Online Game Day: Rd 1 vs Collingwood
Pittard and O'Shea will help fill a void in defence left by Jacob Surjan, who is on the comeback from a serious knee injury, while Irons will start in a forward pocket.
PTV: Pittard to Debut
The Power have named a largely inexperienced side and will start rank underdogs against the reigning day and night premiers.
Primus said he had encouraged his players to keep their "minds on the game" on Saturday, regardless of the scoreboard.
"It's just about our ability to stay focused on what we want to do and how we want to go about playing," he said.
"We'll have our ups and downs, but that's a challenge we need to set because that's what the best teams do- they stay in the game the whole time."
Primus says wayward forward Daniel Motlop must prove he can meet the club's preparation standards before being considered for a recall to the team.
On Friday, Primus confirmed Motlop would play in the SANFL this weekend after being left out of the side to take on Collingwood at Etihad Stadium on Saturday for disciplinary reasons.
He declined to reveal the specific details of Motlop's indiscretion, but said the leadership group had taken issue with the way the enigmatic goalkicker had approached his rehabilitation from a recent ankle injury.
"The players and the leadership group have set standards [relating to the] preparation you need during a week of footy and since Daniel hurt his ankle last week he hasn't been up to those standards," Primus said.
"The leadership group and match committee thought he wasn't living up to those standards and that's why he hasn’t been picked in the team. He'll play for North Adelaide and try and rectify that to get back into our team."
It's the latest in a string of off-field misdemeanours for the 29-year-old.
Last season, he was banned from selection for a week after leaving the team hotel in the early hours of the morning on the day of the game against Melbourne in Darwin to collect his girlfriend from the airport.
He also stands accused of assaulting teammate Jacob Surjan's girlfriend at a Glenelg Hotel last year and will face court over the charge in April.
Primus denied the most recent indiscretion would spell the end of Motlop's career, saying the one-time leading goalkicker would be given an opportunity to redeem himself.
"Motts has been terrific this pre-season. He's trained well and he's been in good form for us as a player," Primus said.
"It's just that the leadership group and coaching staff and all the players have standards they want to set and he hasn't quite lived up to that."
Motlop wasn't the only high-profile player left out of the team to play Collingwood.
Primus stayed true to his youth-first approach at selection, leaving veteran Chad Cornes out of the side, while injury-prone onballer Hamish Hartlett was another surprise omission.
Hartlett missed the opening rounds of the NAB Cup with a hamstring complaint and Primus said it would be more beneficial for the promising midfielder to play a full game in the SANFL rather than acting as a substitute for the Power.
"It might sound silly, but Hamish has done that much work in pre-season we just want to make sure he's ready to go for us. We'd rather him be fully fresh and he probably just needs one more run," he said.
"Hopefully, he gets through Saturday and will be up for selection next week."
Primus told PortAdelaideFC.com.au small forward Cameron Hitchcock would be used as the club's first substitute under the new rule, while utility Michael Pettigrew will travel as an emergency.
First @ 4.30: Team Announcement
