DEPTH is an asset in Australian Football and Port Adelaide has it in spades at the moment.

So says the Power’s football development manager, Daniel Healy.

Among a range of other duties, Healy oversees the review and development coaching of those players not selected to play in Port’s AFL side.

He, along with development coaches Tyson Edwards and Stuart Cochrane, has been pleased with the work of a number of players during the first six rounds of the SANFL this year.

Senior players who fit within the club’s best 25-30 players continue to put in strong performances on a weekly basis.

See any three blockbusters against Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Carlton with a three-game membership!

Those are well-known names like Tom Logan, Matt Thomas and Andrew Moore.

But there are probably half a dozen others who have come to Alberton in the past three years who are also finding good form.

Healy told portadelaidefc.com.au the current spate of good performances in the local competition is akin to the excellent depth experienced by the top teams of the competition.

Having a number of players with diverse skills playing well at local level puts pressure on those above them to perform and he says it’s a great situation for the club to be in.

“We are in such a great position when we go and watch the SANFL players each week,” said Healy.

“Last year we had a lot of guys playing Reserves, a couple in the League and a lot of injuries.

“This year, we’ve had only a couple of guys in the Reserves, not many injuries and a whole lot of blokes playing really good footy in the League!

“Although there’s a number of guys who some might think we’ve been overlooking, the fact is many of our in-form SANFL guys get considered at selection, but we’ve also got a lot of good players playing (at AFL level).”

That means two things for the Power.

First, there’s a great deal of pressure for the 22 players selected in the AFL side to perform every week.

Second, there is a need for those players who aren’t selected to remain in top form on the chance someone is omitted from the senior side.

“We’re also having these SANFL players regularly appear among the best for their team which is a really positive sign,” says Healy.

“The fact that we’ve got many players making a genuine impact on games says a lot about the health of our list and the depth of our squad.

“We just need to make sure they keep playing that way.”

Exclusive to portadelaidefc.com.au, Daniel Healy has reviewed those players who have played the majority of the first seven rounds in the SANFL, their strengths and areas for them to improve heading towards the halfway point of the season.

Seniors

2. Cameron Hitchcock (plays for Glenelg)
Hitchy is heading in the right direction and certainly the new senior coaches like a lot of what he’s been able to do. His ability to impact on the scoreboard has been his most impressive attribute and what he needs to continue to do if he is to warrant a spot in our main side.

Things we’ve liked: His running patterns, work-rate and ability to hit the scoreboard.
Things he needs to improve: Defensive pressure is the main area he needs to work on.

13. John Butcher (plays for Port Adelaide)
It’s been a pretty disappointing start to the season for John. He had a reasonable second half against Sturt earlier in the season where he kicked five goals, but has been pretty quiet other than that. We’re keen to get him into our side and he’s aware of that, but we need him to have more impact in the game.

Things we’ve liked: His speed and ability to throw himself at the contest.
Things he needs to improve: Working on being a strong presence up forward with his leads and demand for the ball.

17. Tom Clurey (plays for Glenelg)
Tom’s been great and has worked his way into the League side after starting off in the twos. Kris Massie (Glenelg senior coach) has been very supportive and has liked what he’s seen in Tommy and for him to be playing regular league footy is very encouraging. He’s probably playing better at League level than in the Reserves!

Things we’ve liked: His ball use and ability to win the footy.
Things he needs to improve: His physicality and competitiveness at contests.

19. Nick Salter (plays for Woodville-West Torrens)
It’s been tough for Nick in terms of the amount of work he’s been able to get into his body, so it’s been impressive for him to come in for a couple of games and put in the performances he has. He kicked four goals in Round 6. Given his limited conditioning it’s great to see him moving as well as he has in other seasons.

Things we’ve liked: The way he’s moved and been involved in games.
Things he needs to improve: Intensity around the contests, repeat efforts and ability to say on ground longer.

21. Matt Thomas (plays for Norwood)
He’s doing a lot right and has worked really hard to become the heartbeat of Norwood’s midfield. We love his toughness at clearances and his work rate at this level generally. He’s been in the mix for AFL selection a couple of times and has been named as an emergency on a few others.

Things we’ve liked: His toughness, clearance work and work rate.
Things he needs to improve: Defensive work at stoppages, decision-making when in possession.

22. Mason Shaw (plays for South Adelaide)
Like many new, young forwards he’s been playing in the twos, but at times he’s looked way too good for footy at this level and he’s provided South with a big forward who they’ll hopefully promote into the League side at some stage this year. The thing that’s limiting him at the moment is finding that full-game consistency you need to play at higher levels.

Things we’ve liked: Ability to kick 3-4 goals in a quarter, his imposing presence up forward.
Things he needs to improve: To make that physical presence as consistent part of his game.

24. Nathan Blee (plays for North Adelaide)
Playing on a wing (which is different to the backline position we’d prefer) Nathan has shown another dimension and is having low to mid-20 possession performances. Unfortunately for him he’s one of the guys who played last year that hasn’t got a game this season, but he’ll keep working hard and we hope to see him continue to push for AFL selection.

Things we’ve liked: His involvement in the game, his running ability.
Things he needs to improve: Continue to up the ante and offer a physical presence every week.

26. Andrew Moore (plays for North Adelaide)
It’s really, really pleasing that he’s gone back to the SANFL and worked really hard to have a couple of standout games and show that he’s too good for footy at that level. His stoppage stuff is something that we’ve really focussed on with him and he’s been getting ten clearances or so each week. His performances have been encouraging.

Things we’ve liked: Stoppage work, improved quality of clearances.
Things he needs to improve: Working on playing like an AFL player and showing he deserves a spot in our best 22.

30. Sam Colquhoun (plays for Central District)
People forget Sam’s never played League footy before and as one of the younger draftees this year, it makes him one of the youngest players going around in the whole comp. He’s come in at League level for Centrals and been in their best players three or four times. He ‘forced’ us to select him through his fantastic game against the Magpies here at Alberton Oval. We’ve now seen glimpses of what he can do against Richmond and hopefully he continues it throughout the year.

Things we’ve liked: His ball use, running power and outside play.
Things he needs to improve: Competitiveness and his running inside 50.

36. Jack Hombsch (plays for Sturt)
It’s been a disappointing start for him with a few niggles with his ankle and hip. It’s only now that we think he’s close to getting things fully right after having that interrupted pre-season. Hopefully from now we’ll start to see him impact more and push for selection.

Things we’ve liked: Courage in the air and intercept marks.
Things he needs to improve: Executing those positive aspects while also beating an opponent.

38. Ben Newton (plays for Port Adelaide)
He moved over to the Magpies and he’s played his first League games which is really encouraging. His form was such that he went back to the twos though and while his first game there was OK, his second saw him play a fantastic game where he was clearly the best on ground. He’s started to become a leader around the place with the Magpies and has certainly come into contention to play League this week against his old club West.

Things we’ve liked: His leadership, willingness to learn and improve.
Things he needs to improve: Becoming a dominant stoppage player and improving his outside game as well.

40. Aaron Young (plays for Port Adelaide)
Like a couple of others he’s had an interrupted run with injury. He played very well during the NAB Cup but then unfortunately he played a game in the twos at North, which he excelled in, and then we moved him to the Magpies. Since being at Port he’s dislocated a finger and then we took him as a travelling emergency for another game. Combined with finding his feet at a new SANFL club, he has probably had his normal form hampered a bit. His games haven’t been bad at the Magpies, but he’s certainly been a lot quieter in terms of what he’s able to produce consistently. He played 12 AFL games last year and we want to see him work his way back.

Things we’ve liked: His tough stuff, competitiveness and work at stoppage.
Things he needs to improve: Increased possessions and involvement more in play.

41. Brendon Ah Chee (plays for Port Adelaide)
Another one who was interrupted in the pre-season and started a little bit later than everyone else. He strung a few really good games together in the Reserves and was brought into the League side for his senior debut. He was serviceable there and the Maggies people see him as a real asset.

Things we’ve liked: Stoppage work.
Things he needs to improve: Spread from stoppages, running around the ground.

43. Daniel Stewart (plays for North Adelaide)
‘Snowy’ has been solid for North but probably not as dominant as he has been in previous years. Certainly at SANFL he continues to prove to be a prominent figure, but it’s at AFL level where we need him to start showing the good things we know he can do all the time – he knows that and he continues to work hard at it.

Things we’ve liked: Contested marking and his involvement in contested play.
Things he needs to improve: Consistency at contested play and the replication of SANFL form at AFL level.

43. Tom Logan (plays for Glenelg)
He can’t be doing more than he already is to warrant consideration at the selection table – he epitomises what we’re about and plays with passion, commitment and care for his teammates through the midfield and across half back. At the moment there’s players in front of him for the positions he plays and he just needs to continue being the dominant, competitive figure at Glenelg that he’s been for the first six rounds.

Things we’ve liked: His team-oriented attitude, commitment to the contests and ability to win the ball.
Things he needs to improve: Doesn’t have any standout areas to improve, we just need him to be consistent and keep pushing for an AFL spot.

Rookies

31. Darren Pfeiffer (plays for Norwood)
Pfeiffer has come back from a shoulder reconstruction and early on we thought it was affecting his confidence and ability to impact and be competitive in contests. He’s a bit frustrated with that and I’m sure he’ll be keen to get back into the action after this bye.

Things we’ve liked: His effectiveness on occasion across half-back and on-ball.
Things he needs to improve: Consistently having that impact on the game.

45. Danny Butcher (plays for Port Adelaide)
Has been a real success story since moving to the Magpies and they’ve really embraced what he’s capable of. He’s competitive, compliant and passionate about playing good football for the Magpies. Looking ahead we’d like him to work on being offensively competitive so the opposition start thinking about him as a dangerous player.

Things we’ve liked: His new ‘shutdown’ role which he’s played really well.
Things he needs to improve: Winning more of the footy and damaging the opposition through his own ball work.

46. Justin Hoskin (plays for Port Adelaide)
Justin is new to our rookie list this year and is a Maggies boy who has played some solid footy so far this year. Like most young players it’s all about consistency for him and we while we love his ability to win the footy and use it well in defence, we also want to see him improve his one-on-one defensive efforts.

Things we’ve liked: Ball skills and rebound from defence.
Things he needs to improve: Winning more ball and improving his defensive work on single opponents.