Coming off the back of two losses, Port Adelaide will be hungry to get back on the winners' list this Saturday against North.
Following a red-hot start to the season, the past three weeks haven’t been too kind to Port, which narrowly defeated Brisbane, then lost to Essendon by 22 points at Etihad Stadium, before falling to Geelong at home by 34 points.
Star-studded midfield
Ollie Wines is leading the troops in the middle, averaging just shy of 29 disposals so far this season, and over 7 clearances per game, ranking Port as the top clearance side in the competition.
After missing his side’s season-opener through suspension, Robbie Gray has made his way back into the side and has really shown his class.
Gray is averaging 29 touches after the first month of the season, with his 39 possessions in Round 4 against Essendon his best game so far.
The ever-reliable Brad Ebert is also impressing, leading the competition in tackles, with 40 after five games.
Ruck woes
Ryder’s injury in Port’s season-opener against Fremantle was always going to be a big loss due to the club’s lack of match-ready ruckman.
Last week, coach Ken Hinkley conceded the club’s reserve ruckman are not yet up to the rigors of AFL football, forcing Hinkley to spread the ruck load amongst other Port big men.
Since Ryder’s injury, forward Charlie Dixon, swingman Justin Westhoff and defender Dougall Howard have all gone against opposition rucks, with Westhoff doing the majority of the work to date.
As a result, Port is ranked last in opposition hit-outs conceded per game, averaging almost seven hit-outs more than the Western Bulldogs who are in second-last place.
At the moment it doesn’t seem to be hurting Port Adelaide too much given their elite on-ball division, however it will be interesting to see how long the makeshift trio can hold-off their opponents.
Etihad Stadium record
There are very few harder tasks in football than beating Port at the Adelaide Oval. However, the Power's record at Etihad Stadium isn’t quite as flattering.
Since Round 21, 2015, Port has only played four times at Etihad Stadium, and has won just one of those matches.
In Round 4 of this year, the Power lost to Essendon under the roof despite 39 disposals from Gray.
The reason behind its struggles is unclear, but given its recent woes at Etihad Stadium, it will be interesting to see if Port can change the trend this weekend.
