PORT ADELAIDE head of football Chris Davies believes Tom Rockliff and Robbie Gray should both be available to face Richmond at Adelaide Oval in Round 4.
Rockliff sustained a head knock in a collision with Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage in the third quarter and took no further part in the game, while Gray received some treatment for a shoulder injury, but Davies is confident both will be fine for next weekend.
“Rocky was obviously concussed – felt fine after the game and we will have a look at him during the week but right now I don’t see why he wouldn’t be on a path to playing next weekend,” Davies said.
“He will be monitored at the start of the week but as I say, I can’t see any reason at this point why he’s not going to play next Saturday night.
“Robbie copped a knock on his shoulder.
“Again, we fully expect him to play but I’m sure the doctors will have a look at him at the start of the week and make some assessments from there.”
While Davies admitted it was a frustrating loss for the club, he says there are some key learnings to take away from it for both players and coaches.
“Clearly we weren’t efficient enough when we had the ascendency and I’m sure that is something the coaches will look at during the week,” he said.
“Brisbane, to their credit, were pretty efficient when they got the ascendency during the game.
“That is something we are going to have to continue to work on.
“I know the coaches have been mindful of that at the start of this year – we really need to maximise our scoring opportunities when we’ve got the ascendency in games.
“That will ultimately be the test of us throughout the season.”
Despite the 17-point loss to the Lions, Davies was thrilled by the five-goal performance of third-gamer Connor Rozee.
“Fantastic – third game to do what he did last night was outstanding for us,” he said.
“He’s shown in the first couple of games that he is going to be dangerous and let’s hope that’s the start to a really good career for Connor.”