Port Adelaide senior coach Josh Carr spoke with media on Friday at the Multicultural Power Cup at Alberton Oval. 

In the 10th edition of the special event, the club welcomed almost 500 participants of all backgrounds to Alberton to find connection and belonging through football. 

Carr spoke on what the Multicultural Power Cup means, Willem Drew’s 150th AFL game and tackling GWS on Saturday night. 

Carr on the Multicultural Power Cup 
“I love it. We've got 500 kids out here now, and it probably speaks volumes of where we're at as a society and where the game is going. These young kids could be a part of the future, and we've seen so much change in the game over the last 10 years. And as a football club, you know we're represented from multiple cultures. So lucky to be a part of it.” 

Carr on Aliir Aliir 
“He means so much to our football club, but to the community in general. We saw the post that the club put up from a few years ago of him talking about his background and the gratitude that he has to be a part of the game, but also understanding he's never forgotten where he's come from. So to have that right in front of us, to for the players to see that every day, it makes everyone appreciate what we have.” 

Carr on planning for GWS 
“Their good footy has being extremely good, and then obviously there's been some inconsistency in their game and they’ve obviously got a lot of injuries at the same time, so we can't underestimate what they'll bring tomorrow and we prepare for what their best looks like. Their ability with their hands to buffer the pressure and break through and run into space and use their run and drive is what we've got to be wary of. So we're looking forward to that challenge.” 

Carr on team defence 
“From a team defence point of view, we feel like we've been off the last month and feel like it's an area of our game that's come off a fair bit. So it's a big focus for us to get that right. 

“(The Brisbane second half) probably just highlighted a little bit of us and our roles, and we've had a lack of continuity in some ways through the team and with the injuries in different parts of our game. But it's more an opportunity of what that looks like for us and how the guys that come into the team, how we expect everyone to defend, and understand that when you're playing against really good teams, and Brisbane and Freo highlighted that, we just went away from our process, and it's allowed us to sort of hone in on that and really focus on that part of our game to get that right.” 

Carr on Will Lorenz being recalled 
“Reward for form with Will. He's been knocking on the door a fair bit, and he's had a bit of a change of role going back to the Magpies, playing as a defender. So pleased for him to get that opportunity. It was an opportunity for him to go play a different role and add another string to his bow and put pressure on in a different position.” 

Carr on Harrison Ramm being selected 
“We feel like there's an opportunity right now to play him against a team that's quite mobile and they get up the ground, and we need that athleticism. And Rammy's got that. He's got a lot of improvement in his game, but we feel that he gets an opportunity to see what AFL football looks like and keep growing his game.” 

Carr on Dougie Cochrane debuting for the Magpies 
“Yeah, keen for him just to play footy. He's pretty enthusiastic, and he's been wanting to play footy and get himself back. And he's had some roadblocks along the way. And for Dougie, there's no expectations. For him, it's just about going out and playing footy and enjoying that that part of it and getting some footy in before the end of the year. 

“I have had some conversations this week around the role and what it looks like, and the focus for him is actually just getting out there and playing footy. There's no expectations on performance as much as internally he would have that, but from our point of view and my point of view, it's about him just going out there and enjoying footy and playing footy. He'll play forward… so flying for his marks and enjoying just being on the footy field.” 

Carr on Willem’s Drew 150th  
“We've always rated Drewy internally at this football club, and if you're talking about a guy that is willing to sacrifice his own role, or not necessarily his own role, but there's always a lot of talk about offence, and he just manages everything. You watch his game, you watch the way he goes about it, you watch the swivelling and understanding, the protecting of other players, or the sacrifice that he does make. We're so lucky to have him here. So he's a leader, and he's a really good leader of the footy club. The players love playing for him and playing with him.”