PORT Adelaide SANFL coach Matthew Lokan was satisfied with his side’s 17-point victory over a resilient Central District outfit on Saturday but knows it was not a complete performance.
The Magpies held onto the lead all day before breaking away in the final quarter, with two late goals from Mitch Georgiades sealing the 11.8 (74) to 8.9 (57) win.
“It's always tough to come out here and win,” he said.
“Not many sides have done it over the last 15 years.
“One thing I always know about Centrals is that they just compete. If you're off five per cent, they can cut you apart pretty quickly.
“I didn't think we played a consistent four quarters, I thought we were a little bit patchy but when we were good, we played some good footy.”
Among the highlights early on was a debut goal from mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle, and Lokan said he had been delighted with his energy around the group.
“What I love about Brynn is that he's been at our footy club now for a week and his energy is contagious,” he said.
“He's a really, really popular fella and he plays with that energy as well.
“It's always a bonus to go forward and kick three goals.
“He probably didn't get his opportunity as much in the ruck with the lack of stoppages, but to compete in the air and provide that energy in the front half is a pretty good first game for us.
His ruck counterpart Sam Hayes returned to the SANFL after a stint in the AFL side, and Lokan was pleased with how he responded.
“What we all know about Sam is that is his ruck contest dominance is really important,” the coach said.
“Sam always gives you a first look at it and I thought he did some good stuff around the ground.
“It's a tough challenge for a big guy like him to be able to move around Elizabeth Oval, and I thought he was pretty solid.”
The Magpies boasted a tall forward line, with Mitch Georgiades and Teakle combining with Ollie Lord and Dante Visentini for 10 of the side’s 11 goals.
“Mitch obviously had to go out the AFL side to get some form and he showed some patches,” Lokan explained.
“I don't think he put the complete game together, but he ended up finishing with four goals and a really important last quarter.
“I think what we've probably been dealt a reasonably small forward line over the last couple of years and we've played Dylan Williams as a tall forward predominantly over the last 18 months.
“To be able to have some of our bigger guys spend more time in the forward line, I think it's great for the guys' development.
“I think it's great for Dante Visentini to be able to play most of the game in the forward line and develop that part of his game, so that you know when he is ready for AFL football, he can compete not just in the ruck, but also as a forward as well.”
Another highlight was the debut of Kye Roberts out of West Adelaide’s under 18s program, under a special SANFL program for players not selected by AFL sides in their draft year.
Roberts has been training with Port Adelaide’s AFL side once a week this season to help with his development and Lokan was delighted with how the youngster handled the move to league football.
“To be able to have him train with us over pretty much the whole season one day a week with the AFL side, coming in and out of the SANFL program, and then to be able to play league football, he looks like a league player for me,” he said.
“He's still got a lot to work on; he's obviously got to fill out a little bit, but to produce the game that he produced in his first game of league football was a real credit to young Kye.”
Trent McKenzie came from the ground after a heavy collision in a marking contest late in the game and Lokan said he’d have to be assessed during the week.
