A knee injury to key forward Mitch Georgiades added injury to the insult of a 38-point defeat at the hands of Sturt, seeing Port Adelaide fall to 0-3 to start the season.

On what was a picture perfect Sunday at Unley Oval, the experience of the Double Blues outfit proved too strong with the Magpies ultimately going down 16.12 (108) to 10.10 (70). 

After conceding three early goals, Port was able to fight back and build a head of steam heading into the quarter time break, with goals to Mitch Georgiades, Tom Scully and Will Francou seeing the visitors right in it. 

A centre clearance goal to Jackson Mead in the opening moments of the second term set an exciting tone, with stand-in coach Hamish Hartlett lamenting an inability to go on when “we had the game right where we wanted it.” 

Port was competing well and looking dangerous going forward until their momentum was stifled by the delay caused by Georgiades’ knee injury, and the structural shake-up it forced. From that point on it was Sturt that dictated the game, responding to any Magpie resurgence with composed ball-work and pressure. 

Hartlett was blunt in his assessment of the manner in which Sturt made Port pay for its mistakes. 

“There were some easy free kicks that were given away that cost us goals, some poor accountability around stoppages, and simple skill errors that cost us,” he said.

“Some guys were forced to play different roles that they probably weren’t used to, which is a good experience for them. All I really asked of the group in the last quarter was to show a great deal of courage knowing that we were down to two on the bench with Mitch (Georgiades), and then Jase Burgoyne not taking part in the last quarter due to potential AFL duties next week.

“I thought the messaging we gave the players at three quarter time was implemented really well. We controlled the footy for as long as we could, and then went forward when we had numbers. There were definitely some pleasing signs at the end of the game.”

Georgiades’ right knee injury came in an innocuous marking attempt. The 21-year-old was stretchered off and will have scans on Monday to find out the full extent of the injury.

Despite the headache of limited rotations and the resulting magnet shuffle, a silver lining presented itself in the shape of Francis Evans, who was able to spend valuable time in the middle.

Evans’ ability to hit the scoreboard and run out the game strongly was particularly impressive to Hartlett. 

“He’s a very classy player. Late in the game he came into centre bounces and got three or four clearances. It’s something we’ll look to do a little more frequently going forward. He’s going to be a really important player for us.”

Coming down from the AFL side, Scott Lycett competed strongly against the quality Sturt opposition, while Trent Dumont (26 disposals, nine clearances, six tackles and a goal), Jackson Mead (20 disposals, two clearances, six tackles and a goal) and Riley Bonner (20 disposals, nine marks and a goal) worked hard all day.

One of the bigger stories of this game was assistant coach Hartlett stepping into the big chair, taking the reins from Goldsack for the day who was unable to attend the match under COVID protocols. Hartlett remarked that it allowed him to see the game from a slightly different perspective, viewing it from a more tactical point of view and being able to make adjustments on the fly. It was Hartlett’s first time leading the Magpies, but he wasn’t without support in the box

“I had great support from Lauren Arnell, Jace Bode, Cam Sutcliffe, and Ken (Hinkley) was sitting next to us too,” Hartlett remarked. “Kenny was giving me advice over my right shoulder throughout the game.

“It was an exciting opportunity that I’m very grateful for.”

Port Adelaide will be taking a trip to the Riverland next weekend to take on West Adelaide in Loxton on Sunday afternoon at 2:10pm.

Scoreboard

Sturt                   4.1     10.3     14.6    16.2   (108)

Port Adelaide    3.2     4.5       7.8     10.10  (70)

Goals: Evans 2, Hagan, Moore, Bonner, Dumont, Mead, Georgiades, Scully, Francou

Best: Evans, Dumont, Bonner, Burgoyne, Moore, Jones