Round 15, 2011
Collingwood v Port Melbourne
by Mark Towson
Port Melbourne’s next assignment in season 2011 was a rare trip into Magpie territory to take on Collingwood. The Pie’s VFL side has been very inconsistent during the season however with 17 AFL listed players which included a number of its premiership stars, this was never going to be an easy day at the office for Gary Ayres and his men.
1st QUARTER
Port got off to the perfect start with Wayde Skipper nailing a set shot from 40m out after a patient build up and some precise ball movement. It wasn’t too long before Collingwood hit back on the scoreboard as the match become hotly contested.
Port speedster Tristan Francis who was playing against his former side for the first time was involved in a very heavy contest which saw him stretchered off with concussion.
This left Port a man down for the rest of the match.
With both sides kicking 3 goals for the term, the game was set up perfectly for the healthy crowd in attendance.
Dean Galea looked the most dangerous forward on the ground with his 2 opening term goals and crisp marking.
At the first break Collingwood held a 2 point lead.
2nd QUARTER
Borough coach Gary Ayres was fairly happy with his side’s first quarter effort but wanted Port to tidy up a few areas and be a bit cleaner with its disposal. He also mentioned that if they did the right things he felt that the breeze could be an advantage.
As they have done in every 2nd quarter this season, Port was able to get on top and win the quarter.
Early goals from Dean Galea and Josh Scipione had the Borough in front and with their tails up. Valenti, McMahon, Dwyer and Dillon were able to rack up possessions and give the Port forwards plenty of opportunity.
Two more goals from Port warrior Ryan McMahon had Collingwood reeling and the danger bells were ringing for the home side.
Just as Port was about to take the game away from the Pies, it conceded 2 goals deep into time on to undo a lot of their hard work.
For all Port’s second quarter dominance, they had to settle for a 10 point half time lead.
3rd QUARTER
The third term was low scoring and very tightly contested. With many stoppages and big amounts of players around the ball, no side was willing to back down and concede easy possession.
Only Michael Dillon and Ryan McMahon could kick truly with the game being a real arm wrestle.
The Borough defence was made to work hard but stood tall under some fierce pressure. Jake Edwards and Hugh Sandilands were shining lights down back for Port, while Sam Pleming chimed in with some clean grabs when required.
The Pies were playing a similar game to what their AFL side usually does and this was making for a terrific tight contest.
Collingwood were able to kick 3 goals to Port’s 2 for the quarter to take the match right up to the Borough.
At the last break Port was leading narrowly 9.10.64 to 8.9. 57.
4th QUARTER
With the game up for grabs and Port being a bit flat for periods of the match, not too many would have expected the Borough’s last quarter barrage.
As in many games earlier on in the season, Port put the foot down and went to another level. Goals to Dwyer and Keely got the ball rolling followed by another pair to McMahon and Galea.
With the lead now at 4 goals it was do or die for Collingwood. Momentum can be very hard to stop at the best of times but with Port controlling possession and moving the ball so brilliantly it was a case of Port Melbourne by how much?
With Rose having a quiet game and only kicking 1 goal which came in the last term, it was full forward Dean Galea doing most of the scoreboard damage. He was able to kick 2 more last quarter goals to give himself a 5 goal haul for the afternoon. This could have been even bigger with Galea missing a few shots he will be kicking himself about.
Port’s day ended in nice fashion with Chris Cain kicking a goal after the siren to give Port a hard fought 48 point victory and win number 12 for the season.
Be at Teac Oval on Saturday afternoon to see if Port can continue its golden run when it hosts the Bendigo Bombers from 2pm.
Go The Mighty Borough!
Port Melbourne 17.12.114 Def. Collingwood 9.12.66
Collingwood
Goal Kickers: D. Reilly 2, K. Ugle 2, J. Bolton , B. Johnson , T. Couch , B. Sinclair , T. Stubbs
Best Players: S. McNamara, K. Ugle, R. Condy, J. McCarthy, B. Sinclair, B. MacAffer
Port Melbourne
Goal Kickers: D. Galea 5, R. McMahon 4, M. Dillon 2, P. Rose , W. Skipper , S. Dwyer , C. Cain , J. Scipione , D. Keely
Best Players: W. Burstin, W. Skipper, J. Edwards, H. Sandilands, R. McMahon, S. Dwyer
Last Modified on 13/07/2011 14:40