Port Adelaide stays with Patrick Ryder and Tom Jonas in match 22 - and gives Kane Farrell his AFL start - against Western Bulldogs

PORT Adelaide will blood a new player in the AFL on Sunday - but it will be midfielder Kane Farrell rather than specialist ruckman Billy Frampton

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PORT ADELAIDE will have a new player in Power colours on Sunday - midfielder Kane Farrell rather than the much-mooted call up of ruckman Billy Frampton.

And the Power will have a specialist ruckman again with All-Australian Patrick Ryder only needing to pass a fitness test on Saturday afternoon to stay in the 22-man line-up named last night (Friday) to play AFL also-rans, Western Bulldogs.

Kane Farrell of the Power has been named for his AFL debut on Saturday. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

Frampton will travel to Ballarat on Saturday as the contingency ruckman should there be a late setback to Ryder who has missed just one AFL game with his left hip-flexor strain.

Farrell, a third-round call (No. 51 from the Bendigo Pioneers) in last year’s national draft, is among the five changes Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has planned to the line-up that failed on Sunday at home to finals rival Greater Western Sydney.

Hinkley has regained Ryder and All-Australian-contending defender Tom Jonas (knee) from the injury list and midfielder-forward Steven Motlop, who last week withdrew after the warm-up when he felt ill. Running defender Riley Bonner returns after a one-game exile.

They replace former Melbourne captain Jack Trengove, specialist forward Sam Gray, experienced forward Lindsay Thomas and injured duo, key defender Dougal Howard (hand) and midfielder-forward Karl Amon (knee).

Farrell, 19, is the second Port Adelaide player to get his AFL start this season after last weekend’s debut by rookie-listed defender Jarrod Lienert. The 183cm midfielder will be 33rd player the Power has fielded this year.

Jonas resumes - after surgery to clear his left kneecap - after missing two AFL games.

Power vice-captain Ollie Wines is expecting both Ryder and Jonas to remain in the 22 named last night (Friday) after fitness tests at Ballarat on Saturday.

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“(Ryder) has come along really strongly,” Wines said of the lead ruckman, who was injured a fortnight ago in the nine-point loss to Fremantle at Perth Stadium.

“(Jonas) is in the same boat,” added Wines of the manic defender. “Tom look really strong (at training). As a team we are keen to have those two guts back as soon as we can. We also don’t want to rush them while we want to go deep into September (finals) and perform then.

“Those two guys are so important for our structures,” said Wines on radio FIVEaa.

Ryder dominated with 41 hit-outs - while key forward Charlie Dixon scored 3.2 - in Port Adelaide’s 57-point win against the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval six weeks ago. Without Ryder, Hinkley’s decision to move Dixon from the goalsquare to ruck duties denied the Power a go-to forward to either score goals or set up opportunities for Port Adelaide’s small forwards.

Wines was one of the “Plan B” ruck options - along with Howard and Justin Westhoff - used by Hinkley when Dixon was forced to return to the goalsquare to finish off the Power’s forward thrusts in the last term.

The fallout of this move was losing Wines’ strength at ground level at stoppages.

“It was incredibly hard; just to go up physically against someone as big as Dawson Simpson zapped my energy to take me out of the contest when the ball did hit the ground,” Wines said. “But we were taking too much having Charlie away from our forward line.”

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