PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper is starting to earn back the respect of his teammates after two strong AFL performances, according to Power assistant coach Brendon Lade.

Powell-Pepper missed four AFL games after a late-night incident led to a suspension but he has been impressive against both Adelaide and Gold Coast since his return.

Against the Suns the 20-year-old had 26 touches – 17 of them contested, to go with three marks, seven clearances and ten tackles.

He also had six inside 50s and two goals – one of them a nominee for goal of the year.

“It’s been great for Pepps to come back,” Lade said on radio station FiveAA.

“Kenny and the match committee put a lot of faith in him bringing him back a couple of weeks ago and for him to come out and respond, you know playing on Crouch in the second half against Adelaide he was great, and you could just see when we had a few lulls at stoppages against Gold Coast he was sprinting where the ball was going and making contact with opposition players.

“His endeavour around the ball was second to none.”

Lade said Powell-Pepper’s attitude and preparation didn’t change during his forced absence and he had shown maturity since returning to the group.

“He was a bit sheepish around a few people who put a lot of trust in him and he’s starting to earn that respect back,” Lade said.

“The players have been really good for him, the coaches have been really honest and really good for him as well and I can only see things going up for Pepps from here.”

Lade also revealed the club would seek some clarification about some of the umpiring around ruck contests during the Suns game.

Power ruckman Paddy Ryder endured an entertaining battle with Suns big man Jarrod Witts which saw Witts have 43 hitouts to 42, and receive three votes in the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year award voting.

“Paddy still had 15 hitouts to advantage which is pretty good for a ruckman,” Lade said.

“It’s a bit strange but we’re going to get some clarification for some of the umpiring and he was getting a bit frustrated but he’s got to learn to deal with that and overcome it and get better.

“We are just going to get some clarification around some rules. We’ve done it before and we’ll get an outcome from it and we’ll all get better from it.”

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