PORT ADELAIDE senior coach Ken Hinkley expects returning key forward Charlie Dixon will play his usual role when the Power hosts Geelong on Saturday night.
Dixon hasn’t played at AFL level since Round 21 last year when he suffered a broken leg and badly injured ankle.
While Hinkley concedes the forward might be tired by the end of his first game, he expects the 28-year-old to play his usual role.
“He will play a normal game,” Hinkley said at his weekly press conference on Friday morning.
“He won’t be expected to do any more or any less than he’s done in the past. We expect that maybe - it’s his first game back of AFL football - he might be tounging it by the end of it.
“No matter whenever you play your first game, it’s going to happen, so we will manage him the best we possibly can, but there is no borderline on what he can and can’t do.
“He will be rotated. He may be rotated once or twice more than he would in a game, but that would be good management when someone comes back for their first game - out for nearly 12 months.”
Without Paddy Ryder in the side, Hinkley expects Dougal Howard to step up and give Scott Lycett some relief in the ruck against the Cats.
“We’ve got Dougal (Howard),” he said.
“Dougal has played a lot of ruck for us, and our plan is to work and operate with Dougal.
“Geelong have their couple of rucks with (Rhys) Stanley and (Darcy) Fort that they’ve got in the side, so I think we are pretty evenly matched in the size of both teams to take the field tomorrow.”
The senior coach knows it will be a challenge taking on the competition’s ladder-leaders this weekend, but he is more focussed on what his side needs to do than on Geelong’s record after the bye.
“Our challenge is to perform at our best,” Hinkley said.
“We aren’t worried about whether they’re coming off the bye or not coming off the bye.
“Our attitude towards Geelong - we will be going at them as hard as we possibly can.
“We understand that they are a super talented side, and it is going to take our absolute best.”
The Power host the Cats at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, with the first bounce at 7.10pm.
