It's hard to imagine the chip inside that many player's heads all being switched to overload so Port must have been up to something but what? Some theories -

1 Some sort of unholy alliance between the South Australian clubs to take out as many Fremantle players before we play Adelaide in round 1.

2 They were trying to scare the Eagles into a forfeit for their match in round 1.

3 Still dirty that Pavlich didn't sign with them

4 Still dirty that Schell didn't sign with them (I'll concede that this is less likely)

5 The chip bred into the shoulders of every South Australian has grown to include a hatred of WA.

6 Exposure to radiation causing Incredible Hulk like symptoms (probably not but still more likely than the Daniel Schell one)

7 Were angry that they couldn't get peas on top of their meat pies at Subiaco Oval

8 The Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne sends the Adelaide public into an angry rage every year.

9 They're a bunch of filthy cheats

10 Their coach is a few churches short of an Adelaide


[Edited by shane on 10-Mar-03 09:51]

I think Port Adelaide is an excellent case study in how the leader sets the culture of the organisation. When you appoint a coach who is a gutless bully-boy, who has always been a front-runner, and thrown to tantrums when things don't go his way you'll likely get a team of these players. Especially when leaders tend to recruit images of themselves -- which explains the Corne's boys.

In all seriousness Port has some serious talent in their squad but I suspect with Choko's tendency to tantrum they'll always have a fragile psyche and be prone to the choking tactics we have seen the last few Septembers. I expect them to self-destruct in the next two seasons.

It certainly seems to be calculated, if obnoxious and yet failed attempt to rub out some Freo players for the start of the season. I hope CC gets some joy from Geischen on the matter - the umps woosed out.

All ten of your points are lucid, well thought out and hard to argue with Shane. My theories -

1) Slapperbitch did a pre-game guest team talk for the Choke-O boys (a vain effort to make sure Freo didn't upstage their pathetic drubbing against the Hawks).

2) Choke-O's original strategy was canned after he got flustered coming over - He didn't get a window seat, He didn't like the in-flight movie, they only had chicken left and he wanted the fish. His coffee was cold. The bloke driving the bus to Subi was giving him funny looks, any of these kinds of things can stuff up even the finest coaching strategies - and they seem to get worse the closer Choke-O gets to a premiership.

3) Slapperbitch did a guest stint in the coaching box for the second quarter.

4) Choke-O did a guest stint in the coaches box for the second half.

Sweet justice would be to hand out the same drubbing to Port at home -now added to my "What I want to see this Year" wishlist.

Ralph, spot on, if poo is placed on your forehead it dribbles all the way down, (eventually)
happily for us we seem to have finally got a coach with a good sense of humour, a good sense of timing and a good sense of rising to the occaision, as evidence Sat nite