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Finals selection heartbreak looms for Port youngster ahead of semi-final

Jed McEntee has emerged as a brutal hard-luck story out at Alberton, while a Port Adelaide teammate has been ruled out of the semi-final against Hawthorn.

Jed McEntee and Ryan Burton.
Jed McEntee and Ryan Burton.

Port Adelaide forward Jed McEntee has emerged as the brutal finals hard-luck story out at Alberton this morning, with the 23-year-old to be dropped for his side’s semi-final against Hawthorn.

It comes amid a second match-eve twist for the Power, with rebounding defender Ryan Burton ruled out of Friday night’s match against his former side at Adelaide Oval due to injury.

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Burton, 27, underwent — and ultimately failed — a near 40-minute fitness test on Thursday morning, which was witnessed in part by watchful senior coach Ken Hinkley.

The backman was first seen testing out a calf concern on grass away from the main oval, before running around the Alberton Oval boundary side. He then headed back into the changerooms alongside a club staff member after 15 minutes on the track.

Burton reappeared a short time later, completing running drills and agility testing on the far side of the ground.

Coach Hinkley initially downplayed concerns around Burton when he addressed the media on Thursday morning. But the Power shortly afterwards confirmed Burton wouldn’t face the Hawks.

Burton, who was traded from Hawthorn to Port Adelaide after the 2018 season, has already spent 11 weeks on the sidelines this year due to a foot injury.

Off the back of the Power’s 84-point thumping at the hands of Geelong last Thursday night, Hinkley looks set to play a taller forward line against the Hawks, at the expense of McEntee.

As club training commenced early on Thursday morning, McEntee was notably alongside other teammates not in the frame to play on Friday night — including Dylan Williams — instead training separately to those in the captain’s run to be held later in morning. First-round draftee Josh Sinn, who hasn’t played since Round 16 against St Kilda, wasn’t part of the first training group.

McEntee’s omission now leaves last week’s emergency Todd Marshall as a near certainty to return to Hinkley’s starting line-up — and now not necessarily at the expense of under-fire veteran Charlie Dixon.

McEntee, a small forward with an appetite for contested ball and tackling pressure, has been vital to Port Adelaide’s defensive structure in the forward half over the past two seasons.

He’s held some of the league’s best defenders – including five-time All-Australian Tom Stewart – to minimal impact.

In Port Adelaide’s previous meeting with Hawthorn in Round 10, McEntee spent a large portion of the game opposed to dashing defender Josh Weddle, who registered just eight disposals off half-back – his second-lowest count of 2024.

Sturt product McEntee is one of the better AFL mid-season draft stories, playing 46 games for Port Adelaide since being selected midway through the 2021 season.

The Power have already declared star midfielder Zak Butters free to play against Hawthorn, despite being subbed out with bruised ribs against Geelong last week.

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Originally published as Finals selection heartbreak looms for Port youngster ahead of semi-final

Original URL: https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/affiliates/kayo/finals-selection-heartbreak-looms-for-port-youngster-ahead-of-semifinal/news-story/66e538749803a2daeed0ac4f25ae05e8