Port Adelaide supporters will see three prized recruits in action in Sunday’s NAB Cup opener at AAMI Stadium.
Brad Ebert, John McCarthy and Chad Wingard are in a 34-man squad for the round robin clashes with Carlton and Adelaide.
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Fellow new arrivals Nathan Blee, Brendon Ah Chee and Darren Pfeiffer are also in the line-up, but the Power will wait until after training on Friday to finalise the structure of its teams.
For those who are unable to get to the game, the club will have a live blog from 2.30pm on Sunday.
The Power takes on Carlton from 2.40pm and then meets Adelaide at 5.00pm in the third of the afternoon’s three games.
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NAB Cup Round 1 Squad
1 - Dom Cassisi
3 - Steven Salopek
5 - Matthew Broadbent
6 - Danyle Pearce
7 - Brad Ebert
8 - Hamish Hartlett
9 - Jacob Surjan
10 - Travis Boak
11 - Mitch Banner
12 - Jackson Trengove
13 - Cameron O'Shea
14 - Paul Stewart
15 - David Rodan
16 - Ben Jacobs
17 - Robbie Gray
18 - Kane Cornes
20 - Chad Wingard
22 - Simon Phillips
24 - Nathan Blee
26 - Andrew Moore
27 - Alipate Carlile
28 - Jay Schulz
30 - Troy Chaplin
31 - Darren Pfeiffer
32 - John Butcher
34 - Jarrad Redden
35 - John McCarthy
39 - Justin Westhoff
40 - Aaron Young
41 - Brendon Ah Chee
42 - Thomas Jonas
43 - Daniel Stewart
44 - Tom Logan
47 - Jarrad Irons
Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus said selection for both games would have to take into account player fitness and the following week’s long trip to Mandurah in Western Australia, where the Power meets West Coast.
“We’re not super keen to push guys out there that we don’t think are right or take risks with them,” Primus said.
“It’s a plane trip and a bus trip to Mandurah next week so we have to weigh up how important it is to play this week or can they back up and play next week. So we’ve got all that to weigh up.
“There are two games this Sunday and then a big week of training next week. We’re looking to take between 26 and 28 over to Perth so we’ll have a good look at that.”
Among those not in the squad for the opening game are former Hawthorn ruckman Brent Renouf and mid-fielder Matt Thomas who played in last Friday’s internal trial but are being given extra time as they come back from injuries.
With Matthew Lobbe recovering from hip surgery, Sunday’s ruck duties will largely fall upon young Jarrad Redden who is yet to make his AFL debut.
Brett Ebert has also been ruled out of action on Sunday, as he manages hamstring tightness along with Jasper Pittard.
The games will be played in 20-minute halves, however they could be shortened slightly with AFL considering the impact of forecast 36-degree temperatures. If the heat policy is enacted, teams would also be given four instead of two substitutes.
Tickets to Sunday’s game are available from ticketmaster.com.au.
