AFTER having a bye in Round 1, Port Adelaide's assault on the 2015 SANFL League season begins on a cold Friday night under lights against South Adelaide at Hickinbotham Oval.
OPPOSING FORCES
PORT ADELAIDE
LAST MATCH: 2014 SANFL Grand Final: Port Adelaide 11.12 (78) def by Norwood 12.10 (82)
SOUTH ADELAIDE
LAST MATCH: Round 1, 2015: South Adelaide 14.13 (97) def Glenelg 12.5 (77)
HEAD TO HEAD (since 1876)
Port Adelaide 245 v 98 South Adelaide (Drawn 13)
LAST FIVE
Port Adelaide 4 v 1 South Adelaide
THIS YEAR
Port Adelaide: yet to play
South Adelaide: W
PLAYBILL
South Adelaide v Port Adelaide
Hickinbotham Oval (Noarlunga)
Friday 10 April
First bounce: 7:10pm (ACST)
Hashtags: #southport
Broadcast: 1197AM RPH Adelaide, RPH Digital
Tickets available at gate
TIME MACHINE
Preliminary Final, 2014: Trailing at half time, Port Adelaide mounted a stirring turnaround to vanquish Brad Gotch's Panthers in the second half at the Adelaide Oval and book a grand final appearance the week after.
PORT ADELAIDE 1.3 4.5 10.10 13.12 (90)
SOUTH ADELAIDE 2.1 7.4 7.7 10.10 (70)
Best: Ah Chee, Mitchell, Stevenson, Shaw, Logan, Summerton, Byrne-Jones
Goals: Stewart, Shaw, Mitchell, Ah Chee, Summerton 2, Impey, A. Young, Amon
at the Adelaide Oval
FOUR QUARTERS
THE EDGE
How will Port Adelaide go this year? Seven players have been retained on the club's SANFL list, and a number of quality AFL recruits come into the side via the draft. But how will this team perform with the loss of key SANFL and developed AFL players over the off-season? It's a question few will be able to answer until late on Friday night. Certainly for both teams there are key players who can make a difference.
Steven Summerton - Port Adelaide's reigning SANFL best and fairest, the winner of last year's R.O. Shearman Medal (best player voted by the league's coaches) and again a favourite for the Magarey Medal, Summerton is not just the Magpie captain, but its most consistent player. His craft and skill at this level is a huge asset to the black-and-white and if he's firing the Port midfield will be hard to beat.
Joel Cross - A former Magarey Medallist (and probably favourite again in 2015) and last year's runner up in the Knuckey Cup, Cross is one of the Panthers' most consistent midfielders and he can win his own ball and at clearances. He's one for the Maggies to watch.
Both teams will be relatively full strength this weekend, and certainly for Port Adelaide the stats will be, as ever, determined by injuries and form from the AFL side. Anthony Biemans is a chance to be named for the Magpies after battling a hamstring injury through the back end of pre-season.
THE THEATRE
Port Adelaide's record at Hickinbotham Oval is pretty good. Historically it has a 65 per cent winning record at the ground (since 1995) and three of its last five at the ground. The big paddock at Noarlunga will be cold on Friday night with projected overnight lows of 11 degrees. The long road trip will likely see a weighting towards the home crowd too, so the Magpies will be fully prepared for a hostile reception in their first game of 2015.
THE VIBE
It's a long trek to Noarlunga, but with spots on the line the Power's fringe are sure to fire up.
