Why Port Adelaide fans should be excited about the 2019 season

Jack Watts, Tom Rockliff and Steven Motlop fell well short of expectations in 2018, but talent doesn’t disappear overnight. With a few tweaks, here’s why Port Adelaide can contend next season.

After Round 16 last year Port Adelaide sat fourth on the ladder and was eyeing a double chance and a shot at a premiership.

Seven weeks later the Power was watching on during the finals series after the wheels totally fell off in the run home.

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What went wrong and how can Port rebound in 2019?

ONLY WAY IS UP

In a lot of ways, season 2018 could not have gone much worse for the Power. Tipped by many to be a top-four contender after a finals appearance in 2017, the club missed the top-eight all together, finishing 10th with a 12-10 record. There was no key excuse or reason to point to, either. The club simply had costly lapses in a number of games and by season’s end looked to have run out of steam and confidence as the Power lost six of its last seven games. Given the talent on the list, Port Adelaide will hope it was just a bad year that can be quickly turned around.

Justin Westhoff had a career-best season in 2018. Picture: Michael Klein

MORE RYDER

Ruckman Paddy Ryder won Port Adelaide’s best-and-fairest in 2017 while also earning All-Australian selection, but was severely restricted by injury last season. Ryder missed six games with Achilles and hip injuries and revealed post-season that even in games he did play late in the year he was pushing through until his hip flexor responded no more and his leg was dragging behind him. The good news is those injuries now seem to be behind Ryder, who started pre-season in fine style. If he can stay fit and return to his All-Australian form of 2017, it will go a long way to the Power pushing back up the ladder next season.

LYCETT ADDITION

A premiership player with West Coast in 2018, big man Scott Lycett chose to cross to Port Adelaide during the free agency period less than a month later. The move came after a career-best season from the 203cm ruckman-forward, who averaged 12.5 disposals, 20.1 hitouts and kicked 10 goals from 25 games, sharing ruck duties with Nathan Vardy after Nic Naitanui went down with a season-ending knee injury in Round 17. With both Ryder and Lycett also able to impact up forward, they could become a powerful one-two punch in 2019.

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HARTLETT RETURN

Hamish Hartlett hasn’t quite been the player he once was in recent times, but the Power will still be glad to welcome him back into the fold in 2019. The 28-year-old played just five matches last season before missing the rest of the campaign after he tore his ACL at training in April. Interestingly, Hartlett hasn’t polled a Brownlow Medal vote from his past 42 games and missed the top-10 in Port Adelaide’s best-and-fairest count in 2017, despite playing 21 games in a relatively consistent season. However, his best football is still very good and he also brings plenty of experience and leadership to the group.

FORWARD POWER

AFL number-crunchers Champion Data rank the Port Adelaide forward line as the sixth-most talented in the competition entering 2019. While the club lost Chad Wingard to Hawthorn during the trade period, they still have a capable pair of talls in Charlie Dixon and Justin Westhoff along with the likes of Robbie Gray, Jack Watts, Steven Motlop and Sam Gray. Despite the high rating, the Power actually ranked 13th in scores for last season, averaging just 80.9 points a game. That suggests there is plenty of room for improvement among the talent that is there. Then there is Todd Marshall, who at 20 years old is being widely tipped to have a breakout season after the 198cm forward returned 11 goals from seven games last season.

Jack Watts celebrates one of his 18 goals last season. Picture: Sarah Reed

STEP UP, RECRUITS

Tom Rockliff, Steven Motlop and Jack Watts all joined Port Adelaide last off-season with high expectations but largely failed to deliver in their debut seasons in new colours. Rockcliff averaged just 20.6 disposals at 61.9 per cent efficiency through the midfield while Motlop kicked 25 goals from 21 games and Watts just 18 majors from 19 games. Granted, they all had their moments and Rockliff had a better second half of the year after an injury-interrupted pre-season. However, more should be expected from the trio in 2019.

WINGARD OUT, BURTON IN

The Power were not at all unhappy with the trade they made with Hawthorn which sent Wingard east and saw Ryan Burton return home to South Australia. A first-round selection in the 2015 national draft, Burton had a blistering 2017 season in which he finished second to Essendon’s Andrew McGrath in final voting for the Rising Star award and fourth in the Hawks’ best-and-fairest. While he had a noticeably quieter campaign in 2018, there is no doubt Burton — who will start next season age 22 — has plenty of upside. Port Adelaide sees him as a big part of the club’s future, being a versatile player who can be a damaging rebounding defender or may develop into a midfielder or forward.

NEW BLOOD

Port Adelaide quietly, and smartly, manoeuvred to give itself three picks in the top 20 in last November’s “super draft”. It used pick five on South Australian product Connor Rozee, who is being talked up as a long-term Chad Wingard replacement. The 18-year-old is a unique player who is strong above his head, possesses booming kick and can fill roles both through the midfield and across half-forward. While Port won’t be expecting too much on debut next year, Rozee played senior football in the SANFL in 2018 so we should get some early glimpses of him. Zak Butters (pick 12) and Xavier Duursma (pick 18) also come very highly recommended.

TAB ODDS

Premiership: $21

Top eight: $1.90

Most losses: $101

TRAJECTORY

2014: 5th (14-8, preliminary final)

2015: 9th (12-10)

2016: 10th (10-12)

2017: 5th (14-8, elimination final)

2018: 10th (12-10)

THE NUMBER: 15

The Power’s 30-plus year olds are all performing well but it’s the next age bracket that is hurting them, with their 25-29 year-olds rated 15th in the competition for quality.

Source: CHAMPION DATA