2014 VFA 1st Preliminary Final - Footscray v Port Melbourne

Paul Amy suggests so: https://twitter.com/PaulAmy375/status/510933769834872832/photo/1

NorthPort wrote:

bulldogboy wrote:

For the first 2 and a half quarters, Port were the much better team for mine and except for some errant shooting at goal, should have been another 2 or 3 goals up. They definitely moved the ball better and Footscray's field kicking was abysmal.

Jong (bog) and Goodes kept us in it and Jones lifted in the third. You would think players such as Grant, Austin and Young etc, with AFL experience would do better.

Full credit to Port and my friends and I enjoyed the atmosphere of a 'real' footy ground. A real pity the Grand Final will be at the sterile stadium down the road.

Thanks bulldogboy.. Yes we had our chances early and dominated possession but didn't put enough scoreboard pressure on.. If we were going in with a bigger lead early it would have put a different dynamic on the game, and it may have been played on our terms for longer.

Ayres mentioned it in his post match address to players that our poor goal kicking has plagued us all year and when you kick a point instead of a goal you never have an opportunity to relieve pressure. I felt we were struggling to run out the game and Footscray were breaking more and more tackles.

Full credit to Footscray.. A good strong side that has embraced their return into the VFA and I believe they will beat Box Hill next week.

Good luck to Williamstown as I really hope that they two make a grand final in their first year back as a standalone side.

I believe the official crowd was just over 8000 (including the reserves Grand Final - Well done Seagulls). The ground looked good and Footscray supporters helped make it a game with real atmosphere.

For those great players such as John Baird and Sam Pleming. Thanks you for years of outstanding service to the club. You have been a large part of what makes Port Melbourne a great club.

If that was a real 8000 (I reckon about 6000 at tops) then you could get in another 6000. easily

paul wrote:

Paul Amy suggests so: https://twitter.com/PaulAmy375/status/510933769834872832/photo/1

Say it ain't so... Baird isn't a huge surprise but Pleming is a big loss.

As Gary said - two of the best players the club has ever had. It is a real pity and they are both going to be extremely hard to replace. I'll always remember Plem as Mr consistency, constantly taking that mark when you need it, consistently delivering accurately, consistently being one of the best on ground. He is a huge loss and almost impossible to replace. John Baird another big loss. Bonnas has said he is leaving as well. Bonnas has had more comebacks than Rocky Balboa but I feel that this one is for real though. Despite the departures I have full faith in the people working behind the scenes though that they will recruit well in the off season.

As for the crowd and people doubting 8k - when I walked in I asked the security who has a counter how much he is up to - he showed me the counter and his one was at 2100. Their was another security on his opposite side so he would of had about that many go through. As well as that the other gates were open. This was about 20 minutes before the game with the line being at least 30 metres back. I wouldn;t doubt 8k.

Great season for Port - went through the home and away 16 - 2 and got 2 quarters away from playing in the grand final after having a ordinary 2013. This was a great turn around and hopefully next year we can go one step further. It is not beyond us. Not sure if anybody from the club reads this page but if they do we thank you for all your hard work and appreciate your great effort this year.

Been a pretty good year overall. Finishing on top after an average 2013 and losing to both grand finalists in Box Hill and Footscrayl which is no disgrace. Both our sides making prelims is also a very good effort.

Enjoyed seeing many new faces at Port this year and also the development of our young stars most notably Woofindin, T O'Sullivan, Mascitti and Prowse. Really looking forward to the final Borough TV to see Ayresy take on the year and what we need to do to take that extra step. We certainly need a big defender or 2.

Just on Baird & Pleming. 2 outstanding players for our club who will be sorely missed. You look at all there achievments and they are simply irreplaceable.
No doubt Pleming could of played on for a few more seasons but he's given us 9 seasons of absolute quality. He's in the best every week and when you think that in all that time he's never played a reserves game and missed only 2 matches in 9 years!