PORT ADELAIDE is all but settled on the 23 it will take into Sunday’s season opener against West Coast, and assistant coach Josh Carr says vice-captain Zak Butters is a lock.
Butters sat out most of the final pre-season hit-out against Fremantle after rolling his right ankle in the first quarter.
With the benefit of a weekend off, the 23-year-old has built into full training and according to Carr is expected to be named to face the Eagles.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Carr also discussed the knee injury suffered by Ollie Lord in training at the weekend, who is likely to play on the wings and the role leadership player Sam Powell-Pepper will play while serving his suspension.
Josh Carr on how close the coaches are to being settled on their 23 for Sunday’s game against West Coast:
“Obviously, you come into this week with pre-season games that we’ve had under our belt. Obviously, with (Ollie) Lordy going down over the weekend that probably throws it open a little bit more about what it looks like as a forward structure, but we’re still pretty close to being ready to go.
“George (Mitch Georgiades) has had a good preseason, you know, (Jeremy) Finlayson is there as well, or if we go with the double ruck as well, so as I said we're nearly there. We’ve got selection to get nailed by the end of the week, but we're pretty close to getting that final piece of the puzzle.”
Josh Carr on whether Zak Butters has overcome an ankle injury and will play this weekend:
“Yeah you can lock in Butters. I don't think you can really hold him back. He's done all the work and all the preparation. I think he's ready to go.”
Josh Carr on Ollie Lord’s knee injury suffered at training on Saturday:
“It's obviously disappointing for us as a team and individually for Ollie. Obviously, there's gonna be a bit of time out now. Not as bad as I guess what we first thought when we first saw it. It didn't look right so that's probably a nice positive to come out of it.
“I haven't spoken to him about that in particular. But yeah, it's definitely a relief. When you know that you get a chance to come back I guess in whatever timeframe it is, but not a year (out).”
Josh Carr on whether the coaches have settled on the wing positions:
“We’re pretty close, we like to think we're pretty settled for round one. There's probably a number of players that could play there. Last week (Travis) Boakie performed well, you’ve got (Miles) Bergman that's come up onto the wing, Jase Burgoyne has been really consistent over the preseason. Then (Willem) Drewy’s played there as well so there's four names for you so take your pick from those guys.”
Josh Carr on whether Port Adelaide focusses more on what the opposition can bring or its own game style:
“I think it's about us as coaches and the players have an understanding of what an opposition team’s going to bring in, I guess the way their game style works, and then, I guess, bringing our game style to say this is what's going to work against them. So, we have a big focus on how we play with an understanding of what the opposition are trying to achieve.
Josh Carr on how Sam Powell-Pepper will help the side during his suspension:
“He's going to be important, especially from Monday to the weekend to the games, his energy that he brings to training sessions, his effort, and then his leadership as far as education goes to those younger guys around him. So, he’ll be important.”
