Roar Guru
The last week of bye rounds sees another Friday night fixture for Port Adelaide Power hosting the Melbourne Demons at Adelaide Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST) on Friday.
The Power sit in 7th position on the ladder and appear to be climbing thanks to some team chemistry coming together. Their fifth win in six matches came last week thanks to a 57=-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs.
On the other hand, the Demons are holding on to 4th place after their Queen’s Birthday debacle at the hands of Collingwood.
How the Dees respond after a week off will be the big test for themselves. As they’ve noted through the week, it’s ‘just another game’ — a sign that perhaps on the big stage of Friday night they’d like to downplay the significance to get the result.
Jack Hombsch is again unlucky to be dropped after he is in-out player for the Power this week. The omission sees Tom Jonas return to the side. The luxury of the omission shows good depth at Port at this stage of the season.
For the Demons, Timothy Smith and Dom Tyson return to the side for youngster Charlie Spargo and experienced forward Cameron Pedersen (both omitted). Tyson is a welcome addition to the side who hasn’t played since Round 8.
The big head-to-head matchups that will count most are Ryder vs Gawn, Wines vs Viney, Ebert vs Jones, McDonald vs Dixon to name a few.
The Power are 5th in disposals and inside 50s, 2nd in tackles, 1st in clearances, but average the 4th most clangers per match.
The Demons are second in disposals, ranked first in goals scored, inside 50s and hitous, fifth in tackles, and third in clearances, but seventeenth in rebound 50s — perhaps a sign that their scoring prowess is so dominant.
The Dees have won on the past two occasions against Port including a 2016 match at Adelaide Oval by 40 points.
However, it could be said that the Power have had the better fortune for this decade having won the previous seven matches beforehand.
The Dees have won six of their past seven games, and the Power have won five of their past six.
Prediction
It’s genuinely hard to pick the winner here, but Port’s home ground advantage will get them over the line.
The Demons will be arguably fresher with the week off, so a fast start is crucial at Adelaide Oval, however the Power should continue their form after a confident win last week.
Power by 11 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).