At the start of 2012, Port Adelaide launched a series of advertisements which featured their slogan “Beware the sleeping giant.”
It is obvious that Port Adelaide have had a successful year in turning their club around. The recruitments of Alan Richardson, Ken Hinkley and David Koch have helped reinvigorate PAFC.
Many Power fans wouldn’t have been expecting their team to seal a finals spot by round 23 at the start of this year.
This leads to the question: are Port Adelaide ready to become an AFL giant again?
The Power’s coaching panel has showcased their young talent this year.
Andrew Moore is starting to become a credible player while Sam Colquhoun is starting to create an impact.
The change at the club has also shown through the impeccable improvement of players who were at Port Adelaide last year.
Chad Wingard isn’t suffering from the ‘second year blues.’
Travis Boak is now one of the best midfielders in the competition as he has relished his new leadership role.
Yet other players who’ve gone under the radar are the likes of Jackson Trengove who’s been averaging over 90% disposal efficiency in his last 3 games and Aaron Young has recently been reintroduced to the Power’s line up.
Young came on as the sub in Port Adelaide’s loss to Fremantle; he collected 10 disposals which included a goal.
The week before, Young gathered 16 disposals, a goal and other score involvements.
Aaron Young played 12 games last year but has only played 2 games this year and could prove to be the wild card for Power’s September campaign.
Port Adelaide has now reached the finals on their own merits, but they still have one match to play before entering the finals series.
Hinkley has stated that he won’t rest any players, “We know that we need to train well, we need to pick our best side available and then go out and compete really well together.”
The Power’s last game at AAMI Stadium will be played in finals-like atmosphere, against a desperate Carlton side, keen to secure 8th spot on the ladder.
It will be interesting to see how the Power players go in their first final series since 2007.
Many of Port Adelaide’s players will be playing in their first final while senior Port Adelaide players will be playing their first final since the scarring loss of the ’07 Grand Final against the Cats.
Jay Schulz will be privileged to play in his first finals campaign.
Port Adelaide couldn’t handle the intensity of Fremantle, Geelong and Hawthorn. Relentless pressure could be Port’s ‘Achilles heel.’
The next two weeks will reveal a lot about Port Adelaide and its players.
It is set to be two blockbuster games against 8th placed Carlton then either an inform Collingwood side who they’ve beaten earlier in the year or Richmond.
If Port Adelaide plays well in their last few games of the season, are they starting to establish themselves as a team to be feared in 2014?
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