PORT ADELAIDE Coach Ken Hinkley says star forward Robbie Gray is as fit as he’s seen him in some time and raring to tackle the Swans on Sunday.
Gray was forced to sit out the Power’s opening round 50-point win over Fremantle for a suspension copped during the JLT Community Series.
The just turned 30 year-old, who celebrated his birthday on March 30, has also returned to full fitness following treatment for testicular cancer in the off-season.
“Rob’s as fit as I’ve seen him for a fair period of time,” Hinkley said at Adelaide Airport as his side travelled to Sydney.
“You’re never quite sure because he’s missed a bit of footy again now and he’s had a couple of weeks off but obviously he’s a high-quality player and you’d expect him to play really well and Sydney will be looking to restrict that.
“He’ll play a bit forward, he’ll play a bit in the midfield so hopefully he gets a bit of it in both areas.”
Gray is the only change to the side which beat the Dockers last Saturday, replacing injured ruckman Paddy Ryder.
Hinkley said his side has taken confidence from its 28-point win over the Swans in Sydney when the sides last met in Round 1 2017.
“They’re a high quality side, everyone knows that about them – we’d be a bit silly if we didn’t realise that they were a great side,” he said.
“Last year was a big challenge for us. They had a real strong side in round one and we were able to get over the top but it doesn’t mean much for this year though.
“Our last couple of weeks have been really strong but we know we are stepping up again this week.
“For us it’s all about what we do and not so much about what Sydney do.”
Hinkley was mindful of star Swans forward Lance “Buddy” Franklin, after his eight goal haul against West Coast last week, but he said Sydney had other weapons to be conscious of as well.
“He’s an awesome player, we love watching him play like everyone else does – we just don’t want him to have as big a day as he did last and that will be a combination of our back six that will have to play on Buddy.
“The trap with Buddy is that you fall into just Buddy and someone else bobs up.
“You hear their language around they like to open up other forwards and they have got plenty of other forwards.”
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