It feels like there is still a reluctance to fully buy into this Port Adelaide side, even as they head into a home qualifying final on Thursday night. It is easier to mention the key absences, the thwarted campaigns, the squandered double chances.
There were the same nagging doubts about Geelong heading into the 2022 finals series. We had seen the same movie play out throughout Chris Scott’s tenure – promising home and away seasons that punctured in about 15 minutes when the finals pressure came.
