The crucial cogs of AFL's Round 9: Which players need to be the difference makers?
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
Gold Coast players hoping reputation or potential may be enough at AFL level have been put on notice by coach Rodney Eade.
The new Suns mentor has made it crystal clear to the group what he expects from them in 2015 and midfielder David Swallow says it’s obvious expectations have reached new heights at the expansion club.
“I guess we’re not those young kids anymore,” Swallow said.
“The standards around the club, he’s (Eade) tidied up that a fair bit.
“He’s made it pretty clear that regardless of who you are you’re not going to get games unless you’re doing everything right.”
Swallow was the Suns’ best and fairest in 2014, ending captain Gary Ablett’s stranglehold on the prize.
The 22-year-old firmly believes he and his teammates can only benefit from their experiences over the final six weeks of the 2014 campaign, when Ablett was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
“That experience playing without Gary there, we were able to work our way through it in the end,” he said.
“Me, Harley (Bennell), Dion (Prestia) shouldered that load a bit through to the end of the year there … We can’t obviously rely on him all the time so we’ve got to continue to work hard on areas of our game and be a really cohesive unit.”
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Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
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Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.