AFL 2021: Latest Port Adelaide team news ahead of the clash with Geelong
Port coach Ken Hinkley knew the first question he would be asked at Wednesday’s media call. His answer was an emphatic “no”. SELECTION NEWS
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Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says his side does not have to prove itself to the competition by beating Geelong on Thursday night but the match will tell him plenty about how it is faring.
The Power has faced external queries over its premiership credentials because of its 1-3 record against top-eight teams this season.
Port Adelaide has defeated Richmond and fallen to West Coast, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs.
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Geelong, which boasts the same 8-3 record as Port Adelaide, is another big test but Hinkley does not agree his side needs to take a so-called scalp.
“I don’t, I absolutely don’t,” Hinkley said.
“I knew that would be the first question I’d get asked.
“We want to win, it’s a massive game.
“But in the bigger picture, every game is a big game.
“Every opportunity in 22 qualifying games is a big moment and you need to get as many as you can right.
“I don’t separate the importance of any game, I find every game incredibly important.
“Whichever team wins tomorrow night won’t sit there and go ‘we’re way better off for September, when we haven’t even got there yet.”
The Power will make one change for the Thursday night blockbuster, bringing Miles Bergman in for the injured Orazio Fantasia.
Bergman was the Power’s medical substitute in its Round-11 game against Fremantle and came on for Ryan Burton (knee).
Fantasia is out for two to three weeks with a knee injury, while Burton has been cleared to play.
Leadership group member Hamish Hartlett has been overlooked for an immediate return after being dropped for the Dockers game.
Asked about Hartlett being out of the side at age 30 and without a contract for next year, Hinkley said: “Don’t write off great players”.
“He’s been well informed with where he’s at, what he’s been doing and what he needs to do to get himself back in some form,” he said.
“He’s a great team person to have around your footy club, let’s hope, and we know he will, he’ll play well to get himself back in the side.
“Right now I’ve got real confidence Hamish will find a way back (into the team).”
Hinkley said Zak Butters was “improving daily” since having surgery last month for an ankle and knee problem but there was no timeline yet for his return.
The 20-year-old, who last played against Richmond on April 9, took part in a series of running drills at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
He also had a few shots at goal before the Power’s main group trained and even took part in a match simulation.
The Power will have to isolate for 48 hours post-game and produce negative Covid-19 tests before returning to training.
ROUND 13 TEAMS
PORT ADELAIDE v GEELONG
Thursday June 10, 7.40pm at Adelaide Oval
POWER
B: Burton, McKenzie, Aliir
HB: Jones, Jonas, Byrne-Jones
C: Houston, Wines, Amon
HF: Georgiades, Marshall, Motlop
F: Rozee, Dixon, Gray
FOLL: Ladhams, Boak, Powell-Pepper
I/C: Bonner, Farrell, Drew, Bergman
EMER: Woodcock, Frederick, Garner, Lienert
In: None
Out: Fantasia (injured)
CATS
B: Bews, Henderson, Henry
HB: Tuohy, Stewart, Kolodjashnij
C: Smith, Dangerfield, Menegola
HF: Parfitt, Cameron, Atkins
F: Dalhaus, Hawkins, Rohan
FOLL: Ratugolea, Duncan, Selwood
I/C: O’Connor, Higgins, Blicavs, Close
EMG: Z.Guthrie, Narkle, Holmes, Stanley
D THE KEY TO POWER’S PREMIERSHIP PUSH
Port Adelaide’s miserly defence is helping propel its premiership push again this year.
While the Power’s attacking prowess has been inconsistent in 2021, scoring heavily early in the season and since tapering off, its ability to restrict teams remains a strength.
Champion Data statistics show Port Adelaide, sitting fifth on the ladder with an 8-3 record, ranks second in the AFL for opposition scores per inside 50 rate (40.4 per cent) and for opponents converting defensive 50 chains to inside 50s (19.6 per cent).
Last year, when it finished as minor premier before reaching the preliminary final, the Power was third and first in those categories.
Port Adelaide also led the competition in 2020 for fewest points conceded and opposition points from turnovers.
Heading into Thursday night’s home blockbuster against Geelong, the Power is fourth in both statistics this year, averaging 70.5 points against and 43.9 points from turnovers.
Ken Hinkley’s side is again tracking as the fourth-best team in the league for opposition points from stoppages.
“The numbers would suggest we’re defending pretty well as a footy team,” the Port Adelaide coach said on Wednesday.
“We’re not perfect by any means and we’d like to get better.
“Backline defence or team defence is based around everyone being involved together and that’s when you do it absolutely better.
“For us, we’ve still got some room to move.”
Although Port Adelaide’s defensive profile looks similar, there have been personnel tweaks.
Ex-Sydney Swan Aliir Aliir has played all 11 games in his first campaign with the Power and last year’s 16th pick Lachie Jones has featured in four.
Trent McKenzie has lined up just twice despite finishing fifth in the best and fairest in 2020, while Tom Clurey has missed the past two matches and Hamish Hartlett is out of the side for a second consecutive week.
“I think we’re ready, I think we’re capable and I think the Geelong forwards will know they’ve played on good players,” Hinkley said.
As for its offensive game, Port Adelaide has reverted to being a forward-half team in recent weeks after scoring mostly from the back end of the ground earlier in the season.
The Power ranked 17th for points from its attacking half from rounds one to six, but has since been the fourth-best side in the league.
During those same spans, Port Adelaide has gone from being first in the AFL for defensive-half scoring to 18th.
Port Adelaide’s most telling improvement has been in points from forward-half intercepts (ranked 16th to Round 6, then second from rounds seven to 11).
But it has gone from being the competition’s third-highest scoring team before Round 7 to the 11th-best over the past five games.
The Power’s scores per inside 50 percentage have dipped from sixth to 16th over the same periods.
CATS STRIKE BORDER DEAL
— Simeon Thomas-Wilson, Andrew Hough
Geelong will take a larger contingent to Adelaide than Collingwood did last week, after SA Health gave the green light to the Cats taking on Port Adelaide on Thursday.
For the second week in a row, a Victorian side will fly in and out of SA to keep the AFL season going.
It comes as Adelaide received the green light to fly to Queensland without further restrictions to take on St Kilda at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday night.
The Crows are expected to travel to Cairns on Friday and return on Sunday after the Queensland Government gave St Kilda the all clear to fly into the state.
Crows players and staff who were part of the matchday team that lost to Collingwood at Adelaide Oval last Saturday came out of self-quarantine on Tuesday evening.
Despite Adelaide playing a club who flew in and out of locked down Melbourne the previous week, there will be no additional protocols for Saturday night’s clash against the Saints.
Geelong’s trip to Adelaide to take on the Power presented an added layer of complexity in negotiations, with the Thursday night match bringing Adelaide Airport’s 11pm curfew into play.
The Cats’ charter flight to Avalon will be able to leave Adelaide on Thursday night after they take on the Power.
Correspondence from SA Health to the AFL, obtained by News Corp Australia, reveals that the Cats have approval for 50 people to be on the charter flight and will have to follow the strict protocols Collingwood had to abide by last week.
Collingwood took over 35 team members for last Saturday’s win over the Crows.
The requirements on the Cats includes going into self-quarantine from 5pm on Monday, undertaking a Covid-19 test within 24 hours of departure and producing a negative test and signing a statutory declaration saying they have not been in a Victorian Tier 1 or 2 site.
After the game all team members must have a Covid test 48 hours post match.
Port Adelaide players and staff will also have to have a test in the 48 hours following the match.
Like the Crows, they will have to limit their movements and remain at home unless for training or medical purposes until all test results have been returned negative for both Geelong and Port players and team members.
PIES’ SA TRIP SET STRONG PRECEDENT
SA chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said Collingwood’s time in SA on Saturday had shown the model was a success.
“My team went to the Crows match and were happy with how the teams had been able to facilitate the requirements,” she said.
“They have the same requirements for the Collingwood team — extensive testing and quarantine before coming over and the team instituted (quarantine) yesterday evening.
“This is a charter flight of 50 people, a much smaller plane, so there is no problems with a smaller plane flying at that time.
“I am generally happy with the way the players handle the instructions, it proved we can do this safely.”
Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson said the club was happy to keep the clash at Adelaide Oval, which would help the club’s bottom line.
“There were a number of matters to consider with a decision like this and we are grateful to SA Health, the AFL and to the Geelong Football Club for ensuring Thursday night’s game is played as fixtured at Adelaide Oval,” he said.
“This is a big game for our club, our partners and our people and a great reward for the patience and diligence of the South Australian community with regard to how we have tackled the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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