AFL 2021: All the Port Adelaide news ahead of Round 23 clash with Western Bulldogs

A win in Friday night’s blockbuster will guarantee Port Adelaide a top-two finish. But what will a loss to the Bulldogs mean? Ken Hinkley isn’t hiding from the critics.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley knows the real test of his team starts this week, and the tests will only get harder in the finals as their title quest intensifies.

Hinkley confirmed he would take two ruckmen - Scott Lycett and Peter Ladhams - in to Friday’s blockbuster clash with the Western Bulldogs as his team’s premiership credentials go on the line.

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Ken Hinkley will need his top players to step up to the challenge this finals series. Picture: Getty Images

Through 16 wins in 2021, which has Port third on the AFL ladder, Hinkley’s team is yet to beat a top four team.

The Bulldogs, coming off back-to-back losses, with a different looking Port team to the side which lost the early-season encounter by 19-points, are the last chance to answer the critics before rolling in to the post-season.

A top-two finish will also be Port’s reward for victory. Hinkley said his team was ready.

“We get tested every week. This is no different,” Hinkley said on Thursday.

“We are about to get tested fully. We will be tested to see if we can graduate to a level we feel confident we can perform at. The body of work we have delivered would suggest that we still have to pass the test.

“We think we are going and building in the right direction. Proof is in the pudding.

“If we lose it will mean we have to get better. It is as simple as that.

“I get it (the top-four question). Everyone has every right to throw that and talk about that. We can‘t deny that. But we will be doing everything we can to stop it, but more importantly we will be doing everything we can to continue to build momentum going into the finals.

“I have no doubt the players understand what the outcome looks like. Win the game, we qualify for home finals; we set out at the start of the year to finish as high as possible and we now have a chance to improve on where we sit currently.”

Defender Trent McKenzie comes back in after sitting out last week’s thrashing of Carlton with hamstring tightness.

Steven Motlop is back for the Power. Picture: Sarah Reed

Steven Motlop also returns as a replacement for Orazio Fantasia who Hinkley said should be ready for finals after also suffering hamstring tightness.

“It is very similar to Trent last week. It is an unnecessary risk to take at this stage (with Fantasia),” he said.

“I am confident it is just a week ... scans give us confidence he is okay.”

Port will also have Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma, who didn’t play the Bulldogs in Round 9.

“We want to play at our best - and to do that we have to pick the best side to play against the Bulldogs,” Hinkley said.

“We will be going as hard as we can possibly go - and give ourselves the best chance to qualifying as high as we can. That is the opportunity in front of us at round 23.

“We are in pretty good form, solid form. We have some personnel in the team who are certainly different.

“You clearly get better - every week you have opportunities to improve. We are, hopefully, playing better football than we were at that stage (in round 9). And I am sure the Western Bulldogs would be hoping they are doing the same.”

WESTERN BULLDOGS v PORT ADELAIDE

Friday August 20, 7:50pm (AEST) at Marvel Stadium
BULLDOGS
B: Duryea, Keath, Williams
HB: Wood, Cordy, Dale
C: Dunkley, Treloar, Hunter
HF: Daniel, Young, Smith
F: Liberatore, Naughton, Weightman
FOLL: English, Macrae, Bontempelli
I/C: Johannisen, Hannan, Vandermeer, Smith
EMG: Schache, McNeil, Richards, Scott
IN: Smith
OUT: Garcia (omitted), Scott (sub)

POWER
B: Burton, McKenzie, Aliir
HB: Bergman, Jonas, Byrne-Jones
C: Duursma, Wines, Houston
HF: Amon, Georgiades, Butters

F: Gray, Dixon, Rozee
FOLL: Lycett, Boak, Drew
I/C: Marshall, Bonner, Motlop, Ladhams
EMG: Mayes, Clurey, Powell-Pepper, Lienert
IN: McKenzie, Motlop
OUT: Clurey, Mayes (both omitted), Fantasia (injured)

Why Port won’t listen to ‘external noise’ on flag credentials

Two strikes was two too many for Port Adelaide playmaker Zak Butters, who should expect to be called into coach Ken Hinkley’s office for a “quiet word” this week.

With just one round left before the finals begin, Butters was charged with two separate incidents in Saturday’s thrashing of Carlton that locked in a top-four sport for Port.

The 20-year-old was fined $4000, comprised of two $2000 fines, for striking Carlton backman Nic Newman in the opening quarter and Adam Saad in the last quarter.

Both were deemed as low impact, helping Butters avoid suspension.

Port assistant coach Jarrad Schofield said they “loved” Butters aggression but he couldn’t afford to put himself in positions that could be closely scrutinised with so much at stake.

Zak Butters was fined for two separate incidents against the Blues. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos

LADDER PREDICTOR: WHAT FIRST WEEK OF FINALS COULD LOOK LIKE

“You don’t want to take away from being aggressive for the ball and to the man,” Schofield said.

“It’s probably just more about his method and making sure that he’s not careless in any of his actions.

“I am sure Ken might have a quiet word to him.

“But you can’t hold Zak back. He is a guy that attacks the ball, a fair player, and obviously attacks the body hard, and we love that about him.”

Port has a final before the finals this weekend, taking on the Western Bulldogs. Victory would secure a top-two spot.

But from 16 wins in 2021, including the past five in a row, Port has not claimed a top-four scalp.

Schofield dismissed that as an issue, however, nor the “noise” it could create about their true premiership credentials if they couldn’t get over the Bulldogs.

“That’s for people to have the question marks,” he said.

“External noise won’t distract us from what we are about internally.”

News of the pre-finals bye being scrapped had “pros and cons” according to Schofield, who said the momentum Port was building could be an advantage for them hitting the finals straight away.

“Momentum is good for us at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve had players come back from some time out. If that’s what it is, we’ll just go with it.”

Fixing their tardy starts, having fallen behind to Carlton last week before powering home to an emphatic 95-point win, is less of a concern.

“It’s how we finish games, and we’ve been finishing games with wins,” Schofield said.

“We acknowledge we haven’t started how we would like, but we are super impressed with how we have finished them.”

Scott Lycett was subbed out of the game last week with a sore knee. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Schofield said the Port medical staff were yet to fully assess ruckman Scott Lycett, who was substituted out of Saturday night‘s win at three-quarter time because of a left knee injury.

“He pulled up sore with a knee knock. He’ll be assessed throughout the week,” he said.

Port could equal last year’s record of 17 wins, albeit from 22 rather than the 20 home-and-away games last year.

But Schofield was adamant the 2021 version of Port Adelaide was better than last year‘s version that won the minor premiership but lost a preliminary final to premiers Richmond.

“We have got more games into players … so our depth in our squad is greater,” Schofield said.

“And we have to work hard to get to where we are now.

“We get a great opportunity to round out our home-and-away season against the Bulldogs.

“I think we are in a far better place than where we were this time last year.”

Originally published as AFL 2021: All the Port Adelaide news ahead of Round 23 clash with Western Bulldogs