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Port Adelaide enters the 2014 season with more depth than they had twelve months ago.
A lot of players are in the mix for Power’s match-up against Carlton on Sunday night. The likes of Tom Clurey and Jarman Impey may debut while Matt White and Jared Polec could exhibit their pace and display how crucial their inclusions to Port Adelaide’s list they are.
Then the likes of John Butcher and Aaron Young may get their chance to prove their worth for the Power this season.
It’s hard to predict the 22 Hinkley and his staff will choose to field in Round 1 and it will be difficult to foresee Port’s best 22 round by round with such a large pool of talent to pick from.
Wherever the Power finish their stars will still shine.
If Justin Westhoff finds consistency in his game he may poll the highest amount of votes for the Power in the Brownlow medal count.
Can Hamish Hartlett’s body hold up this year and will he handle the tag?
If he can, he is a frightening prospect and could challenge Wingard for the club’s John Cahill medal.
Travis Boak and Wingard have set high standards being named as All Australians. Jared Polec can put himself in All Australian contention if he plays like he did against Essendon in the NAB Challenge week in, week out.
The spotlight has been on John Butcher to ‘make or break’ this year but Aaron Young is in the same class as the young key forward.
This is Young’s fourth year on the Power’s list and he’s only managed to play 17 games.
The potential is clearly there for Young, recording 77% disposal efficiency over the five games he played in 2013.
He also collected 13 disposals coming on in the second half of the elimination final against Collingwood.
A Port Adelaide player which will surprise everyone this season is Andrew Moore, if he can stay fit.
Moore is a top 10 pick from the 2009 draft and will break out this season becoming a damaging player, gathering tons of disposals like fellow teammate Kane Cornes.
Moore has a strong defensive aspect to his game but he has the potential to be lethal moving the ball forward like Hawk Jordan Lewis.
Schulz will kick fifty goals if he can dodge injury, leading Port Adelaide’s goal kicking once again but if Butcher lives up to his expectations when he was first drafted and can be named weekly in the team, Schulz may have a challenger for his leading goal-scorer mantle.
You won’t see much of fan favourites Jake Neade and Kane Mitchell this year. They will play for Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL developing.
Neade will look to be a consistent multiple goal scorer and add on more kilos. Mitchell will want to become one of the best midfielders in the SANFL as he was in the WAFL, to put his hand up for a permanent spot on the senior list for season 2015.
Possible Debutants
Jarman Impey – Power’s first pick in the 2013 national draft;
Ben Newton – He’s been on Port’s list for a couple of years now and started to string impressive SANFL performances together towards the end of season 2013;
Tom Clurey – He is strong and quick, and will be second preference to Jack Hombsch if a defender goes down.
In fantasy land you’ll want to put Cam O’Shea (defender) on your watch list.
O’Shea is 22 and was one of Port Adelaide’s most improved last year.
He showed what he can achieve receiving three Brownlow votes for his 30 disposal, two-goal performance against the Giants last season in Round 12. He scored 110+ in Dreamteam and Supercoach showing he has a lot of upside about him.
Ladder Prediction: seventh
Some say Port Adelaide will struggle in Ken Hinkley’s second year but I’m tipping Port Adelaide to power on in 2014.
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