Footy Forecast: Your weekly AFL preview from SA’s most diehard fans
Ahead of this weekend’s two blockbuster clashes at Adelaide Oval, SA’s diehard Crows and Power fans give InDaily their insights.
‘Top four finish on the cards’: Adelaide Crows’ Yvonne Marshall
Longtime Crows fan Yvonne Marshall was “delighted” with her team’s round one performance where the Crows secured its first win over Collingwood at the MCG since 2014, taking the game with a 14 point win in front of a hostile MCG crowd.
“I didn’t think the Crows would beat Collingwood at the MCG, especially with people like Keane and that young lad Dan Curtin out. I was very worried, but I had egg on my face,” she said.
Marshall says crowd favourite, powerhouse forward Riley Thilthorpe kicked three goals and was among the team’s best, while half-backer Wayne Milera had his career best match, finishing with 34 disposals and 10 coaches’ votes.
“I thought Darcy Fogarty was a little bit down, but I would definitely expect him to respond this weekend,” she says.
“I don’t like criticising my own players to be absolutely honest, I think they all try as hard as they possibly can.”
Marshall catches the O-Bahn to be front and centre of every home game at Adelaide Oval, and she can’t go without her pre-game good luck pasty.
“My husband usually buys chips, but he said he won’t be buying them this week because they’ve gone up to $7,” she said.
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“We get there a couple of hours before the match to settle in and listen to the pre-game talk on the radio.”
She will be at the oval watching tonight’s blockbuster clash against a red-hot Western Bulldogs outfit, with live wire forward Izak Rankine returning to the side after serving his four-match suspension for a homophobic remark in a Collingwood and Crows clash last season.
Marshall believes a top four finish is on the cards for Adelaide if they can overcome tonight’s hurdle that will be led by the Bulldog’s Brownlow fancy Marcus Bontempelli.
“I don’t know whether they’re going to tag Bontempelli tonight, I’m not a coach. But he is definitely one player that worries me in the Bulldogs.”
Marshall has been a diehard supporter since 1997 after watching the inaugural Showdown against Port Adelaide, tossing a coin as to which team she would support.
And she has passionately stuck with her decision since, with the Crows 100-point win against the Power being “one of the highlights” from last season.
“I never expect to beat Port by big margins, and we did, and we were absolutely elated. Not that I hate Port, I only hate them when we’re playing them.”
‘It was pretty much support Port, or you don’t get dinner’: Port Adelaide’s Brett Hill
It was a “disappointing” first hit out under new coach Josh Carr last week that saw Port Adelaide get decimated by 46 points against serial bottom-dwellers North Melbourne, according to Dr Brett Hill.
Hill, an avid supporter and Port Adelaide board nominee, said the team “lacked intensity” in last week’s matchup, with team leaders playing below par.
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“Aliir Aliir wasn’t at his best. Obviously at his best he’s a pretty influential player to us, so I thought he was probably one that stood out.
“The midfield generally got beaten up a little bit by North Melbourne, so I think they’d probably be pretty keen to respond this week.”
Amongst the first match doom and gloom, Hill could still salvage a few bright spots from a game that fans will want to soon forget.
“There weren’t a lot. I thought up until he injured his ankle Todd Marshall had a pretty decent game and showed some promising signs for someone playing in a new position (in defence).”
Hill admits that being a Port Adelaide supporter does often come with some difficulties.
“The hardest thing is the stigma that comes with being a Port supporter, the misnomers about what our supporters can be, and just the flack we cop especially after a week that we’ve just had,” he said.
Despite the hardships, Hill’s “number one ritual” is attending every Port Adelaide home game with his dad, which he has been doing for “40-odd” years.
“My dad’s a 50 plus year member at Port so in our household it was pretty much support Port, or you don’t get dinner kind of thing, so I’ve always been a supporter.
“It’s probably the one thing Dad and I religiously do together, so that’s pretty important to us.”
They will attend the first home game of the season on Sunday afternoon against a struggling Essendon side who were beaten comprehensively by Hawthorn last weekend.
“Hopefully we’ve learned our lesson from week one not to take anyone too lightly and I think we really want to focus on improving on our intensity in the contest,” he said.
“I’d like to think if we play at our best this is an opportunity for us to get a win and I think that’d good for the team’s confidence and good for the season.”
And he believed young forward Jack Whitlock would be one to watch this season saying he would be “pretty damn good in the future”.
After some bold predictions for a top four finish by last week’s Port forecaster, Hill isn’t willing to get as excited about his team’s run just yet.
“We’re playing under a new coach and learning a new game plan, so I think they will be pretty up and down throughout the year,” he said.
“One thing I would say is I think we’ll definitely get better as the season progresses.”
Are you a diehard fan with a big opinion on how your team will fare this season? Share your thoughts by Wednesday, 5pm, each week at [email protected]
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