We analyse the 20 Port Adelaide players who are coming out of contract at the end of 2020
Port Adelaide has 20 players who are coming out of contract at season’s end. We analyse the list, which includes some of the club’s biggest names, and their chances of re-signing.
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It is only January but AFL clubs, players and managers will already be thinking about or discussing contracts for 2021.
Port Adelaide has 20 players who do not yet have deals for next year.
They include several star veterans, former big-name recruits, fringe players and a handful of youngsters.
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Here is a list of all of the players and what we may expect this year:
PORT ADELAIDE
Robbie Gray
Gray was surprisingly linked to a move during October’s trade period but the four-time All-Australian and three-time best and fairest stayed at Port.
The 31-year-old later rubbished the reports and said he wanted to finish his career at Alberton.
It will be a surprise if Gray is at another club in 2021.
Travis Boak
Like Gray, it would be a shock if Boak, 31, did not end his AFL career with the Power and extend his contract at some point this year.
The Power quietly announced new one-year deals for him and Gray last May after they triggered clauses in their contracts.
Boak went on to have a standout campaign, winning Port’s best and fairest playing back in the midfield.
Charlie Dixon
The five-year deal Dixon signed when he joined Port from Gold Coast in 2015 expires after this coming season.
He never really got going last year, playing only nine AFL games, as he made his way back from the horror broken leg he sustained in August 2018.
But Dixon looked fit and trained well on the Power’s pre-season camp in Maroochydore.
He is 29, crucial to Port’s finals hopes and a new deal seems likely if he returns to form.
Justin Westhoff
Port’s oldest and most experienced player at 33 and on 268 games, Westhoff has signed one-year deals in October at the end of the past two seasons.
He continues to offer plenty of versatility and is on track to break Kane Cornes’s Power games record of 300 matches if he plays into 2021.
But Westhoff last month told The Advertiser his 2019 revealed “an element of ‘the end’”, given he was dropped and had an honest post-season meeting with coach Ken Hinkley.
Injuries have not tended to be an issue, so staying in the side and where Port is heading will be key factors in determining his fate.
Brad Ebert
If Ebert gets back to playing regular football, an extension will be on the cards.
Last season he featured in just 11 AFL games after battling concussion symptoms that he described as “like a solid hangover” and a posterior cruciate ligament injury.
He turns 30 in April and is on track to play in round one.
Jack Watts
Sustaining a broken leg and dislocated ankle in round two cruelled Watts’ second season at Port, just when he looked settled into his new role at halfback.
He has been training with the rehabilitation group over summer and it seems too early to make a call on whether he gets a new deal.
Sam Powell-Pepper
The big-bodied on-baller was linked to Essendon during the trade period but remained with the Power.
Now 22 and with 57 games to his name, Powell-Pepper will hope to become a more consistent AFL performer this year.
Port still has high hopes for him so it will be interesting to watch his season unfold.
Cam Sutcliffe
It will be a case of wait and see how Sutcliffe goes this year before talk starts of a new deal.
Port added him to its AFL list in the mid-season draft last year after he had come to Alberton via Fremantle to be the Magpies’ captain.
Sutcliffe, 27, played five games at the elite level, taking his career tally to 109.
He signed a one-year extension in October and might be another late call again this season.
Willem Drew
The red-headed Victorian is understood to be enjoying his time at the club but wants more AFL opportunities, preferably as an inside midfielder.
Drew played 10 games in 2019, usually lining up on a wing because the likes of Travis Boak, Tom Rockliff and Ollie Wines were mainstays on the ball.
The first half of the season will help Drew’s camp gauge where he fits in Port’s squad.
Trent McKenzie
The long-kicking defender earnt a one-year deal by playing well in round 23 against Fremantle – his sole AFL game for 2019 – then starring during the Magpies’ run to the SANFL grand final.
McKenzie, 27, struggled with injuries from 2016-18 but stayed on the park last year and was training with the main group over pre-season.
If he can stay injury-free and play well, he is likely to earn another short-term, cut-price deal for 2021.
Wylie Buzza
The Queenslander arrived from Geelong on a one-year deal to help provide big man depth following the departures of Paddy Ryder, Dougal Howard and Billy Frampton.
It will be interesting to see if he can break into the Power line-up and stake a claim for a new deal.
Jarrod Lienert
Staying healthy will be one of the sticking points to Lienert earning a new deal.
The 25-year-old defender has played 13 games in two seasons on the list and injuries, rather than form, have tended to keep him out of the AFL side.
He is settled in Adelaide, not looking to go anywhere and his camp expects contract talks to start if he gets consistent opportunities at the elite level.
Joe Atley
The 21-year-old is understood to want to stay at Port beyond this season but opportunity will determine his fate.
He fell down the midfield pecking order after an injury late last pre-season and went on to feature in just one game, taking his career total to four in three years.
Atley has lost about 5kg but if he cannot break into the on-ball brigade, he may have to look elsewhere.
Tobin Cox
The 181cm forward will be hoping to break into the Power line-up following the departure of Sam Gray to Sydney and if he does, a new deal will surely be a strong chance to follow.
Cox, 20, booted 30 goals in 15 SANFL games last year, including two bags of five.
This season will be his second on Port’s rookie list.
Boyd Woodcock
The North Adelaide premiership small forward was delisted after his first campaign in the AFL and then redrafted as a rookie.
He did not consider looking at moving clubs when that happened because he was happy at Port.
Sam Gray’s departure to Sydney could improve his chances of earning an AFL call-up this year and pushing his case for a new deal.
Jake Patmore
Playing regularly again after suffering a serious knee injury last March will be Patmore’s first priority.
After two years on the list without an AFL debut, Port showed faith in Patmore, 20, by offering him an extension last July.
How he rebounds this year will go a long way to determining if he gets another contract.
Martin Frederick
The rookie-listed speedster showed promise in 2019 but had a disappointing SANFL grand final, like many Port players.
He will be aiming to take another step in his development this year to win an extension.
Trent Burgoyne
The son of Power premiership star Peter Burgoyne will be hoping to play regular football after missing all of 2019 due a recurring hamstring problem.
It will be a big jump for Burgoyne, who has only played under-18s for Woodville-West Torrens.
But if he can show promising signs at SANFL level, he will put himself in a good position to earn a new deal.
Riley Grundy
Like Woodcock, Grundy was delisted at the end of his first season without playing an AFL game and then redrafted as a rookie.
The developing defender and younger brother of Collingwood superstar Brodie Grundy will be hoping to push his claims for an extension by having a strong SANFL campaign.
Jake Pasini
Some interstate rookies arrive on two-year contracts but West Australian tall defender Pasini does not have a deal beyond this coming season.
How he develops in the SANFL will likely determine if he earns another deal.