Port Adelaide’s Lindsay Thomas sent straight to AFL tribunal for hit of Geelong’s Scott Selwood

PORT Adelaide recruit Lindsay Thomas won’t face his former side North Melbourne after his high hit on Geelong’s Scott Selwood was sent straight to the AFL tribunal on Monday.

Lindsay Thomas of the Power after being reported during the loss to Geelong.

PORT Adelaide recruit Lindsay Thomas won’t face his former side North Melbourne after a high hit on Geelong’s Scott Selwood on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval was sent straight to the AFL tribunal on Monday.

Thomas has a bulging suspension file but was undone by exuberance insists Power assistant coach Michael Voss.

“It is a blow, signified a bit of our intent, got an incident wrong but to see him get his first game he was really pumped,” Voss said.

Lindsay Thomas of the Power and Scott Selwood of the Cats.

Voss has also dismissed criticism Port Adelaide is nothing without Paddy Ryder but concedes its finesse inside 50 must improve to take down North Melbourne next Saturday.

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd says Port Adelaide is rudderless without Ryder while taking aim at Chad Wingard and its struggling forward line .

“We are forgetting the loss of Paddy Ryder. No Ryder, no Port Adelaide, that is how big it has become,” Lloyd told AFL media.

Ryder has been sidelined by an Achilles injury since round one with Port relying on Justin Westhoff, Charlie Dixon and Dougal Howard to pinch hit.

Ryder delivered a 54 per cent hit-out win strike rate last season when Port ranked No.1 for points differential from stoppages last season but Voss says stats are superfluous.

“We seriously overrate the hit-out side of things and while we don’t want too big a discrepancy there the ball spends more time on the ground. We have more a chance to compete if we get our contested mode right,” Voss said.

“We would clearly love to have Paddy and understand his importance to us as a team but I don’t subscribe to the hit out theory in terms of that’s our biggest issue.”

Port fell across the line at home against lowly Brisbane before disappointing losses to Essendon and Geelong that caused alarm at Alberton in a fall from top to eighth.

Second year forward Todd Marshall leads the Power goal kicking with nine followed by Jack Watts (seven), Sam Gray (six), Wingard and Charlie Dixon (five).

“Chad Wingard, I am disappointed with him, I think he has to get fitter. Wingard hasn’t looked great,” Lloyd said.

“He is a long way from the All Australian he was many years ago.

“Look at Charlie Dixon, three goals from five games and he is a real barometer.”

Originally published as Port Adelaide’s Lindsay Thomas sent straight to AFL tribunal for hit of Geelong’s Scott Selwood