WE have had quite a few nail-biters this year. We were able to defeat Carlton and North Melbourne but we were on the other side of the ledger this time around.

This can be a good learning tool that when things are tight towards the end of a game that players can have the experience of  handling those tight contests. Hopefully the boys can take that on board and we can use it when we find ourselves in a similar situation in the future.

Our structures stood up for three quarters. Our pressure and ball use were there. We just didn’t finish the job in the last quarter. Against a quality outfit like Geelong if you give them an opportunity they will take it. It was unfortunate to lose the four points but there were some positives to take out of the game and we’ve just got to give that four quarter effort.

Sammy Mitchell was really good and a lot of our leaders led from the front again and worked hard. There is no doubt that giving our young guys game time throughout the year has seen them take their chance and grow at AFL level – I speak of  guys like Ryan Schoenmakers and Liam Shiels.

Another young bloke who impressed was Josh Kennedy. Joey copped some criticism for his handball to Lance Franklin under pressure late in the game. But when the big fella’s running by for the handball he is hard to knock back.

Joey did some great in and under work around the stoppages and helped set up a number of scoring opportunities for us.  These younger guys have taken their opportunity and have really added to the team throughout the season.

There’s no doubt that we’re keen to win this week’s game against Port Adelaide. We didn’t play well against them when we met in Round 4 and there will be areas we need to improve on from that game if we are to get the four points this week.

Port Adelaide is a very good team, especially over at AAMI stadium. Shaun Burgoyne is back and David Rodan is winning a lot of ball in the middle. Big Warren Tredrea has been producing the goods for them up forward too. They are a dangerous outfit and both teams have plenty to play for.

As for our blokes coming through at Box Hill, we once again had a consistent performance from the same guys who have been impressive over the last couple of weeks.

Cameron Stokes, Brendan Whitecross, Jarryd Morton and Travis Tuck all played some really good footy and have staked a claim. Match committee is always tough when you have so many guys pushing up for a spot, although it’s better to have those headaches at selection rather than the ones we had at the start of the year.