Port Adelaide ruckman Patrick Ryder pushes for opening-round game against Melbourne after trialling helmet
Port Adelaide ruckman Patrick Ryder has trained at Alberton with a helmet after surgery to a depressed cheekbone to stay in contention for selection this week
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Port Adelaide ruckman Patrick Ryder is back in training - with a helmet to protect his fractured right cheekbone - to remain in contention for the AFL season-opener against Melbourne at the MCG.
Ryder took to Alberton Oval on Tuesday morning – 10 days after copping a depressed fracture to the upper right cheekbone in the trial game against North Melbourne – to test the helmet that appeared to restrict his peripheral vision as he continued to work as a forward in training.
But his presence in training suggests he remains in the frame to start a new ruck tandem with West Coast premiership ruckman Scott Lycett against Melbourne’s All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
Lycett and Ryder worked an effective rotation between ruck and the new-look Power attack in the pre-season.
So far, Port Adelaide has ruled out co-captain Ollie Wines (shoulder) and placed vice-captain Hamish Hartlett (knee) on the active list for a return in the SANFL trial games this week.
The Power also put former vice-captain Brad Ebert in a Port Adelaide “prison bar” jumper at training today with the No. 35 on his back. This is a tribute to former Power player John McCarthy who died on an end-of-season holiday in Las Vegas in 2012, his first season at Port Adelaide after being traded by Collingwood.
The Power says the No. 35 jumper will be worn by a different player each week at training this season as a tribute to McCarthy.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au
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