PORT Adelaide’s 2011 season saw them travel to Sydney for the third round of the year, taking on the Swans at the SCG, where the home team had - prior to the game - failed to register a win for the year.
While the Power lost David Rodan to a knee injury that will see him miss a significant chunk of the year, exciting youngster Ben Jacobs was selected to play his first game for the club, having been selected in the 2011 NAB National Draft with the Power’s first pick, and #16 pick overall.
Before the game, Jacobs was presented with his guernsey by fan favourite Stuart Dew.
PTV: Jacobs Jumper Presentation
He was joined in the side by the returning Steve Salopek, Matt Thomas and Andrew Moore, while going out of the side were Rodan, the omitted Paul Stewart and Cameron Hitchcock, and late withdrawal Jasper Pittard. Starting on the bench were Steve Salopek, Ben Jacobs and Daniel Stewart, with late inclusion Andrew Moore the sub for the night.
The Swans won the first clearance, but Port wrested the ball from their grasp, and hard-running from half-back to half-forward saw Thomas line up for the first shot on goal deep in the forward pocket, but his shot went across the face and out of bounds. Excellent defensive pressure from the stoppage saw the ball fall to Motlop after a quick kick forward and he duly opened proceedings with the first goal of the game.
The Power continued to put strong pressure on and it resulted in Broadbent drilling a pass to Schulz, who nailed the second goal for the game for Port Adelaide in an encouraging start at the SCG. The Swans continued to miss goals, putting three points on the scoreboard to the Power’s 2 goals. A bad error from Westhoff gifted the Swans an opportunity directly in front, and they made no mistake.
Ebert was smashed in a tough incident at the 13 minute mark but suffered no ill effects from the contest, and despite losing the ball from a bounce the Power rebounded strongly til a skill error from Westhoff brought the move unstuck as the Swans got another shot at goal but missed another set shot, making it a 1 point lead for the Power.
Both sides were missing targets as the ball rocketed through the middle of the ground, and a long shot from outside 50 saw Westhoff blemish the Power’s copy book with their first shot off-target for the game. Excellent defensive pressure from the kick-in saw Schulz have a long-range shot, but he too was inaccurate. The Swans were able to work the ball through the middle of the ground and Bird finally posted the Swans’ second goal of the game to make the margin 3 points in the Swans’ favour late in the first term. A strong mark by Goodes inside 50 saw him make no mistake, stretching it out to 9 points.
After the Swans executed the mega-flood, the Power worked the ball forward cleverly to create a stoppage deep in the forward pocket, with Boak roving the contest well and snapping truly to reduce the margin to 3 points at quarter time.
QUARTER TIME: 3.2.20 to 3.5.23. Goals: Motlop, Schulz and Boak. Possessions: Boak 9, Chaplin 7 and 3 marks, Ebert 7 and 4 marks, Thomas 7 and 3 tackles, Trengove 7.
Brogan won the centre clearance at the beginning of the second quarter, but Port wasn’t able to effect an inside 50, with the ball eventually spilling out of bounds on the wing following a clearing kick by Jacobs, who looked impressive on debut.
Pearce’s efforts on the half-back flank to gather, kick, follow up his own errant kick and then move the ball on resulted in Thomas having a set shot at goal from directly in front, and he duly goaled to give the Power the lead once more. The defensive pressure by the Power continued on from the first three-quarters the week before, with players laying tackles, shepherding, and running hard both forward and back to have an effect upon the play.
A beautiful gather and spin out of traffic by Trengove at the 13 minute mark saw him then drill a pass to Broadbent, who missed with his shot at goal. Eventually the Swans effected a turnover in the middle of the ground and a long shot at goal failed to make the distance, with Broadbent taking a strong mark and the Power rebounded - again, the defence held up remarkably well when the Swans pushed forward in the next piece of play.
The defence was immense, holding the Swans at bay, but they had to come eventually - Trengove just clipped a leg diving for a tackle and McVeigh goaled from the free, then the Swans scored another when Pettigrew was caught holding the ball, and all of a sudden they’d skipped back away to an 8 point lead late in the second term. Another free kick in the Swans’ forward half see a Goodes’ shot at goal fall just short.
HALF TIME: 4.3.27 to 5.6.36. Goals: Motlop, Schulz, Boak and Thomas. Possessions: Boak 18, Chaplin 15 and 8 marks, Thomas 13 and 4 tackles, Pearce 12, Salopek 12 and 4 marks, Trengove 12, Cornes 11, Hartlett 11.
Super-even game when you look at it at half-time - 24-21 inside 50s in Swans’ favour, but 18-17 rebound 50s in Port’s favour, and the run and spread really strong tonight - Port leading disposal count 195-160, and contested possessions 75-68.
The Swans won the clearance to begin the third term, with Goodes attacking the ball with real fervour and Reid booting the goal after marking strongly. Again the Swans worked the ball forward from the centre bounce and another goal saw them stretch the lead further still.
A fantastic bit of work around the boundary by Schulz saw Logan take a great grab at the 7 minute mark of the term, and he kicked truly to reduce the margin to 17. The Swans soon begun to get run-ons in play, and before it seemed possible it was back out to a 29 point margin, with the Swans almost double the Power score.
A great mark by Schulz low tot eh ground at the 13 minute mark of the term saw the Power with a chance to claw some of the lead back, and in his second game back from injury Schulz had two goals to his name. Terrific defensive pressure saw the Power hold the ball inside 50 time and time again, and eventually they were rewarded when Motlop kicked one off the ground att he 17 minute mark of the term.
Brogan earned a free he failed to capitalise, with the ball failing to make the distance from the kick just inside 50. Eventually it was defender Chaplin who was able to goal, kicking truly after earning a 50 metre penalty. McGlynn answered immediately to stretch the lead once more beyond the 2 goal buffer. A big mark by Roberts-Thomson after another brilliant piece of play by Goodes made it 22 points deep into the third term.
Pettigrew took a fantastic mark deep down back at the 28 minute mark to thwart another forward thrust from an inspired Goodes.A big clash between Thomas and Hanneberry saw the Swans midfielder taken from the ground looking more than a little groggy, while Jacobs laid a great tackle late in the term to stop the Swans running forward.
THREE QUARTER TIME: 8.5.53 to 12.11.83. Goals: Motlop 2, Schulz 2, Boak, Thomas, Logan, Chaplin. Possessions: Boak 24, Chaplin 19 and 10 marks, Cornes 19 and 6 tackles, Hartlett 17 and 9 tackles, Pearce 16, Salopek 15, Thomas 15 and 6 tackles.
At the final break, possessions were dead even at 264 each, Swans up 115-108 for contested possessions, 40-32 inside 50s for the Swans' favour, 11-7 centre clearances for the Swans, and 36-22 overall, indicating exactly where they were winning the game.
They continued where they left off in the third term, with the Swans winning the clearances and booting the first goal of the final term. A nice bit of work by Phillips against his old side saw the Power get one back, but the Swans were well on top now, stretched the lead with ease as the margin hit 37 points mid-way through the term.
The Swans’ ability to win contested ball time and time again then use it to advantage was far superior to the Power’s efforts in the second half, and they were really running away with the contest, pulling further ahead as the Power struggled to put another score on the board through Kennedy to make it an 50 point margin deep into the last term, then Hanneberry kicked another with two minutes remaining, then another with a minute remaining to push it beyond the 10 goal margin, which is where it stayed til the siren rang out to bring an end to another disappointing display by the Power.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5.59 to 18.13.121.
Goals: Motlop 2, Schulz 2, Boak, Thomas, Logan, Chaplin, Phillips
Possessions: Boak 28, Cornes 24 and 6 tackles, Chaplin 23 and 11 marks, Salopek 21, Westhoff 21 and 9 marks, Thomas 21 and 8 tackles, Pearce 20.
Crowd: 20,719
