Belligerents
PORT ADELAIDEYear to date: WWW (in trials)
Last five at ground: LLLLL
Currently ranked: no ranking
OPPOSITION
Year to date: LLL (in trials)
Last five at ground: WWWWW
Currently ranked: no ranking
HEAD TO HEAD
Magpies 194 v 188 Redlegs (Drawn 16)
LAST FIVE
Magpies 1 v 4 Redlegs
PLAYBILL
SANFL IGA League - Round 1Norwood v Port Adelaide
Thursday 3 April
First bounce 7:15pm
Academy: 4:30pm
Hashtags: #pafclive #legsport
Tickets at the gate: $14 general, $8 concession, U18 free
TIME MACHINE
Round 18, 2013. It was wet, it was slippery, and on the Norwood bog the Magpies were easily accounted for by a Norwood side cruising towards the flag. Graham Johncock kicked two goals for Port Adelaide while Aseri Raikiwasa was best on ground playing in defence.Port Adelaide 1.2 1.4 2.5 2.8 (20) def by
Norwood 4.4 6.4 10.4 13.5 (83)
at Norwood Oval
Best: Raikiwasa, S. Gray, Watt, Kirkwood, L. Slattery, Meiklejohn, Scanlon, A. Young
Goals: Johncock 2
TRIAL GAME WASHUP
It couldn’t be more chalk and cheese between these two teams. On the one hand, Port Adelaide has gained a significant player influx and played good footy to win its three trial games. On the other, Norwood has lost a significant chunk of its premiership-winning playing group and has lost all three of its trial games.The one commonality between the two teams is the changing faces in the coaches’ box - both Garry Hocking and Ben Warren will make their official SANFL debuts on Thursday night.
FINAL SAY
It goes back over 140 years, but the ledger between Port Adelaide and Norwood is incredibly even, with just six wins separating the two clubs. What has been more lopsided is the Magpies’ recent form against the Legs, having won just a single game against Norwood since 2009.Port Adelaide’s record at The Parade is even more appalling, having not won in eight matches stretching back to 2008 at the ground.
Norwood’s is an unusual ground and the Redlegs play it well. What Garry Hocking will look to do is play the fast moving Port Adelaide gameplan to put the typically resilient defensive model of the Redlegs under pressure and score goals freely.
A fast start like against North Adelaide on Friday night will be crucial and the performances of Kane Mitchell, Ben Newton and Sam Gray will be essential to providing the run and carry the Magpies want through the middle and out of defence.
