9 ins, 6 outs

[ Download: The official Club App to get the latest news straight to your mobile ]

See the full line-ups for both sides at the bottom of the article


Port Adelaide general manager football Peter Rohde said Carlile had reached key conditioning benchmarks and had overcome calf soreness that prevented him training on Tuesday.

“We had a bit of an issue early in the week with some calf tightness but he trained no worries today so he’s fine.” Rohde told PortAdelaideFC.com.au

“He’s a ready-made replacement as a tall back to cover Jackson.”

Carlile played a best-afield role for South Adelaide during his expulsion from the AFL team and has met the coaches’ expectations.

“He needed to get a few things right off the field to get him right to play,” Rohde said.

“He worked hard at that and it’s something we will continue to monitor. But he understands what it takes to get him in the best condition.”

[ Related: Broadbent to fill broad void ]

Forward John Butcher’s recall is another certainty given the abdominal injury the club’s leading goal-kicker Jay Schulz.

“(Butcher) had two weeks off with a hip and he’s come back into the SANFL and played a few games in a row,” Rohde said.

“We gave him a week off from the Magpies last week to freshen him up and get him ready for a physically demanding second half of the season.”

The other changes forced by injury suffered in the Round 12 loss to the Western Bulldogs include captain Dom Cassisi (hip) and Hamish Hartlett (hamstring).

Matthew Thomas is out due to a two-match suspension.

Adding to the turnover of players is the decision to send young ruckman Jarrad Redden back to the SANFL to regain form.

[ Related: Match Preview ]

Matthew Lobbe and Daniel Stewart are also named in the squad, with one certain to play on Sunday alongside Brent Renouf.

“We were probably a bit disappointed with Reddo last game,” Rohde said.

“There are no injuries in that (ruck) area and we’ve got both Lobbe and Stewart back in form and in Lobbes’ case fit. There’s competition for two ruck spots.

“We can either play Renouf and Lobbe and have two genuine rucks or play Stewart and have a ruck-forward. That’s still a discussion to be had.”

Midfielder David Rodan leads the other potential inclusions named in the 25-man squad, alongside Nathan Blee, Tom Jonas, Cam O’Shea and Aaron Young.

Rodan hasn’t played with Port Adelaide’s Round 7 loss to Fremantle, but has built his form at SANFL level with Norwood.

“He’s making every effort to work hard in the areas that he needs to away from the stoppages and with his tackling, Rohde said.

[ Related: Is this handball of the year? ]

“Last week in those heavy conditions at West Adelaide he worked really hard defensively so that was positive.

“He can come in and play forward or on ball, and we hope he can give us some experience as well.”

Jonas has been upgraded from the Rookie List to cover the long-term loss of Robbie Gray and could return for his fifth game at AFL level following his debut late in 2011.

“There’s likely to be more opportunities that come up if not this week,” Rohde said.

“Tom’s form at Norwood has been very solid as a medium or tall defender and he’s also been playing on-ball a bit so it gives us flexibility as well.”

[ Related: Jonas elevated to senior list ]

O’Shea and Young have also played at AFL level this year, with Young gaining valuable experience early before suffering an ankle injury against the Dockers.

“That was his best game for us and he went out,” Rohde said.

“Now he’s played a couple of games at North Adelaide and we think he’s a player who has a good future at the club so we’d love to give him some more opportunities.”

A tall defender, Blee is a chance to make his AFL debut after being taken in last year’s draft from East Perth and gaining form, fitness and confidence with North Adelaide through 2012.

Rohde said the six changes had given opportunities to players who had been performing well outside of the AFL team and now got the chance to take on the reigning Premier on his home ground.

“There’s no doubt Geelong has been the best team in the competition in the last five years and they’ve been very good down there, but it’s a wonderful opportunity for our blokes to go down there and take on the challenge,” Rohde said.

[ Related: Ebert in line to captain? ]

The team will train at Alberton Oval on Saturday morning before flying east to take on the Cats at Simonds Stadium from 12.40pm (SA time) on Sunday.

The squad will be trimmed to 22 on Friday at 4pm.