Port To Dine On Jacobs
Port Adelaide is open about its plan to shark the taps of in-form Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs on Sunday
ADELAIDE'S ruckman Sam Jacobs could end up the most important player on the ground in Sunday's Showdown, with both midfields set to feed off his taps.
Power coach Matthew Primus has previously said his side doesn't need to win the ruck battle to win the ball out of the middle and the stats back him up; the Power have registered the least number of hit-outs in the League this season, but sit eighth in clearances.
"That will be something we look at," Cassisi said of 'sharking' Jacobs' tap work.
"We rank pretty low for hit-outs and hit-outs to advantage … you saw on the weekend [Aaron] Sandilands had a lot of hit-outs but I don't think [Fremantle] got a lot of clearances.
"We just need to do our homework, the Crows have got a lot of quality onballers, Scott Thompson's in great form, so we'll look at them really closely and come up with a plan."
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Reigning Crows club champion Scott Thompson has previously said Jacobs' ability in the ruck and around the ground could see him resemble West Coast's star big man Dean Cox.
Cassisi too was full of praise for the 24-year-old.
"Jacobs has been outstanding, he's given the Crows first look of the footy … a lot of the time this year," he said.
"We need to plan for that really well."
After starting the season in sensational fashion by beating St Kilda in a four-point thriller at AAMI Stadium, the Power have recorded three consecutive losses.
While all three could be termed honourable, Cassisi conceded his side had fallen off the pace but that there were positives to be found in his side's early-season form.
"We think a few little areas of our game have maybe dropped off since the NAB Cup," he said.
"But all in all we think we've seen some significant improvement in other areas.
"We're just desperate for a win, we need to get our tackle count up, it's going to be a hot game on Sunday in terms of pressure around the footy … if we can match the Crows in contested footy and tackles then we'll give ourselves a chance to win."
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Crows skipper Nathan van Berlo agreed that Sunday's Showdown would be a tight, contested affair, but said if his side could dictate play the Power wouldn't have a hope of claiming another Showdown win.
"We want to play on our terms and that's how we want to play every week," van Berlo said.
"When we play on our terms, it goes our way."
