Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir triggered a one-year contract extension ahead of this season, with the senior player now tied to the club until the end of 2027. 

Since moving to the Power at the end of 2020, Aliir has been a mainstay in the backline, even earning All-Australian honours the following year. 

The reliable defender spoke with the media on Tuesday to confirm his extension, reflect on the team’s Round 2 win, and discuss individual player development over the pre-season. 

Aliir on his contract extension 
“I had a trigger on my contract, which I was able to hit last year and I don't know how that's just sort of come out quietly, but it's good to be able to be here, at a club that means so much to me that got me over here. I think I've been able to play my best football at Port Adelaide. 

“It's probably better than I expected, to be honest. I was playing over (in Sydney), but I wasn’t playing too much. I was playing forward, I was playing ruck, I was playing back. I didn't know what I was when I came here and Kenny gave me the confidence that he was going to play me as a backman and I never really looked back. We've obviously gone through a fair bit of change last year, but I love the club so much. I can't repay them enough.” 

Aliir on Ollie Wines’ suspension being over 
“Yeah, it is (a good week for it). Obviously Rose and Berg (Connor Rozee and Miles Bergman) going down, it’s good to be able to have options, guys like a Brownlow Medallist ready to come back. And there's a few other guys that are playing well too. So whichever way the coaches go, there'll be two guys coming in to perform pretty well.” 

Aliir on Connor Rozee’s injury 
“I mean, it hurts (the group). He’s the captain of the footy club. No one wants their captain getting injured. But obviously he'll see a surgeon, but no one really wants to lose their captain. It's disappointing and sad for us, but we kind of have to move on. And there's a few boys that are playing well in the twos ready to come in. 

“(Lachie) Jones is another one that's available this week (to help cover Rozee), that can come down back and play too. So, yeah, we have options there. And the coaching staff, I think they'll work through what they do. Jase Burgoyne has come down there and is playing well too. So we've got a lot of guys that can play on the wing and also come back and support us.” 

Aliir on Jason Horne-Francis playing more midfield time 
“Most likely, I mean, he kicked three on the weekend. He's playing pretty well up forward, but that's another option the coaches have. Guys like Hornet, who can find the pill pretty easily. He’s another option that can come (into the midfield more).” 

Aliir on Todd Marshall as a defender 
“Yeah, I was excited for him. I mean, you can see his ball use is probably one of the big reasons for him to come down there. And he's using the ball very well, but just the way he's able to read the game, his footy smarts, I think it's kind of helped me and Sav (Esava Ratugolea) down there. So it's definitely good having Todd there. And I think he's building, the more games he plays down back. 

“I think we're still working each other out, because obviously he's played as a forward, but just us being able to work together – me, him and Sav – I think it's still a work in progress, but I think it worked pretty well on the weekend.” 

Aliir on Esava Ratugolea 
“He’s growing his confidence. I think Carry (Josh Carr) challenged him over the pre-season, he had a few things that he needed to work on. And knowing Sav pretty well, he just went back and worked hard, obviously played the first two games in the twos, and worked really hard and got his opportunity to come back for round one. And I think he’s still building as we're going and he's one of those guys that plays with confidence and we saw that on the weekend too. 

“(The things he was asked to work on were) the defensive one on one stuff, which we all need to work on. I mean, the ball comes down there a fair bit, and us big boys are playing on the key forwards. So I think that was his challenge, just to work and be better than that. And I think he's been able to do that.” 

Aliir on his club record-breaking 19 marks on Sunday 
“Obviously I was pretty disappointed with my game against North Melbourne. I felt like my contest wasn't good, so kind of wanted to get myself in a better position and be better in the air. And I thought I was able to do that for the team. I didn’t even know I had that many (marks) until a few of the boys said it after the game. When you’re in the moment, you're just playing, you're not worried about stats or anything like that. So the boys sort of mentioned it after the game.” 

Aliir on the performance against North Melbourne in Round 1 
“I think our connection between lines just wasn't there against North Melbourne. And I felt like going into the Essendon game, I think we needed to work on that. And I think we were able to do that. I think our forwards were putting on enormous pressure. Our pressure was up. The mids were ready to come forward and then it allowed us backs to be more aggressive, and I think we were able to play more of a front-half game.” 

Aliir on who will captain in Rozee’s absence 
“I don't know yet, but I think we're in great hands. We’ve got obviously Zak Butters and Willem Drew as the vice-captains. And whoever they select is going to lead us pretty well, because those are the two most consistent players for us. And I'm sure they'll do the job. Who knows? They might even go out together and do the coin toss! But I'm not too sure who captains.  

“They are different. And I think the beauty is, whoever does lead is going to lead in their own right. You know, we're not asking any of them to be Connor Rozee, because you can't be that. They’ll lead different. And I think that's the beauty of it. Drewy obviously is more quiet and leads by action, Buttsy’s very loud. So it’s going to be unique and different. I'm sure one of them will lead us very well.” 

Aliir on Harrison Ramm’s development 
“Yeah, he's improved so much. When he did his ankle, which is pretty disappointing for him, because, as I've touched on before, he was so close and doing well and understanding the game. He's a pretty big boy, and the way he's able to close out speed, I don't think I was like that when I was his age. I think he is the future of Port Adelaide as a key defender. I’ll try and help him out as much as I can. I’m getting old now, I'm not going to be around here for very long, so I try to help the younger guys that are coming through.” 

Aliir on Josh Carr’s reflection on Round 1 
“I saw that (narrative) in the media, but at the end of the day, we’re the players that go out to perform in and we didn't really perform the way that we were meant to. We were disconnected in all phases of the game. When he pulled us aside (pre-game on Sunday on the race), I think it was just reinforcing what our focus was going in against Essendon. And we were able to go out and do that.”