PORT ADELAIDE assistant coach Matthew Nicks has confirmed midfielder Jared Polec has overcome the illness which saw him delay his travel to China this week.
Nicks and Polec were both unwell early in the week and only arrived in Shanghai yesterday for tomorrow’s match-up with Gold Coast.
The late arrival meant the pair wasn’t there for the side’s main training session.
“We’re in good spirits and good condition so it’d be nice to go in unchanged if we can,” Nicks said at a scheduled press conference at the Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium.
“We got here yesterday and Jared is feeling great – he’ll be fine.
“Jared along with a number of players, we sometimes go a session on and a session off with those guys, so missing the main session isn’t an issue, it’s about making sure he’s 100%, that his fitness is right and he’s ready to go.
“He’s an experienced campaigner so we’re happy that he’ll play and he’ll come in and play his role.”
Nicks said the slightly smaller dimensions of the arena would see a few small changes to how the Power operates on Saturday, but he said it was not small enough to make too many tweaks to the game plan.
On its second trip to Shanghai, the Power has been so comfortable that Nicks described it as a normal away game – “the only difference is the length of the flight,” he said.
The biggest challenge, he said, was to replicate the fierce attack on the contest the side displayed in last week’s thrilling Showdown win over Adelaide.
“Our guys are always going to get up for Showdowns but we need to travel anywhere in the world, as we have this week, and perform at that level,” Nicks said.
“Our players know
“Our guys will be up and about because this venue is fantastic.
“Our players are excited about playing here, so is the opposition.
“There’s another challenge this weekend but that doesn’t change what we have to bring as far as the effort and the contest.”
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