AFL 2022: All the Port Adelaide news at the halfway mark of the Power’s season
Three contests against quality opposition will have a significant say on whether Port Adelaide make the finals. Here’s what has to go right.
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Port Adelaide can’t afford many, if any, slip ups in the second half of the season if they are to create history and make finals.
After going 0-5 to start the season the Power have won five of their last six matches.
It leaves them 5-6 in 11th place, one win off the Western Bulldogs in eighth but a fair way off in percentage, as the Power have their mid-season bye.
Only Sydney in 2017 has made finals from a 0-5 start, the Swans went 0-6 to start the season.
Based off the last five years, excluding 2020 because of the shortened season, 12 wins is the number needed to play finals.
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Last year GWS and Essendon got in with 11 wins, while in 2018 13 wins were required.
So the Power have to find at least six, probably seven wins from their last 11 matches of the season.
It doesn’t leave much room for error, especially with the Power’s fixture draw.
Because of their good two previous seasons, ending with preliminary finals appearances, the Power had the equal second hardest fixture this season.
And the struggling sides of the competition, your West Coast’s and North Melbourne’s, have already been played.
In the Power’s run home they take on Richmond first at the MCG and then at Adelaide Oval in Round 21, Sydney at home, Gold Coast at home, Fremantle in Perth, GWS in Adelaide, Melbourne at TIO Traeger Park, Geelong at Adelaide Oval, Collingwood at the MCG, Essendon at Marvel Stadium and the Crows at Adelaide Oval to finish off their home and away season.
The Power would be expected to defeat, Gold Coast, GWS, Collingwood, Essendon and the Crows, despite going down to a Jordan Dawson kick after the siren in the last Showdown, out of those games.
So they could, and perhaps should, have 10 wins.
So where are the other two going to come from?
Fremantle at Optus Stadium should be a Dockers win, unless it is in the wet based on their recent form, and few would predict the Power to beat the reigning premiers.
So it could come down to whether the Power can claim wins over Richmond either at the MCG or at Adelaide Oval, Sydney at home and Geelong at home.
The Power have played the Tigers six times at the MCG, winning two, losing three and drawing one.
It is also a tight record for the Power at Adelaide Oval against the Tigers, with five wins to Richmond’s four.
The Power have won three games against Sydney at Adelaide Oval, losing two, while it’s four apiece with Geelong at the venue.
And even if the Power can get to the 12 win mark, they will need to make up a fair bit of percentage on their rivals.
The Power’s percentage is currently 104.9.
The Bulldogs in eighth have a percentage of 121.8 while Richmond in 10th have one of 117.9.
Sydney in seventh have a percentage of 118.8 while Carlton, who are set to be hit hard by injuries despite being two games ahead of ninth spot, have one of 112.9.
So it won’t be impossible for the Power to make finals this season.
But it will be difficult.
Power still has Fantasia faith after fresh injury blow
—Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Port Adelaide “will leave no stone unturned” to try to solve Orazio Fantasia’s injury problems, Power general manager football Chris Davies says, after the livewire suffered another setback.
Fantasia’s first game of the season for Port in the SANFL on Saturday lasted just minutes after he hurt his quad in the first quarter against North Adelaide.
He had an MRI on Sunday evening, which has confirmed a strained quad.
The Power are yet to have a full timeline on the 26-year-old’s return to training and games.
Davies said the Power now needed to be cautious with Fantasia in the second half of the season as they try and break into the top eight.
“So he has a challenge in front of him to do his rehab again,” he said.
“It’s disappointing from a club perspective and I’d imagine we will have to take a cautious approach as he does his rehab and how he comes back.
“We are really disappointed for him.
“He won’t have played for a long time when he comes back from this injury.
“He has had a massively interrupted pre-season. He has been unable to get on the park so we will need to get some load into him before he can play at AFL or SANFL level.
“It is more significant than the one that he had, he had a setback three weeks ago when we thought he was ready to go.
“I’d imagine right now we have a week off this week, he will be a month away by the time he is able to play at AFL level and that will probably need to involve some game time at SANFL level.”
The ex-Essendon small forward had surgery on an issue in his right knee this pre-season, after two knee surgeries last year.
He also struggled with injuries while at the Bombers.
Davies said the Power still had faith that Fantasia could get his body right.
“It will be advantageous for us to get him back quickly and now we have to be cautious with him,” he said.
“We have to have faith, you saw last year that when he is able to get on the park he is really dangerous for us.
“We will keep searching for answers and will leave no stone unturned to try and get him the right care to get him back playing.”
Port has a bye this week at both SANFL and AFL level.
Davies said No.12 draft pick Josh Sinn is likely to play in the second half of the season as he deals with osteitis pubis.
“Again, we are taking a cautious approach to his training,” he said.
“Sometimes we forget that those guys who have come into the programs when they were drafted this year haven’t had the ability to play much or train much (because of the Covid-19 pandemic).”
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