PORT ADELAIDE assistant coach Nathan Bassett is confident the side has the defensive stocks to cover for the absence of captain Tom Jonas and fellow backman Kane Farrell, after both were ruled out of Friday night’s game against St Kilda.
Jonas has accepted a one game ban for rough conduct while Farrell has had surgery to repair a broken cheekbone.
Speaking with media on Monday following the win over West Coast at the weekend, Bassett also discussed the excitement in the group about playing on Friday night against the ladder-leading Saints and his optimism around Mitch Georgiades’ knee injury, after the forward came off hurt in the SANFL on Sunday.
Nathan Bassett on accepting Tom Jonas’ one-week ban and covering for the loss of Jonas and Farrell in the backline
“I’m not part of that decision process but… the chances of success are low so we accept the week.
“I didn’t really see it closely, and I’m not spending much time in that space of assessing hits.
“We’ve dealt without Tom before so we’ll manage (again) this week.
“We’d probably like a bit more form from underneath but we have a couple of good young learners in that space in Jase Burgoyne and Lachie Jones plus we’ve still got Darcy (Byrne-Jones) who has been in the forward line but can come back, so there’s certainly some options we can add to our team this week.”
Nathan Bassett on the concussion that will prevent Todd Marshall playing against the Saints
“Todd’s fine. It was probably one of those ones where there was potential he could have come back (on) but concussion is a significant issue in sport.
“We don’t need to risk people’s brains. You only get one of them, if you’re lucky.”
Nathan Bassett on the chances of Charlie Dixon overcoming a knee injury to return to the side
“I think there’s a good chance. He trained out here last week and looked pretty good. I thought he’d be a good chance to play last week so hopefully with another week’s rest he’ll be available.”
Nathan Bassett on Ryan Burton becoming a makeshift forward and booting two goals against the Eagles
“I need all the defenders I can get at the moment. It’s good that Ryan can do that.
“He was drafted as a forward. I certainly saw him play some very good games a forward as a 16–17-year-old. I think he’s 26 now so that’s a fair time ago but it was nice he was able to add something in there and he’s a beautiful kick so he was able to finish.
“We’ve had some significant challenges and even some flexibility. Miles Bergman has been playing in the defence, Dylan Williams only moved to play in defence late last season, Darcy is now playing in the forward line so there’s been some movement in terms of positions and what people are doing so I think it’s great that players have been able to adapt.”
Nathan Bassett on Mitch Georgiades’ knee injury while the club awaits the results of medical imaging
“It’s devastating for anyone when you miss a long period of football. The guys love playing, it’s a big part of why they’re here and they want to be the best they can be.
“We’ll find out more later today. Hopefully it’s good news."
Nathan Bassett on St Kilda’s early season form and meeting the Saints in primetime on Friday night at Marvel Stadium
“They’ve certainly performed very strongly. Defensively they’re very well organised and they’ve been hard to score against so they’ve had a great start to the season and they’ll be a big challenge this week.
“It’s good to get a prime-time game. We’ve played well at Marvel Stadium the last couple of years and the atmosphere is a good one when you’re playing inside. It’s a great opportunity for our team to keep taking strides forward in a space where we’ve really been developing who we are over the last couple of weeks.
“I think we’ve been playing pretty good footy. There are always opportunities for us to get better but we’re playing reasonable footy and this week provides another opportunity for us to challenge ourselves against a really good side.”
