Willem Drew, Trent McKenzie and Jake Pasini all sign on to stay at Port Adelaide until 2022
Port Adelaide’s unwavering faith in Willem Drew has continued with the midfielder signing a two-year deal after playing just 10 games in four years. He and Trent McKenzie, who has also re-signed, explain what a new deal means to them.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Port Adelaide midfielder Willem Drew feared his career might be over when he suffered another foot injury this season and has thanked the club for its unwavering faith after signing a new two-year deal.
Drew has played just 10 games in four years since being drafted with Pick No. 33 in 2016 while battling serious foot injuries but the Power has seen enough to offer him a third contract at Alberton.
He was one of three re-signings announced by the Power on Tuesday along with Trent McKenzie who has also been a story of persistence with 121 games in 10 years and 15 in three years since joining Port Adelaide from the Gold Coast.
The club also re-signed emerging young defender Jake Pasini all on two-year deals taking them to the end of 2022.
Drew was hoping to grab a regular spot in the Power’s side this year but was cut down by a foot stress fracture requiring surgery before and after Christmas. He is now back in full training and playing in Port’s scratch matches.
“I’m absolutely pumped,” he told News Corp about his new deal.
“And I’m really grateful to the club for showing faith in me and signing me on.
“I knew I was coming out of contract this year and just wanted to play some games to try to get another deal and when you’re struck down with injury you think the worst.
“But I knew it wasn’t a major injury, it wasn’t an ACL or something like that, but I’m just so grateful the club has shown faith in me.
“It is frustrating and last year I was able to get a few games early and get back into the team late in the year, I took a lot of confidence out of that and was hoping to have an impact this season.
“But as it turned out I got injured again early on in pre-season, and there are times in rehab and you’re by yourself and you think it’s the last place you want to be. But when you put things into perspective especially with COVID and people losing their jobs and businesses going broke, in the scheme of things it’s not bad.
“In any sport people have to deal with injuries so you’ve just got to get on with it and try to get better.”
Drew made the squad to play the Western Bulldogs in pre-season but had another setback.
“I knew after that game that something had happened so I had to get it fixed up and start the process again,” he said.
“Justin Westhoff had a similar thing to me early in his career and you speak to blokes like him and how he went about it and you lean on your family and mates a fair bit.”
The 21-year-old went home to Warrnambool where his family and girlfriend are over the Covid-19 break and returned in good shape where he is now doing full training and playing as an inside midfielder in the Power’s scratch matches as the senior team charges towards the AFL finals.
“I suppose you always have hope that you might be able to get a game, the boys who haven’t been playing AFL have only had limited opportunities with everything that’s going on,” Drew said.
“Kenny has been pretty consistent that when we do get the opportunity to make sure we perform because you never know what’s going to happen.
“The boys are obviously playing well which is good to see and it’s tough for positions, so if everyone is pushing then it’s going to make us better.”
McKenzie was delisted by the Suns in 2017 and played just one game in each of the past two years with Port Adelaide on one-year contracts but has made full back his own this season.
“I knew personally I had the ability to play at the top level. I just had to prove to my coaches and teammates I could do it,” McKenzie said.
“I’ve worked really hard on my game over the last couple years, but I always believed.
“I worked on the defensive side of my game. My strength is obviously my kicking, but my one-on-one battles I’ve worked really hard on (and) Brett Montgomery has been a great help for me.
“My last two deals have been one-year contracts signed really late in the year. To sign for two in the middle of the year is huge for me.”
The trio’s signatures follow Charlie Dixon and Sam Powell-Pepper both recommitting until 2023 at Port Adelaide last week.
WHEN WILL WE START TAKING PORT ADELAIDE SERIOUSLY?
Port Adelaide has occupied top spot of the AFL ladder for 24 weeks.
They’ve beaten the past two premiers in Richmond and West Coast by a combined 69 points.
Their defence has conceded the second fewest points in the competition and having avoided unexpected slip-ups which brought them undone in previous seasons, they are staring at two home finals en route to a possible grand final.
“They’re not doing much wrong are they?,” former Tiger Matthew Richardson said after a businesslike Port Adelaide took care of North Melbourne on Saturday night.
So, what’s the problem then?
Most football experts agree that Port Adelaide can win the flag.
But not many, if any, think they will.
Maybe on their day, if everything goes right, they may reluctantly concede.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Not once in the past 24 weeks as they sat atop of the ladder with a healthy list and an envious percentage in this COVID-impacted season has the Power been installed premiership favourites.
Right now they aren’t even in the top four chances with the bookies.
At $7 they are listed behind Richmond, West Coast, Geelong and Brisbane.
A Ladbrokes spokesman on Sunday said the closest Port Adelaide has ever come to being considered a genuine flag threat this year was after their win over the Tigers in Round 11 when they were third favourites at $6.
Third, so not even expected to make the grand final.
Not even Bruce McAvaney, who is a parochial South Australian, has them in his top three chances, instead going for Richmond, Geelong and Brisbane to win it this year.
You’d expect that from a Victorian, like respected football analyst Mick McGuane who wrote a scathing piece on the Power a fortnight ago when he labelled them the “top four team that can’t win the flag”.
McGuane cited their “undersized key defenders” and their inability to stop the opposition when it penetrates their forward half press, despite the fact only Geelong had conceded fewer points this season, but because of the way the Cats and Brisbane dismantled them in their two biggest losses this year.
So what else is holding them back? Finals experience?
They haven’t played finals since 2017 and, as the critics will remind you, haven’t won a final since 2014.
Brisbane hasn’t won a final since 2009, but never mind that.
And when Richmond broke through for its flag in 2017, it had not won a final for 16 years.
No two paths to glory are the same in this competition.
Critics will point to Port Adelaide being smashed by Brisbane and Geelong this year, yet won’t mention they comfortably beat Richmond and West Coast.
The other knock is they are too reliant on Charlie Dixon.
Fox Footy’s experts pondered this very question on Saturday night with Cameron Mooney adamant they can’t win it if he goes down and Brad Johnson adamant they can.
But Dixon has never been fitter and is in career-best form.
Perhaps it’s because some think they are ahead of their time after opting for youth over experience when taking a long-term view of the list build at the end of 2018.
But that didn’t worry the Western Bulldogs in 2016 when they famously won the flag from seventh with a month of manic pressure that almost redefined what finals intensity is.
Port Adelaide is 12-3 with Essendon and Collingwood to come in the regular season.
Ryan Burton and Mitch Georgiades are their only injury concerns although they can expect to lose Zak Butters to suspension before finals.
They have an experienced coach in charge of an all-star coaching box and will play their first two finals at home.
The Power believes it can go all the way.
Ken Hinkley said as much way back in February when he declared “we’re going to start this year wanting to win the premiership in our 150th year … so look out, we’re coming”.
Most of the footy world scoffed at that suggestion seven months ago and it is still scoffing now.
But that’s fine by Port Adelaide.
After beating Richmond by 21 points last month, Hinkley was asked “do you now wear the title ‘the real deal?’”
“I don’t care,” Hinkley said.
“We don’t care, we care about performance and being consistent.
“We haven’t always been able to say that but I now can talk about a pretty consistent team that plays for each other.”
At what point of 2020 will the competition start to believe in Port Adelaide like it believes in itself? Perhaps only a flag will do.
MORE FOOTY:
The numbers reveal the Power players taking their game - and their club - to the next level
Port Adelaide defeats North Melbourne as Travis Boak stars, but Zak Butters suspended for high hit
Dan Houston vows to make amends on return to Port Adelaide team after COVID-19 breach
Charlie Dixon signs new deal with Port Adelaide, Trent McKenzie set to extend his deal next