Power coach Ken Hinkley says Robbie Gray has put his broken toe behind him and will line-up in this week’s Showdown
Should he avoid any setbacks this week, Power star Robbie Gray is guaranteed to take on the Crows in a highly-anticipated Showdown 48 on Saturday after recovering from a broken toe.
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Port Adelaide linchpin Robbie Gray has recovered from a broken toe and will play when the AFL club’s season resumes, Power coach Ken Hinkley says.
Gray dropped a weight on the big toe of his right foot about three weeks ago but proved his fitness on Saturday at training.
Hinkley says unless something happens to Gray in the coming week, the triple club champion will play against Adelaide on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval.
“Rob trained yesterday and got involved in some match practice for about 50 minutes,” Hinkley told ABC radio on Sunday.
“We’re really comfortable he is going to be there (on Saturday night.)
“It was a broken toe on his kicking foot as well and there’s always some risk with that but, as of yesterday, something would have to go wrong again not to have him next Saturday night.” Port and the Crows will square off on Saturday night before shifting into hubs on the Gold Coast for at least the next three matches.
Border restrictions in South Australia, and coronavirus rules which dictate 14-day isolation periods for anyone entering the state will prevent the AFL clubs being based in their home city.
Hinkley said Port would fly to the Gold Coast on the Friday before their round three-match against Fremantle in Queensland.
“We will be ready to go whatever we have to do,” Hinkley said.
“This is an unusual season, we will have to do what we have to do and we will be ready to go.
“The good thing now is we have had a bit of time to prepare and I think that helps with any uncertainty and anxiety.
“At one stage, within a week, it was sprung upon us that we may have been going (to a Gold Coast hub) for seven weeks.
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“That certainly created a bit of angst.”
Hinkley said he and his players were itching to return to action.
“You miss the pressure and the competitive stuff of being involved with a football club,” he said.
“I’m 53 and have been doing it since I was 16, 17 at a reasonable level.
“And winter time is football time and I have certainly missed it.”
Davies backs Koch’s prison bar stance
As the countdown to the resumption of AFL football – and one of the biggest games in Port Adelaide’s 150th year – enters its final week, the Power took a tough and physical approach to its training session on Saturday morning.
The club’s head of football, Chris Davies, said it was important the boys were put through a heavy session, including match simulation, to prepare for the weekend’s all-important Showdown against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Davies said the side was not only excited to finally be playing round two after the game was halted in the coronavirus pandemic, but also that the side would wear its prison bars in recognition of it’s 150th anniversary.
Such is the fervour around the black and white bars, the Power will now ask the AFL for permission to wear the historic jumper at all future Showdowns, which has sparked their ire of Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.
Davies backed the stance of his own club chairman, David Koch, who hit back at comments by McGuire that Collingwood would go to court to prevent Port from wearing its black and white stripes.
“We feel very strongly about what we believe in,” Davies said.
“(Koch’s reaction) has been fantastic; the club making sure it stands up for what it believes in, that’s been the hallmark of Port Adelaide throughout the last 150 years, so for us it was really important to make a stand.
“What will happen from here will happen, but there’s no doubt the club is going to fight for it.”
He said Jack Watts – who missed most of last season after breaking his leg in round two – would certainly be in the mix for selection alongside Robbie Gray.
“He’s had a battle over the last year with his body (and) we hope that he’s in a position that he’s able to be selected if the coaches see it that way,” Davies said.