Billy’s chance to be a hero as Garner set to come off the long run

He starred as a forward last week but Port Adelaide’s Dougal Howard will return to defence against Gold Coast, says coach Ken Hinkley who has picked Billy Frampton to an extended squad.

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PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has declared key swingman Dougal Howard — who turned Showdown 46 on its head when moved forward — will start in defence against Gold Coast.

While the 199cm athletic machine illustrated against the Crows just how effective he can be as an attacking weapon, Hinkley said he primarily views him as a key member of his back six.

“They are things we weigh up and we have to decide what’s best and what our options are to have someone who can do some damage up the front end, but at the moment we would sit here and say we would prefer to stay with Dougal as a defender,’’ Hinkley said.

“He has been performing pretty well as a defender and it (moving forward) worked really well as an in-game shock tactic but we’ve got a pretty strong, young backline and we think they work pretty well together.

“Last week we were struggling to get some score, so we wanted to make a significant change, so we threw Howard forward and it worked out okay.’’

Howard kicked two goals in the last quarter to help injury-hit Port fight back from a 44-point deficit to claw to within 12 points before the Crows steadied.

The Power kicked just nine goals from 69 inside 50s and Hinkley said he was looking for better connection from his midfielders to forwards.

“That’s been a constant issue that we are continually trying to address,’’ he said.

“We have some good players in front of the ball who are finding their way still, which is a challenge.’’

The Power will on Friday name its 22-man squad to play Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval on Sunday with Garner, inexperienced midfielder Joe Atley, forward-ruckman Billy Frampton, recent draftee Zac Butters, half-back Riley Bonner, untried Peter Ladhams and Brisbane recruit Sam Mayes up for selection.

Defender Ryan Burton is out with a strained hamstring and young forward Todd Marshall and Aidyn Johnson have been dropped.

Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters and Willem Drew train at Alberton Oval yesterday. Picture: Sarah Reed

Earlier on Thursday, Hinkley left the door ajar for second-year defender Joel Garner to make his AFL debut.

“There’ll be some changes, it’s just a matter of working our way through that,” he said after training on Thursday, just hours after drawing a line through star Robbie Gray (broken hand) for a third consecutive week.

“We’ve probably got good form underneath (in the SANFL), with the likes of Frampton, Atley, Butters, Garner and (Trent) McKenzie.

“There are plenty of people down there to look at and work through.

“Normally I can tell you by now exactly what’s going on but it’s not quite in that space today, with the Sunday game.”

Hinkley said while Port had a host of key players sidelined by injury, he would still make some changes on form.

“We’ve been stretched a bit (by injuries) but there have been some players who have been off the mark a little bit,” he said.

“We’ve probably got good form underneath (in the SANFL), with the likes of Frampton, Atley, Butters, Garner and (Trent) McKenzie.

“There are plenty of people down there to look at and work through.

“Normally I can tell you by now exactly what’s going on but it’s not quite in that space today, with the Sunday game.”

Hinkley said while Port had a host of key players sidelined by injury, he would still make some changes on form.

“We’ve been stretched a bit (by injuries) but there have been some players who have been off the mark a little bit,” he said.