In the first SANFL Report for the year, Hocking will go through every Power player the lines up for the Magpies on game weekends throughout the season.
It's a new era for Port Adelaide with all players now donning either the club's traditional prison bar jumper, or the popular 'V' guernsey in either the AFL or SANFL.
And while the club has an extensive list of Magpies-exclusive senior players, the SANFL Report will remain an appraisal of the form of Port Adelaide's AFL-listed talent when they run out in the local leagues.
That means the Player of the Week is not necessarily the standout player for the game; he is at least the best among the Power group.
Hocking's SANFL Report will be released every Tuesday in season.
A really strong performance from Sam, which is hardly surprising in a way when you consider his long and proud history playing for the Magpies. He was really good defensively and busy around stoppages. The thing he offers us is an ability to play multiple roles and he’s very clever with the way he uses the ball up forward. He kicked one goal to cap off a good first game back from injury.
Mitch Harvey
It was Mitch’s first game with us and he’s still got a lot of work to do. We do expect it to happen when you start playing in a new environment and learning new systems and structures, but it can’t happen for too long. He needs to improve his work rate and get involved in more contests - both at ground level and leading up for marks. He’s got time on his side and we’ll hopefully see some improvement with him in our next two games.
Mason Shaw (3 goals)
We’d like to play Mason in the ruck a bit more, but he did look more competitive for us playing as a key forward and he kicked three goals on the day. It was also good to see him fly at the ball in a couple of pack situations too. We’d like him to work on using his running endurance a bit more, but an encouraging start for our big guy.
Kane Mitchell
Like we saw in the AFL last year, Kane is a very good runner and he used that pace to good effect by getting to contests to outnumber the opposition frequently. He had a few missed disposals which he needs to work on.
Ben Newton
Newts had a solid first half but really took the game into his own hands in the second. He was really clean and strong around stoppages and spread well to win the outside ball and worked hard to win the footy at every opportunity. A couple of turnovers took some of the shine off his game, so that’s one area he’ll need to work on in the lead up to Round 1.
Karl Amon
Karl looked a class above at times and emulated some of the things he was able to do during his NAB Challenge games. His good running saw him finish the game off well but the most impressive thing for him was the clean hands inside the play and his ability to withstand tackle pressure and dispose effectively.
Jake Neade
Neadey was OK. You could see him run hard in places but his disposal inside 50 let him down at times. Reducing his turnovers under pressure is something he’ll need to work on.
Brendon Ah Chee
Arch needs to run for all four quarters. He lacked the intensity we want from him for three quarters, but still managed two strong lead-up marks and returned three behinds. He can be a good player if he can reach that intensity level, so we’ll hopefully see some improvement in the remaining trial games.
Tom Logan
Tommy just does what we expect from him. A very good game from T-Shirt where he did a lot of work off the ball to help others gain possession. His foot skills were generally good, as was his decision making rebounding from defensive 50. He only conceded one goal playing against South’s best small forwards Irra and Snook.
Sam Russell
A similar game to Tommy which is encouraging for the young guy. Sam defended well, played tight and was composed with the footy when he had possession. Looks keen and ready to play.
Sam Colquhoun (1 goal)
A very good performance where he won lots of footy and was efficient with his disposal. I was really happy with not only Sam’s work around the ball, but culturally with all his AFL and SANFL teammates - he gave plenty of options and ended up kicking a goal in a good reward for effort.
Cam Hitchcock (2 goals)
A solid effort from Cam where he kicked 2.2. He worked hard and spread well from stoppages, but did miss a few opportunities to win his own ball. The return on the scoreboard was a positive for him and he’ll keep working on a couple of areas we’ve given him to improve.
Player of the Week
Sam Gray (1 goal)A really strong performance from Sam, which is hardly surprising in a way when you consider his long and proud history playing for the Magpies. He was really good defensively and busy around stoppages. The thing he offers us is an ability to play multiple roles and he’s very clever with the way he uses the ball up forward. He kicked one goal to cap off a good first game back from injury.
Player-by-Player
It was Mitch’s first game with us and he’s still got a lot of work to do. We do expect it to happen when you start playing in a new environment and learning new systems and structures, but it can’t happen for too long. He needs to improve his work rate and get involved in more contests - both at ground level and leading up for marks. He’s got time on his side and we’ll hopefully see some improvement with him in our next two games.
Mason Shaw (3 goals)
We’d like to play Mason in the ruck a bit more, but he did look more competitive for us playing as a key forward and he kicked three goals on the day. It was also good to see him fly at the ball in a couple of pack situations too. We’d like him to work on using his running endurance a bit more, but an encouraging start for our big guy.
Kane Mitchell
Like we saw in the AFL last year, Kane is a very good runner and he used that pace to good effect by getting to contests to outnumber the opposition frequently. He had a few missed disposals which he needs to work on.
Ben Newton
Newts had a solid first half but really took the game into his own hands in the second. He was really clean and strong around stoppages and spread well to win the outside ball and worked hard to win the footy at every opportunity. A couple of turnovers took some of the shine off his game, so that’s one area he’ll need to work on in the lead up to Round 1.
Karl Amon
Karl looked a class above at times and emulated some of the things he was able to do during his NAB Challenge games. His good running saw him finish the game off well but the most impressive thing for him was the clean hands inside the play and his ability to withstand tackle pressure and dispose effectively.
Jake Neade
Neadey was OK. You could see him run hard in places but his disposal inside 50 let him down at times. Reducing his turnovers under pressure is something he’ll need to work on.
Brendon Ah Chee
Arch needs to run for all four quarters. He lacked the intensity we want from him for three quarters, but still managed two strong lead-up marks and returned three behinds. He can be a good player if he can reach that intensity level, so we’ll hopefully see some improvement in the remaining trial games.
Tom Logan
Tommy just does what we expect from him. A very good game from T-Shirt where he did a lot of work off the ball to help others gain possession. His foot skills were generally good, as was his decision making rebounding from defensive 50. He only conceded one goal playing against South’s best small forwards Irra and Snook.
Sam Russell
A similar game to Tommy which is encouraging for the young guy. Sam defended well, played tight and was composed with the footy when he had possession. Looks keen and ready to play.
Sam Colquhoun (1 goal)
A very good performance where he won lots of footy and was efficient with his disposal. I was really happy with not only Sam’s work around the ball, but culturally with all his AFL and SANFL teammates - he gave plenty of options and ended up kicking a goal in a good reward for effort.
Cam Hitchcock (2 goals)
A solid effort from Cam where he kicked 2.2. He worked hard and spread well from stoppages, but did miss a few opportunities to win his own ball. The return on the scoreboard was a positive for him and he’ll keep working on a couple of areas we’ve given him to improve.
