When reports emerged GWS forward Jeremy Finlayson had completed a medical at Port Adelaide, it received a perplexed reaction throughout the AFL community.
In the wake of their shock preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs, the Power have made their intentions quite clear: they’re retooling for another premiership run in 2021.
After expressing significant interest in Sydney defender-turned-winger Jordan Dawson, the news of Finlayson’s medical at Alberton received mostly a shocked reaction. Why?
For Finlayson, Fox Sports has revealed it’s a move for family reasons. The 25-year-old and his partner recently started a family, and with the COVID-19 issues impacting both New South Welsh clubs, they are looking to move closer to family ties partner Kellie has in Port Lincoln.
With how the past two years have unfolded across not only the country but the globe, it’s a more than understandable reason as to why Finlayson and his young family would make that decision.
As for the Power, it may not be so clear cut.
For large stretches of this season Port Adelaide lined up with four tall forwards – almost unheard of at the elite level.
Jeremy Finlayson. Jeremy Finlayson (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Charlie Dixon, Mitch Georgiades and Todd Marshall as permanent forwards, while Peter Ladhams served as relief ruckman to Scott Lycett, allowing Dixon to play all of his minutes inside forward 50.
So why would the Power be interested in a contracted player who doesn’t necessarily fit a gap in their list during a premiership tilt?
Dixon and Georgiades look to be the locks for key-position forward roles at Port Adelaide. Dixon was the Power’s leading goal kicker for a third time this season, while Georgiades had a breakout season, booting 32 goals in 21 games before a hamstring injury ended his season.
Then there is Marshall, a known favourite of Power coach Ken Hinkley. While the 22-year-old hasn’t yet produced an attention-grabbing season such as Georgiades 2021, Marshall has demonstrated year-on-year improvement and shown enough potential for a key position prospect. With the backing of Hinkley, it’s hard to see Marshall being forced out.
Which brings us to Ladhams. A Port Adelaide SANFL recruit, the ruck-forward has yet to carve out a required niche within the Power’s best 22. He’s behind Lycett for the No. 1 ruck spot, and with Georgiades coming into his own, he has slipped to the fourth key forward in the pecking order.
Ladhams’s ruck craft looks to be his strength, but he’s firmly entrenched behind Lycett with the highly rated Sam Hayes developing at the lower level. Not to mention that, as a pinch-hit ruckman, Charlie Dixon is more than capable.
This is where a potential Finlayson inclusion factors in. Finlayson is a more natural forward who can pinch hit in the ruck – he’s the reverse of Ladhams. The Power finished second on the home-and-away ladder with the line-up of four tall forwards; replacing Ladhams with Finlayson would give Port a forward-ruck who will spend more time inside forward 50 rather than a ruck-forward.
It could even be a straight swap given Greater Western Sydney’s thin ruck stocks, and with only a year to run on Ladhams contract, it could be a tidy piece of pre-agency work by the Power.
However, there is another potential avenue, albeit less likely, to hypothesis when discussing Finlayson’s potential move to Alberton.
When Finlayson debuted in 2017 it was as a key defender. This continued before a switch forward in 2019, although Finlayson showed he is more than capable of playing a key defensive role.
Port Adelaide currently have two superb key defenders in captain Tom Jonas and All Australian Aliir Aliir. Jonas is your hard-nosed, competitive beast defender who will never surrender, while Aliir is an intercepting savant who reads the opposition like a book and turns defence into scores.
Aliir Aliir (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The other two in that conversation are the cannon-footed Trent McKenzie and the seemingly out-of-favour Tom Clurey, who has been rumoured but seems unlikely to be on the move.
As it stands at the end 2021 McKenzie is the favoured third key defender at Port, which leaves Port with no defenders taller than 195 centimetres – Aliir at 194 centimetres is the tallest, while Jonas at 188 centimetres is the smallest.
If we look at the key forwards for Saturday’s grand final, Tom McDonald is the shortest among six talls expected to line up across both clubs, standing at 195 centimetres.
It’s fair to say the Power defence lacks size, while Finlayson stands at 197 centimetres.
Port Adelaide could view Finlayson as an old-school utility-type proposition or maybe as a genuine swingman in the vein of Alastair Lynch at Fitzroy or Adam Hunter at West Coast – able to play in multiple positions and provide flexibility at the selection table and on game day.
Or an even less likely hypothesis, nothing but speculation, are the rumours surrounding Georgiades.
Now, while Georgiades hasn’t signalled any intent to depart Alberton – he is contracted until the end of 2023 – Fox Footy divulged months ago the most famous list manager in the game, Essendon’s Adrian Dodoro, was infatuated with the key forward. Dodoro allegedly views the young forward as the perfect piece to fit in Essendon’s forward line of the future with Harrison Jones and Peter Wright.
Could the Power be preemptively shoring up their key forward stocks if the Bombers were to offer the rising star a godfather offer with a year to run on his contract and Port’s premiership window still ajar?
The reality is no-one knows. However, Finlayson’s size and versatility may be the enticing lure as to why the Power have seemingly had initial talks with the wantaway Giant.
Whether that’s to help in retooling the look of their forward 50, a savvy bit of list management, an important injection of size or a combination of all three, we won’t know the exact reasons until the deal is done and he dons the Power strip in Round 1.
TINO
Guest
finlayson not the answer the whole team froze keep the south australian player on the list time for someone else to retire on the coaching panel let the new generational change happen to move fowards your holding the
Kick to Kick
Roar Rookie
Yes saw that report too. Sydney will ask for pick 4. Adelaide will say no then it’ll stall for a while. Pick 23 will likely not do it. At that point Port might come into play again. But yes with the Crows the pre season draft is an option if the Swans baulk at their offer. However that’s a big risk for Dawson. Collingwood probably don’t have salary cap room. But North Melbourne or the Suns might just swoop on a gun player they could both use. A long way for this one to play out.
Chris M
Guest
Oh! I now see a report that Jordan Dawson wants to be traded to Adelaide Crows. Sydney won't get pick 4. Maybe pick 23 and a young player. Fischer McAsey, perhaps, if the Swans rate him? Ladhams to Sydney for pick 67 is still OK by me. They could probably then retire both Sinclair (getting old; not strong enough as a pure ruck) and Naismith (too injury-prone). Maybe Ladhams in a swap between Port and GWS for Finlayson?
Chris M
Guest
I think that Sydney would have more leverage in trading with Port Adelaide over Jordan Dawson. Pick 16 at least. If Port want to throw in Ladhams as well as pick 16 and get back pick 67, that's OK, but not a straight swap for Ladhams. Dawson is worth more than Adelaide's pick 23. Could the Swans find a way to bargain for picks 23 and 37 and move up into the first round by trading picks picks 37 and either 23 or 31 to a team that needs the draft points? However, if Dawson nominates the Crows and trade talks between Sydney and Adelaide break down, I think that there is a theoretical possibility that Dawson could walk to the Pre-season draft as Jackson Hately did when talks between Adelaide and GWS broke down last year. However, Adelaide had 1st pick last year. Maybe there is a chance he could get taken in the pre-season draft by teams that finished lower than Adelaide this year? I am not sure how likely that will be if he wants to go home to Adelaide, but he would be a tasty morsel for North, Collingwood or Gold Coast.
Kick to Kick
Roar Rookie
Fine. But Dawson is a class above any of those players. A better mark and kick plus he’s a goal scorer. He’s a match winner, a better player than Aliir Aliir who has done all right. That’s already and Dawson is still young. If Port won’t deal, Adelaide will bid higher. My hope as a Swans supporter is that both Adelaide clubs underbid and the Swans say no, Dawson elects not to go to to the pre season draft and stays to win a Norm Smith medal with Sydney instead. That’s what happened with an out of contract Ryan O’Keefe when he wanted to go back to Victoria but Hawthorn and other Melbourne clubs failed to offer an adequate trade. But I guess I’m dreaming!
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
No, they don't. Either do Port if his knee isn't up to it.
justif01
Guest
Finlayson would be of value to Port as a key defender with size. I can't see them trading out Georgiades or Marshall though so my guess is Ladhams would be traded to GWS as they are thin in the ruck department.
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
I think pick 16 is overs for a player that we have plenty of, Houston, Burton, Byrne Jones, Lienert, Bonner, can all play that role well. I would rather Port use that pick to go to the draft.
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
They don't need him now they have Tarrant anyway
BillyW
Roar Rookie
Don't be fooled Brendon this guy is not a team player and not the sort we want at Port despite what he could bring through footy ability......I think the medical is just keeping up appearances and at the end of day it will be thanks but no thanks (I hope!)
Kick to Kick
Roar Rookie
Fox Sports’ Jon Ralph is also reporting that Finlayson is well down Port’s priority list, that their interest is only luke warm, that the medical was mostly keeping options open and they won’t give away much for him. From that you’d suspect it won’t happen. They’ll be desperate for Dawson and the Swans should play it hard and down to the wire. I feel Dawson will choose Port over the Crows. He’s going for family not football reasons, from a team with premiership potential and I suspect he’d prefer Port as a team that has similar hopes. Dawson is uncontracted but not a free agent. He can only leave the Swans if they accept a deal or if he quits and nominates for the preseason draft. Given the Crows will have pick 4 there, Port have no chance of picking him up that way. So they have to deal. Sydney have reportedly said they want better than Port’s top pick of 16 for Dawson. They may settle for pick 16 and a player, or a complex amalgam of bundled picks or pick exchanges. All a long way of saying that a Finlayson trade could wither while all that is being played out.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Either that or he and his misso have jobs lined up in SA
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Not at all. He's not a key forward nor a key back, goes missing in big games and seems to have no raspberry tart when the going gets tough. Really strange if Port do take him on. He won't make them better.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Rumour is that Talia failed his medical at Richmond.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
McKenzie has been good value for money but he’s not ideal for a power defence that sorely needs someone like a cale hooker but there are no key defenders like that on the market. They need to develop someone like Laverde at Essendon
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
Mitch is not a key forward, he's 6"2', he's the perfect third tall, but he's not a CHF or a FF, he may even end up playing a Tom Lynch type role given he's got a good engine, so Finlayson makes sense, perhaps push Marshall back and turn him into fullback because a CHF he is not. If Ken doesn't change his gameplan it won't matter, our forwards never have any space because we play that territory type game, sick of watching Charlie be triple teamed. I watch Naughton crash packs and then Marshall have a bit of a jump, day and night, the kid lacks mongrel, I'd trade him personally, get a first rounder or a nice player swap, as mentioned though, he's got first 22 gold card from Ken, so that won't happen. We need a fullback, Tarrant would have been perfect, I hate to say it because I love him but we need a big Gorilla instead of McKenzie, I still think Talia might be the go.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
Charlie had a nasty ankle Injury a couple of years ago,was a bit of a mess by all reports,I would and think Hinkley does avoid using him in the ruck to prolong his Career,he takes the Ruck in the Forward 50 area but reluctant to play him more minutes around the ground
Gabe F
Roar Rookie
Yep, I thought he was in the draft.
The Regulator
Roar Rookie
Exactly
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
He punched Merrett in the back of the head and only copped a week for it. I don’t rate this pick up by port