Port Adelaide’s recruiting and draft strategy has left it with too many similar inside midfielders
Power coach Ken Hinkley has an unbalanced squad and it has left him with a major selection headache and a number of senior players out of his best 22, says Kane Cornes.
Kane Cornes
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Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has a selection problem.
The Power list management department has recruited too many similar types, particularly in the midfield.
To put it simply, there is an excess of inside midfielders on the playing roster.
Former captain Travis Boak is having an outstanding year and is an automatic selection, meaning five quality midfielders are vying for only one spot.
Co-captain Ollie Wines, Sam Powell-Pepper, Boak, Tom Rockliff, Willem Drew and Joe Atley possess similar attributes as players.
All six are elite contested ball and clearance players, display courage and are more than adequate tacklers.
However, besides Boak, none are versatile enough to play another position, and all six are hampered by poor ball use and decision making at times.
As a result, the Power’s midfield has looked sluggish and unbalanced when Hinkley has selected three or more of these inside midfielders in the same 22.
The Power is two wins and three losses when Rockliff, Wines and Powell-Pepper have played together this year.
Hinkley will test this mix again on Saturday night with the inclusion of Drew to partner with Wines and Boak.
Wines’ kicking efficiency is at an alarming 42 per cent this year, while Rockliff is going at 55 per cent.
Powell-Pepper and Boak are well below the AFL average at 52 per cent. In his eight games this year Drew is the best of the lot kicking at 64 per cent.
Port Adelaide is rated 15th in the competition for kicking efficiency in 2019 at 62 per cent.
This stat has caused Hinkley grief over the past three seasons and is the primary reason he has moved first-choice defender Dan Houston into the midfield.
Houston’s poise and ball use through the middle has been a standout in the past month.
Port Adelaide’s playing squad is nearing full fitness, with the Power match committee having 42 out of a possible 45 listed players available for tomorrow’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.
Jack Watts is the only first-choice player unavailable.
Reigning best and fairest winner Justin Westhoff will line up alongside All Australian’s Paddy Ryder and Rockliff in the SANFL tomorrow.
Powell-Pepper will also play for the Magpies after being dropped last week.
Both Powell-Pepper and Rockliff have a significant fight on their hands to regain selection as the Power push towards finals.
Rockliff signed a lucrative four-year deal to join the Power from Brisbane at the end of 2017 but due to repeat soft tissue injuries his time at Alberton has been underwhelming. He will on the wrong side of 30 at the beginning of next season.
Powell-Pepper burst onto the scene in his 2017 rookie season playing all 22 games.
Since then, the 21-year-old has struggled for form and consistency.
The Power should explore trading him home to a Perth-based club at the end of the season while he still has significant currency.
Fremantle in particular would benefit from Powell-Pepper’s attributes in the midfield.
Building a playing list isn’t an exact science, but Port Adelaide have overcompensated with too many similar inside midfielders.
I’m no mathematician, but I do know six players doesn’t go into two positions.
WINNERS
1. CLUREY V NAUGHTON
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley admitted post-match key defender Tom Clurey hasn’t been in great form over the last few weeks. Clurey responded in emphatic fashion keeping Tom Hawkins goalless. His match-up with Western Bulldogs high flyer Aaron Naughton tomorrow night will be enthralling.
2. WELCOME BACK
Charlie Dixon had only eight possessions and one goal in his return to AFL football however his spiritual impact on the side shouldn’t be measured by statistics. Dixon’s presence makes the opposition nervous and his forward line ruck craft allows Scott Lycett to set up behind the ball which strengthens the Power’s defence.
3. CROW DATA
Champion Data have rated Adelaide a 50 per cent chance of finishing inside the top four this year. A remarkable recovery considering the panic that engulfed the club at round four.
4. LYCETT DELIVERS
Boom Power recruit Scott Lycett made the most of his reprieve after he was almost dropped last week. His 24 disposals and nine clearances against Geelong was his best at AFL level.
5. HUMBLE SUPERSTAR
Eagles Premiership forward Josh Kennedy had eight shots on goal against Essendon and fired a warning shot to the rest of the competition. He is the most powerful and potent key forward in the game.
LOSERS
1. SELLER’S REMORSE
Adelaide received pick 12 for Charlie Cameron when he departed for Brisbane at the end of 2017. In his two seasons at the Lions Cameron has turned himself into the AFL’s best small forward and Brisbane are miles in front with that trade.
2. KEATH SILENCE
Why hasn’t Adelaide signed up gun out-of-contract defender Alex Keath yet? The longer he remains unsigned the more concerning it becomes.
3. WHERE’S FOG?
After playing 10 games in his impressive rookie season, Adelaide’s number 12 draft pick from 2017 Darcy Fogarty is yet to be sighted at AFL level this year. Despite injuries to fellow forwards Josh Jenkins and Tom Lynch, Fogarty continues to languish in the SANFL which is a major concern for Adelaide and its development program.
4. INSIPID SAINTS
In one quarter the St Kilda players sealed the fate of its coach. In the third term against Brisbane on Saturday the score was nine goals to one but most alarming was the fact that Brisbane had 43 more disposals but still laid 14 more tackles.
5. ROOSTERS SEE RED
Spare a thought for North Adelaide coach Josh Carr who will come up against a stacked Port Adelaide tomorrow. The team includes Westhoff, Ryder, Rockliff and Powell-Pepper. The Roosters are stuck at the foot of the ladder on minus two premiership points.
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