Gary Buckenara analyses Port Adelaide’s list after the 2020 season
Port Adelaide fans were stunned when the club traded Chad Wingard to Hawthorn but it’s the perfect example of how to fast-track your list.
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Port Adelaide is set to be a powerhouse capable of winning multiple premierships in the next five years.
The Power are a prime example of how making brave list management and recruiting decisions can fast-track your list.
Two years ago the club accepted the list had stagnated. After making the preliminary final in 2014 they’d featured in only one finals series since – finishing fifth in 2017 but were eliminated in the first week – and had for too long hovered in the 9-11 bracket. They were a good team on their day but ultimately lacked the class and consistency to be a top team.
So coach Ken Hinkley and the list management and recruiting staff made brave decisions in a bid to rejuvenate the list. Many Power fans were shocked and angry when the club traded Chad Wingard but that decision, and being courageous enough to be open to it, has ultimately set the club up for this period.
Wingard was a great player but ultimately too inconsistent during his time at Port Adelaide. So they traded him in 2018 while he still had currency and got top dollar for him – Ryan Burton and pick 15 (became pick 18 on draft night after academy picks), which they used on Xavier Duursma, and later picks.
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That 2018 trade period is significant. They also got top dollar for Jared Polec – pick 11 from North Melbourne (became pick 12 on draft night) – in a deal that also saw Jasper Pittard, who was a decent servant but never a star, depart.
It meant they had three top-20 picks at the draft and absolutely nailed it with Connor Rozee (pick 5), Zak Butters (12) and Duursma (18). It’s a perfect example of how clubs need to make brave decisions on players, regardless of their reputation, for the good of the club and bring in new talent that could be better than what has failed to take you to the top. Too often clubs get sucked into overrating their list and looking at it with rose-coloured glasses and hoping the next year will be different.
From that one trade period the Power transformed their group from an inconsistent team that lacked pace and spark to one that has x-factor and players who have that non-negotiable characteristic all good teams need – competitiveness. Rozee, Butters and Duursma all have it, as does Sam Powell-Pepper who was drafted in 2016.
Smart recruiting has also seen them bring in players from rival clubs who have this trait – Tom Rockliff and Charlie Dixon in particular, while Ollie Wines, Travis Boak, Robbie Gray and Tom Jonas also have it.
This Port Adelaide group is just scratching the surface. It’s capable of big things but talent will only get you so far. The challenge now is for the young players, who have achieved some success early in their careers, to stay hungry and keep working hard to become elite AFL players who can bring premiership success to the Power.
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LIST NEEDS
The list is has good balance and depth in key areas. The only real area that might need addressing is another experienced key defender if Hinkley wants to keep playing Tom Jonas and Tom Clurey as more attacking/intercept defenders. Trent McKenzie is undersized as a full back.
Overall, the Power can look to add established talent via trade/free agency and draft best available.
TRADE TARGETS
Port Adelaide is locked in negotiations with Essendon for Orazio Fantasia. At his best he’s a quality player but the Power have a few of his type with Rozee, Duursma and Butters. If the plan is to play Rozee more as a midfielder then Fantasia would be a handy addition but dealing with Essendon is very hard. The Bombers want a first-round pick and the Power don’t have one, so it’s difficult to see how they can satisfy Essendon with their first pick at 29. Might have to package up pick 29 and their future second-round pick to get it done.
Aaron Francis is a South Australian and former No.6 pick who hasn’t quite come on at Essendon. He can play at both ends of the ground but plays his best footy as a third defender/interceptor. He’d be a smart target to put Jonas back into the full back position to play on the big forwards.
The Power are trying to get Aliir Aliir from Sydney but Francis is a similar player, can fill the same role and could help unlock the Fantasia deal. Port Adelaide could offer Essendon their first pick next year for Fantasia and Francis or their first pick next year and pick 35 for both players.
UNTOUCHABLES
Rozee, Duursma, Butters, Clurey, Powell-Pepper, Dixon, Jonas, Wines, Boak, Gray, Burton, McKenzie, Karl Amon, Riley Bonner, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Kane Farrell, Mitch Georgiades, Hamish Hartlett, Dan Houston, Peter Ladhams, Scott Lycett, Todd Marshall, Steven Motlop and Boyd Woodcock.
TRADE BAIT
Why would any player want to leave Port Adelaide now? I haven’t heard any player linked to move from the club, which is a big tick because keeping your list together when you get close to winning a flag is imperative. Player retention is massive, so minimum changes heading into 2021 is the priority.
RATING THE LIST
A-grade: Boak, Gray, Jonas
B: Dixon, Burton, Bonner, Byrne-Jones, Clurey, Amon, Hartlett, Houston, Lycett, McKenzie, Motlop Powell-Pepper, Rockliff, Wines
C: Ladhams, Lienert, Mayes
Developing (with A-B grade potential): Butters, Duursma, Farrell, Frederick, Georgiades, Marshall, Rozee, Woodcock
Developing: Bergman, Burgoyne, Drew, Garner, Hayes, Mead, Pasini, Patmore, Williams
What the ratings mean:
A-grade: Elite player on any AFL list
B: Top 10-18 player on most lists
C: An 18-30 player on a list
Developing: Aged 21 or under
CRYSTAL BALL
Port Adelaide’s talent bats deep with 17 A and B-grade players and has a seriously exciting future ahead with eight players aged 21 or under with the potential to develop into stars of the competition. They play both an exciting and tough brand of footy and have drafted players who are serious competitors who want to win and are both hard at the contest and provide spark and x-factor. Bold and courageous list management and recruiting decisions, such as trading Wingard, over the past five years have got them into this position. The Power will be premiership contenders for the next five years – the challenge now is to capitalise on the talent they’ve got and win one.
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Originally published as Gary Buckenara analyses Port Adelaide’s list after the 2020 season