"Statistically, 2011 was Port Adelaide's worst season in 141 years, finishing 16th with only three wins from 22 games. Rounds 20 and 21 saw the club lose to Collingwood and Hawthorn by record margins of 138 and 165 respectively. The 2012 season was marginally better but a loss against Greater Western Sydney resulted in senior coach Matthew Primus stepping down. Assistant coach, Garry Hocking, took over for the remaining four games, with a draw in the final round against Richmond the best result.
On 8 October 2012, Ken Hinkley was announced as the new senior coach of the club. This marked the first time that the club had appointed someone not associated with the club before since Fos Williams in 1950. Television personality David Koch was named chairman of the club and numerous board members were replaced. The 2013 preseason also saw Travis Boak succeed Domenic Cassisi as the captain of the club.[62] The club finished the home and away season 7th on the ladder, making it the first time that they had qualified for the finals since 2007. Port travelled to Melbourne to play Collingwood at the MCG in an Elimination final where they won by 24 points; they then lost to Geelong by 16 points the following week."
There was no bigger basket case in the AFL than Port Adelaide. Not a cent in the bank, no supporters, a distinct lack of on field talent, a playing list that just didn't care and no future.
With the right personnel at the top, a teacher in front of the playing group and an ENJOYABLE work environment, things can very change quickly.
I just hope BB, The Judge and Trigg are up to it, because THAT is where it starts!
It's a fine line.
If you bounce back to quickly, without the list development, you can end up improving but not enough to get the choccies.
It's my own belief that Collingwood have not been worried about falling away after halfway through the season.
They get the benefits of membership buying the dream early till the middle of the year but they also get flexibility with some good draft position. Combine that with some slick trading and they get a strong list.
I'm not 100% sure it's deliberate, but I don't reckon they are upset about all those losses.
Been saying it all along, change the coach and things can turn around very quickly.
Been saying it all along, change the coach and things can turn around very quickly.
It happened for the Wallabies and Socceroos . . .
Not forgetting that we have changed the list management, pretty much the whole club regime and a large chunk of the playing list too.
It's a fine line.
If you bounce back to quickly, without the list development, you can end up improving but not enough to get the choccies.
It's my own belief that Collingwood have not been worried about falling away after halfway through the season.
They get the benefits of membership buying the dream early at the till the middle of the year but they also get flexibility with some good draft position. Combine that with some slick trading and they get a strong list.
I'm not 100% sure it's deliberate, but I don't reckon they are upset about all those loses.
Agree..you need depth to win a flag and you can bounce back say like Port, but without 30 odd players capable of playing decent senior footy you cant sustain success...
Pies are building depth and they have that aura of being the biggest club with a great membership base and and that helps them be a destination club for some of the big gun players and they do seem to get deals done....
Buckley needs to deliver as a coach now that he has the basics to work with...unlike Bolton who is still assembling our list and trying to build options and depth...
"Statistically, 2011 was Port Adelaide's worst season in 141 years, finishing 16th with only three wins from 22 games. Rounds 20 and 21 saw the club lose to Collingwood and Hawthorn by record margins of 138 and 165 respectively. The 2012 season was marginally better but a loss against Greater Western Sydney resulted in senior coach Matthew Primus stepping down. Assistant coach, Garry Hocking, took over for the remaining four games, with a draw in the final round against Richmond the best result.
On 8 October 2012, Ken Hinkley was announced as the new senior coach of the club. This marked the first time that the club had appointed someone not associated with the club before since Fos Williams in 1950. Television personality David Koch was named chairman of the club and numerous board members were replaced. The 2013 preseason also saw Travis Boak succeed Domenic Cassisi as the captain of the club.[62] The club finished the home and away season 7th on the ladder, making it the first time that they had qualified for the finals since 2007. Port travelled to Melbourne to play Collingwood at the MCG in an Elimination final where they won by 24 points; they then lost to Geelong by 16 points the following week."
There was no bigger basket case in the AFL than Port Adelaide. Not a cent in the bank, no supporters, a distinct lack of on field talent, a playing list that just didn't care and no future.
With the right personnel at the top, a teacher in front of the playing group and an ENJOYABLE work environment, things can very change quickly.
I just hope BB, The Judge and Trigg are up to it, because THAT is where it starts!
Exactly! Sometimes if you get a bad coach, where the players won't play for him, you get the results Port got in 2011-12, and the results we got last year. Those are often situations where a new coach can change alot. Not sure, with the loss of so many players, we'll be jumping into the finals, but there's a good chance we'll play alot better with the right attitude, commitment and development.
Agree..you need depth to win a flag and you can bounce back say like Port, but without 30 odd players capable of playing decent senior footy you cant sustain success...
Pies are building depth and they have that aura of being the biggest club with a great membership base and and that helps them be a destination club for some of the big gun players and they do seem to get deals done....
Buckley needs to deliver as a coach now that he has the basics to work with...unlike Bolton who is still assembling our list and trying to build options and depth...
.....and you know Bolts and Carlton won't get the dream run Buckley and the Pies get with the media.
I believe we can make things work with our club now that so many changes have been made. Surely now the players have a motivation to be better than they ever have before. We have changed so many things that I am suprised we didn't change the clubs name.
Agree..you need depth to win a flag and you can bounce back say like Port, but without 30 odd players capable of playing decent senior footy you cant sustain success...
Pies are building depth and they have that aura of being the biggest club with a great membership base and and that helps them be a destination club for some of the big gun players and they do seem to get deals done....
Buckley needs to deliver as a coach now that he has the basics to work with...unlike Bolton who is still assembling our list and trying to build options and depth...
One thing that Malthouse did well while at West Coast and Collingwood was to build depth. His mantra was to have two capable players for each position. While Collingwood is rebuilding after shedding blokes who didn't fit Buckley's model, they have a reasonable base to build one.
Our list, through poor recruiting, injury and bad luck, lacks depth but still has a nucleus of decent players. I think that we will bounce back as that nucleus of decent players is unleashed and others develop and step up. However, unless that bounce is maintained and supported by good list management, solid player development and, above all, cutting edge coaching, we'll flop again.