AFL 2024: Teams, selection news for first week of finals

Ken Hinkley is trying to ignore the pressure of another top-four finish, as the Power make their choice between Charlie Dixon and Todd Marshall.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 02: Todd Marshall of the Power celebrates a goal during the round eight AFL match between Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power at Adelaide Oval, on May 02, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says his side won’t get “trapped” by the idea of this year’s finals series defining the club’s season.

And the Power have resisted the urge to bring key forward Todd Marshall back into the side for Thursday night’s qualifying final against Geelong at Adelaide Oval.

Geelong has named an unchanged side, with versatile tall Sam De Koning surprisingly named as an emergency.

After missing a month with a knee injury, De Koning returned through the VFL last weekend and gathered 23 hitouts and 18 disposals playing in a ruck role.

Rhys Stanley has retained the ruck role at AFL level after impressing with 16 disposals, 33 hitouts and two goals in a final-round win over West Coast a fortnight ago.

The Power’s strong finish to the home and away season secured it yet another top four spot under Hinkley.

But after preliminary finals in 2020 and 2021, and a straight sets exit in 2023, Power fans are hoping it isn’t the same story of a strong home and away season being the precursor to Port not making the grand final.

Hinkley said he and his side were not worrying about finals as a whole, just Geelong.

“I don’t know, I don’t write those stories I think we gave ourselves a chance and we are really confident that we are ready for the next month and we hope it goes for a month,” he said.

“The reality is that is to play out and we aren’t going to get trapped into the whole month thing we are going get trapped into this week.”

Before teams were named Hinkley kept his cards close to his chest on whether the Power would name Marshall despite him not playing a full game in nearly two months because of a hip injury and then a concussion.

“We will make the decisions that are right for us and if there are risks involved that we need to take that we will make them,” he said.

But the Power have held off naming him, bringing back fellow key forward Charlie Dixon in for Dante Visentini and Quinton Narkle in for Kane Farrell.

All-Australian defender Darcy Byrne-Jones is set to go the backline to fill in for the injured Farrell and suspended Dan Houston.

“It doesn’t hurt to have one available to you but he has been really important for us forward so we have to be really careful that we don’t mess around too much,” Hinkley said.

Hinkley said the Power was confident it could replace the two attacking defenders.

Ken Hinkley is trying to not look too far ahead. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“We didn’t have Dan for the last game and we lost Kane before half time and we played pretty well, so we have had a half of football without them and we probably played our best half in the second half against Fremantle,” he said.

“It is not ideal but every team has players missing.”

While he has been listed out for the season with his hamstring injury, Farrell started running again at the Power’s captains run on Wednesday.

“Never say never, but it would take a fair bit. It’s unlikely,” Hinkley said.

Hinkley also said the Power had considered putting captain Connor Rozee in defence because of the losses of Houston and Farrell, especially given he had played there in North Adelaide’s 2017 SANFL premiership win.

“Yeah we would, we would have to consider that. Connor has great flexibility for us and has played there successfully in senior football so it is certainly an option for us,” he said.

“We were going to put him there at half time last week.”

Connor Rozee could be given a new role in the qualifying final. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Power have had great success on Geelong star Tom Stewart in the past, using small forward Jed McEntee as a tagger.

But with Stewart now in the midfield for the Cats, it will be a different challenge for the Power.

Hinkley said the Power couldn’t focus too much on Geelong individuals.

“Geelong have great flexibility with their team, they throw them around everywhere so we can’t worry too much about what their players will and won’t be,” he said.

“We will have plans in place for certain parts of our game that we need to be right and if that involves one of their players we will take care of that.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: Teams, selection news for first week of finals