PORT ADELAIDE SANFL coach Matthew Lokan says Jasper Pittard will be a welcome inclusion to a side lacking experience for Sunday’s clash against West Adelaide.
Pittard didn’t travel to Shanghai as an AFL emergency instead remaining in Adelaide to focus on finding form with a game in the SANFL.
The 27-year-old has played 116 AFL games but just one this season after an injury interrupted start to the year.
While Pittard will be welcomed, the Magpies will be without midfield ball magnets Tom Rockliff and Sam Powell-Pepper who featured in their last two games.
“We’ve got some guys like Will Snelling, Jack Trengove
“Jasper Pittard comes back into the team as well.
“He adds a bit of experience when we’ve got a really young side including a number of Magpies contracted players so to be able to have someone like Jasper come back into the team will be really valuable.”
Port went into last week’s SANFL bye on the back of losses to Sturt in an Anzac Day grand final rematch and Norwood in a Friday night classic at the Parade.
Lokan admits he would have liked to have strung together more wins after the Magpies were unbeaten after their first three games of the season, but he said the week off came at a good time.
“I don’t think our form was too bad going into the break,” he said.
“We lost to last year’s premiers and Norwood at Norwood on a Friday night.
“I think it was just probably a good time to have a bye with our young team and where our list currently is.
“It was a fair start to the season but it was a good chance to freshen up and get ready for a good block over the next four or five weeks.”
The Bloods are just a point and two places behind Port on the ladder, with the same number of wins, although Port drew with the Eagles in round 3.
Lokan said it was shaping as an important game in the context of the make-up of the top five.
“They’ve got a really class side,” he said.
“Their top end of players are as good as any player in the competition.
“Kaine Stevens has shown that he’s a premier player in that midfield, I think Jono Beach and Jason Porplyzia are back into the side this week and they are outstanding SANFL players.
“They’ll be a really tough opponent in reasonable form at the moment so we expect them to come out and give us a really good run for our money.”
It’ll be the first time in more than a month that the Magpies play at Alberton, and Lokan is happy to be home.
“It’s always nice to come back to Alberton, obviously our form has been pretty solid here,” he said.
“We won the first game against Adelaide here and drew against the Eagles here too so hopefully we get a result this week in front of a good crowd.”
Sunday’s game starts at
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