PORT ADELAIDE ruckman Scott Lycett has expressed his pride in the performance of his side’s big men in the forward line after its 29-point win over Fremantle on the Gold Coast on Sunday night.
Tall forwards Charlie Dixon, Justin Westhoff and Todd Marshall combined for 14 marks and five goals between them despite the torrential rain at times during the game.
Lycett said he was pleased to see the big guys get some reward for their hard work on the training track.
“Obviously, not a night for big guys and we just wanted them to make a contest and that’s all we can ask for, even in dry conditions,” Lycett told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“For them to actually take some marks in the wet and kick some goals goes a long way to us winning and I’m just really proud of them because I can see what everyone doesn’t see at training and the work that they put in.
“To get results, personally, I’m really proud of that group.”
Lycett was also proud of the response of Ollie Wines in his first game for 2020 after shoulder surgery.
The vice-captain had 25 disposals and a goal in a strong return to AFL football after some had questioned if there was a place for him in the side.
Lycett said he knew Wines would have an impact.
“Another guy I’m really proud of, just the way he goes about things,” the ruckman said.
“He’s copped a bit of flack in the last couple of weeks but there’s no better professional, no harder trainer and he deserves everything he gets.
“I could see he was going to have a good game because of the way he’s been training has just been unreal so he’s just another guy I’m really proud of.”
Lycett was among his side’s best, winning 37 of Port’s 44 hit-outs in a dominant centre square performance.
He was confident the Dockers would make the game a contest.
“They tested us for sure, it was a good game.
“It was good to grind it out. They’re a really tough midfield and they really tested us so it was good to tick that off and give us lots of confidence going forward.
“The rain came and we knew it was going to be more contested so we just tried to keep it simple and do the easy things well, so I felt like we did that a bit better than Freo in that second quarter and in the end that second quarter really set it up for us.”
It was also a strong performance by Port Adelaide’s backline, now the most miserly in the competition having conceded a total of 105 points or an average of 35 points per game in three matches this season.
“We’ve had a strong backline for a long time,” Lycett explained.
“I think we’ve been underrated in that area so hopefully people are starting to turn their heads and say they’re doing a really good job.
‘It’s really early in the season so I guess now we’ve just got to keep going.”
The next challenge for Lycett and his teammates at Metricon Stadium on Saturday is West Coast – a team Lycett knows well after winning a premiership there in 2018 and playing 75 games across eight seasons.
