PORT ADELAIDE assistant coach Jason Cripps says Saturday night’s game against the Western Bulldogs at TIO Stadium will be vital for the handful of Power players desperate to keep their careers at Alberton alive.
West Australian Damon White and link-man Nathan Lonie’s positions on the list are both under threat, while third and fourth-year players Greg Bentley and Adam Thomson must impress in order to move back up the pecking order at selection.
Cripps said the Power, who made two unforced changes from seven this week, were hardly at panic stations, but was adamant the pressure would be on each and every player to perform.
“These guys [Lonie, White, Bentley and Thomson] are getting the opportunity they have been waiting for all year and they have been in pretty good form,” he said.
“Those guys certainly know where they are at in terms of cementing a spot, not only for the rest of the year, but to prove that they’re worthy to stay on the list and forge a career.”
Port Adelaide has used fewer players (28) than any other team this season, but Cripps said the match committee’s patience had finally run out.
“It’s been well documented that we probably haven’t turned over as many players as people would think when you’re not winning games, but we’ve lost seven games by under three goals, and you could argue that in four or five of those we were in front and had dominated for three quarters,” he said.
“It was really only a quarter, or even 15-20 minutes, where some players were really disappointing. At selection we had some really in-depth discussions and had to make some big decisions whether actually to drop guys based on 15-20 minutes of poor footy.
“A lot of those guys were fantastic last year and some of them were senior players with a lot of runs on the board, so we decided that we’d persevere and show a bit of faith in them based on that.”
Ruckman Fabian Deluca, who has replaced vice-captain Brendon Lade, is another player to be given his first opportunity of the season.
Deluca, who was drafted back in 2004, has played six AFL games and will support Dean Brogan in the ruck this week.
“We played Deluca pre-season and he showed some really good signs. His mobility and ability to get his hands on the ball at centre bounces to give us first use was really impressive,” Cripps said.
“He was also able to go back and take some strong contested marks behind the play.
"He’s been in really good form and Ladey just hasn’t been playing as well as we know he can. We just thought it was an opportunity now to get Deluca in and to test him at the highest level to see if he can produce what he has at Sturt.”
