Young, who was transferred to the Magpies earlier this year, has struggled to capture his best League form for the past few weeks, but made gains toward that goal with a 24-possesion performance.
He was the Power’s best player at the Magpies with seven marks, eight clearances and five inside-50s rounding off a polished performance on a day that saw Port get up over traditional SANFL rivals Norwood.
“Youngy had plenty of first hands at the footy which is what we want to see from him,” development coach Stuart Cochrane told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“He was really good early and was good around stoppages.
“His run dropped off after quarter time a little bit but his stoppage work was consistent throughout the day – that was a really good sign.
“He’s getting close to playing his best footy I reckon.”
Other players lining up for the Magpies included Ben Newton, Justin Hoskin and Brendon Ah Chee.
Each started the game well, but their impact and influence dropped away after half time.
Rookie-listed Danny Butcher played one of his most competitive games for the Magpies this year.
“Danny had 13 possessions spread across the day," said Cochrane.
"He was pretty consistent playing on a forward-runner and he did his usual Port-style grunt work.
“The Maggies supporters love him for that.
“Some of his best outside ball-winning capped off a pretty solid day for him.”
Darren Pfeiffer, Brent Renouf and Lewis Stevenson played for the losing Redlegs side.
Pfeiffer looked as though he was steeling for a good game with a consistent first quarter and ended up with 17 possessions and four clearances.
Stevenson also played consistently across half-back but Cochrane wants to see more “ruthless” football from him.
“Lewy manned up on Josh Thurgood and ‘Bobby’ Raikiwasa,” he said.
“His rebounds and defensive work were reasonable but for me the positive thing was that he was with his opponent every time they led up.
“It was a solid game, but not a ‘ruthless’ one and that’s what I’d like to see from him next.”
Renouf battled with Magpies captain James Meiklejohn in the ruck and finished with 24 hit outs and ten touches – slightly up on the Magpies’ big man.
Cochrane also saw Tom Clurey play for Glenelg against the Double Blues.
Although he felt Clurey lacked desperation and physicality at times, Cochrane was quick to emphasise the positives in the young backman’s game.
“Positives out of the game for Tom were that he found plenty of the footy – he managed 17 possessions from deep in defence – and he uses the ball well.”
“He’s got confidence to play on his left and right foot and his concentration and focus were really good throughout the day.
“If he can be a bit more physical, he’ll trouble some forwards for sure.”
Football development manager Daniel Healy observed players in several games across the weekend.
Mason Shaw struggled to win clean possession in boggy conditions for South Adelaide’s reserves team but Healy was satisfied with his endeavour.
“Mason had a tough day in the rain at Noarlunga – these conditions were not dissimilar from a few weeks ago,” Healy told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“He had an OK game with one goal, but as I’m sure people can imagine on a wet and sloppy day the ball spent a lot of time on the ground which isn’t ideal for a big, tall forward.
“He went into the ruck for a bit and had 22 hit outs as well – so all things considered it wasn’t a bad effort from him.”
Campbell Heath played for Woodville-West Torrens on Panthers captain Josh Thewlis – restricting him to just 12 possessions for the game while himself winning 17.
“Campbell played at half-back on South’s captain Thewlis and really restricted him well,” said Healy.
“He annoyed him on the lead-up and got physical with him too - he looks really solid at this level.”
Nick Salter kicked three goals from three kicks in a burst period but could only manage seven touches on a tough day even for the League forwards at Noarlunga Oval.
Kane Mitchell returned for the Eagles along with Heath and struggled to play his natural game in the slow conditions.
“Mitchy played across half-forward and was checked pretty closely by his opponent,” explained Healy.
“He was good in his role as a free-runner and he had eight tackles and 14 touches.
“It was hard for him to play his uncontested game though given the sloppy condition of the ground.”
Healy also saw Central District claim an away win over North Adelaide at Prospect Oval.
Daniel Stewart and Andrew Moore lined up for the red and whites, with Stewart finding his sweet spot in the final quarter with four marks and a goal.
After two standout games, Moore came back to the pack with 23 touches.
Despite a reduced disposal tally for the inside midfielder, Healy was pleased to see Moore battle throughout the day to earn the ball.
“Moorey started forward and then spent the most part on-ball,” said Healy.
“There wasn’t much uncontested ball for him but he battled hard all day which is something I was pleased to see.”
Sam Colquhoun had a good day out for the Bulldogs with a hard-running ethos the feature of his game.
It rewarded him with a goal and Healy was impressed with his good ball use.
“Sammy still looks really good defensively,” said Healy.
“His work rate and running is really good and a joy to watch. Generally he used the ball well and was solid in the contest so a really good performance from him.”
portadelaidefc.com.au gives you the inside word on the form of Power players in the SANFL every Tuesday in-season.
SANFL Player stats breakdown - Round 11
| Player | Disposals | Marks | Tackles | Hitouts | Clearances | Inside 50s | Rebound 50s | Score |
| A. Young | 24 | 7 | 2 | - | 8 | 5 | 3 | - |
| B. Newton | 16 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 |
| J. Hoskin* | 15 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1.0 |
| B. Ah Chee | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | 1.0 |
| D. Butcher | 13 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - |
| D. Pfeiffer | 17 | 2 | 3 | - | 4 | 1 | 2 | - |
| L. Stevenson | 17 | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 5 | - |
| B. Renouf | 10 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 2 | - | 1.0 |
| S. Colquhoun | 18 | 7 | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| A. Moore | 23 | 2 | 2 | - | 7 | 4 | 3 | - |
| D. Stewart | 15 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1.1 |
| M. Shaw# | 9 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.1 |
| C. Heath | 17 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 1.1 |
| K. Mitchell | 14 | 5 | 8 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| N. Salter | 7 | 1 | 3 | - | - | 1 | - | 3.0 |
| T. Clurey | 17 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | 2 | - |
