PORT ADELAIDE got through its internal trial injury free and with plenty for the coaches to think about on the selection front as the season fast approaches.
A strong black team beat a white side featuring 12 SANFL-listed players in a highly competitive outing at a windy Alberton Oval.
The coaches mixed the sides up as the game progressed but there were a few players who stood out.
Among them was Sam Powell-Pepper who won plenty of the ball in the midfield and went forward to boot three second quarter goals.
“Pep started really well in the first half especially,” said assistant coach Nathan Bassett after the game. He got his hands on plenty of the ball.
“I thought he had some good movement in and around the stoppage and he got forward and kicked some goals after that.
“We’ve had a strong pre-season from a lot of our guys and Pep has been really good, hasn’t missed a beat in terms of what he’s done so it’s great for him to get a bit of reward and certainly push his case for round 1.”
There were some younger players also putting their hands up for round 1 with Lachie Jones and Jackson Mead among those making a claim.
Bassett said Mead had put in an “outstanding pre-season” and had performed well on Friday in a variety of roles, first-year big man Dante Visentini competed well in the ruck in Sam Hayes’ absence with a leg injury, while fellow first-year wingman/half-back Josh Sinn was also impressive in his first game in 10 months.
“Josh is a good mover, he carries the footy into attack,” Bassett said.
“Defensively I thought he was really good today in terms of how he tackled and got after the opposition.
“He’s a very talented young man and we’re starting to see that a bit more on the field now.
“The tough part for the draftees is that they’ve had two years where they’ve played barely any footy… but he’s looked really good so far.”
As the game went on, the experiments continued with Dan Houston spending time on the wing, Ryan Burton popping up in the centre and Jeremy Finlayson spending time in the ruck.
As the forward line coach, Bassett liked what he saw of Greater Western Sydney recruit Finlayson, who booted a goal and led well.
“It’s interesting when you talk to someone when you’re looking to recruit them and they tell you they like rucking, you don’t hear that too often from forwards so that got us pretty excited,” Bassett explained.
“I think the relationship between him and (Mitch) Georgiades and Todd Marshall with Robbie (Gray) is really important and they’re starting to connect and they’re all quite nice ball users.
“Jeremy’s ball use is exceptional and so is his finish. He did some really nice things out there.”
Bassett said the club expected to take up to 30 players to Metricon to take on the Gold Coast in a trial game next Friday.
