Changes for Port Adelaide (Official teams named)

[ShockOfHair]

I'm suprised no-one has suggested that Maxfield is dropped. He's been useful off the bench, but spent a LOT of time on the ground in the last 5 minutes of the game without getting a touch, generally occupying space (and organising the boys). I thought that the Swans may have been facing a please-explain from the AFL.

And didn't give away a free. One of our best.

[Yuri H]

Great to hear McGlynn will be back! I dunno, though, after all those initial reports about Bradshaw I'll be surprised if he's actually back so quickly. Very, very pleasantly surprised, but still.

[Bas]

Dr Nathan Gibbs did a good job of manning the mark when LRT went down. He should get the credit for Hille missing his set shot.

Dr's get away with murder but fancy getting away with this !

I thought Channel 7 reported this morning that Tadgh was back on the Port. They should give him another week off which will be 2 weeks.

McGlynn back and after such a good performance at AAMI last time. Body memory should carry him through.

Good news to hear that JB is back for Mugpies game. Crossing all fingers and toes for that one to happen. I hope either TDL of LJ debut for this game as well.

[Bloody Hell]

Of the current team, Smith and Bird would be selected before (in no particular order):

Jetta
Mattner
Bevan
Playfair (not like for like, but restructuring is always possible)
Pyke (see above, but a little more murky)

Our best 22 at full fitness is as such:

B: Smith, LRT, C.Bolton
HB: Kennelly, Grundy, Malceski
C: Hannebery, Kirk, Jack
HF: McGlynn, Goodes, O'Keefe
F: Rohan, Bradshaw, White
R: Mumford, McVeigh, J.Bolton
I/C: Seaby, Mattner, Kennedy, Bird

Emerg: Moore, Jetta, Shaw

If I've missed anybody obvious, let me know. I really like Mattner as a player, I am by no means one of those jumping up and down demanding he be dropped every week, but we're developing as a side and his form of late hasn't been great. At full fitness, he probably just misses out. Smith is definitely ahead of him.

Generally agree...and it looks a good team!

Three points:

1. Mattner in ahead of Shaw. Mattner gets much tougher defensive assignments than Shaw and is more damaging moving the ball out of defense.

2. Positionally, as long as he is able Mr A.Goodes should play in the midfield. He is a good CHF. He is an absolute star in the midfield. Who replaces him>? Not clear at this stage. On the SCG I don't think it matters, with two other tall forwards he's simply not required, as the HFFer's can forfill the required role sufficently, on bigger grounds??? I want to say LJ, but he's a way off atm and you'd have to drop someone else.

3. From other posts - As "defensive midfielders" I think Smith is ahead of Jack. Both ways. He is a natural footballer and is always composed...not to say Jack is crap, the opposite. Smith is very, very good. Commentators are already calling him the human blanket, comments never made about Jack. By the end of the year people will be saying - Ling, Cornes, Jones, Smith.

[digital]

You have just about go ti right, and isn't it quite an impressive line up. Just get them on the paddock.

[BSA5]

Generally agree...and it looks a good team!

Three points:

1. Mattner in ahead of Shaw. Mattner gets much tougher defensive assignments than Shaw and is more damaging moving the ball out of defense.

Disagree. I think we underrate Shaw's assignments. He blanketed Rioli against Hawthorn for example. Now, his attacking game wasn't the best (in fact, it was possibly his worst for the Swans), but he did a VERY good job on Rioli. He did a similarly good job last year against Dane Swan who was in red-hot form. I also think he's more damaging than Mattner, he's a far better kick, probably equal decision maker, and finds more of the ball. The only place that Mattner beats Shaw is peeling off his man and affecting aerial contests, and supplying a tough body at ground contests, but we have plenty of players that do that. Shaw provides something new that we don't have. We'd be a much poorer side without Shaw's run.

2. Positionally, as long as he is able Mr A.Goodes should play in the midfield. He is a good CHF. He is an absolute star in the midfield. Who replaces him>? Not clear at this stage. On the SCG I don't think it matters, with two other tall forwards he's simply not required, as the HFFer's can forfill the required role sufficently, on bigger grounds??? I want to say LJ, but he's a way off atm and you'd have to drop someone else.

Agree with that I guess, but the coaching staff are intent on playing him at CHF, and I don't really mind it. He could be listed on a HFF or wing, with McGlynn or Jack respectively moving into a forward pocket and White being listed at CHF, but it doesn't really matter. They're all on the park, it can be sorted out when it needs to be!

3. From other posts - As "defensive midfielders" I think Smith is ahead of Jack. Both ways. He is a natural footballer and is always composed...not to say Jack is crap, the opposite. Smith is very, very good. Commentators are already calling him the human blanket, comments never made about Jack. By the end of the year people will be saying - Ling, Cornes, Jones, Smith.

I do think Smith is ahead of Jack as a tagger. But I also really rate Smith's work as a small defender. Against sides that don't really have dangerous small forward, by all means play Smith in the middle on a dangerous midfielder, but when we're up against blokes like LeCras, Milne, S. Johnson, Didak, etc, guys that you wouldn't really trust Mattner or Malceski or even Shaw to really clamp down on, I'd play Smith on them. Smith is a gun defensive player, he doesn't shirk the hard ball, and he is brilliantly composed coming out of defence.

Again, it's a matter of horses for courses, and I certainly don't think Smith should be relegated to the small defender role indefinitely, but I think against top small defenders, he's of most use there. Kirk still has it in him to tag (though it seems nowadays he has to almost completely sacrifice his attacking game to do so), Jack too (though not as good as Smith, definitely), McGlynn even. We have options that mean we don't need Smith to be a permanent midfield fixture.

[liz]

1. Mattner in ahead of Shaw. Mattner gets much tougher defensive assignments than Shaw and is more damaging moving the ball out of defense.

I'd dispute that. With Smith not really playing on the very small forwards this year, and no Crouch, that job has largely fallen to Shaw and has gone unheralded. And I don't think we've been cut up so far this year by a small forward. Davey did kick a couple of goals on Sunday - and noticeably outmarked Shaw on one occasion - but I still don't think he cut Shaw up. So Shaw's defensive contributions have actually been quite important, and he is still providing rebound as well.

[ugg]

Jetta jettisoned!

PORT ADELAIDE v SYDNEY SWANS
Port Adelaide
B: Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile, Troy Chaplin
HB: Paul Stewart, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek
C: Jay Nash, Domenic Cassisi, Travis Boak
HF: Matt Thomas, Jack Trengove, David Rodan
F: Brett Ebert, Daniel Motlop, Tom Logan
Foll: Dean Brogan, Danyle Pearce, Kane Cornes
I/C: Jason Davenport, Hamish Hartlett, Daniel Stewart, Cameron Hitchcock
Emg: Matthew Lobbe, Danny Meyer, Josh Carr

In: Hitchcock
Out: Matthew Broadbent

Sydney Swans
B: Rhyce Shaw, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Nick Smith
HB: Martin Mattner, Heath Grundy, Tadhg Kennelly
C: Nick Malceski, Brett Kirk, Gary Rohan
HF: Ryan O'Keefe, Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy
F: Daniel Hannebery, Jesse White, Kieren Jack
Foll: Shane Mumford, Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh
I/C: Paul Bevan, Craig Bird, Ben McGlynn, Mike Pyke
Emg: Matt O'Dwyer, Ted Richards, Patrick Veszpremi

In: Kennelly, McGlynn
Out: Henry Playfair (soreness), Lewis Jetta

[Nich]

Interesting. I'm happy with that. Say, maybe a Vespa or MOD for Bevan and I'd be sweet with this line-up. Will be interesting when Braddy and Bolts come back to see what happens if there are no further injuries.

[jono2707]

No complaints from me - Jetta will be back - doesn't hurt to give a young un a bit of a rest. Fingers crossed that McGlynn and Tadgh will make it onto the ground.

[JudesaGun]

Would love to have seen Vez for Bevan.

[Matty10]

Davey did kick a couple of goals on Sunday - and noticeably outmarked Shaw on one occasion - but I still don't think he cut Shaw up. So Shaw's defensive contributions have actually been quite important, and he is still providing rebound as well.

Shaw received the rough end of the commentary stick in that marking contest too. He was running back, goalside of his opponent to help out, but the ball was a mongrel that dropped short and so, luckily for the Essendon player, Shaw's weight was going in the opposite direction which meant he could not compete very effectively.

[CJK]

So Adam up forward for the whole game then?

[Hartijon]

yeah,remember that! It made Shaw look bad but there was not a lot he could do about it. Even though he looks totally distressed when things go wrong he actually just gets on with it and seems to be going as hard at the end of a game as the beginning. Hard runner and good attitude!

[Matty10]

So Adam up forward for the whole game then?

You'd have to think so. Big ask for Jesse also - but hopefully he is up for it and gets good support from the midfield.