A CLINICAL third quarter has seen an energetic Port Adelaide defeat North Adelaide by 29-points on Sunday.
A cold and breezy day at Prospect Oval provided the setting for a strong Magpies victory in their SANFL Round 13 clash, which finished 13.8 (86) to 8.9 (57).
It was a tale of two halves, with the first being a hard fought, back and forward contest between the two sides. However, Hamish Hartlett’s side was able to pile on seven goals to two in the third quarter, leading the way to an emphatic win against the sixth placed Roosters.
While AFL listed small forward Willie Rioli was a late withdrawal (personal reasons), the match marked two Magpies debuts with former Norwood forward Lachlan Pascoe and father-son prospect Rome Burgoyne running out in the prison bars for the first time.
Pascoe (8 disposals, one goal) was able to provide a strong physical presence up forward and 17-year-old Burgoyne (15 disposals, six marks) looked comfortable and composed in his first outing in league footy.
Coach Hartlett said it was a strong showing by the side off the back of a decent performance in defeat last week against Central District. He was particularly pleased with the third quarter, having been poor after the main break last week.
“The guys competed really hard in and around the contest and we managed to finish a bit of our work in front of goal this week, as opposed to last week – we were a little bit more inaccurate,” he said after the game.
“We knew that our third quarters this year so far haven’t been a real strong point so we did emphasise that at half time that that was going to be important for us to play well in that quarter, and we stood up well.”
While inspired positional changes including Xavier Walsh moving forward (two goals), Tom McCallum onto a wing (16 disposals, five tackles, two goals) and Jed McEntee playing in the centre (24 disposals, five tackles) paid dividends for Hamish Hartlett, it was the experience of Tom Clurey (26 disposals, 15 marks) and Dylan Williams (24 disposals, 13 marks) in defence that shaped such a positive team performance.
The coach also sung the praises of AFL listed young guns Dante Visentini (17 disposals, 31 hitouts, 9 clearances) and Hugh Jackson (24 disposals, one goal), as well as SANFL recruit Kye Roberts (16 disposals, seven marks) who was able to perfectly complement Clurey and Williams in defence.
“It's been important for us to get Hughey (Jackson) in some good form and get his match fitness to a level where he could compete for four quarters. He had an exceptional season last year and we really have missed him in the midfield.” Hartlett said.
“It's been awesome to see Jed McEntee in there getting his hands around the footy a bit more and getting involved in some more contests.
“And they've been well supported by Murphy Short, Harry Williams, and Cody Szust, our contracted guys rolling through there too.
“We know (the midfield) is an important part of the game and to be honest, it's all been led by Dante (Visentini) all season.”
Hartlett is now looking to continue building toward the back half of the SANFL season.
“I feel like the current playing group that we've had over the last couple of weeks have been very aware of what it takes to play well and compete at this level of footy, and hopefully we can continue to do that for the last seven or eight rounds.”
The Magpies will look to make it two wins in a row when they take on Glenelg at Alberton Oval next Saturday afternoon.
PORT ADELAIDE 4.4 5.5 12.6 13.8 (86)
NORTH ADELAIDE 3.1 5.2 7.5 8.9 (57)
GOALS: McCallum, Szust, Walsh 2, Aldridge, Anastasopoulos, Charleson, Jackson, Pascoe, Scully, D. Williams
BEST: Visentini, D. Williams, Roberts, Clurey, McEntee
