“I missed a couple but it’s always good to kick a few goals and set the team up. I usually kick a few towards the end but it was great to get into it early,” Ebert said after the game.
In his fifth year with the club, the 23-year-old found his niche in the forward pocket after bagging 10 goals in the pre-season. With another eight in the season proper, Ebert now finds himself equal-fourth in the AFL’s goalkicking list among stars like Scott Lucas and Matthew Pavlich.
“I think I’ve added some consistency to my game and have a bit more confidence in both myself and the group. I know now I’ve got the ability to kick some goals and believe in myself when I’m having a shot on goal,” Ebert said.
“Last year, I kicked a fair few behinds, so I’ve got to keep trying to kick straight and make the most of the midfield's work.”
Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams will also want the forward to improve his decision making in front of goal. Power fans were having flashbacks of the pre-season match in Darwin when Ebert played on after marking in the goal square in the third quarter and was brought down in a tackle.
“I don’t know what it is [that makes me play on]. I was sort of on the run so I thought I’d keep going, but I probably shouldn’t do that,” Ebert said.
Ebert’s form has been so impressive, Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley assigned his best defender to shutdown the Power forward. Despite giving away 12cm, and 10kg to his opponent, Ebert’s speed and strong marking was too much for Michael Firrito.
“We thought [Firrito] would go to Damon White, but I played on him last year and he is a great player. He’s picked up Fevola and a few big names in the last couple of weeks so it was good to play on a tough defender.”
The Power will head into next weekend’s clash with the Crows full of confidence and probably with a full squad to choose from. Both teams are coming off great wins but, as history shows, form means little when it comes to a Showdown.
“We always step up for a Showdown and there are a few guys who might play their first one, so that will be a great experience for them. We’ve had a great pre-season, as everyone knows, and we’ve been running really hard. We played a couple of good trial games and now we’re two from two.That really helps our confidence.”
“But Showdowns are a different story and it doesn’t matter how either team is going, so it’s shaping up as a good game.”
