Belligerents
PORT ADELAIDEYear to date: LWWWWWWWLWLWLLW
Last five at ground: LLWLW
Currently ranked: 1st
GLENELG
Year to date: LLWLLWLLLLLLLWLLL
Last five at ground: LLLWL
Currently ranked: 10th
HEAD TO HEAD
Magpies 176 v 67 Tigers (Drawn: 3)
LAST FIVE
Magpies 5 v 0 Tigers
PLAYBILL
SANFL IGA League – Round 18Glenelg v Port Adelaide
Saturday 23 August
First bounce: 2:10pm
Hashtags: #baysport
Academy: 11:25am
Broadcast: Life FM
Tickets: $14 general admission, $8 concession, children under 18 years free
TIME MACHINERound 2, 2014: After a tough loss to the Redlegs, the Magpies stormed out to demolish Glenelg in an emphatic performance at Alberton Oval. Cam Hitchcock and John Butcher kicked five goals apiece, while Ben Newton and Steven Summerton dominated through the midfield.
PORT ADELAIDE 10.4 14.8 21.13 29.15 (189)
GLENELG 0.1 3.1 5.3 5.7 (37)
portadelaidefc.com.au's best: Newton, J. Butcher, Hitchcock, Summerton, Stewart
Goals: Hitchcock, J. Butcher 5, Harvey, Mitchell 3, Ah Chee, Stewart, Haren, Newton 2
at Alberton Oval
FOUR POINTS
Minor premiership lock-inPort Adelaide has all but secured the minor premiership.
The permutations of the ladder make it difficult to predict exactly what the margin the Magpies would need to lose by and closest competitor Sturt would need to overtake the black-and-white atop the ladder, but we do know that it would take the Double Blues to win by more than 150 points over South, and the Bays to pip the Magpies by at least 50 points for a change at the top of the ladder.
With a minor premiership likely to fall the way of Port, coach Garry Hocking will be hunting blood at the bay on Saturday.
Make no mistake, the Magpies want to enter September with good form, so expect their best performance to secure top spot this weekend.
Lively Tigers
This is Glenelg's last game for the year, so the Magpies will be expecting a gold-sashed side to run out hunting a win.
It's been a difficult year for the Tigers, but they'll be out to take one more big scalp after securing wins over Central, Adelaide and West this year.
Back in action
Campbell Heath is expected to play this week after spending several months on the sidelines in rehabilitation from LARS surgery on his knee.
WIth Cam Hitchcock also returning in recent weeks, the Magpies will be close to full strength, with only contracted players Jake Johansen, Aseri Raikiwasa and Anthony Biemans still a chance to play this weekend despite injury hurdles in recent weeks.
Heath is a big inclusion for the Magpies, with his defensive ability combined with the spinal strength offered by Lewis Stevenson and Tom Clurey down back set to be an important facet for Port Adelaide in September.
Perfect conditions
With fine conditions forecast for Saturday, Round 18 is poised to be a great day to see the Magpies in action for the final time in this year's home-and-away season.
It's just the ticket for a Magpies side that loves run-and-carry football and a club that has an impressive winning record at Glenelg Oval.
