While there were no injuries to come from Port Adelaide’s 67-point loss to the Swans on Saturday, several unforced changes could be made to the side which chalked its worst defeat of season 2016.

Matthew Lobbe earned plenty of praise for his 19-point, 48-hitout performance in the Magpies’ big win over the Roosters on Sunday, and has his hand up for an AFL recall after three months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

After being dropped against Brisbane, Kane Mitchell has consistently starred in the SANFL - he collected 44 touches on the weekend – and could be under consideration for the Power this week.

With their ample experience, AFL list forwards Jake Neade, Matt White and Jay Schulz could also be in the mix to shake up Port Adelaide’s forward line with added speed and composure.

This week senior coach Ken Hinkley pointed to giving some youngsters a run in the remaining minor rounds, which could see Magpies goal kicker Jesse Palmer or even first-year player Riley Bonner given a crack at the top level in the coming weeks.

Port Adelaide's most recent team – Round 20 v Sydney Swans
FB: Darcy Byrne-Jones, Logan Austin, Jasper Pittard
HB: Matthew Broadbent Tom Clurey, Nathan Krakouer
C: Jared Polec, Ollie Wines, Brad Ebert
HF: Jarman Impey, Charlie Dixon, Chad Wingard
FF: Justin Westhoff, John Butcher, Aaron Young
Foll: Jackson Trengove, Travis Boak, Robbie Gray
I/C: Paul Stewart, Karl Amon, Sam Gray, Brendon Ah Chee

Port Adelaide injury list as of Tuesday 2 August
Billy Frampton – groin (assess)
Hamish Hartlett – calf (1-2 weeks)
Tom Jonas - hamstring (1-2 weeks)
Jack Hombsch – hip (season)
Alipate Carlile – knee (season)
Dougal Howard - knee (season)
Aidyn Johnson - hamstring (season)

Melbourne

Dees star forward Jesse Hogan is expected to be available for selection to face the Power this Saturday after sitting out last week’s win over the Hawks with a bruised knee.

Who he pushes out of the team will be a tough decision, given Melbourne knocked off the top side with a convincing four-goal haul on the weekend - the Dees could choose to enter Round 20 with a consistent side, with Hogan’s inclusion the only change.

If necessary, they could dip into their waiting VFL stocks with the likes of Jack Grimes, Alex Neal-Bullen and Jack Trengove who have all proved their ability with solid, 30+ disposal games over the weekend.

Melbourne’s most recent team – Round 20 v Fremantle
FB: Sam Frost, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta
HB: Jayden Hunt, Oscar McDonald, Tomas Bugg
C: Christian Petrecca, Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson
HF: Jeff Garlett, Jack Watts, Aaron Vandenberg
FF: Sam Weideman, Cameron Pedersen, Dean Kent
Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney
I/C: Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver, Billy Stretch, James Harmes

Melbourne’s injury list
Jesse Hogan (bruised knee) – test
Max King (wrist) – TBC
Mitch King (knee) – season
Heritier Lumumba (concussion) – indefinite

Teams for Saturday’s clash will be revealed on Portadelaidefc.com.au this Thursday at 5.55pm ACST.


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