Can We Play You Every Week? (Port 78 - 34 Footscray)

We have been complaining, for the entire season, that Port never plays well for four consecutive quarters, but, guess what, we have just done that. Best game by Port this year, and the score shows it — best percentage of the season. Oh, Footscray... "Can we play you/ Can we play you/ Can we play you every week?/ Can we play you every week?"

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I couldn't watch the game live, but I was able to watch the entire game later on. Great weather for footy. Seriously! I love bad-weather footy. The only issue with the game in Ballarat was the main camera, which should be on the other side, at the hill, facing the covered stands. Otherwise, it was a great show. Only snow would make it better.


I am obliged to say that I liked our first half. It had been a while since the last time I did – probably, it was against Richmond; eight weeks ago. Ebert surprised me positively, Watts' and Motlop's involvement were outstanding, and the entire midfield was playing as if they were all on notice [as they should have been, by the way]. We were facing difficult conditions against a weak opponent. We have dominated Footscray, but the weather, relatively good defense by the Dogs, their accuracy, and Motlop's nerves kept the score close at HT.

Bar few mistakes, we did what we were supposed to do. We played smart footy for a change; specially considering the circumstances. Our offense and ball movement were good. With almost 30 players inside our F50, and conditions affecting long kicks to goal, it was hard for us finding scoring opportunities. Having 8 scores at the half was decent; and having kicked 4.4, acceptable.

We started Q3 with a bang and hold it until the wind turned hard against us midway through the quarter. Then, we kept repealing the Dogs, mostly denying them any chance to goal. When Voss said in 3QT that we could play full defense, he was referring to the possibility of us losing the wind advantage to the Dogs: "the wind keeps changing direction." Otherwise, we were supposed to obliterate them, as we actually did.

In Q4, we had all the wind. It was when the difference in quality between the two sides became evident — we simply blew them over. We could have won by a wider margin. Ebert's miss after siren was a shame. Farrell [who, by the way, seems to have a great kick] almost scored from a bit further up the field some seconds earlier. We could have improved our percentage there!

On a side note, I know he killed it this weekend, being a complete beast as our main target, but I sincerely like watching Dixon rucking in F50. We should do it more often. By the way, Dixon actually made some very smart "false-ruck" plays, where he taps the ball, instead of marking it, during the game. He is not bad at all at it.

Overall, it was a refreshing performance; especially after our last two games. Hopefully, we can carry it on to the Showdown. The Crows will be desperate. We need to be smarter than ever to take advantage of that. We have played smart against Footscray, but we cannot take it for granted.

CARN THE POWER!

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P.S.: For all of us who suffer from P.T.S.D. (PORT Traumatic Stress Disorder), I am sorry, but I need to share these patterns:

Weeks 1-6: W.h, W.a, W.h, L.a, L.h, W.a
Week 7: L.a – v. WC (worst loss of the season)

Weeks 14-19: W.h, W.a, W.h, L.a, L.h, W.a
Week 20: ?.a – v. WL (worst loss of the PAST season)

I have lost my sleep already, and it is only TUESDAY! At least, I will be at my in-laws until Sunday, and I have already told you what happened in the last Showdown I was at my in-laws...

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