Port Adelaide's football development team rated Nathan Blee the Power's best SANFL player at the weekend after a strong performance for North Adelaide.
After spending the last fortnight across half forward (and kicking goals), Blee drifted back into defence and raked in 24 disposals in the red and white.
Ben Newton and Mitch Banner again impressed in the reserves with a number of other players struggling through injury niggles.
Read what Heals, Nicksy and Tys had to say below.
Player Of The Week
Nathan Blee (for Roosters v Bloods)
24 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles, 2 clearances
Playing on a wing for North Adelaide and sweeping across half back, Blee had 24 possessions for the game on the back of a standout first half. He was very efficient with the football, had his change of pace going and the most positive thing is that there’s still more improvement to come from Nathan. A good effort from him and we continue to see him progress towards an AFL standard.
League
Ben Jacobs (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
17 disposals, 4 marks, 1 hit out, 3 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50
Benny was probably the best of our players in Friday night’s game at the Parade. He played at half back and rolled onto the wing throughout the night and probably won more of the footy than most players on the ground. The conditions were pretty average though and all of our players found it tough to get clean possession. We'd have liked to see more tackles from Ben though particularly given how slow the ball moved so that's a focus for him going forward.
Jacob Surjan (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
13 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 1 inside 50, 2 rebound 50s
‘Surj’ got a really bad cork in the second quarter and that really prevented from him having much of an impact on the game beyond that. It probably wasn’t the best return for him for that reason but he did manage to get thirteen touches.
Steven Salopek (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
9 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 1 goal
Was half forward for the Magpies and played a bit on the ball. He had nine possessions in a game which was pretty scrappy and wet. Unfortunately for Sal he didn't feature much beyond the goal he kicked in the first half which is disappointing but with the Pies having a month to try and make the finals it's a good opportunity for him.
Simon Phillips (Redlegs v Port Adelaide)
10 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 4 inside 50s
Simon had ten possessions but the conditions really didn’t suit his game style and his effectiveness was curbed on a night where the stoppages were many and the clean possessions were few. He only got two points out of the night which was disappointing for him.
Cameron Hitchcock (for Tigers v Bulldogs)
8 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 3 inside 50s, 2 goals
Hitchy had eight kicks, three marks and a couple of goals - both scored in the first term - but after that though he disappeared from the match. The delivery forward to him was poor although he did work hard with his running patterns. He didn’t seem as up-and-about as last week, at stoppages he tried some tricks and tried to move through there but the numbers around the ball made it tough for him.
Daniel Webb (for Bloods v Roosters)
3 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 8 hit outs
Daniel started in the ruck and was effective for the first quarter and a half and against a taller, more experienced opponent. Around the ground he didn’t find a lot of the footy but experienced a slight injury to some nerves in his arm and ended up running around with basically one arm for the rest of the game.
Ben Jacobs (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
17 disposals, 4 marks, 1 hit out, 3 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50
Benny was probably the best of our players in Friday night’s game at the Parade. He played at half back and rolled onto the wing throughout the night and probably won more of the footy than most players on the ground. The conditions were pretty average though and all of our players found it tough to get clean possession. We'd have liked to see more tackles from Ben though particularly given how slow the ball moved so that's a focus for him going forward.
Jacob Surjan (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
13 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 1 inside 50, 2 rebound 50s
‘Surj’ got a really bad cork in the second quarter and that really prevented from him having much of an impact on the game beyond that. It probably wasn’t the best return for him for that reason but he did manage to get thirteen touches.
Steven Salopek (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
9 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 1 goal
Was half forward for the Magpies and played a bit on the ball. He had nine possessions in a game which was pretty scrappy and wet. Unfortunately for Sal he didn't feature much beyond the goal he kicked in the first half which is disappointing but with the Pies having a month to try and make the finals it's a good opportunity for him.
Simon Phillips (Redlegs v Port Adelaide)
10 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 4 inside 50s
Simon had ten possessions but the conditions really didn’t suit his game style and his effectiveness was curbed on a night where the stoppages were many and the clean possessions were few. He only got two points out of the night which was disappointing for him.
Cameron Hitchcock (for Tigers v Bulldogs)
8 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 3 inside 50s, 2 goals
Hitchy had eight kicks, three marks and a couple of goals - both scored in the first term - but after that though he disappeared from the match. The delivery forward to him was poor although he did work hard with his running patterns. He didn’t seem as up-and-about as last week, at stoppages he tried some tricks and tried to move through there but the numbers around the ball made it tough for him.
Daniel Webb (for Bloods v Roosters)
3 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 8 hit outs
Daniel started in the ruck and was effective for the first quarter and a half and against a taller, more experienced opponent. Around the ground he didn’t find a lot of the footy but experienced a slight injury to some nerves in his arm and ended up running around with basically one arm for the rest of the game.
Reserves
Brendon Ah Chee (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs) 9 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 1 hit out, 3 clearances, 1 rebound 50
Brendon played his last game for the year with him set to go in for knee surgery this week. He only managed 12 touches but was visibly sore and we’re going to sit him out for the rest of the year to get his leg right and put him in good stead for 2013.
Mitch Banner (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
29 disposals, 8 marks, 1 tackle, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 2 goals
Banner continued his good form in the Reserves and was dominant across the ground with plenty of inside 50s, clearances and generally winning the football. He’s too good for this level and we want to see him step up to League if his knee is good.
Danny Butcher (for Roosters v Bloods)
5 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle
It was Danny’s first game back after injury and he started the game really well with his trademark hard pressure, attack at the footy and the man with the footy. It was really good to see him back and moving well. He took a hit to his leg in the second quarter - a bit of a corky - and it affected his ability to run the game out.
Ben Newton (for Bloods v Roosters)
22 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 5 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 2 goals
Benny was fantastic, finished with 22 possessions playing on the ball and a little bit at half back. He did some really good stuff around stoppages and tried to be a little more explosive and attacking this week. We saw that come through his two goals in the first quarter and he may have had a few more had he held his marks. Overall it was a very good game from Benny.
Brendon played his last game for the year with him set to go in for knee surgery this week. He only managed 12 touches but was visibly sore and we’re going to sit him out for the rest of the year to get his leg right and put him in good stead for 2013.
Mitch Banner (for Port Adelaide v Redlegs)
29 disposals, 8 marks, 1 tackle, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 2 goals
Banner continued his good form in the Reserves and was dominant across the ground with plenty of inside 50s, clearances and generally winning the football. He’s too good for this level and we want to see him step up to League if his knee is good.
Danny Butcher (for Roosters v Bloods)
5 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle
It was Danny’s first game back after injury and he started the game really well with his trademark hard pressure, attack at the footy and the man with the footy. It was really good to see him back and moving well. He took a hit to his leg in the second quarter - a bit of a corky - and it affected his ability to run the game out.
Ben Newton (for Bloods v Roosters)
22 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 5 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 2 goals
Benny was fantastic, finished with 22 possessions playing on the ball and a little bit at half back. He did some really good stuff around stoppages and tried to be a little more explosive and attacking this week. We saw that come through his two goals in the first quarter and he may have had a few more had he held his marks. Overall it was a very good game from Benny.
Mitch Curnow (for Double Blues v Panthers)
3 disposals, 1 mark, 12 hit outs, 1 clearance, 2 inside 50s
Mitch Curnow played in the ruck for Sturt's reserves but had only limited game time on the field. Disappointingly he only managed a couple of touches and wasn't really effective in the ruck, particularly given his progress in the last couple of weeks. We continue to work with Mitch on his game at training and hopefully he can rediscover those skills he's been working hard on against Norwood this weekend.
