Port Adelaide contracts and list changes: All the news out of the Power in wake of preliminary final loss
Port Adelaide have the perfect position lined up for Jordan Dawson - though if his call is simply about money, he won’t be landing at Alberton.
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The Crows and Port Adelaide are still waiting to learn where South Australian Sydney star Jordan Dawson wants to play next season.
Out-of-contract Dawson toured both clubs this week after finishing his 14-day quarantine, but a decision on his preferred homecoming destination was yet to be revealed.
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The Robe-raised half-back flanker/wingman was at West Lakes and met with Crows players on Thursday, then was at Alberton and had lunch with the Power on Friday.
It is understood Port Adelaide believes it has made a strong case to the 24-year-old but that it will not land him if his call is simply based on money.
The Power is coming off a preliminary final and views Dawson as someone who can complement an area of the ground it needs to address, as the club looks to keep challenging for the premiership.
Signing Dawson would be a big boost for Adelaide’s rebuild under Matthew Nicks.
Drafted from Sturt with pick No. 56 in 2015, Dawson played 64 games for the Swans and finished third in the club’s best and fairest this year.
He rejected a long-term deal from Sydney to seek a trade earlier this month.
Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies made the club’s intentions clear on Wednesday.
“He’s certainly a player we’ve got extreme interest in,” Davies said of the long-kicking Swan.
Adelaide’s cap space has opened further after the departures of Daniel Talia, Tom Lynch and Essendon-bound Jake Kelly.
Ex-Bombers goalsneak Orazio Fantasia chose the Power over the Crows last year when he returned to SA.
Ex-Swan Dawson tours Alberton
Jordan Dawson has toured both Adelaide’s and Port Adelaide’s facilities.
Dawson completed a tour of the Power’s Alberton facility on Friday, which lasted for over an hour.
The Advertiser understands that Dawson is also meeting with Power players for a meal.
It followed on from a visit to West Lakes on Thursday where Dawson met with Adelaide coaching staff, including senior coach Matthew Nicks, and some Crows players.
The 24-year-old long kicking wingman has requested a trade back to South Australia from Sydney for family reasons.
Dawson got out of 14 days of quarantine this week and now expected to make a call on his future next week after touring both clubs.
The Crows have heavily tracked Dawson this year, with his childhood footy idol and Adelaide board member Mark Ricciuto forming part of the club’s pitch to him.
The Crows have significant cap space to offer Dawson a long term deal with the departures of Daniel Talia and Tom Lynch while Jake Kelly has requested to join Essendon.
But the Power, who lured Orazio Fantasia to SA last year, also have space in its salary cap with Tom Rockliff and Hamish Hartlett leaving the club.
Port is also still in its premiership window and on Wednesday the Power’s general manager of football Chris Davies said they had “extreme interest” in Dawson.
It is understood Dawson was offered a deal of up to five-years by the Swans before he made the call to request a move back to SA.
Battle for Dawson heats up as Swan escapes SA quarantine
The race for Jordan Dawson is set to heat up with the Adelaide and Port Adelaide target now out of quarantine.
Dawson has requested a trade from Sydney to SA to be closer with family in the wake of a fine 2021 campaign, in which he finished third in the best-and-fairest at the Swans.
Both the Crows and the Power are keen on the long-kicking wingman, who was offered a deal of up to five seasons by the Swans.
But the two clubs had been unable to meet with the 24-year-old, who had to undergo 14 days of quarantine after returning to South Australia.
Now out of quarantine Dawson can meet with Crows and Power and hear the respective pitches from the two clubs, as well as being able to tour the facilities at Alberton and West Lakes.
The Crows have tracked Dawson for a significant time this year, and have the cap space to put in a significant offer following the departures of Daniel Talia and Tom Lynch, while Jake Kelly has told the club he would like to go to Essendon.
But the Power, who lured Orazio Fantasia back to SA last off-season, also have the cap space to make Dawson an attractive offer – following the retirement of Tom Rockliff and departure of Hamish Hartlett – and are in their premiership window.
On Wednesday Port general manager of football Chris Davies said the Power had “extreme interest” in bringing Dawson to Alberton.
“As both Adelaide and us say often, any South Australian player that’s looking to come home, we’ve got a responsibility to do our due diligence on,” he said.
“When the time comes, we’ll put our best foot forward and if he wants to come to our club, fantastic.”
The Power have Pick No. 16 in the draft, although that will be pushed back after bids on father-son prospects Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy come in.
Dawson’s teammate Dylan Stephens is now likely to stay at the Swans, after the out of contract youngster had interest from the Crows, Collingwood and Essendon.
Port is also eyeing GWS forward Jeremy Finlayson, whose partner is from South Australia.
Finlayson is contracted at the Giants until the end of 2023 but he and his partner Kellie are understood to be considering a move to Adelaide for family reasons after having their first baby last month.
Kellie’s family is from Port Lincoln.
Power footy manager lashes ‘abysmal’ midfield
Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies has described the club’s 71-point preliminary final loss as “an abomination” and its work around the ball against the Western Bulldogs as “abysmal”, as the fallout continues from Saturday night.
The Power was smashed 166-136 in contested possessions, 60-48 in inside 50s, 41-35 in clearances and 18-11 in contested marks in its surprisingly flat performance, prompting a raft of external criticism, much of it around coach Ken Hinkley.
Davies said the club would review all aspects of the match, including on-field, the team’s preparation, structure, how it coached on the night and players’ mindset.
“Saturday night was an abomination,” Davies said.
“Our work around the ball was abysmal and our contest work around the ground wasn’t at the level it needs to be.
“We were beaten by a really good Western Bulldogs team but we didn’t give an account of ourselves we’re overly proud of.
“It would be wrong to suggest one part over another (in the review) was more important.
“It’s a group review that is going to require everyone to take their own portion of responsibility for it, including myself.
“Ken is absolutely the type of person who puts his hands up in these situations, as am I – we all have responsibility.”
Davies said although it was hurting, the club remained optimistic about its 2022 prospects and would again expect to challenge for the premiership.
“We’re in a position right now where no one will believe that until we get to another preliminary final and get the job done,” he said.
The Power has already announced three squad cuts since Saturday night, delisting leadership group member Hamish Hartlett and four-game defender Joel Garner.
Tyson Goldsack will move from the rookie list to become a full-time development coach.
Veteran midfielder Tom Rockliff retired last month.
The club was hopeful of retaining out-of-contract duo Steven Motlop and Riley Bonner.
“Riley had an amazing end to the year,” Davies said.
“He’s got himself in a position where he deserves to continue on at the club and we’ve expressed that to him.
“It will now be up to (list manager) Jason Cripps and his management to work out what that looks like.
“Mots is another who we think has got some more footy in him.”
Speedster Marty Frederick is understood to have received a contract offer and is keen to stay at Alberton despite some rival interest, but he is still negotiating with the Power.
Boyd Woodcock, Jarrod Lienert, Sam Mayes and Trent Burgoyne are among others who will likely have to wait until after trade to see how list spots land.
An assistant coaching vacancy opened at the Power on Monday after Jarrad Schofield’s return to Perth to join West Coast as head of strategy and stoppage.
Senior Power assistant Michael Voss is out of contract and has been linked to the top post at Carlton.
Davies hoped to know Voss’s intentions soon, saying bluntly: “I’m not the type of person who will wait forever and Michael knows that.”
“I don’t want to seem too cold here but I can be pretty cold in these situations.
“If we get to a point where we need to make a decision, then we’ll make it and Michael will have to live with that.”
The Power seems poised to replace Schofield from within.
“We’ve got some fantastic assistant coaches who can take on more responsibility,” Davies said.
“The challenge with that is to find the right spots for them.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide is set to re-sign promising defender James Borlase on a one-year deal.
Borlase – the son of Port Adelaide premiership captain Darryl Borlase and Australian netballer Jenny Borlase – did not play an AFL game in his first season on the list.
Duo in Power’s sights
Port Adelaide has “extreme interest” in wantaway Swan Jordan Dawson and is also eyeing GWS forward Jeremy Finlayson, whose partner is from South Australia.
Robe-raised Dawson finished third in Sydney’s best and fairest this season and requested a trade home to SA on Friday, but was yet to nominate either the Power or Adelaide.
The 24-year-old halfback/wingman has played 64 games for the Swans since being drafted from Sturt with pick 56 in 2015.
Finlayson is contracted at the Giants until the end of 2023 but he and his partner Kellie are understood to be considering a move to Adelaide for family reasons after having their first baby last month.
Kellie’s family is from Port Lincoln.
Finlayson, 25, remained in Queensland with Kellie for the pregnancy and did not travel with the Giants late in the season or play in either of its finals.
Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies said the club did not typically start negotiations with players until it knew they wanted to come to the club.
Davies said Dawson had a fantastic year and the Power believed he could complement an area of the ground it needed to address.
“He’s certainly a player we’ve got extreme interest in,” Davies said.
“As both Adelaide and us say often, any South Australian player that’s looking to come home, we’ve got a responsibility to do our due diligence on.
“When the time comes, we’ll put our best foot forward and if wants to come to our club, fantastic.”
Davies said the club would be interested in Finlayson, who kicked 23 goals from 13 games this year, if he as keen to come to SA.
“The challenge with all those things is to know in the market who has an interest in coming here,” he said.
Davies said Saturday night’s 71-point home preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs showed the club needed to improve its midfield depth and he believed that could be done internally.
He said the Power intended to give third-year trio Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma more on-ball minutes while hoping they would have better luck with injury in 2022.
“I don’t think we can deny right now that on Saturday night we were shown up by a midfield that probably batted deeper,” he said.
“We went into this year with a plan to give more game time in there to players who we believe are our next midfielders.
“Some of that was taken up through injury.
“We think that those guys (Rozee, Butters, Duursma) are the ones to take us forward and we need to give them the opportunity to do that and not just on the peripherary of the game.”
Davies said the club had not made any overtures for North Melbourne’s out-of-contract South Australian midfielder Trent Dumont.
“That’s not to say we don’t have interest,” he said.
“There’s a lot to play out over the next couple of weeks.”
Responding to reports backman Tom Clurey was drawing interest from rival clubs, Davies said no player had asked for a trade and the club wanted to maintain its tall defensive stocks.
“Tom won’t be going anywhere,” he said.
Power axe fan favourite as finals meltdown cull begins
Port Adelaide leadership group member Hamish Hartlett says the club is not offering him a new contract because it does not feel he can keep up with the game’s demands.
Hartlett, 31, did not feature in the Power’s finals campaign after undergoing knee surgery and was told on Monday he would not be receiving a deal for 2022.
The defender says there is no bad blood with Port Adelaide but he does believe he can still play at AFL level for the next couple of years.
He is prepared to move interstate and will discuss his options with his manager on Tuesday.
“I had a chat with (coach) Kenny (Hinkley) and (football manager) Chris Davies yesterday, and Kenny pretty much just said there won’t be a contract for you next season for a couple of reasons,” Hartlett told SEN SA.
“One, he doesn’t physically think that I can keep up with the demands of the game, particularly in the position I play at halfback against some players that are quite lively.
“Also, with the development of some of our younger guys coming through … he doesn’t feel like there’s a position on the list for me anymore.
“I didn’t necessarily agree with them but I can understand the angle that they’re coming from.
“I owe the footy club a lot – they’ve been unbelievable to me for 13 years.
“No bad blood, I’ve got nothing but love for that footy club and that’ll always be the case.”
Hartlett, who had been willing to stay on the Power list as a rookie and Magpies leadership player, said he was not surprised by the club’s decision.
“I got a call from Kenny on Sunday afternoon saying he wanted me to come in and have a chat and it was well before my exit meeting time had been scheduled, so I suppose when you receive that call the writing’s on the wall to some degree,” he said.
“I firmly believe I’m capable of playing good AFL footy.
“I’m more than happy to explore any option.”
Hartlett, the Power’s highest ever draft pick at No.4 in 2008, sits 10th on the club’s all-time games list with 198.
He only featured 10 times at AFL level this year.
Hartlett was dropped before Round 11 as a “circuit-breaker” as he battled a negative mindset then returned to face Gold Coast in Round 14, only to be a late withdrawal the next week with a hip issue.
The Suns game was his last for the Power.
He played through a quad problem in the SANFL, then required knee surgery in August after teammate Xavier Duursma collided into him while training in Melbourne.
Hartlett made his state league return a fortnight ago but was overlooked for Saturday night’s 71-point preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs.
He only played every game of the season twice in 13 campaigns, as he battled hamstring, shoulder and knee injuries, including an ACL in 2018.
“Clearly in the back half of the year I had some issues,” he said.
“I think it probably all stemmed from a knee op I had at the end of last season, which was quite significant and delayed my start to pre-season.”
Hartlett planned to go on an end-of-season trip with teammates and attend the club’s best and fairest.
The Power also parted ways with defender Joel Garner and announced Tyson Goldsack would drop off the rookie list and become a full-time development coach.
Drafted with pick 60 in 2017, Garner played all four of his AFL games with the club in 2019.
“Joel has become a victim of the depth we have in our backline, which has made it hard for him to get opportunities at AFL level,” Cripps said.
POWER CONFIRM COACHING DEPARTURE
Port Adelaide has confirmed a coaching departure in the post-mortem of the 71-point preliminary final thrashing at the hands of the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Veteran Steven Motlop, 30, is set to get another year at Alberton while star forward Robbie Gray, 33, has already been promised another contract.
Port’s best player in Saturday night’s horror show Riley Bonner is another one out of contract.
Bonner’s camp and the Power were waiting until the end of the season to open talks on a new deal.
He hasn’t had his exit meeting yet and will go in off the back of a 32 possession, 10 mark and one goal game.
Talks are expected to start this week.
It comes as the club confirmed midfield coach Jarrad Schofield would depart Alberton.
The 2004 premiership player is to return to Perth where he will take up a senior assistant coaching role with West Coast.
Schofield returned to Alberton at the end of 2018 after guiding WAFL side Subiaco to three premierships and five grand finals in six years.
He said departing Port for the elevated opportunity was a step towards his goal of becoming a senior coach.
“I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I was given to come back to Port Adelaide – a club where I had strong relationships and such fond memories,” he said.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club and it has been incredible to start my AFL coaching journey here and learn from some outstanding people.
“This club will always mean a lot to me and it is with a heavy heart that I’m leaving, but I see this as a step in my professional development towards fulfilling my aspiration of being a senior coach.”
Port Adelaide general manager football, Chris Davies says the club was disappointed to lose Schofield but understood his decision.
“The role of an assistant coach is extremely demanding and Jarrad has worked tirelessly for our club. His football knowledge and insight has been highly valuable in our coaching group,” Davies said.
“However, we appreciate his desire to continue to develop himself as a coach and increase the breadth of his experience at another club.”
The Power and Adelaide are expected to meet with wantaway Sydney Swan Jordan Dawson this week after he requested a trade back to South Australia.
Dawson will exit quarantine after returning to SA and will hear out both clubs with it understood to be a 50/50 call at the moment.
The Crows have been tracking the classy user by foot for longer, and would be able to offer Dawson a more lucrative contract.
But the Power is in a better position to offer instant success, which could swing momentum in their favour.
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