Port Adelaide assistant coach Tyson Goldsack has reflected on a difficult weekend for the club, with a loss to Brisbane at the Gabba compounded by season-ending injuries to three key players – Sam Powell-Pepper, Esava Ratugolea and Dante Visentini. 

Speaking to Adelaide media, Goldsack discussed the injury setbacks, the promising impact of Jack Lukosius’ return to the forward line, and the increasing readiness of the club’s young talent pushing for AFL selection.  

Goldsack on injuries 

“For Pep (Sam Powell-Pepper) to go down, it's heartbreaking for him, considering the work he’s put in to come back, and then how he was playing as well on top of that, it’s sad. And Sav (Esava Ratagolea) is in the same boat, he has had a really good year for us, he’s started to play with a lot of confidence. So, for that to happen and see him out for the year, it's not ideal. And then Vis (Dante Visentini) is the other one from the weekend.” 

“There's no good time to have an injury, we know that. But yeah, there are bad times, and that's when you're playing some really good footy. I’m not saying Esava struggled to find his spot (in the side), but he's really made it his own this year. So, for him to do that at a time when he's just found his place in the team and playing with some real confidence is pretty heartbreaking for him personally. It is what it is for us as a team, but for him personally, to have it happen now you feel for him, but we'll be here for him – he is a well-loved guy, so we'll get around him.”   

Goldsack on Powell-Pepper’s season ending ACL injury 

“He was really emotional to start with, and then on Saturday night, as the night wore on, he was coming to terms with it. He's going to have some struggles over the next 12 months. So now, as hard as it is, it's probably not the hardest time, the hardest time is when you have to work back through the process to get back and get fit again. As hard as this is to take now, he'll have some more struggles along the journey, which he knows about. He's just been through it (the ACL recovery), so it's still pretty fresh. He's got a young family that I'm sure will keep him busy.” 

Goldsack on how he will support Powell-Pepper 

“It's pretty tough to come to terms with how long it (the injury) is. Like I said, it's not the injury that hurts, it's the time it takes to come back from, so mentally it's all around how diligent you can be in in your first recovery phases so then you can get moving quicker, and then you can start training sooner. So, it's the long-term approach, but then in the moment it’s about ‘what I can do now to help next week and next month’, but at the moment, it's just absorbing what's just happened. I think for him knowing that he's got to go through the surgery first, and then from there, take it day by day, knowing that if you do it well now you'll get benefits in a months’ time, two months’ time.”  

Goldsack on his personal return to AFL football from a ruptured ACL within five months 

“Yeah, I had traditional surgery. But it's not about me, I'll be here for Pep with any questions that he has, and if I can help him in any way to get him back a day sooner, then I'm here for him. He's a great guy, and why wouldn't you want to help out someone like him?”  

Goldsack on the number of injuries this season 

“I think we consistently review how much work we're doing, and how much we need to do. We've got a pretty good record of soft tissue injuries. ACLs and syndesmosis, those kinds of collision injuries, you can't really stop those, and you can't plan for them, but our soft tissue history has been relatively good. We've got a few (injuries) at the moment, and we're consistently looking at how much work we're doing.”      

Goldsack on Lukosius and Georgiades in the forward line 

“It was really good for Jack. There were question marks on how he was going to play against a really good team in Brisbane, just off the one run last week (in the SANFL). He outperformed our expectations. I think he worked up the ground nicely, and his kicking was on. He gives us a different avenue to goal when he can kick from 55 to 60 metres out. We’ve seen him and George (Georgiades) work together all summer, so it wasn't new for us to watch it happen on the weekend - we just had to wait 17 weeks, which is not ideal. But they were really good together.   

“No pressure on these two guys, but they are really important for us. It's the same for defenders as well - when you have key pillars at both ends of the ground, the more time you're playing together at training and on game day is critical for them to just be able to create space, create different options. So, we saw a glimmer of that on the weekend, and I’d like to see that more for the remainder of the season.”  

Goldsack on Georgiades’ form 

“He's got a lot of looks inside 50, I think we target him more than any other player by quite a margin. He takes the most amount of marks inside 50 for the comp, so he's been huge. And we can't speak higher of what he's given to the team. And look, it’s not his natural game to be in a contest inside 50, he wants to be roaming around in space. We know that he's got the legs for it and the tank for it, but he's had to play deeper because we need that target. And now he's got Jack (Lukosius), so we're trying to lighten the load for him, but he's been huge for the team.” 

 Goldsack on finals hopes and opportunities for the younger players 

“I think if you have opportunities to not disrupt the team and to get experience in the (young) players you probably do it, but at the same time, you don't want to give games away. You don't want to give games to players that don't deserve it. You want to make sure that a player earns their right to play in a team, whether they're a team that's going to play finals or not. So, for us, it's making sure that their form is good, and that they're doing all the right things around the club. And then if there's a spot for them, they’ll have earned the right to play.   

Goldsack on Ollie Lord 

“Lordo (Ollie Lord) is going to be around for a long time and push us forward. So, it’s a consideration (to be selected at AFL level) but at the same time if Lordo isn’t playing good footy then he hasn’t earned the right to play. So, you've got to make sure the guys you bring in, like I said, have earned it.”