AFL 2023: All the latest pre-season news from Port Adelaide
Four playing greats and the club administration that led the push to enter the AFL were elevated into Port Adelaide’s Hall of Fame at the Power’s 2023 season launch on Wednesday night.
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Four playing greats and the club administration that led the push to enter the AFL have been elevated into Port Adelaide’s Hall of Fame.
Power premiership star Chad Cornes, a trio of six-time SANFL flag winners, Roger Delaney, Peter Obst and Rohan Smith, as well as 12 committee members that steered Port Adelaide’s quest to join the national competition from 1990-96 were inducted at a gala event at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night, which doubled as the club’s 2023 season launch.
Cornes was a heart-and-soul player across 239 games for the Power from 1998-2011 who influenced games as an attacking centre half-back or key forward.
After causing a stir when he was drafted due to his dad Graham’s history with fierce Port Adelaide rivals Glenelg and the Crows, Cornes went on to make two All-Australian teams and play a significant role in the Power’s early 2000s finals tilts that culminated in the 2004 flag.
Cornes, who returned to Alberton as an assistant ahead of the 2016 season, joined his younger brother and premiership teammate Kane in Port Adelaide’s Hall of Fame.
Delaney and Smith were linchpins of one of the club’s most successful periods, both playing in the 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996 premierships.
An ultra-reliable full-back who was among the Magpies’ best kicks of that era, Delaney featured in 208 matches from 1984-97.
Smith was a tough half-forward flanker/wingman who booted 258 goals in 251 games from 1985-97 and would often produce telling moments in big games.
Coincidentally, they each missed the 1990 flag – Delaney because he was with Fitzroy and Smith due to injury.
Obst was an important, versatile player during a golden era for the club, donning the black-and-white guernsey 171 times from 1955-68.
He was part of the last four of the club’s famous six-in-a-row premierships (1954-59), as well its grand final triumphs in 1962-63.
The strong marker won the Magpies’ best-and-fairest in 1962, was runner-up in the Magarey Medal that year and played four state matches across his career.
His brother, Trevor, and father, Ken, were also club greats.
Obst died in 2017, aged 80.
Typically, Port Adelaide would induct premiership sides into its Hall of Fame, but on Wednesday night it was an off-field team.
Former presidents Bruce Weber and Greg Boulton, ex-chief executive Brian Cunningham, and directors Jim Nitschke, Barry Wilson, Geoff Monteleone, David Judd, Phil Hoffmann, Frank Hayter, Ian McLachlan, Robert Hoey and Tony Hobby were recognised for the vision and effort that helped secure the club’s AFL licence in 1994, then start in the national league at the end of 1996.
Port Adelaide’s annual Hall of Fame and season launch event, which about 500 people attended on Wednesday night, was not held in each of the past two years because of Covid.
There had been no new inductees since 2019, due to the 2020 gala being a celebration of the club’s 150th anniversary.
Wednesday night also featured Hall of Fame members presenting the Power’s seven off-season recruits with their guernseys.
TRACK WATCH: RUCK BATTLE TWIST AS PORT REACTS TO CORNES SPRAY
Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Directness was the word of the day at Port Adelaide training at Alberton Oval.
After an internal trial on Friday evening described as “scrappy” by forwards coach Chad Cornes, with a lack of direct ball movement standing out, the Power were quick to address this on Monday.
There was a noticeable emphasis on direct and quick ball movement for the Power when they broke into teams for match simulation.
“That’s something we worked on, just getting the ball direct down to our forwards,” young key defender Jake Pasini said.
Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley has said the Power will play “quick, exciting football”.
This was summed up by one particular passage of play on Monday.
Captain Tom Jonas pulled off a pinpoint kick to allow draftee Kyle Marshall to steam out of the backline and produce an even better kick to find Mitch Georgiades, despite Pasini looking like he should intercept the ball.
Georgiades then immediately took off and despite an being at an acute angle he kicked a fine goal from near the boundary.
In other observations from the Power’s training session on Monday:
Mixing it up
After the Power squad was split into the probables and possibles on Friday evening, the sides on Monday were a lot more mixed up.
Connor Rozee and Willem Drew led the midfield for the white side, and were up against Jason Horne-Francis and Travis Boak for the black side.
Horne-Francis started the internal trial well but was then quiet after as he played a lot more time forward than Cornes expected.
But he was almost entirely in the midfield on Monday.
Ruck battles takes another turn
With Charlie Dixon on the sidelines, he was being managed and will be fine for the Power’s upcoming trip to Perth, the ruck battle that is emerging at Alberton had another slight twist.
There was a surprise in the internal trial with Brynn Teakle getting the nod as the starting ruck for the probables ahead of Scott Lycett.
But on Monday the two were on the same side.
Lycett, who has been the Power’s number one ruck for the last couple of years, started at the centre-bounces with Teakle playing as a key-forward.
They swapped later on during match sim.
Teakle kicked a couple of nice goals to show his versatility and spent time after training working on his ruck craft with Sam Hayes.
All eyes will be on who the Power have in the ruck come Friday’s scratch match against West Coast.
Butters bounces back
Zak Butters was wearing a pink non-contact hat because of a minor sprain to his right AC joint but he was heavily involved in match sim.
The young gun would start at half forward for the white team but would try and move up the ground to get the ball.
Butters sat out the internal trial after copping a hit from Lachie Jones in training.
He showed that his left shoulder had nothing wrong with it as he laid a bump of his own on Jones as he tried to run with the ball on Monday.
After playing as a midfielder for large times during the internal trial, Jones was back in defence.
Darcy Byrne-Jones and Trent McKenzie were on the sidelines through management after the internal trial, while Josh Sinn did running by himself after he missed the action on Friday because of a hamstring strain.
Jeremy Finlayson did some running, although his movement was still restricted, as he recovers from syndesmosis surgery.
Hit that â–¶ï¸ button.
— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) February 18, 2023
All the best bits from yesterday's Internal Trial 🿠pic.twitter.com/GUhsM2oYhU
Pasini makes his move
A positive from the internal trial was the performance by Pasini for the possibles side.
The tall defender, who is highly rated at Alberton, suffered an ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in May.
It came when the 22-year-old was on the cusp of making his AFL debut.
The Power originally thought he would be back in full action around the Gather Round in Round 5, but the Western Australian has made such good progress in his recovery he is now hoping of putting his name forward for Round 1.
“The only thing I was worried about was myself and my ability but I was pretty happy with how I performed,” he said of his internal trial performance.
“It is good, it is strong. I’ve done all the tests and have got the ticks there so hopefully I’m ready for Round 1.
“The high performance staff are pretty happy with where I am and all the tests have come back good so I do think I’m ahead.”
The internal trial performance was praised by Cornes and Pasini revealed that Hinkley was also pleased.
“Last few weeks of training I wasn’t really too happy with how I was training and I think that is a given coming back from a long term injury but I’m pretty sure I can get back there,” he said.
“I was going in pretty timid with my ability but Kenny pulled me aside and said he was really happy with how I was and almost back to where I was behind before I did my knee so that was good to here.”
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