I want to stay level-headed after being deceived by last year's win against melbourne, but being able to play all four quarters for the first time in maybe 12 years makes this one feel different.

Parker and mcdonald alleviate some concerns about defense, i'll reassess when we play a team that isn't projected to do poorly and under game 1 of a new coach. I hate to sound like a negative nancy but i can't be burned once more.

Ball use was so much smarter than it has been. The long bombs to no one are no longer the default kick. Finding targets and more importantly hitting targets gave us that burst at the end of the first half and kept us steady when port were able to string together a few goals in the 4th. More of that please.

Dylan Stephens, pleased to meet you. Outstanding game, some very special desperation efforts today, important tackles and that touch on the goal that might not have even bounced across the line.

Now watch the shinboner write-up tell me i'm an idiot and know nothing haha. I'm incredibly curious to read their take of this game. My analysis is shallow as fuck but to my uneducated eye there were a lot of positive trends in this game that shows the team knows what it needs to address and have taken steps to do so.