Eight reasons to be excited about Port Adelaide in 2020
Port Adelaide fans are demanding finals action in 2020 and the Power looks set to meet those expectations after rejuvenating their list. Here are eight reasons why they can finish in the top eight.
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After missing finals in 2018, Port Adelaide knew it had to go backwards to become a premiership contender again.
The Power made some tough list decisions by trading out some senior players to bring in top-end draft talent.
And coach Ken Hinkey was prepared to unleash the youngsters early as Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters had an immediate impact.
While the Power failed to make an appearance in September again last season, there are several reasons why they’re better placed to play finals in 2020.
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1. TOP-EIGHT LIST
They have played finals just once in the past five seasons, but Champion Data believes the Power have one of the better playing lists in the competition entering 2020. The AFL’s official number crunchers have Port Adelaide eighth in their list ratings for next season, which are based purely on individual talent. That puts the Power ahead of Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne and even Brisbane and suggests they should be playing finals — if the coaches can get the most out of the talented list.
2. TOP-THREE DEFENCE
Perhaps surprisingly, Champion Data believes Port Adelaide has the third-best defensive unit in the competition heading into 2020. The Power ranked eighth for total points conceded last season, averaging 77.9 points a game against. But on individual talent, they are rated better than that. Tom Jonas and Dan Houston are ever-reliable backmen, while Darcy Byrne-Jones is also coming off a very consistent 2019 season. Add in Ryan Burton, Tom Clurey, Hamish Hartlett and Riley Bonner and it is not a big-name backline but one that is capable of getting jobs done.
3. FURTHER GROWTH
Ryan Burton had a largely impressive 2019 season at Port Adelaide after crossing from Hawthorn last summer. Injuries restricted the 191cm backman to 16 games, but he averaged 19.7 disposals, 5.6 intercept possessions and 412 metres gained to still finish eighth in the club’s best-and-fairest. The Power will be hoping that after a year in their system, Burton can deliver even more next season. A first-round draft pick in 2015, Burton finished second to Essendon’s Andy McGrath in the 2017 Rising Star award. He has talent to burn and entering his fifth season he is now entering his prime.
4. BRILLIANT BOAK
At 31 years old, he is no spring chicken. But Travis Boak remains a serious star of the competition and continues to lead from the front for the Power. The midfielder won his second best-and-fairest last season, after leading the club for disposals (30.3 a game) and contested possessions (14.7 a game). He also had the most score involvements of any player at the Power across the season, averaging 6.1 a game. Boak enters 2020 as the only Port Adelaide player rated “elite” by Champion Data in what is the final year of his current contract. But if he continues to shine, another one-year deal could well be on the cards.
5. CONNOR ROZEE
Need we say more? Rozee could hardly have been more impressive on debut in 2019. The forward, who also had spurts through the midfield, averaged 15.3 disposals, four tackles, 5.7 score involvements and kicked 29 goals across 22 games after being snapped up with pick five in the 2018 national draft. Rozee’s goal haul saw him finish as Port Adelaide’s leading goalkicker, while he finished a close second behind Carlton’s Sam Walsh for the AFL Rising Star award and placed fourth the Power’s best-and-fairest count. Set to start next season aged 20, Power fans would be salivating at what the future holds for the young star.
6. OTHER RISING STARS
Rozee is not the only young player Port Adelaide fans have to be excited about. There are a raft of others as well. Xavier Duursma was a fellow Rising Star nominee last season, playing 20 games on debut and averaging 19.6 disposals and 4.9 score involvements primarily playing on a wing. Duursma finished ninth in the Power’s best and fairest count, ahead of experienced forward Robbie Gray. Willem Drew played only 10 games in his debut season but showed enough to suggest he will be a player of the future and averaged 15.9 disposals and 5.6 tackles through the midfield. Zak Butters played 19 games as a forward and played a starring role in a number of games, including having 19 disposals and kicking two goals against St Kilda in Round 11. You can’t say the Power aren’t loaded with young talent.
7. FRESH FACES
If the Power did not already have enough young talent, they added some more through November’s national draft. The club ended up with three picks inside the top-25, securing Miles Bergman (pick 14), Dylan Williams (pick 23) and Jackson Mead (pick 25). Bergman is a highly-touted midfielder and forward who is strong one-on-one and has speed and power. Williams is a mid-sized forward or defender who is strong overhead, while fierce midfielder Mead was a father-son selection as the son of inaugural Port Adelaide best-and-fairest Darren Mead. Power coach Ken Hinkley has shown he is not afraid to give young players opportunities if they are warranted, so we could well see all three play senior football at some stage in 2020.
8. EASY FIXTURE
Few fixtures are easy in the AFL these days, but Port Adelaide has been handed what it unquestionably one of the softer ones in 2020. Champion Data rates the Power’s fixture the fifth-easiest of any side. The club faces double-up games against three fellow bottom-10 sides from last season – Gold Coast Suns, Adelaide and Hawthorn. Its two double-up clashes against top-eight sides from last season are against Western Bulldogs and West Coast.
CHAMPION DATA SAYS
The Power have third best defence in the competition heading into 2020 with the evenness standing out, with not one elite defender but six in the above average category. They are an experienced unit, being the sixth most experienced side in terms of games played across the competition.
HOW YOUR CLUB IS TRACKING
2015: 9th — 12W, 10L
2016: 10th — 10W, 12L
2017: 5th — 14W, 8L, EF
2018: 10th — 12W, 10L
2019: 10th — 11W, 11L
TAB ODDS
Premiership: $34
Top 8: $3.50
Top 4: $11