Senior assistant coach Stuart Dew takes a look ahead to Thursday night's clash against his former side Port Adelaide at the SCG in this week's Cellarbrations Coaches Column.
The ladder says we dropped a game we should have won last weekend against Richmond – is that how the coaches see it?
Yes and no.
Full credit to Richmond, they’ve been in some good form of late and really bought it to us.
If you look at how Gold Coast nearly knocked off Fremantle a few weeks back, the Suns are bottom and Freo are top so I think the ladder is more for the fans at the moment.
We certainly don’t talk about ladder positions in upcoming games.
Port Adelaide has had an up and down season to date, sitting 12th on the ladder with a 5-7 record, but the competition knows what this team is capable of. Will we have to be on top of our game?
It has been up and down in a way, I think they’ve played some of the best footy of seen all season. If you look at it in isolation, that quarter against Hawthorn is some of the best footy people have seen for a while.
They attack the game well and have probably been stung by a fair bit of criticism so we’ve got to respond well.
We know what they’re capable of and we always have close games. It’s going to be tough but we’re confident.
This time last year we took on Port at the SCG, with the game ending in a four-point thriller. Are you expecting another arm wrestle? Analysts are saying it will come down to that midfield battle.
They’re dangerous – a lot of their midfielders can be used forward and kick goals. Apart from their full-back and centre-half back, most guys can play all positions so a lot of the time you never know what you’re going to get.
The midfield battle is crucial. Game are won and lost in the midfield so we look forward to Thursday night as there’s a considerable challenge on our hands.
If our guys bring their best, we think we’ll win.
How much does it hurt structurally not having Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett?
It hurts but at the same time it presents opportunities.
We’re obviously going to be a little bit more unpredictable as to who plays where and it presents an opportunity for guys to step up and hit the scoreboard.
Guys will also get opportunities in different positions so it’s exciting to see who steps up
Toby Nankervis comes into the side for his first game of his career – tell us a little about what first-gamer Nankervis will bring.
Obviously with the big fellas out in the forward line, we’re looking for Toby to help fill that void and spend a bit of time up forward and in the ruck.
He has been unlucky not to have forced his way into the side already. I think he has missed only one training session in two years.
He possesses a great set of hands, is smart around the contest and he’s aggressive. He’ll be one our most aggressive players on the ground on Thursday night and loves the physical aspect of the game.
He’ll be nervous but looking forward to realising his dream of playing AFL football.
