Footy Forecast: Your weekly AFL preview from SA’s most diehard fans
In this week’s Forecast, an Adelaide supporter will be celebrating Tex at Adelaide Oval while anxiously checking his stats while a Port fan has his eyes set on the draft.
A ‘good shot’ for top six as Tex plays his last home-and-away game: Adelaide Crows’ Michael Grant
Adelaide Crows fan Michael Grant has been following the team since “day dot” – right back to when he was a youngster in primary school.
Since then, Grant has shared his fandom with fellow supporters through Crowvid, a podcast that he helped start during the COVID lockdown in 2020.
“It was pretty raw when we started, but it’s got better the longer we’ve gone on,” Grant said, adding that he was not happy after last week’s game.
Adelaide lost to the top of the ladder Fremantle by 24 points last Friday night, after being within a goal halfway through the fourth quarter.
“I was very grumpy, because I thought it was another game that they could have won,” Grant said.
“It was a bit of a rinse and repeat performance where they were pretty much in the game for three-and-a-half quarters and then fell away.”
Midfielder Izak Rankine was again the Adelaide Crows best player, finishing the match with 39 disposals, 10 clearances and one goal.
“It was Rankine and then daylight. I reckon ruckman Lachlan McAndrew put in a very solid effort and once again Jordan Dawson led from the front,” Grant said.
You might like
Adelaide will play its final home game of the season ahead of finals, where they will take on GWS Giants on Saturday night.
Taylor Walker returns to the lineup for his very last home-and-away game in his career after being rested last week while defender Wayne Milera and forward Alex Neal-Bullen will return to the side.
And Grant will be front and centre at Adelaide Oval alongside his son in his first ever night game “just to see Tex play”.
“I’m pretty confident the Crows will win, but depending on what happens with results in other games it could be a live game or a bit of a dead rubber,” Grant said.
For Adelaide to avoid playing the Wildcard round next week and secure a top six finish, the team will need to defeat GWS and rely on either Melbourne, Geelong or Hawthorn to lose their final matches.
“I’ve got the list of all the things that need to go right to make the top six, so I do think they’re within a good shot,” he said.
“If you were to ask me four weeks ago if we would be threatening in finals I would have said yes, but right now it just seems like they don’t have the depth or the quality in players to challenge the best sides.”
Among Grant’s top memories as a supporter is the 2015 elimination final at the MCG where his all-time favourite player Taylor Walker set up the winning goal against the Western Bulldogs.
“When Tex started out, he was just a bit of a larrikin and he’s grown up into a genuinely good bloke,” he said.
“He’s made his errors along the way but he’s apologised for that and I think he’s come out of it a better person.”
‘Sneaky chance’ against the Bombers: Port Adelaide’s David Verner
Port Adelaide fan and The Creed podcast co-host David Verner made the most of the final home and away season match at Adelaide Oval last weekend, but admits his recollection of the match was “a bit blurry”.
Stay informed, daily
Port Adelaide suffered a 76-point loss to Melbourne at Adelaide Oval last Saturday night in a performance Verner has described as “men against boys”.
“With the average age of Melbourne and their experience, it’s 50-odd games more experience and a couple years of age,” he said.
“Their synergy and experience that they’ve got because of that means that they’re just a far better team.
“I was disappointed by it, but not surprised by it, and we’re kind of just waiting to get to the draft.”
Port Adelaide will be hoping to secure the number one draft pick favourite Dougie Cochrane who has been impressive in the SANFL.
Verner said key forward Mitch Georgiades, who signed a two-year contract extension this week, was the team’s best last week after he kicked four goals straight.
The Power will head to Melbourne to take on bottom-placed Essendon on Sunday afternoon, but Verner has some doubts about Port’s midfield depth following injuries to star players Jason Horne-Francis, Connor Rozee and Zak Butters.
“A couple of months ago, I’d say we were a good chance. Now it’s maybe a little bit more of a sneaky chance,” Verner said.
“Ultimately, I’d love to see us get a win for the back end of the year. But it doesn’t mean too much in the grand scheme of things either.”
Despite the lowly-ranking ladder position, Verner said he is “mildly satisfied” with how the season has turned out in Josh Carr’s first season at the coaching helm.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting a deep finals run or anything like that, but the last few weeks have probably been a bit more disappointing,” he said.
“As far as what we’ve seen from what Josh Carr can provide and the structure he has set up the side with already and gotten some decent performances in, I’m reasonably satisfied.”
Having watched all games closely this season, the Port Adelaide fan has picked out defender Aliir Aliir, Jason Horne-Francis and ruckman Jordon Sweet to stand on the podium when it comes to the best and fairest awards.
He will be watching the AFL finals series closely as well, admitting he will be cheering on whoever faces the Adelaide Crows.
“I have no desire to see them have any success. All respect to them, but when it comes to crossing that white line, I’m happy to see them lose and start their holidays as soon as possible,” he said.
Verner is looking forward to watching the AFLW team in action which kicked off with a strong 21-point victory against Fremantle last weekend.
“There is still Port Adelaide football being played, and it’s a damn good football team as well,” he said.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
