Did GWS play well because Port were poor, or were Port bad because GWS played well? 

On this occasion I would go with the latter. To use current footy-babble, or cliche, GWS won today’s game due to their structures.  GWS played to a game plan while Port, if they had one, didn’t.

GWS’s back half, in particular, was very strong. GWS ran hard all day across all lines.  Port were outclassed and are not the team they were. Skill was an issue for Port and in footy that is a fundamental problem. Perhaps it was because of the 600m altitude of Canberra that made Port kick over the heads of their own players far too often.  On numerous occasions, especially going into their forward line, Port kicked too high for their teammates allowing GWS defenders to either mark or make an easy spoil.  Footy-babble would have dictated “lowering their eyes”.  GWS didn’t have the same problem which makes a solid case for altitude training.  I don’t know if they lowered their eyes.

In 1988 Bernhard Langer had a similar problem while practicing for the ESP Open at Royal Canberra.  On one hole Langer hit a seven iron thinking he would come up short of the group ahead of him.  Due to the higher altitude of Canberra, Langer’s ball hit one of the players in the group ahead of him.  When reaching the group, legend has it Langer said, “Normally I can’t hit a 7 iron that far”, and then made a note in his yardage book.  No apologies apparently.

Stevie J is one of my favourite players.  The enjoyment I gain from watching Stevie J play is primarily based on his skill repertoire and his ability to read the play.  As one skilful footballer once said to me, “Any bastard can run, but not all can play footy”. While I thought Stevie J could have easily played on at Geelong seeing him turn out for GWS today it is apparent both teams have benefited.  Up close, and playing in a relatively inexperienced team, it was a joy to see Stevie J play.  His kicking to position was often a lesson in itself.  At about the 21 minute mark of the second quarter he kicked a perfectly weighted left foot pass to Patton who was on a hard lead.  The ball appeared in the space Patton was running into with NASA-like precision.  Unfortunately Patton kicked a point, but it was a delight to see the lead up by S. Johnson.  Early in the third quarter Toby Greene was a beneficiary of Stevie J’s masterful reading of the play.  Appropriately on this occasion Greene kicked a goal. Apart from Stevie J’s contribution to the team, the clear positive for GWS is that he is transferring his knowledge to his teammates.  This teaching occurs both implicitly and explicitly which, as the skill acquisition experts will tell us is an ideal combination for the passing on of knowledge. GWS were clearly the dominant team for the day, but for a short period in the third quarter there was a hint Port were mounting a challenge.  Port kicked a goal in the first minute of play.  A minute later from the restart GWS quickly had the ball in Patton’s hands.  Appropriately for Canberra it was obvious Patton had been having kicking lessons from Bronwyn Bishop.  Patton’s kick would have made the soon-to-be former member of Mackellar proud. 

From there the match panned out as the previous quarters indicated it would.  GWS were too hard running and consistently had players as backup and in the right place.  If I was a GWS supporter, today would have given me a great deal of pleasure and hope for the future.  In contrast, there was very little in Port’s performance that I thought was good. GWS won every quarter of the match which was a true indication of their dominance.  They had outstanding players in Ward, Coniglio, Mumford, Lobb, Shiel and Palmer.  Patfull also had a very good game though his stats weren’t all that high.  As a special mention young Jack Steele, number 11 for GWS, is destined for a long career.  This is Steele’s second year and he only recently turned 20, but he is tough and physically strong.  Steele is very good in tight areas and a clever footballer. From today, I’m saying GWS for the eight and Port will be lucky to finish 13th.

For many years Dr John Baker was a senior biomechanist at the AIS. He barracks for Richmond but like a good footy-loving Canberran, he’ll head to Manuka when footy comes to town.