AFL pre-season 2023: All the latest Port Adelaide news as David Koch makes big statement
In a speech at the club’s best-and-fairest, Port Adelaide chairman David Koch made another big statement, comparing the 2023 Power side to the US men’s basketball team of 2008.
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Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has laid down the challenge to Power players, asking who will be their LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in 2023.
Koch has labelled the Power side for 2023 as the “Redeem Team”, the name given to the United States’ men’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, as he sought to inspire Port players at the club’s best and fairest at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
The star studded US basketball team featured such names as James, Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade and gave themselves the “Redeem Team” name – a play on the legendary 1992 squad that was dubbed the “Dream Team” – after a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.
The US side at the 2008 Olympics didn’t lose a game en route to claiming glory in the gold medal game over Spain.
The Power go into 2023 off the back of a disappointing 2022 campaign, in which they finished 11th, despite aspirations of challenging for the flag.
In his speech on Monday night, Koch said it would be a year of redemption for Port Adelaide in 2023.
“We have learnt some valuable lessons over the last couple of years and in 2023 we reset and we go again,” he said.
“The expectation at this club doesn’t change, that is to win and I know you will step up and embrace it.
“2023 in my mind is a year of redemption, from the disappointment of last season.
“We are the redeem team and I can’t wait to see who stands up and makes their mark on 2023.
“Who will step up and become the LeBron or Kobe of this group of players as we redeem in 2023?”
The Power went 0-5 to start the season and while they did rally after that they played catch-up for the rest of the season and could not make finals.
Koch said senior coach Ken Hinkley, who was made a life member of the club on Monday night, had done a good job in keeping the group together despite the poor start to the season.
“We have to use the disappointment to fuel our 2023 campaign and I know that is already happening,” he said.
“To Ken and the coaching group, season 2022 presented a lot of challenges.
“Despite the setbacks you kept the group connected throughout, at 0-5 the group could have fractured as the pressure built but you maintained great confidence in it.”
Hinkley echoed Koch’s theme of redemption.
“So 2023 without going on for too long is around us being better and certainly in David’s words redeeming ourselves and I’m sure this team will do it,” he said.
The Power will head to the Sunshine Coast for a camp next week.
“It is the start of an opportunity for us to re-set some things and reshape the thoughts of the competition,” he said.
“Because we are way better than 11th but we have to live with 11th until we have an opportunity to reshape that.”
ROZEE THOUGHT HE’D BE DROPPED AFTER HORROR START
He claimed Port Adelaide’s best and fairest to go with his All-Australian blazer but Connor Rozee has revealed that he thought he was going to get dropped by the Power after his start to the season.
The 22-year-old young star capped a breakout season for the Power by taking out the John Cahill Medal on Monday night.
“After the first five games I thought I was going to get dropped,” Rozee said.
“So to finish the season individually I feel like I have grown as a player and I’m still at a stage where I’m learning so much and I’ve got so long to go.
“So it is nice to receive individual awards but I just want to be back playing finals, and that’s why I play footy.
“So as much as this means I would give it up to be back in finals.”
The No.5 pick of the 2018 draft had just the 48 touches and two goals in the Power’s first four games of the season, which they lost in a horror start to their campaign.
He thought this wasn’t enough to hold his spot in the team.
“Yeah to be honest every footballer, their spot is never given to them, I wasn’t in great form at the start of the season and you never know,” he said.
“There were boys in the Magpies that were fighting for spots as well.”
But a shift to the midfield from half-forward for the second half against Carlton in Round 5 at the MCG prompted a change in Rozee’s fortunes.
“I guess especially with a bit of outside noise you try and not listen to it but it always gets in a little bit,” he said.
“I’ve got a really good support network around me so I try and not listen to it too much but it is always nice when you do get in some form and can quiet the haters a little bit.
“I feel like I’ve still got a way to go but it is nice to hit some form and know that my potential is there and if I grow a few more things I can continue to grow as a player.”
But Rozee said it wasn’t just as simple as the positional switch.
“There was a lot more than just that for sure,” he said.
“I probably wasn’t in a great state mentally and not enjoying my football that much.
“I guess it comes with getting pumped in the first five games, losing isn’t fun and I never want to be someone in a losing side.
“So I guess it is a challenge off the field with your mental state and I’ve had a few niggles with my body over the last couple of years so staying healthy and moving into the midfield was part of that.
“But there was a lot of things I did around my game also.
“I did a bit of work with our midfield coaches and we have a psychologist and a mental and visualisation coach.
“So there are a lot of options that the club provides us with and I was able to explore those, a lot of it was about getting my confidence back and knowing that I am a decent player.”
CHANGING OF GUARD AS RISING STAR CLAIMS PORT’S TOP AWARD
One of the brightest stars in the game has a John Cahill Medal to his name as Connor Rozee capped his breakout year with Port Adelaide’s best and fairest.
The 22-year-old claimed his maiden award, named after the Port Adelaide legendary coach, at the club’s awards night on Monday at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
After a year in which he emerged as one of the most promising players in the league, claiming his first ever All-Australian blazer, Rozee started as the hot favourite in the count.
He ended up cruising home to his first ever best and fairest, polling 132 votes.
It was 30 votes clear of runner-up, Power star Travis Boak who has finished in the top three — winning in 2019 — for the third straight year.
Dependable defender Dan Houston finished in third, just two votes behind Boak.
Brownlow medallist in 2021 Ollie Wines finished in fourth, seven votes behind, while some of the players who had breakout years for the Power were rewarded in the voting system that involves coaches and Port’s footy boss Chris Davies casting their votes after games.
Sam Powell-Pepper, who had a career-best year, finished in fifth with 91 votes while Todd Marshall was rewarded for his breakout season by finishing in sixth seven votes behind.
Jeremy Finlayson’s ability to fill in as a ruckman in the absence of Scott Lycett earnt the former GWS Giant a top 10 finish.
Now at Hawthorn, Karl Amon finished in eighth.
Rozee also came away with the Coaches’ Award for the most improved player for his remarkable season.
It was sparked by the young gun being shifted to the midfield in the second half of the Round 5 loss to Carlton at the MCG after a quiet start to the season as a half-forward.
Long touted as an eventual midfielder, Rozee showed why the Power were so excited for his transition to on the ball as he tore teams up with his speed and skill.
While he finished second in the John Cahill Medal Boak did take home the Fos Williams Medal as the best team man voted by his teammates for the fourth year in a row and a record seventh time overall.
Lachie Jones won the Gavin Wanganeen Award for the best player under 21.
Despite battling injury, the 20-year-old impressed when he was switched to a role as a small forward having been previously deployed as a defender.
Now delisted, Sam Mayes received the John McCarthy Award for community service for his work initiating and running an inclusive football program for children with disabilities.
SANFL captain Cam Sutcliffe took out the A.R McLean Medal for the best and fairest player in the state league side, while Nick Moore won the Anthony Williams Memorial Trophy as the best contracted player.
Rookie sweeps awards with stunning season
Rookie Hannah Ewings has claimed the first ever Port Adelaide AFLW best and fairest.
The 18-year-old was named as the AFLW Rising Star for the seventh season of the competition and has added another award to her growing collection as she went down in history at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Monday night.
Ewings finished five votes clear of Erin Phillips with 86, while Abbey Dowrick was six votes off the 18-year-old.
The Whyalla product was selected as South Australia’s No. 1 pick at this year’s AFLW Draft and quickly made her mark on the league in the Power’s first ever season in the competition.
She became the first AFLW player to register nine or more clearances and three or more goals in a single game with her effort against Sydney in Round 4.
Dowrick finished second in the AFLW Rising Star award and finished ahead of some of her more experienced teammates in the Port Adelaide count.
Unsurprisingly Ewings also won the best first year player to go home with two awards on Monday night.
Ebony O’Dea was named as the players’ player.
A fierce defender, O’Dea showed her love for the tough stuff as she played every game for the Power in their first season in the AFLW after a move from Collingwood.
Young gun Ella Boag was named as the most improved.
The 18-year-old provided plenty of speed when she took to the field for the Power and showed composure under pressure as she led the squad in disposal efficiency.
TRACK WATCH: WHO CAUGHT THE EYE IN POWER’S FIRST FULL SESSION
Port Adelaide’s pre-season went up a notch on Monday as the big names returned and the new draftees were formally introduced.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson has all the key take-outs from Alberton.
Senior stars return
The Power had their full complement of players available on the track at Alberton on Monday with the senior stars returning for their first session.
Out on the track were veterans such as Travis Boak and Charlie Dixon.
Boak started on the sidelines, along with the recovering Josh Sinn, Tom Clurey and Trent Dumont, after having surgery on a hernia in the off-season — prior to a trip to the United States.
But he was quickly in the thick of things in match simulation, and looking good as he continues his late career rejuvenation.
New do for two
Riley Bonner is definitely standing out at Power training.
The dashing defender is rocking the bleached blonde hair with a mullet and is hard to miss, even when wearing a hat.
He might need to get it touched up though, with a distinct orange tinge becoming a little apparent right now.
Bonner isn’t the only one rocking a new do.
After years of his trademark mullet, leadership group member Darcy Byrne-Jones has had it snipped off.
Given he has had the iconic haircut for so long, it is something to get used to when looking at the hard-nosed defender.
Razzle dazzle
A welcome sight at Port Adelaide training has been the shape Orazio Fantasia has been in.
After not playing any AFL minutes in 2022 because of a string of injuries, Fantasia has started pre-season in good shape.
He was moving well and has even been running through the midfield in match simulation.
The Power had a big issue with their small forward stocks in 2022.
If Fantasia can stay fit and get back to his best then that will be huge for the Power as they look to rebound in 2023.
Tall timber
The Power’s three draftees, Tom McCallum, Tom Scully and Kyle Marshall, were introduced to the full playing group on Monday.
On hand to do the honour was the Power’s national recruiting boss Geoff Parker.
And with McCallum the “smallest” of the three at 192cm, Parker joked that the Power players just needed to look at the size of them.
McCallum spent the session with Clurey and Sinn on the sidelines doing running while Scully and Marshall were with the main group.
RIOLI THRIVING IN GOOD HEAD SPACE
New Port Adelaide recruit Junior Rioli says he is loving the impact a fresh start in South Australia is having, especially how it is helping him mentally.
Rioli arrived at Alberton in the trade period after 51 games in six seasons at West Coast.
The 27-year-old has hit the ground running in pre-season, after spending the off-season in Darwin.
Rioli said he had the best off-season he had in a while in terms of his fitness.
“Yeah definitely (fittest he has been in a while) missing out on footy for a while it does take a while to get back into it but I feel like this off-season has been the most professional for me in terms of training wise,” he said.
“And having a break as well, you need to have a break being in this environment.
“So it is good to be in good nick and I feel if you do the work in the off-season it makes your pre-season more enjoyable.”
When Rioli made his request to be traded away from the Eagles it was met with a strong statement from West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett who said the club was “bitterly disappointed” after supporting Rioli through his two-year anti-doping ban that ruled him out of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Rioli said that he needed a fresh start for his own good.
“Mentally just to have a fresh start I guess a lot of people don’t understand the things that go on outside of football sometimes so to have a fresh start I feel like I can get the best out of my football here,” he said.
“I’m just looking forward to this season and what I can get out of myself.
“Definitely, it was just for my own mental state. I feel like football has really gone in that direction that it is not just a physical game it is also a mental one.
“So to get that balance right I feel like if you can get it right you can get the best out of yourself.
“So it is great to be here and I just want to put in the work to earn the respect of the group and to get that jumper.
“Everything I have visualised before coming out here to be over here training and training with the group of young guys, I feel like there is some good energy around them.
“So I’m thankful to be here, I’m just looking at it week-by-week not month-by-month for my own mental health.”
The arrival of Rioli comes as the Power look to fill the gaps in their small forward stocks following the retirements of Robbie Gray and Steven Motlop.
“Coming over here I knew there was a spot available with the likes of Robbie Gray and Stevie Motlop leaving,” he said.
“So I knew there was an opportunity to come here and play in those similar roles.”
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