Andrew Capel looks at eight reasons why Port Adelaide can win the 2018 premiership

PORT Adelaide went all-in during the off-season in pursuit of its first premiership since 2004. Can the big name recruits deliver the ultimate reward? ANDREW CAPEL examines if the Power can win it all.

Can Sam Powell-Pepper match his 2017 efforts? Picture: AAP Images

PORT Adelaide has loaded up.

Coach Ken Hinkley’s outfit went all-in during free agency and the exchange period in pursuit of its first premiership since 2004, signing what the club hopes will be a host of difference-makers.

Here are eight reasons the Power can win the 2018 premiership.

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1 KEY ACQUISITIONS

After its devastating, extra-time elimination final exit at the hands of West Coast, Port joined Essendon in winning the off-season arms race. Former Lion Tom Rockliff and ex-Cat Steven Motlop were signed as free agents while Jack Watts — the No. 1 draft pick in 2008 — was traded from Melbourne for pick 31. That’s terrific business by the Power. Rockliff is an All-Australian and dual Brisbane club champion while Motlop is a dynamic gamebreaker who is an All-Australian nominee. The key pair can play midfield and forward, giving Port great flexibility. The Power hopes tall but athletic forward Watts can play a role similar to what Tom Lynch plays at Adelaide, acting as a crucial link between midfield and attack.

Power players react to their shattering loss at the end of last season. Picture: Sarah Reed

2 OTHER RECRUITS

Illustrating just how Port has taken an all-in approach to 2018, it got its teeth into the delisted free agent market, signing onballer Jack Trengove from Melbourne and long-kicking defender Trent McKenzie from Gold Coast. It also lured veteran 325-goal small forward Lindsay Thomas from North Melbourne after he was allowed to leave the club with one year left on his contract to enter the draft, with the Power taking him as a rookie. Having traded away or delisted a host of players, including speedster Jarman Impey and ruckman Matthew Lobbe, and losing swingman Jackson Trengove as a free agent to the Western Bulldogs, Port needed to rebuild some depth and experience and it did just that.

3 PADDY RYDER

Athletically-gifted, former Bomber Ryder has always promised to take a season by the scruff of the neck and he delivered in 2017. Ryder — in his first season back after a season-long ban as a penalty for the Essendon supplements scandal — was the competition’s dominant ruckman, being named an All-Australian for the first time and winning Port’s club champion award. Possessing a gazelle-like leap, Ryder averaged 13 disposals and 38 hit-outs and kicked 11 goals. His spectacular last-minute hitout to Gray that won the round 19 clash with St Kilda was a thing of beauty and one of the plays of the year.

Robbie Gray and Paddy Ryder formed a nice one-two punch in 2017. Picture Sarah Reed

4 BALANCE

Port last season ranked second for points scored (98.5 average) and fewest points conceded (76) while boasting a +10.5 differential in inside 50s — the best disparity in the league. This illustrates its balance between attack and defence. Significantly, the inclusion of Rockliff, Motlop and Watts, added to the versatility of matchwinners Robbie Gray and Chad Wingard — dynamic in attack and in the midfield — gives Hinkley plenty of options to throw at any opposition.

5 MORE POTENT ATTACK

Giant forward Charlie Dixon — a man mountain at 200cm and 105kg — last season showed why the club paid big money to lure him from Gold Coast at the end of 2015 by kicking a career-best 49 goals, averaging 6.5 marks a game and ruffling the feathers of opposition defenders with his strong physical presence. But the Power — while finishing second in the league in scoring — was unable to capitalise on its inside 50 dominance. It struggled to convert its territorial advantage into goals, ranking 13th for goals per inside 50 (23.6 per cent) largely because it ranked 16th in retention rate from kicks inside 50. Port expects Watts — an elite kick — to assist with its delivery into attack while Rockliff and Motlop will also hit the scoreboard.

6 THE MIDFIELD

Classy and deep. That is Port’s midfield prognosis in 2018 with Rockliff and Motlop joining an already-strong group led by skipper Travis Boak, hardnuts Ollie Wines, Brad Ebert and rookie revelation Sam Powell-Pepper, the electrifying Wingard and Gray and speedy Jared Polec. Few clubs can boast an on-ball brigade that runs so deep and has such a good mix of brute strength and pure skill.

Can Sam Powell-Pepper match his 2017 efforts? Picture: AAP Images

7 MENTALITY

The Power had a reputation as being a “flat track bully’’ last season, beating up on the poorer teams and losing to the top eight sides. It won just two of nine games against fellow top eight teams, although five of the losses were by 17 points or less. Port failed to close the deal under pressure, leading to its heartbreaking, season-ending loss to West Coast in the elimination final. With some harsh lessons learned, another year’s experience under young players’ belts and key men coming in, the Power should be better-equipped to handle the big occasion.

8 THE FIXTURE

Champion Data ranks the Power’s fixture as the fourth-easiest in the competition — a terrific result for a club that finished fifth at the end of the home-and-away season. Port faces a

tricky start with Geelong and Adelaide at home and Sydney, Essendon and West Coast away in the first eight rounds. But it has a good run home, with eight of its last 12 games to be played at Adelaide Oval.