A STRONG first half from Glenelg was too much for Port Adelaide to overcome in the SANFL Statewide Super League Grand Final on Sunday.
The Magpies enjoyed some strong form heading into the season decider and coach Matthew Lokan was disappointed in Sunday’s result, but proud of his team’s overall performance this year.
“We lost a grand final, so it is extremely disappointing,” he said.
“It has been a number of years since our footy club has won a grand final, we felt we deserved the opportunity to play today, but we weren’t good enough to win it.
“We have got a fantastic group and it is extremely disappointing that we lost today but we won’t base our season on the result today, but moreso how they stuck together against the odds, we were up against it most weeks and I am really proud of the guys to perform.”
The Tigers held Port goalless in the first quarter and the half time scoreline read 6.2 to 2.7 and Lokan said it was as a result of Glenelg’s relentless pressure.
“At the end of the day it was probably our start that cost us, they were tougher and cleaner. We didn’t use the ball well in the first quarter and then after that we were just playing catch up,” he said.
“They put us under a lot of pressure in the first quarter and that caused us to turn the ball over.
“We didn’t use the ball poorly, but we were put under pressure and our disposals were rushed, compared to Glenelg who were clean and able to get the ball on the outside.
“That was the difference, they were cleaner in and around the contest.”
Lokan said his young side have stood up all season, but Glenelg’s experienced heads were more consistent under the frantic pressure of finals.
“Young guys playing big games, it is good for their development and experience, but we weren’t able to match Glenelg,” he said.
“They are so even across the park, they are a really consistent team, and able to hit the scoreboard early.
“It is extremely disappointing, credit to Glenelg they have been the best team all year, they have been consistent and won all the awards.
“Our guys are pretty flat at the moment, we went into the game extremely confident that we could beat them but we weren’t able to get the job done.”
When Port need a spark after half time, Lokan said captain Cam Sutcliffe lifted his output yet again to boot three third quarter goals to give his side a sniff in the run home.
“We changed our plan a bit with Cam midway through the second quarter, he went to Partington early in the game and did a really good job on him and we threw him forward to give us a different option and the strength of Cam is that he can play anywhere and do a number of different roles and he was one of our better players today.”
