known seasons where we’ve failed to make the finals. This year I believe will be different.

Round 14 – Port Adelaide Vs Melbourne

Liam Chambers – our correspondent in Coffs Harbour

Taking on Port Adelaide at their home ground, especially when they are on the ascendancy, was never going to be easy. After the defeat against Collingwood two weeks ago the Dees needed to bounce back and secure a win. For the majority of the game that seemed a distinct possibility. Then that last all important quarter, was once again, where Melbourne struggled to meet expectations.

As a relatively new Demons fan, I’ve only known seasons where we’ve failed to make the finals. This year I believe will be different. We’ve beaten the teams we were expected to beat and we’ve fought valiantly against teams that have tested us. We were pipped at the post against Geelong. We kept pace with Richmond until the last quarter and were ahead of Port Adelaide until the final ten minutes. We can honestly say we didn’t play our best against either Hawthorn or Collingwood and much as I hate to say it, we didn’t deserve to win either game.

We have a great team of players. However, I don’t think we yet have the sense of belief and overall confidence that a side like Richmond, Sydney or Geelong possesses. I think that will happen and Melbourne has improved every season over the last five years. We have potential superstars in Jesse Hogan, Tom McDonald, Christian Petracca, Jake Lever, Max Gawn as well as the brilliant Neville Jetta, Angus Brayshaw, Jake Melksham, Clayton Oliver, the list goes on. They’re doing a lot of the right things on the field. Our players are brave, crazy brave in the case of Neville Jetta and Tom McDonald with Nathan Jones throwing himself at the opposition with regular intensity. We have the talent, the determination; we play well as a team.

Why do we struggle against the top sides? When does a team suddenly click? With Richmond it was last season after failing to make the top eight in 2016 when their 2015 performance suggested they should be contenders. Melbourne need that connection when it’s all about the team’s success. Maybe it will happen this year and I really hope it does because of one man. Nathan Jones has stuck with the Demons through all the humiliations and write offs from commentators. He deserves the team he knows Melbourne can be.

The Dees were superior when it came to disposals, inside 50s, clearances, handballs and contested possessions. On the flip side, Port had more marks in 50 and interestingly more free kicks. I’m not going to go through each quarter as we all know the Dees dominated only to be denied at the final hurdle. It comes down to who scored the most goals. The Power were intense in their pressure and we suffered some nasty injuries. Let’s hope that all affected players recover well and are able to compete fully for the rest of the season.

We’ll keep learning from our experiences and will give it our all against the Saints next week. As always, we need to bring our best game to every encounter; just because St Kilda are struggling this year doesn’t make them any less of a threat.

Go the Mighty Dees!

PORT ADELAIDE 1.3 4.6 8.7 11.9 (75)
MELBOURNE 3.5 4.8 9.9 9.11 (65)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Ebert 2, R.Gray 2, Westhoff 2, Wingard, Boak, Dixon, Thomas, S.Gray
Melbourne: T.McDonald 3, Hannan 2, Petracca, Smith, Melksham, Salem