PORT Adelaide has the bye in AFL Round 12 this weekend, but two of the Power’s most influential mid-fielders will be back in action.
Livewire David Rodan will join Captain Domenic Cassisi in making their comebacks from knee injuries.
Cassisi has missed 9 AFL games after damaging cartilage and cracking a bone in his lower leg, in the Round 2 clash with West Coast. He will play for West Adelaide’s League side in the Bloods’ SANFL Round 11 contest with North at Prospect, on Saturday afternoon.
Rodan will play with Norwood Reserves against Glenelg on Monday afternoon, but is expected to have limited game time in a bid to push for selection in the Power side to take on West Coast the following Sunday.
It’s another quicker-than-expected comeback for “D-Rod” who required arthroscopic surgery on a right knee medial ligament after being tackled by Lance Franklin in the Round 7 game against Hawthorn. The injury was to the same knee that required a conventional reconstruction in 2005 while David was playing with Richmond. His recovery could have taken up to six weeks.
Look out for an interview with Domenic Cassisi tomorrow on portadelaidefc.com.au
The rest of the team has a long-awaited break in Round 12 of the AFL Premiership Season, with the Power becoming the last team in the competition to have a bye.
But there’s been little rest so far, with the playing group involved in two training sessions this week, their usual recovery and conditioning routines plus regional visits to schools and junior football clubs around the State.
But the team gets its break from Friday afternoon, with players given three days off after 11 consecutive games.
Power midfielder Matt Thomas said: “It’s been a long and arduous couple of months so the boys are really looking forward to freshening up and getting some really good miles in their legs during training and then freshening up our minds.”
“We’ve got a very young list who probably haven’t played as much footy in a row as they have in the high demands of the AFL. So it’s going to be good for them to get home and freshen up mentally and see their friends and family. For the older boys it’s probably (a good break) for the body that might get a bit of extra time to recover.”
It’ll be back to business from Tuesday with a normal preparation ahead of the clash with West Coast at Patersons Stadium in Perth from 4.10pm (SA Time) on Sunday 19th June.
For those who are interested there is a full round of SANFL action this weekend, with Port Adelaide playing league leader Central at Playford Alive Oval from 2.10pm on Saturday. The Magpies are chasing three-in-a-row after securing back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008, thanks to Sunday’s victory over Sturt.
