PORT ADELAIDE enjoyed its first competitive hit out for 2022 in a spirited intraclub contest at Alberton Oval on Friday afternoon.
The playing group was split into black and white guernseys and while no official scores were kept there were several impressive performances that are sure to give the coaches plenty to ponder as Round 1 against Brisbane looms closer.
Pleasingly, there were no injuries reported from the contest.
Players were swapped from team to team throughout the match, but the black team initially lined up full of first-choice stars and a couple of young faces hoping to force their way in for Round 1.
Despite the lopsided line-ups, the white side held their own in a highly competitive first half.
The opening goal came from an unlikely source. Captain Tom Jonas – with one goal to his name at AFL level in 182 games – won a free kick and 50 metre penalty and then nailed the set shot from outside the arc.
Steven Motlop finished a nice piece of transition to give the blacks a second major and while SANFL-listed Brayden Kirk pulled one back for the whites, goals to Jackson Mead, Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and new recruit Jeremy Finlayson after a one-handed mark pushed the margin out to five goals at the first change.
Sam Powell-Pepper came out with a point to prove in the second quarter and almost single-handedly brought the whites back into the game with two goals in 90 seconds – the first coming from a neat snap after a well-worked chain of handpasses and the second on the run from outside 50.
Playing in black, Mitch Georgiades responded with two of his own before draftee Josh Sinn ran down the experienced Karl Amon and the ball ended up with Powell-Pepper who made the most of it for his third of the afternoon.
The black team tried a few things with Finlayson going into the ruck to allow Scott Lycett a rest, Ryan Burton going into the centre and Zak Butters into the goal square before Sam Mayes won a free kick and added another from a tricky angle for the white team.
The second half started with four players swapping sides. Tom Clurey, Steven Motlop, Xavier Duursma and Mead put a white guernsey on and Sinn, Powell-Pepper, Trent McKenzie and Jed McEntee swapped to black.
There weren’t many goals to speak of but Ollie Lord and Motlop playing in white provided the highlights of the third term with the former forcing a turnover after missing a set shot and nailing a neat goal on the run before Motlop got his second of the day after leaping high to mark over Darcy Byrne-Jones and playing on into the open goal.
The last quarter saw the magnets flung all over the place, and Byrne-Jones got one back with a high leap and mark at half back.
Gray, in black, and Kirk, in white traded majors as the margin continued to hover around the three goal mark.
Goalkickers: Sam Powell-Pepper 3, Georgiades, Kirk, Motlop 2, Jonas, Mead, Rozee, Butters, Finlayson, Mayes, Lord, Marshall, Gray, Lycett, Williams
