FIND out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Sunday, July 17, 2011

Herald Sun
Dees send Power to rock bottom
Zac Milbank

PORT Adelaide's season from hell has officially hit rock bottom, while Melbourne continues to dream of a finals place.  With the hapless Gold Coast no longer saving the Power from sitting 17th, Matthew Primus's men are in the gun to claim the club's first AFL wooden spoon after losing by 21 points to Melbourne at TIO Stadium in Darwin last night. Despite saving some face with a gutsy last-quarter fightback - in which it kicked the first four goals to narrow the 39-point three-quarter time gap, Port was eventually overwhelmed by a far more determined outfit. While Port - now laden with a shocking 2-14 win-loss record - was playing for pride, the Demons have the carrot of a finals berth dangling in front of them which ultimately proved the difference when it mattered most. Only captain Dom Cassisi, hard-working midfielder Matt Thomas and veteran Chad Cornes could leave the ground with their heads held high for the Power, which had far too many passengers. In contrast, the Demons had a much more even spread of contributors, led by strongly built midfielders Brent Moloney and Colin Sylvia, while the options in attack were a constant threat for Primus to counter.

PORT Adelaide didn't want to leave Melbourne alone last night. When Liam Jurrah kicked the first goal of the second quarter, and the Demons were five goals clear, Danyle Pearce snapped one goal, Cameron Hitchcock kicked another and the Power kept hanging in. When Jurrah kicked another, tearing towards goal, Mitch Banner scrambled one from the goal square, bringing the margin back to just three-and-a-bit goals again. A moment in the first quarter, though, had summed up where these two teams were at. Both Jack Trengove and Cameron O'Shea jumped at a high ball on Melbourne's half-forward flank, midway through the term, and both players got a hand to it. Trengove is a top two draft pick playing for a team that wants, and still can, make the finals. O'Shea is a third-round draft pick, getting his first taste of senior football in a team that may win the wooden spoon. Trengove kept his feet, and O'Shea fell. Trengove grabbed the ball, raced away as his younger opponent stumbled back to his feet, and got the ball to Jurrah. Jurrah's long handpass reached Addam Maric, alone in the goal square, and his goal put the Demons four goals to nil clear with only 16 minutes gone.

 

Northern Territorian Liam Jurrah made some sort of homecoming as Melbourne downed a sinking Port Adelaide by 21 points in their AFL match in Darwin.  Port sit last on the ladder after Melbourne's convincing 17.11 (113) to 14.8 (92) win at TIO Stadium. Jurrah, adopted as local hero by the 7,255-strong crowd, kicked three goals and featured in two others as the Demons banked a valued win to stay in touch of the top eight. Melbourne's attacking crumber Addam Maric and fellow forward Ricky Petterd also booted three goals while skipper Brad Green kicked two as Port wilted to remain with just two wins for the season. Power veteran Chad Cornes was among his side's best with three goals, but Jurrah matched that return in a second quarter purple patch which set Melbourne on course for victory. The super skilled 22-year-old Jurrah had already had a hand in two other first term goals and was a constant thorn to Port, who slipped four goals behind by quarter-time. The Demons kicked six goals to two in a dominant opening quarter which established a margin never seriously threatened by Port. Melbourne onballers Colin Sylvia and Brent Moloney were dynamic ball winners, and formed a winning midfield with support from Jack Trengove and Nathan Jones. The quartet feasted on Mark Jamar's ruck control, while Petterd and Maric were forward line livewires as Melbourne stifled a disappointing Port. The Power rallied briefly in a free scoring period either side of halftime to give just reward to the toil of captain Dom Cassisi, who played in the knowledge his wife remained in Adelaide and was three days overdue to give birth. But the Demons responded in kind to lead by 45 points late in the third, only to allow Port to sneak within 14 points midway through the final quarter before holding sway for their seventh victory of the season. Melbourne coach Dean Bailey praised his side's composure for weathering Port's final term fightback. “The conditions were pretty tough and it's always good to win interstate,” Bailey said. “We came here with a real strong resolve that we had to win this game and we did.”