PORT ADELAIDE got its first taste of outside competition for the year on Friday night during a match simulation session with West Coast at Mineral Resources Park.
For those keeping score, the Eagles claimed an eight-point win after the first four periods of play, which was followed by an additional two-period scrimmage after some significant shuffling of the sides where WAFL players also made up the numbers for Port.
However, assistant coach Nathan Bassett said his attention was more focussed on the learnings that could be taken from the game, having been buoyed by the teams execution of different elements of its game plan that were tested in different situations throughout the session, as well as several individual performances on the night.
Bassett on the positives to take out of match simulation
“(There were) some real positives in terms of how we played. We dominated field position, had the ball in our half and created lots of opportunities. Some of our full-ground defence, there were some positives in there, and we saw some great things from young people in our team as well.”
“In the forward line, Junior (Rioli) and Orazio (Fantasia) getting through the game unscathed (was a positive). Jason (Horne-Francis) did some really good things through the midfield and showed a big improvement from him from last week. He was very good. Lachie Jones in the midfield, we are seeing some really good things from a third-year player as well.”
Bassett on the No.1 Ruck battle
“Scooter (Lycett) was really impressive tonight, he did a really good job for us in the ruck. Brynn is a good learner and he is getting better. Scott gave us a great look and his contest was really good. He only played four games last year and he’s been building in pre-season so it’s good to see him back and playing good footy.”
Bassett on Junior Rioli’s performance against his old side
“He’s only played 13 games in three years, so it’s great to have him back, the same with Orazio. If we can get a good chunk of games into both of them, we know that they add some class and some scoring potential. (Junior) was really positive (about facing his old side). These are real games now and he was ready to play. I don’t think the crowd was too vicious. Western Australians always treat their own well. He’ll always be a West Coast premiership player. He did well. His fitness has been good and he’s been a really good contributor with his ball movement and what he adds to us in score. He’s an exciting player and we’re looking forward to what he can do for us during the season.”
Bassett on players that could return against Fremantle and for Round 1
“We’ll have a few back in (against Fremantle). Charlie Dixon will be back, Zak Butters will be back, Darcy Byrne-Jones will be back. So, we have some good experience waiting on the sidelines that are ready to go next week. We’ve certainly (got a good idea) what our full strength looks like for Round 1. Jeremy Finlayson is probably touch and go for Round 1, but certainly those three guys will add something significant to our team.”
Bassett on young defender Jake Pasini
“Jake was very good last week in the internal trial. He’s only been back in contact for about three weeks. He has looked very good at training, I just saw the first five minutes (of the two-period scrimmage following match simulation) and he took a nice intercept mark out there, which is good. It is great to have him back on the track.”
