PORT ADELAIDE finals debutant Tom Rockliff said playing his first final in his 205th AFL game was everything he imagined and more.
Rockliff ranked inside the top eight players in the VFL/AFL era for most games played before their first final, but was well short of Robert Flower who featured in 270 games before his first finals action.
The 16-point win over Geelong at Adelaide Oval booked Rockliff and his teammates a home Preliminary Final in a fortnight and the midfield ball magnet told Melbourne radio he enjoyed the experience.
“It was everything I imagined and more,” Rockliff said.
“There’s no doubt that there’s more pressure and you’ve got to earn your kicks, that’s for sure.”
Rockliff was part of the Port midfield which turned the game in the third quarter.
The Cats had dominated possession in the second quarter without putting it on the scoreboard before the Power got its game going in the third on the back of winning clearances and causing turnovers in its forward half.
The former Brisbane skipper explained the side got a “rocket” from coach Ken Hinkley at half time and responded well.
“We felt like Geelong were on top, more so in that second quarter and then once we wrestled that momentum in the third quarter, we played the way we wanted,” he said.
“We knew it was going to be a high-pressure game and particularly won and lost in the midfield.
“We felt like last time we played them they got on top around there. They had plenty of easy ball around there to find (Tom) Hawkins one-out inside 50 and they found him enough last night but they were in much better positions for us because he was wide and had a lot of tough shots.
“We felt like through the midfield they weren’t getting a lot of clean ball and when we got the opportunity to win our clearances and go forward, we just played the brand of footy we wanted to.
“We got it in long and deep into our forward half and our talls and our smalls just turned up and Stevie Motlop kicked three and was the match winner that we know he can be and was outstanding.”
Rockliff has been in fine form since being dropped mid-season.
Not only is he finding plenty of the ball as he has become renowned, but he has also increased his tackling and clearance numbers in a midfield that is functioning well.
“Since I’ve come back in, I’ve tried to be a defensive-type mid for the boys,” he said.
“We know Boaky (Travis Boak), Ollie (Wines) and Pepp (Sam Powell-Pepper) are all in pretty good form at the moment and it’s important that we get the balance right around that and we’re not all ball hunting or all trying to win the footy at once.
“I know what my role is in the team – to win the ball in close and get it to the outside. The outside receivers can take it and run it – I’m not going to be the one taking bounces down the wing.
“I’m just making sure that I’m playing to my strengths and that is my defensive side, making sure my tackling is where it needs to be and just fighting, scrapping to get a hand in there and if they do win the clearance making sure it comes out pretty scrappy and no clean ball.”
Rockliff and his teammates will rest and reset with a couple of days off before starting to prepare for a Preliminary Final on a date and against an opponent which will become apparent in the next week.
