Few Fox Footy pundits pre-season had a lot of faith in Port Adelaide.
In fact of the 28 experts surveyed prior to Round 1, only four tipped Ken Hinkley’s side to finish inside the top eight.
Nearly three months later and the Power, off the back of a club-record nine-game winning streak, are not only primed to return to September this year, they’re in an excellent position to finish inside the top four, potentially even earn a crucial home preliminary final.
Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Yet the Power’s resurgence is a result of a unique yet shrewd list build that’s been built around three key pillars, drafting in clusters and trading in ready-made key-position talent.
Remarkably, the build has included just one top-10 pick – a darn good one at that, too, in Connor Rozee in 2018 – in the past 10 years. Yet that wasn’t a natural top-10 pick either, as Port had turned the key compensation selection (Pick 11) for losing Jared Polec and Jasper Pittard to North Melbourne into Pick 6 – via a deal with Fremantle – then Pick 5 – via a deal with Brisbane.
The Power entered 2022 with the AFL’s ninth-oldest and eighth-most experienced list. So they’re not only primed for a flag crack now, this list still has ample juice left in it.
And that’s already after nine finals appearances in the past 12 seasons.
“It’s a good discussion, the list build at Port Adelaide,” dual premiership Kangaroo David King told Fox Footy last weekend.
“They’ve drafted really well. They’ve picked the eyes out of the first round of the draft … Then you look at the trade acquisitions and free agents, it’s been sublime.
NEW FOX FOOTY PODCAST – De Goey case drama as finals race heats up
Listen below or subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Spotify
THE THREE KEY PILLARS
In any kind of list build, a club needs key pillars to form the foundation.
And the Power have been fortunate to have three players that have not only starred on the field, but also led the club superbly off it.
Travis Boak (Pick 5, 2006) is one of four players from the 2006 draft class still on an AFL list. And like Tom Hawkins, Jack Riewoldt and Todd Goldstein, he’s still in good form nearly 17 years later. His one-goal, 30-disposal display against St Kilda in Round 7 suggested he has ample to give.
A triple All-Australian and dual best and fairest winner who captained the club for five seasons, Boak has been one of the most durable, consistent and reliable players of the modern era, representing the Power brilliantly both on and off the field.
The Power four years later took a punt on Norwood product Tom Jonas (2010 rookie draft), who’s been one of the league’s most consistent key defenders of the past decade. He’s been either a co-captain or sole captain of the Power for the past five seasons. Remarkably, he can’t get a game in the senior side at the moment.
And then there’s Ollie Wines (Pick 7, 2012), who’s remained loyal to the Power despite having several opportunities to return home to Victoria. Not only is he a star inside ball-winner – highlighted by his 2021 campaign where he claimed the Brownlow Medal, All-Australian honours and the best and fairest – he’s been integral to the club’s culture.
In Wines and Boak, the Power found two midfielders to build their team around.
DRAFTING IN CLUSTERS
Two bold trades appear central to unlocking the Power’s draft success.
Port in 2018 made a significant, gutsy call to let go of Chad Wingard – a first-round draftee, dual All-Australian, best and fairest winner and genuine star of the competition – and grant his wish to be traded to Hawthorn. Wingard, along with a future third-round pick, landed at Hawthorn, with the Power receiving Ryan Burton, Picks 15 and 35 in return.
Pick 15 turned into Xavier Duursma (Pick 18, 2018), who brought ample energy to the team before being struck down by recent injuries. But crucially, Pick 35 was a key plank in a separate Power deal with Brisbane, which saw Sam Mayes and Pick 5 head to Port and Picks 6, 35 and a future third-rounder land at the Lions.
The Power then used their prized selection to draft Connor Rozee (Pick 5, 2018), who could end up being the best player of that year’s star-studded draft class. He was an All-Australian and best and fairest winner in 2022 – and he’s well on the way to replicating those feats in 2023.
Although Zak Butters (Pick 12, 2018) might have something to say about that. Buoyed by a permanent on-ball role, the 22-year-old sits on top of AFL Coaches’ Association votes table after 12 rounds. He might also be leading the Brownlow count.
After drafting three top talents within 13 draft picks in the first round, the Power one year later drafted four players within 11 picks of each other across the first and second rounds.
Again, that was because of another ballsy deal struck during the trade period a month beforehand.
The Saints in 2019 landed Power pair Dougal Howard and Paddy Ryder, as well as Pick 10 and a future fourth-round selection in exchange for Picks 12, 18 and a future third-round selection. Ryder was still a strong tap ruckman, while Howard had shown his wares as a key defender, forward and pinch-hit ruck at stages. But the Power prioritised the draft and put themselves in a position to take multiple players from the top-end of the draft class.
Port then gave up its future first-round selection to the Lions, who gave it Pick 16. So the Power entered the 2019 draft with Picks 12, 16 and 18.
Come draft night, Port’s first selection turned into Miles Bergman (Pick 14, 2019), who’s one of the most in-demand players in the competition after a blistering start to his 2023 campaign. The second selection became key forward Mitch Georgiades (Pick 18, 2019), who’s kicked 65.52 from 49 games, only for his 2023 campaign to be cut short by an ACL rupture. And the third selection turned out to be Dylan Williams (Pick 23, 2019), who was drafted as a livewire forward but has settled into a defensive role with aplomb this season.
The Power, two picks later, matched a bid on father-son prospect Jackson Mead (Pick 25, 2019), who re-signed last year until the end of 2024.
A third Port draft cluster came three years prior, when they took Todd Marshall (Pick 16, 2016), Sam Powell-Pepper (Pick 18, 2016) and Willem Drew (Pick 33, 2016). Powell-Pepper has become a barometer for the Power during his 125-game career, while key forward Marshall and midfielder Drew have established themselves as best-22 players across the past three seasons.
MAKING THE MOST WITH WHAT YOU’VE GOT
Since Hinkley and Wines arrived at Alberton for the 2013 season, the Power have either featured – or threatened to feature – in the finals every year. They missed September action in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, but still finished between ninth and 11th in all those seasons.
Somehow, the Power have managed to remain in the finals mix for a decade while avoiding the extreme low end of the rebuild rollercoaster that so many clubs – such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Fremantle, Melbourne and, more recently, Hawthorn, West Coast and North Melbourne – have endured in the same period.
Drafting in bunches has helped, but they’ve also had some wins with some shrewd calls on later picks.
Perhaps the best one is Dan Houston (2015 rookie draft), who’s in the midst of a career-best season in 2023 – to the point where he has to be in the All-Australian conversation. The third-highest rated general defender in the competition according to Champion Data, Houston is averaging 21.2 disposals and having more influence on games further up the ground.
Darcy Byrne-Jones (Pick 52, 2013) took two years to get going, but has been a mainstay of the team from 2016 onwards. In 2020, he won the club’s best and fairest and was named All-Australian playing as a defender, with a shift into the forward line this year rejuvenating him.
Riley Bonner (Pick 37, 2015) has had his share of injury issues, but he’s a damaging player across half-back for the Power at his best. Kane Farrell (Pick 51, 2017) also looks like a winner, stepping up across the past 12 months, particularly since Karl Amon’s departure to Hawthorn.
Then there’s more recent draftees like Lachie Jones (Pick 16, 2020) and Ollie Lord (Pick 49, 2020). Jones, a Power NGA graduate, has been in and out of the side for three seasons but has a proven ability to break games open, while Lord has shown some tricks in the absence of key-position teammates across his first six AFL games this season.
The Power have also used the mid-season draft effectively. Jed McEntee (2021 mid-season draft) has given Port some speed and power across half-forward since late last season, while Brynn Teakle (2022 mid-season draft) looms as a solid ruck option going forward. And if Hinkley wanted to play Quinton Narkle (2023 mid-season draft) at some stage this season, the ex-Cat appears ready to go if his debut SANFL appearance (29 disposals, eight tackles, seven marks and six clearances) is anything to go by.
TOPPING UP AT TRADE TABLE
While the draft usually forms the foundation of most premierships lists, the best clubs top up with ready-made players from rival clubs.
And the Power, clearly, have used trade and free agency to build their spine and key-position stocks.
Ryan Burton (via Hawthorn in 2018) was contracted and happy at Hawthorn, but he was told he was the guy to unlocking Wingard’s move from Port Adelaide. But the 191cm player quickly slotted into the Power’s side with aplomb – and now he’s Hinkley’s ‘Mr Fix It’ in 2023, playing either forward or back depending on where he’s needed.
While he’s had his injury issues over the years, giving up Pick 10 for Charlie Dixon (via Gold Coast Suns in 2015) was arguably the right call. He’s had some monster seasons inside 50 for the Power, kicking 49 goals in 2017 and 48 goals in 2021, while making the All-Australian team in 2020. Few key forwards in the competition have the power and presence like Dixon possesses.
Days after winning a premiership with the Eagles, Scott Lycett (via West Coast in 2018) joined Port as a free agent, signing a five-year deal. Lycett missed most of 2022 due to a shoulder injury then was dropped to the SANFL after Round 5 this season. But his past three games since returning to the senior side have been promising, imposing himself on matches opposed to the likes of Melbourne’s Max Gawn and Richmond’s Toby Nankervis.
The Power struck gold a few years later when they landed Aliir Aliir (via Sydney in 2020) for a future second-round pick. Less than 12 months later he was an All-Australian – and he’ll be in contention again this season, with the intercept defender in strong form again.
At the other end of the field, the acquisition of Jeremy Finlayson (via GWS Giants in 2011) for a future third-round pick looks like another terrific move. After surprisingly impressing as a ruck during his first year with the club, Finlayson is in career-best goalkicking form this season with Port, kicking 22 goals from his first 10 games. He’s formed a lethal partnership with Dixon and Marshall inside 50.
Finlayson kicks FIVE in huge first half | 01:07
And then there’s, of course, last year’s mega trade, which saw the Power essentially part with five draft selections – including Pick 8 – to get a No. 1 draftee in Jason Horne-Francis (via North Melbourne in 2022) and a premiership forward in Junior Rioli (via West Coast in 2022). Both keen to be closer to family in SA, the acquisitions have paid early dividends, with Rioli averaging nearly 1.5 goals per game and Horne-Francis becoming his club’s No. 1 clearance player.
There have been some trade calls that haven’t worked out. Jack Watts (via Melbourne in 2017) only added 21 games to his tally before retiring due to injury, while Port gave up Pick 29 and future-third to acquire Orazio Fantasia (via Essendon), who’s managed just 19 games in three seasons with the club due to persistent injury issues.
But there have clearly been more hits than misses.
There’s still just under half a season to go, meaning the Power’s unlikely premiership push can still be made or broken.
But with a well-balanced list in excellent form and united behind its coach, Port fans can dare to dream.
“Ken Hinkley has got some assets to work with, particularly in the midfield. It’s all coming together at the right time for Ken,” King said.