Port Adelaide midfield coach Stuart Dew says it was a long discussion at the selection table this week, with multiple players putting their hand up for the AFL side. 

Speaking with the Adelaide media before Saturday morning training, Dew spoke on the challenges of selection, including how close forward Jack Lukosius was to being in the 23 for Round 1. 

He also discussed the young talent coming through, how the coaching group is feeling ahead of Round 1 and where Connor Rozee’s talent is best used come game day. 

Dew on Jack Lukosius  
“(He was) obviously close (to being selected), but also we’re just trying to set him up for the whole year. So he had a strong January, and then just the last couple of weeks was lacking a little bit of consistency in terms of out on the track. So it's not going to hurt him. He understands that as well, like obviously after his last year, he wants to make sure he's set up for the whole year. It’s not that he's not ready, but also the lads that have been playing have been really consistent, so that'll sort itself out in the coming weeks. But this week, we just felt that he just needs to get some consistency in his training and games. He's really clear. He just needs to get his body in a position to get to work. And he's been able to do that across the last, you know, couple of months, but he's aware that he's got to bring that into the games. So he's as street smart as I've known in football. So he's aware of the situation. He knows what he needs to do. 

“He's got to perform. We want to be a footy club where no one's got their position safe. We need that pressure from within. That's the best pressure. And so he needs to play well, certainly. And if the lads play well again on the weekend, well then it makes the decision harder. But the longer our match committee goes, the better. If it's a quick one, then we're not playing well.” 

Dew on Ollie Lord 
“What he has shown over the pre-season is that he competes, and he competes really well. Presents at the ball. I've really enjoyed watching him go to work. Even when he gets in the ruck, he's aggressive in there, in the centre bounce. So yeah, looking forward to seeing what Ollie’s got for us.” 

Dew on choosing Ratugolea over Ramm 
“That was a really good, discussion again. And obviously Rammy’s at the start of his journey, so when you're tossing up the development phase versus performance. Rammy has attacked the pre-season really well. And I'm sure this will be a discussion most weeks, in terms of, we have got a little bit of depth up front and down back. Esava has had a really solid month. Probably the opposite to Jack in that he was a little bit inconsistent in January, and then he's really put it together the last couple of weeks. And it’s a good message to guys, that if you put the working on the track consistently, and in the games, you get rewarded. 

“(Ratugolea) was aware of what his challenges were, probably six to eight weeks ago and, and I think he just set a plan and stuck to it, and then was able to perform. Confidence is obviously built off the actions. And I think just executing a plan in terms of physically and mentally to prepare for games is a big one for him, and he's done that. So he should be very confident.” 

Dew on choosing players based on form 
“I think that's where you want to be. You want to pick the team that's in form. And if guys’ forms waver, and players in the in the SANFL are playing well, you want to reward it. So again, that makes selection more difficult, but it pushes our performance up in the senior team.” 

Dew on Josh Carr heading into his first game as senior coach 
“He's going well, he's just been really consistent, which we know Carry is. He’s very level, consistent and relaxed, and I think that flows through to the rest of us. So in terms of that, I think he’d just have the normal nerves, but always in round one, you know, just keeping in mind that it's a long year in this game. You don't want to overreact or under react, so we’ll just get that balance right. I think the real challenge is, come Monday, regardless of result, come in consistent and stay the course.” 

Dew on the coaching setup on game day 
“Carry’s the senior coach and we're there to concentrate on our areas, give him ideas or solutions, depending on what's happening, and Carry's always got the final say. We'll feed information down (to Carr on the bench). But importantly, we've got some high IQ players that will feed information back to us. So our job is to make sure that we just create that environment for them to learn, make good decisions. And I think sometimes less is more on game day.” 

Dew on how he compares Josh Carr and Chris Fagan 
“They’ve got some similar traits in that they're really clear on what they’re after. They give people good autonomy and trust, and I think that's the best way to build a coaching group. And we've got a very experienced coaching group and we're all a little bit different, and Carry encourages that, to keep that individuality and Fages was very much the same. Fages was very big on making sure you coach how you want to coach and use your own style. It's most authentic and therefore effective.” 

Dew on Ewan Mackinlay playing his second AFL game 
“He’s a good example of someone probably through January was unsure where he might fit, but then got a couple of little opportunities and just made the most of them. And again, if players perform their role, I think that's important, we’ll keep rewarding it. Ewan is a good example of that. He's got great speed and plays the game both sides of the ball. He doesn't hesitate to attack or defend, and has really good balance. So he's good. I like him.” 

Dew on Connor Rozee’s position 
“Rose is obviously flexible. We played him in the midfield last week, so we know he can slot back into half back at different times, and certainly at Marvel, that'll be a damaging spot for him to play. So I anticipate he'll spend a bit of time in multiple positions. We’d love to have two of him, and then you can do both at the same time, but we haven't. But he'll be influential.  

“I think we can just continue to explore what it looks like and grow our midfield depth and the types of players and depending on the opposition, I think that's important as well. I think he's very hard to tackle, Connor, when he's up and going, so he’s quite evasive, and that's a real strength of his and can get the game played in our half” 

Dew on Jack Watkins 
“Jack’s very excited. He’s another example of just someone who does the simple things over and over and is a really consistent, effort based player. You know what you're going to get, which, again, as a coaching group, if guys are walking down the race and you know what you get, that's sometimes half the battle. So just perseverance. And the boys are keen to get him in.” 

Dew on the forward line 
“They're all capable. I think if you look at the best teams, if one's quiet, the other ones need to step up. So we don't need someone kicking a bag. We'd love to share the load and be really hard to predict where we're going. And I think some of those players up there are very diverse. There's not two players that are the same, and they can all kick multiple goals. So I look forward to that. And even the mids need to get down and pull their weight with some goal kicking too.”