Port Adelaide rises to No. 5 on AFL draft grid, but Crows could still overtake the Power
PORT Adelaide is primed with pick No. 5 to gain SA talent in November’s AFL national draft. But there is still the threat of being overtaken by the Crows on the draft grid.
Port Adelaide
Don't miss out on the headlines from Port Adelaide. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Burgoyne move haunts Power
- Hawks medicos to rebuild Scully
- Supercoach analyssi: Phantom’s view
- Get me to the Gold Coast: Burgess
PORT Adelaide has a prime spot on the AFL draft grid to score SA talent next month after trading up to No. 5 from its original first pick of 10.
But the hot race with the Crows to be best placed to secure any of teenagers Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Connor Rozee is far from finished.
Adelaide can still in the next month and with “live trading” on AFL draft night on November 22 trump the Power by advancing to the top-four of the calling order in deals with Carlton (No. 1), Gold Coast (Nos. 2 and 3) and St Kilda (No. 4).
Port Adelaide closed the player trade period moving contracted Chad Wingard to Hawthorn and holding three first-round draft picks - Nos. 5, 10 and 15. The Power rose to No. 5 by last week using the No. 11 pick scored from North Melbourne for wingman Jared Polec to No. 6 with Fremantle and on Wednesday swapping Brisbane in a homecoming trade for Lions defender Sam Mayes.
Adelaide has Nos. 8, 13 and 16, the first time the Crows have held three first-round draft picks.
Power list manager Jason Cripps left AFL headquarters in Melbourne on Wednesday night telling The Advertise r: “(With pick No. 5 and two other first-round picks) we’ve put ourselves in a strong position to get who we want in the draft.”
Port Adelaide’s trade card reads:
GAINED: West Coast premiership ruckman Scott Lycett, Hawthorn defender Ryan Burton and Mayes.
LOST: Wingard, Polec, defenders Jack Hombsch and Jasper Pittard.
HELD: Karl Amon, despite interest from Hawthorn and St Kilda and a need to return to Victoria; and fellow forward Jake Neade, who was look at by Collingwood.
SCORED: Three first-round draft picks for the third time in the club’s AFL story.
The Power answered its need for ruck support for lead ruckman Patrick Ryder, who suffered this year with Achilles and hip injuries.
But there is still the question of how Port Adelaide deals with the challenge of losing the class and accurate ball use of Wingard and Polec.
Burton, 21, returns to SA - where he started at SANFL club North Adelaide, along with Mayes - as the unexpected gain of this trade period in which Port Adelaide started with an intent to shed defenders.
He gains from the Power a two-year extension (to 2022) on his Hawthorn deal that was to end in 2020.
Burton, the runner-up in the 2017 Rising Star award, ultimately will give the Power a long-term option in attack, particularly when 28-year-old key forward Charlie Dixon leaves the goalsquare.
In the short term, Burton’s suitability as a wingman - covering the Polec gap along with Steven Motlop, Riley Bonner and Justin Westhoff - remains to be seen.
Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies is keen to look at Burton in all three divisions on the field.
“Clearly Ryan can play as a defender,” Davies said of the 2015 first-round draftee. “We know about his ability to play on both talls and smalls as a defender and his versatility to take on a number of roles across the park.
“But we see him also developing as a midfielder or forward and having a long and successful future at Alberton.”
Mayes, 24, returns to SA - for family reasons - after being a first-round draftee (No. 8) in 2012 and with a 101-game record with the Lions. The Power is looking to measure Mayes’ versatility, but Davies admits he will need to “rediscover his best form”.
“Sam can play in defence, on the wing or in the forward line and he can only add value to our squad,” Davies said.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au
Power announce delistings as WA clubs circle duo
Port Adelaide has cut five players including a former Geelong pair and 124-game veteran Tom Clurey. But Fremantle and West Coast could be set to swoop.
‘I’ll be a bit teary’: Family, 2004 flag in Port’s Indigenous guernsey
The jumper which Port Adelaide will wear during Indigenous Round over the next fortnight is steeped in family pride and meaning for Jasmin Stewart. And a hint of some club glory.