Port Adelaide has not hit the wall yet. At 5-7 - and needing at least seven wins from the remaining 10 games - the margin for error is tight. But the room for growth in the team's performance is far from short.
Port Adelaide midfield coach Brett Montgomery on Monday described his team's approach to the tightrope walk to September's finals as "difficult and challenging" but a mission that is still being approached with optimism.
Port Adelaide returns to Adelaide Oval on Saturday to face top-eight mainstay Sydney in another must-win clash. The biggest questions left from the two-goal loss on the road to Richmond on Thursday in the resumption from the mid-season bye are on Port Adelaide's need for more goals, the task of finding fluid ball movement ... and again the ruck puzzle created by lead ruckman Scott Lycett's absence after shoulder surgery.
Port Adelaide seems destined to again rely on the new Jeremy Finlayson-Charlie Dixon tandem rather than recall first-year ruckman Sam Hayes. Although, the SANFL debut of mid-season rookie draftee, West Australian Brynn Teakle has added a new dimension to the debate at the match committee table.
"Whether we do or don't (promote Teakle), the temptation certainly will be there," Montgomery said of Teakle's three-goal, 13-disposal game against Central District at Elizabeth Oval on Saturday afternoon.
"We loved what he did. He is an infectious character, since the day he arrived (less than a fortnight ago). It has been quite exciting and he has fitted in quite well. He is taking in a huge amount of information.
"His performance was really, really good. It was shared between ruck and forward, so the temptation will be there.
"And if we do, he still will be learning. He will still be raw and it certainly will be an education on the run. That would not prevent us from picking him. But whether it is this week or not, (Teakle's AFL debut) is coming."
Port Adelaide is preferring to select Finlayson ahead of Hayes while the debate continues with how to balance the line-up with Finlayson, Dixon, Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades - the four tall forwards.
"The Finlayson-Dixon combination gave us the best look we have had for quite some time," said Montgomery of the ruck pairing that lost on hit-outs while the Port Adelaide midfield won on clearances.
"Not to sell Hayes too short, but he is a young, developing ruckman who has some challenges in his game. He has had a pretty thorough education in his seven (AFL) games on the run. We were looking for more bite in a few other phases than just hit-outs and Jeremy brought that in spades. We were really thrilled with the 18-man offence and defence we were able to get by playing just that one extra versatile guy on the ground."
Georgiades is the man on the outer at the moment, but his SANFL form is making a strong case for his recall - if the team balance can be maintained.
"We are happy with Mitch's game (against Central District)," Montgomery said. "Whether he is an extra tall or whether he is just another quality player, another quality forward in the team - we need to look beyond his height and weight and look at how Mitch adds a bit of a spark at ground level as well. He has incredible speed, so he will certainly come into calculations.
"We need to work out this combination. It is very new for us (with the arrival of Finlayson from Greater Western Sydney at the end of last season). It is new for us to go without a regulation ruckman (since Lycett was injured against Melbourne in round 4).
"We are still searching for the right balance to make sure that when those guys reset (out of ruck duty) they still have something to give as a forward. Mitch can help us with that.
"By his own admission, Mitch's goalkicking had not been at the level he would have liked to have capped off whatever opportunities he had been getting. He had been a little bit sloppy in terms of his effort around contest and free kicks and the pattern became unsustainable. He is working on his reliability - and he really stood up and led in a game that was difficult as a slog at Elizabeth. The style made it a tough game to watch. He hung in there right to the end which good players do."
Of style, Port Adelaide remains a work in progress with its own developing gameplan.
"Everyone's ball movement needs to stay on edge," Montgomery said. "You find rhythm and someone gets a hold of you. You work on something for two or three weeks, get some level of achievement - and then someone works you out.
"(Ball movement) needs to evolve. In our game, going forward, we have been able to solve some of our efficiency issues going inside-50 by changing personnel, method and speed. But that will be an ongoing thing - it will pop up time and time again and we need to be right at the coalface of solutions for that."
Port Adelaide's scoring is averaging 74 points this season - down on last year's mark of 84 and notably without major goalscoring from midfielders this year.
"Goals are an issue for us; scoring from stoppage is down, scoring from general play is down," Montgomery conceded. "Robbie Gray (10 goals in nine games this season, but no score in either of the past two games) has been an incredible player for this club and has been sore for almost the whole season. Charlie Dixon is still trying to develop his tank (after two rounds of ankle surgery cost him the first half of the season).
"We have seen an incredible spike in the evolution of Todd Marshall. Georgiades has been a little bit down. There is a whole range of things. We need to invent new ways to score, there is no doubt about that.
"We are looking at it every week.
"It has been unfair on our forward line this year with what they have had in and out of the team. To get absolute, absolute continuity and form (has been challenging). Rob, Charlie, Todd and Mitch on the odd occasion - and I am probably missing one or two as well - have had a challenge (by injury, form or new combinations in attack)."
The 12-point loss to Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night puts Port Adelaide two wins outside the top-eight - three if Collingwood beats Melbourne in the Queen's Birthday classic at the G on Monday afternoon.
"Difficult," Montgomery says of the situation 12th-ranked Port Adelaide faces in finding a top-eight finals berth. "To say it is anything less than difficult - and a challenge - I would be lying.
"But I am optimistic. Coming off the game (against Richmond), we walked away with some feeling of satisfaction around not just effort - effort is always a bit of a given - but the determination, the grit, the grunt to go just about full length with a team in really good form. It was there. So, it is challenging (from here) ... but day to day, we are still very optimistic and we still have an air of confidence about what we are doing."
There is no hiding from Port Adelaide's 2022 form - and style - not living up to the high standards of the top-four finishes delivered in 2020 and 2021 amid the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic and associated lockdowns.
"We have seen a little bit of decay in quite a lot of areas of our game, to be fair," Montgomery said. "They are not massive gaps. But they are slightly off where we have been in the past.
"We have had some guys who have been down on form, whether that is through age or through injury or they have not come on and developed at the rate we would have loved. There is a whole range of things here. It would be too simplistic to label one thing (as missing from Port Adelaide's game)."
Port Adelaide's injury list has regained key defender Trent McKenzie after his comeback SANFL match (after knee surgery), but has no concussion alarm on captain Tom Jonas and midfielder Zak Butters after their head-to-head collision at the MCG during the last term.
"Both had really good weekends and had a lot going on in their lives," Montgomery said. "Zak has become an uncle and Tom was down the beach with his family having a good time. My understanding is all is well there. And nothing has changed (with Butters cleared to play against Sydney while nursing a crack to a cheekbone).
"It has been a tough year for Trent McKenzie - it has been one thing after another. We were looking forward to getting him back in the team, particularly when he adds pressure to those doing a pretty good job in defence today. We think he is a quality player who has plenty left."
North Melbourne recruit Trent Dumont will miss the Sydney clash after being subbed out of the Richmond game late in the third term with a calf injury. The setback brings to a halt a run of eight games since his Port Adelaide debut against Melbourne in round 4.
"Trent has done everything he possibly could in venturing across from North Melbourne to our club after two preliminary final losses when you would probably think it becomes a pretty courageous decision to try to break into this team," said Montgomery. "He will be back. He gave us incredible consistency and reliability and they are things we rate highly."
Port Adelaide's home clash with Sydney starts at 1.15pm on Saturday.
