Port Adelaide senior coach Josh Carr said watching Jason Horne-Francis go down against Sydney last weekend was a ‘scary moment’. 

Despite the worrying incident, Horne-Francis managed to escape injury and will line up against Melbourne for Aliir Aliir’s 200th AFL game. 

Speaking with the Adelaide media on Friday, Carr spoke on the review from the Sydney game, celebrating Aliir’s milestone and improving the list in the off-season. 

Carr on Jason Horne-Francis’ ‘almost’ injury last weekend 
“It was a scary moment I think, for everyone involved watching it. Not long after, you sort of felt like his body language was quite positive. So pretty quickly, we found out that he was that he was going to be okay. 

“I try to avoid it (assuming the worst). I'm more looking glass half full, and I was trying to find a reason why it was his ankle, not his knee. But in the end, it was a great result.” 

Carr on reviewing the Sydney game 
“Yeah, it's always nice when you go back and you a look at the game. There’s obviously the disappointment of the margin and how big it was, but when you see the why in that and you know how we defended it, really the game just got away from us. It was one of those games that, for whatever reason, we just couldn't control and pull back and control the momentum, and in the end, that was the result. So we move on pretty quickly. We learn from it. I felt like we can take a lot out of it, and we've spoken about that even this morning, the lessons we can take from that game. We obviously get a few players back this week, and looking forward to responding off the back of last week. 

“We prided ourselves on our team defence this year, and that was non-existent. We worked individually. We didn't protect the ground the right way, and in the end, the dam wall broke, and we weren't able to stop it. So it was really clear with the way that we defend and (looking at) the vision, it just wasn't us and it wasn't what we delivered for the year.” 

Carr on Dante Visentini playing back 
“Obviously Viz (Visentini) went back, and he was probably the biggest highlight for me coming out of last weekend's game, seeing his craft and whether it's his ruck work that he's that he's done to prepare him. He played the position really well, and he'll play back again this week. 

“Me and Viz have had this conversation over the last 12 months (about his position), maybe further back. He did speak to me about as a junior that he played back, and it was always in the back of my mind. So when this opportunity came up, especially with Sweety going really well, I thought it was a great opportunity to show what he's got, and he did that. He’s probably one of the best prepared players that we've got on the list. And it's no secret that when he did go out there, it wasn't like it was foreign territory for him.” 

Carr on out of contract players 
“Look, there's obviously a few that are obviously not contracted, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll have some positive news coming our way. But at this stage, we're still working through it.” 

Carr on improving the list in the off-season 
“We will explore every bit of the market when it comes to making our list better. Now, that's obviously through trade, through free agency, through the draft, and the draft is probably the main one that we're going to hit and bring in some players through there. 

“We need a lot, to be honest young midfielders to come in and develop, all areas of the ground. We've got to bring some talented youth in to make us better. 

Carr on the aspirations for 2027 
“My view is when we start every year, we all always have an aspiration of wanting to play finals, and that's no different. It doesn't matter where the list is at, and what externally people will say about the list. That's how we approach it. And you never know, if you put a ceiling on it, say even wild card, if you put a ceiling on it, then that's all you're trying to achieve. So, why aren't you trying to get the absolute best out of yourself, and with a bit of confidence and a bit of a run, then who knows what can happen? I'm probably not going to rely on hope. It's all about making sure that we get the work done and be better over pre-season than what we were last year.” 

Carr on Aliir Aliir reaching game 200 
“I love coaching him now and as an assistant coach. He's always got that smile on the face. He's been an outstanding leader and a really great support for myself as coach. Feel like his leadership's stepped up this year, and I know he's just so grateful for the opportunity that he's got, and you see that in everything that he does. Talking about being able to move forward really quickly, he's a great example of that. He's a role model to every kid all over the world. I saw his letter that the club posted a couple of weeks ago. His letter to his younger self, and we watched it as a family. Just seeing my kids listen to it, and my wife was…there were a few tears coming out when she was listening to it. You can't not love him and everything that he is.” 

Carr on Zak Butters’ ankle recovery 
“We'll give him right to the last line, obviously the last training session to get himself up. So we won’t rule him out now. We'll give him every opportunity to get back. It just comes down to risk of him getting injured, and if he's a risk of injuring himself, then he won't play.” 

Carr on Dougie Cochrane 
“Dougie's coming from a long way back this year. So we started him the week before as a forward, and just felt like with that group at the moment, that was going to be really tough. So he's played back, and I watched him play back last year in the 18s, and it was a really easy move to get him back there because there's a bit of football down there at the moment. So it's an opportunity for him to be around it.” 

Carr on Jase Burgoyne playing inside mid 
“I see it as a part of his growth. He's probably had eight to 10 weeks as more mid than wing, and then obviously last week, the last couple weeks has been mainly mid. He's showing that what he can do, to go inside, win contested footy, and grow his game. So that's pleasing to be able to have a player that's added another string to his bow.”