IN: Aliir, Finlayson, Gray, Hayes, Skinner
OUT: Jones (H&S), Wines (illness)
ALIIR ALIIR and Robbie Gray have been named among an extended Port Adelaide side for the Easter Sunday game against Carlton.
Neither has played since the Round 1 loss to Brisbane with Aliir set to return following ankle surgery and Gray following knee soreness and a stint isolating under Health and Safety protocols.
Among the other inclusions in the 26-man squad are defender Sam Skinner, ruckman Sam Hayes and forward Jeremy Finlayson after a bag of six goals in the SANFL last week.
Midfielder Trent Dumont, who made his club debut as a half time medical substitute last week after being a late inclusion off the emergency list, has retained his spot after backing up his half a game in the AFL with a full game at SANFL level less than 48 hours later.
Hayes has yet to make his AFL debut, but has continued his club SANFL best and fairest winning form of last season in the opening two rounds of the SANFL season, averaging 29 hit-outs and 14 disposals per game.
The squad will be trimmed to 22 on Friday afternoon and the medical substitute will be named from among the emergencies before the first bounce.
Sunday’s game against the Blues will get underway at 1:40pm AEST / 1:10pm ACST and will only be shown live on Fox Footy or Kayo. The free to air broadcast on Channel 7 will be delayed into South Australia until 3:30pm.
Travelling supporters are invited to the Glasshouse Bar at the Transport Hotel (Federation Square) for a pre-game supporter event from 11am to 1pm local time. Past players will be in attendance with a signed guernsey up for grabs.
The club’s post-match function, with interviews with current players, will be held at the Ponsford Atrium after the final siren. Access via level 2 of the Ponsford Stand.
Round 5 Team Selection
B: R. Burton 3 A. Aliir 21 Clurey 17
HB: R. Bonner 26 T. Jonas -C 1 D. Byrne-Jones 33
C: D. Houston 5 W. Drew 28 K. Amon 15
HF: M Bergman 14 M. Georgiades 19 C. Rozee 20
F: J Finlayson 11 T. Marshall 4 S. Powell-Pepper 2
Foll: S. Lycett 29 Z. Butters 18 T. Boak 10
I/C: S. Motlop 6 R. Gray 9 S. Hayes 25 S. Skinner 31 S. Mayes 32 J. McEntee 41 T. Dumont 43 J. Mead 44
