Preview of Port Adelaide 2017

2016 in Review

The big question going into 2016 was whether Port Adelaide were genuine flag contenders, or was 2014 a flash in the pan? The answer was emphatically the latter, Port were again very disappointing — never challenging for finals places and looking a shadow of their former selves. They lacked consistency — following huge wins with dismal showings. The 2014 version of Port that was a kick away from a grand final is fading fast from the memory and question marks are being raised about the quality of the list, the culture of the club and the calibre of the coaching staff.

Key changes to personnel

Jay Schulz and Alipate Carlile left the club at the end of the season. Schulz will add to the depleted stock of talls at the club, but was not at his best last season. Carlilie gave run out of the backline and was a useful player, but his position is covered by the likes of Pittard and Hartlett.

The Power welcome back two players suspended for all of 2016 because of the Essendon supplement saga in Patrick Ryder and Angus Monfries. Ryder will add a lot to Port, who have struggled for size in the past few seasons. He has been most effective as a ruckman in the past, but Port also lack key forwards and so he could spend time in the forward fifty. His return will help fellow big-men Trengove and Dixon play in positions where they feel more comfortable. Monfries is less important to the team, but will also add depth to the Power forward line and is a handy goalsneak.

Port was surprisingly quiet in the trade period — bringing in no new players. This shows they have a lot of faith in their list and believe that it still possesses the quality required to return to finals, and potentially even challenge for the premiership.

In the draft they picked up Todd Marshall (pick 16) — a tall forward who will take some time to develop, Sam Powell-Pepper (18) — a big-bodied midfielder who will be ready to play from round one, Joe Atley (32) and William Drew (33) — both renowned for winning contested ball. They added four rookies: Peter Ladhams, Brett Eddy, Jarrod Lienert and Emmanuel Irra. Eddy is the most impressive — he is a 27 year old tall forward who has finally earned his spot on an AFL list after dominating the SANFL, he kicked 4 goals in a quarter against the Hawks in the preseason and so should be a valuable recruit.

Port’s Draw

The season starts in very difficult fashion for the Power — playing Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide and GWS in their first four matches. The draw becomes easier after that and they will be happy to play low-ranked teams from 2016 twice in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Collingwood. Port has taken the bold step of initiating a game in China, which will happen against the Gold Coast, just before the bye.

Looking forward to

There is still a glimmer of hope that Port Adelaide can recapture the form that made them one of the most exciting teams to watch in 2014.

Their greatly hyped list has been underwhelming since 2014 but on paper, they have some very good players who should be approaching the prime of their careers. Westhoff, at 30, is the oldest member of their list and so there is still time for this Port squad to show they are capable of becoming a top-four side. Although inconsistent over the past few seasons, they have many players who, on their day, are amongst the best in the league. Robbie Gray, Travis Boak, Hamish Hartlett, Chad Wingard and Ollie Wines have all been considered elite players at some point in their careers. If the coaches can find a way to rekindle form into these players, and others, then Power have every right to feel they can compete with the best. The list is approaching the age and experience levels where players should be performing at the peak of their career — Wines, now 22 years old, should further improve his reputation as an elite, bullocking midfielder and at the other end of the age spectrum, Gray is a senior player, but only 28 and so still has time for another impressive season.

Patty Ryder is a huge boost to the team — last year they were seriously undersized and relied upon Jackson Trengove to battle in the ruck for most of the year despite being considerably smaller than his opponent. The Power will want Matthew Lobbe to have more of an impact this season, which will allow Trengove to move into the backline where he is a proven performer. It will also mean that Dixon and Ryder can operate primarily in the forward line and will only need to pinch-hit in the ruck. If Lobbe doesn’t perform well enough in the ruck, then Ryder is more than capable of playing in the ruck full-time and with the recruitment of mature-aged rookie Eddy, they have another tall forward to replace him with. This should also help to free up Westhoff, who at his best, can be a very dangerous target in the forward line.

Worried about

Port Adelaide’s list remains much the same as it was last year, which is concerning considering their lowly position. They will need a big improvement from many players if they are to be competitive consistently. Port was expected to be very active in the trade period to try and rejuvenate their list. However, they have chosen to rely on a list that has failed to make the finals in the past two seasons, it is a risky strategy, but does show good faith in players to recapture the form that they have shown in the past.

A lot of the leadership responsibility lies on Travis Boak with not many senior players around him for support. Ollie Wines replaces Hamish Hartlett as vice-captain this season, but Port definitely lack experienced heads who can set the example on the training track and match-day preparation. In the trade period there were many leaders available for not much — including Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Michael Barlow, if Port had recruited any of these players, it would’ve added a lot of experience and helped the younger players become more consistent performers. At this stage, they have a lot of players who at their best are among the best in the AFL, but struggle to consistently perform at that level.

It’s a big season for:

Ken Hinkley: After his first two seasons as an AFL head coach, Hinkley must’ve thought it was easy — the club had made finals for two years in a row and were a kick away from a grand final, this in the face of them having won only 8 games in the previous two seasons combined before Hinkley took over. He was then what Luke Beverige is now — a new coach with a young list who seemed to have somehow found the formula to instant success. It is a blessing and a curse to have risen so quickly — Port greatly exceeded expectations, and so new expectations were made. Hinkley finds himself a victim of his own success and is on his last chance to have a finals run this season — with club chairman David Koch publicly declaring that there will be changes if Port don’t make the finals this season. Hinkley has one final opportunity to turn his team back into the exciting, premiership contending team they were in 2014.

Chad Wingard: The wizard in the forward line is expected to play more in the midfield this year. Having been selected twice as an All-Australian forward, he is a brilliant around goals, but if he can gather more of the ball, then he will have an even bigger impact. He is still only 23 years old and has the rare ability to win a match off his own boot. This year he will relish spending more time in the midfield and Port will want to get the ball in his hands as often as possible so that he can deliver for his teammates. If Port is to rise again, then surely Wingard will have to be at his best.

Matthew Lobbe: Only managed 8 games last year due to both injury and poor form. Port needs him to become the number one ruckman to help free up Ryder and Dixon in the forward line. He was put on the trade table at the end of last season, but failed to attract attention. At 28, he is approaching a stage in his career where he needs to put out performances to secure his place in the starting 22.

Hamish Hartlett: Another player who was disappointing last year and was offered to other clubs unsuccessfully in the trade period. He was vice-captain last year, and whilst was hampered by an injury, still had a substandard season. Having now been dropped from the vice-captaincy and seemingly on the outer at the club, he will have a point to prove and will want to show his value to the club. He can be a damaging midfielder or rebounding defender, and Port will hope that he responds to his near departure and demotion with renewed determination to realise his potential.

Ollie Wines: He is one of the few Port players to have consistently performed and improved over the last two seasons. This year he has the added responsibility of the vice-captaincy and will surely be groomed as a future captain of the club. Still only 22 years old, he will need to help Boak with leadership on the field, and lead the way with his ferocious attack on the ball.

Expectations

It is easy to get tempted into dreaming that Port are still the attacking, exciting team that almost made a grand final, but their performances over the last two seasons paint a more depressing picture. Certainly at their best they can compete with any team, but after two inconsistent and disappointing years, it is hard to see much changing this year — particularly with so few list changes over summer. If Hinkley can reinvent the game plan and reinvigorate his list, then they definitely have the quality to be a premiership contender. They will be hoping for a much more consistent output from all players each week, but if this can’t happen then they will be a very similar team to the one they were last year. Although tempting to predict them to jump up the ladder, there are too many concerns and too few changes from last season to really expect this to happen.

Predicted finish: 12th