Almanac Footy: Mid-season footy reviews – Part 4

 

In Part 4, we will look at another four teams alphabetically – Port, the Tiges, Sainters and Sydney.

 

Port Adelaide:

 

Mid-season:
You look at the rankings of Port’s top-20 players, and you can see about half a dozen players who have played less than a handful of games. This may indicate: 1. injuries, 2. a new coach who will try new and developing players when injuries or lack of form to older players occur, and 3. mature players struggling to change to a new style. A look through the twilight and mature players shows that there are only 6 of 17, not including Soldo who has retired, who are either injured and out of form. With Butters likely leaving, it may be rebuild time for Port.

Shame for Port. They have attempted to protract a finals’ window for about 10 years without a cup.

 

 

Richmond:

 

Mid-season:
Things have gone both as expected, and less than expected for the Tigers. Personally, I thought that they wouldn’t win a game, and they’ve won two. Less than expected is the continued run of injuries, mainly from pushing junior boys into senior footy too early. The media have already covered the Tigers injuries. However, some past decisions are haunting them. Chol left because he was queued behind Riewoldt and Lynch, and now he is CHF in a very good Hawker team. Collier-Dawkins was on par with Ross, when the Tiges delisted him. Ross is now a leader, and Collier-Dawkins would be with him too. Even last season, they chose the younger but injured Gibcus over the mature Tyler Young. The latter is now playing a key role in Westcoast’s defence, while Gibcus has broken down again, and Annard had to be drafted mid-season to cover his loss. So, the big idea for rebuilding is fine. The concern is that the Tiges are falling down on the detail.
Mind you, Hayes-Brown is finally kicking on. The return of Brown and Trezise, lately, have made their defence stronger, which won them those 2 games, and they are sharing the midfield around more than last season, which benefits the developing players too. However, intercepts across the defence are generally down from last season.
It will be some time before the Tigers rise again.

 

 

St Kilda:

 

Mid-season:
Meh! Just when you think someone has changed their spots, they prove you wrong. St Kilda looked so tempting this season, but when under pressure with a more offensive style, the coach has reverted to his old defensive traits. Silvagni, Windhager, Flanders, and De Konning are all playing defensive roles. The loss of Dougal Howard appears to have also put their defense out of sorts. Caminiti, such an exciting prospect a few years ago, seems to have lost his way too. While Steele is killing them down at Melbourne. Where they should have gone for genuine midfielders, they spent BIG on the luxury bookends instead. Did them no good. Another false dawn for the Sainters.

 

 

Sydney:

 

Mid-season:
A few years ago, when they looked old and tired, the Swans went for young midfielders – Chad Warner, Gulden, Sheldrick, Roberts,…. Now those juniors are midfield leaders. Of course, they were complimented by mature stars, such as Mills and Heeney. Also, they recruited Amartey, Blakey, McLean, McInerney, and McDonald before that. Sydney recruit well. Recently, Jordan, Serong, Curnow, and Rosas.
Now they have a strong Swans Academy. To quote that famous contemporary Celtic scholar: “You wear it well!”

 

Further details, including you club’s best-performed mid-season team, can be found at https://www.ozfootylistmanager.com/

 

Any questions, please ask.

 

Next: Part 5 – Westcoast and the Bulldogs.

 

Cheers

 

Read Parts 1, 2, and 3, and more from Mickey McTigger Here.

 

 

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