PORT’S PLAN TO RIGHT SHIP
TYPICALLY after six games of a season clubs begin to get a picture of where they sit compared to their opponents.
But for BFL club Portarlington, the reality of where it sat among its rivals was known well before a ball was bounced.
The opening six matches has only confirmed what the club already knew: 2021 was going to be a long, tough year.
The Demons have not kicked more than eight goals in a game and have suffered losing margins of 128, 83, 87, 166, 140 and 200 points.
From a scoreboard perspective it paints an ugly picture, and in isolation it would be hard to argue against.
But for Portarlington coach Peter O’Connor, small wins within matches is what he is looking for from his young team, and he says he has seen signs it is doing that, albeit to varying degrees.
“It is tough, there is no doubt, it is a tough year,” O’Connor said.
“But we are trying to look a little bit beyond the scoreboard and taking little wins out of the game.
“For most games there have been periods where for 10 or 15 minutes of the quarter we are more than competitive and take it right up to the opposition, but we can’t maintain it.
“We have as many as 10 guys who are straight out of under-19s and who haven’t played for 18 months, and it is tough on young bodies to try to maintain effort against older, more seasoned opponents for a long period of time.”
As the cooler months approach and the tough matches continue — Portarlington is yet to face premiership fancies Torquay and Barwon Heads — there is always a fear for clubs who are battling on the field of numbers dropping off during the week and on game days.
It makes training even more challenging as coaches struggle to come up with drills for smaller groups and means there are often calls made to past players on a Friday night to see if they are free to fill in.
But the Demons are yet to have any issues with numbers or morale, and in fact are thriving during the week as O’Connor and his coaching group push on with their message, which the players have bought into.
“We haven’t had a Thursday night where we have had less than 50 blokes on the track,” he said.
“Last week was our worst night for a few weeks because of injuries and other things and we still had 50 blokes on the track, and it has peaked at 60. Tuesday nights is a little lighter but it hasn’t dipped below 40, so from a training perspective we are getting plenty of numbers.
“Saturday was a disastrous day for us in terms of injuries and unavailability and we were still able to field a reserves side with three on
We are not expecting much this year, or even next year, but it is a building process and all the players have bought into it. Demons coach Peter O’Connor
the bench, with a list of 15 injured players. So the guys are keen and I think part of that is because our message has been pretty consistent.
“We are not expecting much this year, or even next year, but it is a building process and all the players have bought into it. We are disappointed with the numbers on the scoreboard, but we haven’t dropped off morale-wise.”
It begs the question as to what Portarlington is aiming to achieve out of this year when wins are seemingly such a long way off.
For O’Connor, it becomes simple after Round 9 when the Demons have played every team in the competition: don’t lose by as much as the first time they played them.
“I don’t expect the second half of this year to be as bad as the first half, but I am not going in thinking we are going to win two games,” he said. “What we have spoken about is after we have played every side, we have a benchmark for the second half of the season, and if we are tracking how we want to be, even if they are defeats, we should be able to get closer.
“So if we get within 80 points of Modewarre at home (after losing by 200 points on the weekend), we would regard that as a win, and we are just being realistic about that. We are not saying let’s beat them or run them to within 10 points, I think everyone accepts the fact we are not quite in that position.
“But we are all determined to go better in the second half of the season and we are all working towards that, so our goal is to make those margins closer.”
This is not the first year Portarlington has battled on the field.
Its struggles have been well documented, and after no wins in 2019 and no footy at all in 2020, there is a chance it will enter the 2022 season without a win under its belt since July 28, 2018.
But O’Connor insists the Demons are in safe hands.
The junior section of the club is flying, with teams right up to under-17s producing positive results, and off the field the community is rallying behind its senior side with strong attendance and a willingness to put their hands in their pockets on game day.
He says rival clubs are commending his team for its effort, and that will shape how the team looks in the years ahead.
“Our first three home games have set records,” O’Connor said. “All the numbers from those, with our gate-takings, the canteen and bar, have been better than they have for a long time, so the community is getting into it and I think that is because we have been honest with everyone.
“One of the pleasing things for me is opposition clubs are saying ‘This is a bit of a different Port side, their good footy is really good, they just can’t maintain it, but they’re not giving up’.
“They are acknowledging we are not quite up to their standard but the feedback from most clubs has been to stick at it.”