Port Adelaide Power v Adelaide Crows
AFL Aussie Rules : Australia : AFL Premiership
AAMI Stadium, Adelaide
Sunday, 25th July 2010, Start 16:40 AEST

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This clash sees a resurgent Adelaide side take on Port who is playing their second game under caretaker coach Matthew Primus in the local showdown.

The Crows are playing the football that was expected of them at the start of the year and are now only a win away from being right in the mix for a top 8 berth. The Power is at the opposite end of the spectrum and will only be playing for pride in this one.

Port Adelaide Power (14th, 5-11) Form : LLLLL

Port went up to Darwin last week and they were shocking after quarter time. The team made error after error and was dominated right across the field. Adelaide and Bulldogs are similar teams and if something is not changed I can see a very similar or even a worse result to last week for Port.

The defence of the Power will struggle against two of the games most exciting forward prospects in Kurt Tippet and Taylor Walker. The defence struggled enough last week without facing Barry Hall and that gives the impression that this week will be a serious task for the Port back-men. Troy Chaplin will be the most important figure and is likely to be asked to pick up the lively Taylor Walker. The confidence of the Crows will result in a lot of pressure for Port’s defence and I am not too sure how they will respond.

The midfield of Port Adelaide is under a lot of pressure to get the job done against their cross-town rivals this week. The centre is Port’s only realistic chance to give them an edge, but will be difficult against a Crows midfield that is gelling at the right time of the year. Danyle Pearce and Dom Cassisi are the main figures through the middle for the Power and they are now the leaders. Their younger team-mates will be inspired by them if they can have a strong game, so expect them to figure prominently if Port are to be competitive.

Justin Westhoff has not developed as expected and is a massive disappointment for the Power. This could be a game where he shows the potential he has and kicks a few goals to help Port. Brett Ebert and Jay Schulz are important member of the Power forward 50 and unless one of them can find a way to kick 4 goals or so, I feel they will not win because Adelaide’s scoreboard pressure should be too much to handle.

Adelaide Crows (10th, 7-9) Form : LWWWW

The Crows are on a massive high and are now playing with massive amounts of confidence, especially after beating table topping Geelong last week. This week is technically an away fixture but playing at AAMI in Adelaide with 8 days off should see the Crows come away with a good win.

The defence has sharpened up in recent weeks and was particularly good holding the offensive Geelong team to only 63 points. Ben Rutten, Graham Johncock and Scott Stevens have been playing well and with Stevens and Rutten likely to play on the bigger forwards, Johncock may get a Davenport or Ebert. The positive of the Crow defence is Johncock and Simon Goodwin’s ability to bring the ball out of 50 in a fast and effective manner.

In the middle I will only talk about the best two players at the moment even though they are all playing good at the moment. Patrick Dangerfield floats through the centre and last week he shut down Gary Ablett and got plenty of the ball himself. But the real danger man for the Crows midfield is Bernie Vince. He was their best player last year and started this year off very slowly. He is now playing at his peak and showing why he was backed heavily to win the Brownlow Medal last year.

The forward line has the likes of Richard Douglas who can get involved and kick a few goals from time to time but it generally relies on two men. Tippet and Walker are to young players with huge potential. They are big and strong and can take marks on the lead and above their heads. With the Crows midfield finding form the natural progression is that these two begin kicking plenty of goals, which they have done over the last 6 weeks
or so.

The Betting Tip

Adelaide really should be too good here

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Adelaide to win by 16 or more at Centrebet.
The type of bet is a Tribet and it is paying 1.57 (High Stakes)