AFL 2021: Port Adelaide Power players who could break into best 22
Port Adelaide was seven points away from the 2020 Grand Final. Here are seven players who can force their way into the side in 2021.
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It was not easy being on the fringes at any AFL club last season, particularly at Port Adelaide.
Not only was anyone overlooked for selection unable to push their cases in second-tier competitions, but the Power used a league-low 30 players in 2020, aided by few injuries and impressive form.
That meant three of its four top-25 draft picks from 2019 were made to wait for their debuts and the line-up remained settled, as the club finished top with a 14-3 record.
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Only Brad Ebert (retired) is missing from the 22 to feature in the club’s six-point home preliminary final loss to Richmond.
But every new season brings a battle for spots and the Power will be no different in 2021.
With Port Adelaide being seven points away from making last year’s flag decider, we have chosen the septet most likely to break into its preliminary final outfit.
Aliir Aliir
Games in 2020: 14 (for Sydney)
The Power clearly envisages the 26-year-old among its best 22 long-term after handing him a four-year contract and he can help them address a weakness – backline size.
Port Adelaide had the most miserly defence in the competition this past season but sometimes struggled to contain bigger forwards, such as Tom Hawkins and Eric Hipwood.
At 195cm, Aliir will be Port Adelaide’s equal-tallest defender, alongside Jarrod Lienert, and take pressure off Trent McKenzie (191cm), Tom Jonas (188cm) and Tom Clurey (193cm). With McKenzie coming off a career-best season, in which he placed equal-fifth in the club’s best and fairest, Clurey, who did not finish in the top 10, might struggle to hold his spot if a tall defender made way.
Aliir’s ability to ruck could also prompt a reshuffle at Peter Ladhams’s expense.
Whose spot could he take? Tom Clurey, Trent McKenzie, Ryan Burton, Peter Ladhams
Miles Bergman
Games in 2020: 0
Recruited as a wingman/half-forward, the 19-year-old Victorian has been converted into a half-back flanker and it is there he will be hoping to get a crack.
Bergman was drafted at pick 14 and would have been able to show his wares in the SANFL in 2020, if not for clubs having to withdraw their second-tier teams due to COVID-19.
He is athletic, boasts a long kick and has been an emergency, so he is close to getting an opportunity. Half-back is not an easy line to break into at Port Adelaide though.
Darcy Byrne-Jones is the club’s reigning best and fairest, its latest top draftee Lachie Jones is a SANFL premiership defender and Hamish Hartlett, Dan Houston and Ryan Burton are mainstays there.
Whose spot could he take? Ryan Burton, Xavier Duursma
Willem Drew
Games in 2020: 0
The red-headed inside midfielder made his debut in Round 1, 2019 and finished with 10 games that season but foot injuries sidelined him for the entire 2020 campaign.
Power officials remain bullish about his prospects, handing him a two-year contract extension in September.
Given Drew’s injury issues, getting through a summer workload of training will take priority. But if he stays healthy, he will be knocking down the selection door.
Whose spot could he take? Sam Powell-Pepper, Tom Rockliff
Orazio Fantasia
Games in 2020: 5 (for Essendon)
Fantasia is a near-certainty to be in Port Adelaide’s Round 1 side as long as he gets through pre-season unscathed.
Like Drew, a major issue for the ex-Essendon livewire has been staying off the injury list.
Fantasia was restricted to just five games for the Bombers in 2020 due to quad and calf problems.
Across the previous two seasons, he featured in just 28 matches.
The Norwood product should find a home in the Power’s forward line, allowing Zak Butters and Connor Rozee more opportunities in the midfield.
A spot is already available due to Brad Ebert’s retirement but Steven Motlop’s position may come under threat if other tweaks are made.
Whose spot could he take? Brad Ebert, Steven Motlop
Kane Farrell
Games in 2020: 11
The wingman/half-forward played 11 of the Power’s 17 minor-round matches, including nine in a row from Round 4 to 12, but was overlooked for its finals campaign.
Farrell has the potential to be a game-breaker because of his raking left-foot kick, pace and ability to hit the scoreboard, but he has not been consistent enough to hold his spot.
Farrell’s weapons will likely lead to him getting more opportunities in 2021, it is just about whether he can take them.
Whose spot could he take? Steven Motlop, Xavier Duursma
Mitch Georgiades
Games in 2020: 7
Will the Power play Georgiades, Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Ladhams in the same side?
That is one of Port Adelaide’s most intriguing selection questions heading into 2021 after the club’s struggles in attack during the preliminary final to Richmond.
With just 12 disposals, one mark and one goal between them that night against the Tigers, Marshall and Ladhams were unable to ease the burden on Dixon, who was well held by Noah Balta.
Georgiades has shown in his seven games he can be a handful for defenders due to his high leap and bravery in crashing packs.
The club is eyeing him to play Ebert’s high half-forward role but whether it picks the four tall forwards regularly next season remains to be seen.
If it does not, Marshall and Ladhams’s positions are the ones under the most threat.
Whose spot could he take? Brad Ebert, Todd Marshall, Peter Ladhams
Lachie Jones
Games in 2020: 0
Lock Jones in for a Round 1 debut. Few draftees enter the AFL as ready to take the next step as the 18-year-old defender, who is coming off a SANFL premiership with Woodville-West Torrens.
Jones drew comparisons to West Coast premiership captain Shannon Hurn, who won two state-league flags at Central District by the time he was 18, because of his mature body, long kick and assuredness against men.
The Power has plenty of half-back options but Jones has the quality to break into the team immediately and a coach in Ken Hinkley who loves to back in young players. It may take a reshuffle to squeeze him in though.
Whose spot could he take? Ryan Burton, Steven Motlop
Others who played in 2020 who are still on list: Riley Bonner (nine), Sam Mayes (six), Boyd Woodcock (five), Jarrod Lienert (four).
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