Opinion
The Port Adelaide Power were second on the AFL ladder at the completion of the home-and-away season in 2021, with a record of 17 wins and five losses. They won the qualifying final, doubling the Geelong Cats score!
Following that they lost to the Western Bulldogs in the preliminary final by 71 points.
The Power were knocked out in the prelim, but they were higher on the home-and-away ladder than the Geelong Cats who were also knocked out at the same stage, which means that the Power are third for the purpose of this exercise.
There’s no disputing that Port know what they’re going to get from Brownlow Medal winner Ollie Wines and Travis Boak is a good leader. They identified that they need more goals in season 2022 as they had a heavy reliance on Charlie Dixon, who kicked 48 goals.
They’ve recruited Jeremy Finlayson from the GWS GIants in the off-season, who will probably battle for a spot in the Power’s best 22 with Todd Marshall.
It’s going to be a question of whether the Power are scarred from their 71-point preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs or if it motivates them in season 2022.
Zak Butters will be integral part of Power’s team in season 2022. He needs to be fit and available as the Power won nine of the 12 games that he featured in in season 2021.
Two of the three losses that the Power suffered when Butters played in were against the two grand finalists – that is a key indication that he needs to be at his best in season 2022 for the Power to succeed.
Butters needs to be fit and available for the Power to be in contention for finals, at the very least, in season 2022. He averaged 5.75 score involvements per game in season 2021, which is fairly impressive. He looks set to spend some time in the midfield and could be a key part of the Power’s system.
Aliir Aliir was one of three Power players that was in the AFL All Australian squad of 40 in season 2021. He was selected at centre half back, while Ollie Wines won the Brownlow Medal and was selected in the midfield of the AFL All Australian final team of 22 players.
Unfortunately, Karl Amon missed out on selection in the final 22.
(Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Aliir averaged the third most intercepts on average of any player in the competition in season 2021 with an average of 8.58 intercepts per game. He finished third in the Power’s best and fairest in season 2021, deservedly so. A key part of winning against Port Adelaide can be partly attributed to stopping Aliir intercepting the ball.
It could be argued that the Power will be extremely reliant on Aliir stopping opposition forays forward. He will once again be key to where the Power finish on the ladder in season 2022.
Karl Amon had a good season in 2021 as he was selected in the AFL All Australian squad. He averaged the most metres gained per game of any Power player with an average of 479.92 per game. He also averaged a fair amount of score involvements with an average of 5.46 per game.
Amon will average more centre clearances than he did in season 2021 as he should play more midfield time in season 2022. He has the capability of winning the Power’s best and fairest in season 2022, as he will win more of the ball in contested situations.
There’s no doubt that the Power need Amon to play through the midfield as Wines will get tagged and Boak will need a rest. It’s indisputable that if Amon can be at his best that he will be in the AFL All Australian final team and, more importantly, the Power will at the very least make finals.
Scott Lycett will have to shoulder most of the ruck work in season 2022, as the Power traded their back-up ruckman from season 2021, Peter Ladhams, who will be playing for the Sydney Swans in season 2022.
Lycett was suspended for four games in season 2021. In those four games the Power won two games and lost the other two. He averaged 4.20 score involvements per game in the 20 games that he featured in. He averaged the fourth most centre clearances of any Power player with an average of 1.40 per game.
There’s no doubt that Sam Hayes will get some time in the ruck as he is signed with the Power until the end of 2023.
Despite that, there’s no experienced back-up ruckman for them to turn to if Lycett gets suspended or injured. He is a physical, combative ruckman who’s a competitor, but It’s a fine line. The Power can’t afford to lose him to suspension in season 2022.
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