AFL 2023: Charlie Dixon returns for the Power as Jase Burgoyne receives call-up

Port Adelaide will be bolstered by a spearhead and have named a young gun, but it will be without its suspended skipper to face St Kilda. See the full teams.

Mitch Georgiades has suffered a knee injury. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The return of spearhead Charlie Dixon headlines Port Adelaide’s three changes for Friday night’s crunch clash against ladder-leading St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

Dixon trained fully on Wednesday then got through Thursday’s light session to confirm his availability after missing the win over West Coast with knee soreness.

The 32-year-old’s inclusion is a big boost for the Power, whose tall forward stocks have taken a hit with Todd Marshall (concussion) and Mitch Georgiades (anterior cruciate ligament) sidelined.

Half-back Jase Burgoyne and last week’s substitute, Dylan Williams, also come into the 22, replacing captain Tom Jonas (suspended) and Kane Farrell (cheekbone).

It will be Burgoyne’s second match of the season and the fourth in a row for Williams.

Power assistant Nathan Bassett said the team would be challenged to kick a big score against the Saints, who boasted a 5-1 win-loss ratio and the league’s best defensive record.

Charlie Dixon is back for the Power. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

St Kilda has conceded 357 points, well clear of the next most miserly side Geelong (459).

“The teams that have taken a lot of marks on them haven’t had great success,” Bassett said.

“You want to give your forwards opportunities in one-on-ones, but you’ve got to be patient at times as well.

“If scoring’s the only thing that makes you feel good, then playing St Kilda you’re not going to feel good too often.

“They’ve been the standout defensive team so far this year.”

Three-gamer Brynn Teakle kept out veteran ruckman Scott Lycett for a second consecutive week.

Bassett said Lycett, who missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, had been in mixed form.

“Scott’s working on all parts of his game, whether it’s his ruckwork or follow-up, what he does around the ground,” he said.

“This week gives him another chance to be better.”

Georgiades returned to his hometown of Perth this week for knee surgery.

Bassett was speaking in place of senior coach Ken Hinkley, who flew to Melbourne on Thursday morning, ahead of the team to attend a personal appointment.

Hinkley is still expected to take the reins against St Kilda.

Port Adelaide will wear black armbands in honour of long-time assistant to the football department, Di Pounsett.

Pounsett, who had been in the role since the Power entered the AFL in 1997 and was awarded club life membership in 2011, died earlier this week from illness.

Port Adelaide is seventh on the ladder with a 4-2 record going into Friday’s match.

TEAMS

St Kilda v Port Adelaide

Friday April 28, 7:50pm at Marvel Stadium

SAINTS

B: J.Battle, D.Howard, C.Wilkie

HB: L.Stocker, J.Sinclair, N.Wanganeen-Milera

C: M.Wood, S.Ross, R.Byrnes

HF: M.Phillipou, B.Hill, J.Higgins

F: M.Owens, Z.Cordy, T.Membrey

FOLL: R.Marshall, B.Crouch, J.Steele – C

I/C: J.Gresham, H.Clark, D.Butler, B.Paton

EMG: M.Windhager, J.Bytel, C.Sharman, T.Campbell

IN: None

OUT: M.Windhager (sub)

POWER

B: A.Aliir, T.McKenzie, D.Williams

HB: M.Bergman, J.Burgoyne, D.Houston

C: T.Boak, J.Horne-Francis, X.Duursma

HF: J.McEntee, D.Byrne-Jones, S.Powell-Pepper

F: J.Finlayson, B.Teakle, O.Lord

FOLL: C.Dixon, W.Drew, C.Rozee

I/C: R.Burton, O.Wines – C, Z.Butters, J.Rioli

EMG: F.Evans, R.Bonner, J.Mead, L.Jones

IN: J.Burgoyne, C.Dixon

OUT: T.Jonas (suspended), K.Farrell, T.Marshall (injured)

Power’s focus on Georgiades’ rehab over cloudy future

Port Adelaide and Mitch Georgiades’ camp will focus on his immediate rehabilitation from his ruptured ACL before they discuss his future.

Georgiades will see a surgeon in the coming days to organise reconstructive surgery after scans on Monday revealed he had suffered an ACL injury.

The 21-year-old suffered the season-ending injury the previous day in the SANFL when he landed after taking a chest mark.

Georgiades is out of contract at the end of the season.

Last week News Corp reported that the Power was keen to re-sign Georgiades but a decision on his future was expected to come down to whether he was playing in the AFL side.

The high-flyer has been out of the AFL side since Round 2 and the Power was aware that rival interest in Georgiades would grow the longer he played in the SANFL.

The season-ending knee injury hasn’t changed the Power being keen to keep Georgiades at the club.

The young key forward is out of contract after this year. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

But the Power and Georgaides’ camp will focus on his immediate recovery and rehab from surgery and look to work something out over the next couple of months.

Before the scans revealed he had suffered an ACL rupture Georgiades said he would be “back better and stronger for it”.

Georgiades has played 49 games for the Power after he was taken with the 18th pick in the 2019 Draft.

He has kicked 65 goals for the Power but struggled in 2022 and in the early part of this season at AFL level with his goal-kicking accuracy.

From Western Australia Georgiades has interest from the two WA clubs, but also from those in Victoria given his athletic prowess and that he has been out of the Power’s senior side on occasions last year and this year.

With Charlie Dixon missing the Power’s last game against West Coast, Ollie Lord was handed a debut rather than bringing Georgiades back into the AFL team.

Before the Eagles game Power senior coach Ken Hinkley said Georgiades was focused on Port Adelaide and would not be thinking about anything outside of the club.

ACL DISASTER ADDS TO PORT’S SELECTION WOES

Scans have confirmed that young Port Adelaide key forward Mitch Georgiades has suffered an ACL injury, which will rule him out for the rest of the season.

Georgiades was stretchered off in the first half of Port’s SANFL clash against Sturt on Sunday.

The 21-year-old was taking a chest mark and when he landed his leg went out from underneath him.

“I just landed and came down a bit weird on it, and there was a bit of pain early on,” he said.

Mitch Georgiades. Picture: Sarah Reed

The club initially thought he had avoided any ACL injury, and the lack of swelling on Monday around Georgiades’ right knee fuelled hope.

Georgiades himself was hopeful he had avoided a serious injury.

But there were different opinions from medical experts regarding Georgiades’ diagnosis before he had scans on Monday afternoon.

The scans confirmed that Georgiades had ruptured his ACL.

Port Adelaide head of medical services Tim O’Leary said it was a blow.

“It’s really unfortunate that Mitch will now miss a significant period of football,” he said.

“He’ll see a surgeon in coming days to organise reconstructive surgery and then spend several months rehabilitating.

“We know an ACL is a tough injury for any footballer but Mitch is a really positive person who attacks training hard and we know he’ll attack his rehab in the same way.”

Georgiades, who is out of contract at the end of the season and has been out of the Power team since Round 2, said it had come at a bad time for him.

But he said he would return stronger.

“It was reasonably scary, any time you go down it is not the greatest thing,” he said.

“But whatever happens we will be back better and stronger for it.

“It always is a bit frustrating and not exactly what I wanted at this time of year.”

PORT’S DEFENSIVE CARNAGE

Port Adelaide is facing a defensive shortage with Kane Farrell joining captain Tom Jonas on the sidelines.

The Power won’t challenge the one match ban Jonas received for his bump on West Coast’s Jai Culley in their convincing win over the Eagles.

This was despite Power coach Ken Hinkley defending Jonas post game, saying it was an accident.

Jonas returned to the Power’s side to take on the Eagles after he was managed for the previous game against the Western Bulldogs.

Tom Jonas will miss Friday night’s massive clash. Picture: Getty Images

He will now miss the Power’s Friday night clash against St Kilda.

And he is joined by Farrell after he suffered a broken cheekbone against the Eagles.

Farrell had surgery to repair the cheekbone.

Power defensive coach Nathan Bassett said their defensive stocks would get tested.

“We’d probably like a bit more from underneath in the SANFL,” he said.

“But we do have some good young players … there are a variety of options.”

Dylan Williams was the sub against the Eagles while Jase Burgoyne was taken out of the Magpies’ SANFL game against Sturt at three quarter time with an eye on the Saints clash.

Key forward Charlie Dixon is expected to be available after he missed the match against the Eagles with a knee issue.

Him and Orazio Fantasia, recovering from a thigh injury, ran laps at Alberton on Monday.

Dixon is expected to replace Todd Marshall who is out with concussion.

Originally published as AFL 2023: Charlie Dixon returns for the Power as Jase Burgoyne receives call-up