PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Dan Houston says Mitch Georgiades’ strong debut came as no surprise to those within the club.
Georgiades starred with eleven touches and two goals, flying for numerous marks and creating a contest in the air and on the ground, in the Power’s 47-point season-opening win over the Gold Coast.
In greasy conditions, Georgiades looked comfortable at the level, and Houston says he had been eager to see what the teenager could do since the West Australian arrived at the club.
“He’s excited us all since day one of the pre-season,” Houston told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“Just his ability to attack the ball in the air and bring that flair and play his own sort of way.
“He’s a tough match-up for the opposition because he’s got that dual threat in the air and on the ground and he brought that and kicked a few goals which is exciting for him.”
Houston has made the transition from defender to full-time midfielder over the pre-season, adding another dimension to the Power’s ball-winning brigade.
The 22-year-old managed 19 disposals, six tackles and four clearances in a workmanlike display against the Suns and is enjoying his new role.
“I think it’s a really good mix,” Houston said.
“We obviously have (Travis Boak) Boaky and (Tom Rockliff) Rocky in there who are the senior players but to get in there and learn off them and have Connor (Rozee) in there as well, we have a different look to what we had last year and I think it’s really exciting, the different things we bring to each other’s game.”
The Power was far from its best despite the comfortable final margin with both sides only managing a single goal each after the main break.
Port did all the damage with nine goals to three in the first half with some damaging possessions through the corridor.
Despite the up and down performance, Houston was just happy to be on the park.
“It was really exciting to get out there for a start and put our work together from the summer,” he said.
“We obviously strung together a couple of good games in the (pre-season) series and just to put the icing on the cake and come out in round 1 – and we know next week is going to be a tougher experience against the Crows in a Showdown.
“We just want the game to go ahead for a start. We’re just super excited to pull on the prison bars – 150 years of culture and history behind it and some of the boys haven’t pulled on a prison bar guernsey before so it’s super exciting and we just want to represent the 150 years of the club in that way and getting the support from the fans throughout the week will be great as well.”
