AFL 2021: Port Adelaide look to exact revenge on Richmond for last year’s preliminary final loss
How can Port Adelaide bounce back in Friday’s huge clash with Richmond? Ken Hinkley says an ‘explosive’ 19-year-old could be the answer. All the latest team news.
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Port Adelaide has handed first-year defender Lachie Jones a debut and is set to play one ruckman for the crunch home clash against Richmond on Friday night.
Jones, the tough Next Generation Academy prospect taken at pick 16 in last year’s national draft, comes in for big man Peter Ladhams (omitted).
Port Adelaide expected forward Todd Marshall, who missed Thursday’s light training session, to pass a fitness test on a rolled ankle, but if not Ladhams would come into the team.
Marshall and Charlie Dixon would back-up Scott Lycett in the ruck.
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Power coach Ken Hinkley said Jones’s selection was exciting and the 2020 SANFL premiership player was ready for the step up.
“As a club we’ve been waiting for him for a moment, he had a little hamstring so we’ve put him back a little bit, but he’s … one of those mature, young people who are right to just go out and play men’s footy,” Hinkley said.
“He’s a big boy, he’s aggressive, he’s explosive, he’s got a lot of things that would suggest it’ll make him successful at AFL football.
“We think he’ll make us better.
“Now he gets his first test and what a game to debut in, against the reigning premiers.”
Hinkley said performances were the biggest factor as to whether the club would play one or two ruckmen.
“Form’s the biggest factor – if Ladhams was in form, he’d be part of the team,” he said.
“If you’re not in form, you’re going to pay a price.
“Pete’s form not where it needs to be, that’s why he loses his spot.”
Hinkley said the club would use more learnings on Friday night from last week’s 37-point loss to West Coast in Perth, than the six-point preliminary final defeat to Richmond.
“Everyone would like to go back and say ‘it’ll be a big moment because of the preliminary final’ – it’ll be a big moment because both sides had a loss last week and both are trying to create their seasons this year,” he said.
Sam Mayes looks likely to be the Power’s medical substitute after training with the main squad on Thursday.
Hinkley said Sam Powell-Pepper, who returned to training on Monday after almost a month of personal leave, was going well and would progress into playing football in the next couple of weeks.
HOW PORT’S TALLS CAN TEST TIGERS DEFENCE
– Matt Turner
Port Adelaide missed a chance to play for a premiership when they fell to Richmond in last year’s preliminary final at Adelaide Oval last October.
The game was a thriller, as no more than 11 points separated the teams all night and the Tigers prevailed by a straight kick.
Six months on, the two sides are set to meet again at the same venue in a Friday night blockbuster.
The Power obviously cannot make up for the previous result but can relaunch their season if they prevail.
Last year’s minor premier is coming off a 37-point wake-up call by West Coast in Perth, while reigning champion Richmond is looking to rebound from a 45-point defeat to Sydney at the MCG.
It shapes as a crucial match for both sides and the loser will be 2-2.
Here are six ways Port Adelaide can address October’s six-point loss:
Clearance improvement
Asked a week after losing the preliminary final what he would have done differently, Power coach Ken Hinkley said he would have filled the stoppage up more to help his midfielders.
Richmond beat the Power 41-29 in clearances and 11-4 in centre clearances.
In the last half, clearances went 28-9 in the Tigers’ favour and it was 16-4 in the final term.
Port Adelaide was the best clearance side during the season, averaging 34.57 per game, and won the count 40-22 in its Round-11 home triumph over Richmond.
But it could not get on top when it counted in the preliminary final.
The Power had worst differential of the year that night, which would have frustrated a team that based its game on winning stoppages and territory.
Port Adelaide was not helped by struggling to get Ollie Wines and Connor Rozee back on the field in the closing stages.
The Tigers have been a middling clearance team in recent years, but they have turned games by winning that area when needed.
“It’s probably won or lost in the midfield and they got on top in the second half,” Power captain Tom Jonas told News Corp post-game.
Clearances again loom as a key factor.
Ruck battle
Port Adelaide needs more from its ruckmen, Scott Lycett and Peter Ladhams.
West Coast big man Nic Naitanui received nine coaches’ votes after a brilliant showing in the Eagles’ thumping of the Power.
Toby Nankervis was crucial in the preliminary final.
Port Adelaide won the hit-outs 45-23 against Richmond, but the visitors led the clearances and Nankervis had season-highs in intercepts (six), metres gained (294) and tackles (10).
Nankervis took four intercept marks, all of which were in the defensive 50 and three were in the last quarter when Port Adelaide was making its charge.
Lycett and Ladhams slotted a goal each, but did not have as much influence.
Staying composed
Port Adelaide needs to hold its nerve if it is to win on Friday night.
It was wet in the preliminary final but the Power’s delivery to its forwards was poor and they dropped costly marks.
Their disposal efficiency inside 50 was just 20.3 per cent (compared to Richmond’s 43.2).
Desperate for a late goal, the Power too often threw the ball onto the boot, went long and became too Charlie Dixon-centric, rather than looked to switch the play, kick to space or lower their eyes.
When they went to Dixon, he was usually surrounded by Tigers.
Nankervis claimed a handful of those marks, including a late forward foray when Xavier Duursma kicked to Dixon in a one-on-three situation.
Port Adelaide did not lose its preliminary final because of a lack of opportunities.
The Power had 15 more inside 50s (59-44) than the Tigers but had six fewer scoring shots (10-16).
Hinkley’s team only scored from 17 per cent of its entries – a season-low.
Then there were some decisive dropped marks.
Karl Amon’s fourth-quarter spillage led to Hamish Hartlett paddling the ball over the boundary line under pressure and, from that, a deliberate free kick to Kane Lambert, whose snapped goal put Richmond two majors clear.
Ladhams also struggled at times to keep his cool, giving away a game-high five free kicks, which was costly on a wet night when taking territory was vital.
Forward structure
Externally, it has been a key selection question for the past two weeks: how many tall forwards will the Power pick?
After playing four (Dixon, Todd Marshall, Mitch Georgiades and Ladhams) against West Coast, Hinkley may opt to do so again on Friday night to test a Tigers’ defence missing Nick Vlastuin.
Dixon (nine disposals, one major) competed well and kicked a fourth-quarter goal of the preliminary final, but Noah Balta kept him quiet.
Marshall (six disposals, 0.1) and Ladhams (six disposals, one goal) also had minimal influence.
In Port Adelaide’s Round-11 win over the Tigers last year, Dixon troubled Balta, booting 2.4, while Ladhams was important, taking a career-high five marks and kicking two majors.
If Marshall, Georgiades or Ladhams can make their marks on the contest, it will help Dixon and the Power will be well placed.
Curtailing Dusty
Even if Port Adelaide does not tag Dustin Martin, negating his influence will be crucial to the result.
The Tigers champion had 21 disposals, including 12 contested, two goals and three clearances in the preliminary final and helped swing the contest.
If Martin stars again, it will go a long way to deciding the result.
New faces
Recruits Orazio Fantasia and Aliir Aliir present different challenges for Richmond.
On a dry night, which is forecast on Friday, Fantasia adds to the Power’s forward-half speed, alongside Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Steven Motlop, and has the ability to turn a game.
Ex-Essendon goalsneak Fantasia has booted 8.7 from the opening three matches and looks both fit and dangerous.
Aliir was not as influential on a greasy deck in Perth last weekend but should help mitigate Richmond spearheads Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt with his intercepting ability.
Recalling Trent McKenzie may help free up Aliir even more.
PORT RELIEF AS SPP ‘RESET’ GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH
Port Adelaide general manager of football Chris Davies says Sam Powell-Pepper has taken the necessary steps to reignite his career after a month away from the club.
After he missed a training session last month, Powell-Pepper was granted personal leave from Alberton to focus on his wellbeing.
On Monday, the 23-year-old was back at the club, training with the SANFL side.
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Davies said Powell-Pepper would not play in any game this weekend, but was happy to have the midfield bull back at the club.
“He did a lot of work over that period and the people close to him now believe it is the right time for him to come back into the group,” he said.
“He was always coming back, it was just dependent on the time that he needed to spend away and integrate him back into the group.”
When he took the personal leave Powell-Pepper said; “Along with the rehabilitation of my broken hand, there are other parts of my life that need some work right now.”
Davies said Powell-Pepper had done exactly what the club wanted of him.
“I’m sure when the time is right he will be willing to talk through what he has gone through,
but as we said at the time, Sam had to contemplate what his next steps were and are with the people around him and with some medical practitioners during that period,” he said.
“We are now back to a stage where he is able to train again. I can’t see a scenario where he plays this week but it is a great thing that he is integrating back in with the group.”
Davies said whether Powell-Pepper needed to win back respect from players and coaches would start from now.
“We spoke about what we thought were the next steps, that day he missed training, that morning, and so from there he has done exactly what we want,” he said.
“That’s a step process (winning back the respect from players and coaches) and I would suggest that starts today.
“He hasn’t been in direct contact with our people every day... with him from here his actions will talk about whether he earns respect back or whether he even needs to.”
Davies said it could be a reset that Powell-Pepper required.
“Each player has their own individual circumstances. we approached the period of time that Sam took away from the game as an opportunity for him to contemplate what he wants into the future,” he said.
“Whether that be from a professionalism perspective and the way he conducts himself away from the club, or what he wants from his football career, those two things are directly intertwined.
“It is very hard for players in any sport to have a good solid career if they aren’t taking care of themselves off it and that can mean a whole myriad of things based on the individual.
“In Sam’s situation, it was the catalyst for him to consider what he wants from his future
and, for me, that can be a really positive thing because he has worked really hard over the past three to four weeks.
“And I hope that this stands him in good stead for him to be a good Port Adelaide player for as long as he can be.”
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