Salopek: Say No to Giants
Port Adelaide midfielder Steven Salopek will encourage any teammate targeted by Greater Western Sydney to knock back the offer and stick with the Power
Salopek contemplated a return to Victoria last season, as he weighed up what was best for his young son and expecting wife, but eventually decided against a move and re-signed with the Power, believing Port's exciting young list has the club on the verge of a potential dynasty.
Star midfielder Danyle Pearce and full-back Alipate Carlile have been mentioned as two possible targets of the Giants, who will have access to one uncontracted player from each existing club -with the exception of Gold Coast— ahead of their entry into the AFL in 2012.
Salopek rejected lucrative offers from Victorian-based teams to remain with Port Adelaide and the 25-year-old said he would be encouraging his out-of-contract teammates to do the same.
"You're only in the game for a short amount of time, so you have to look after yourself financially to some degree but the camaraderie you build with your teammates is definitely something that held me here at Port," Salopek told portadelaidefc.com.au.
"There's an unknown factor about joining another club. You don't know what other clubs do and what they're like. You hear stories that, maybe, they aren't as friendly or don't have as nice an environment as what we've got here.
"That's the main thing I'll be saying to the players here, who might be lured purely for the money on offer at GWS.
"As one of the senior players here, a bit of my role is to help those younger guys, who are thinking of going home or might be missing their family and getting a bit homesick."
Port Adelaide has invested heavily in youth in recent drafts, with players like Hamish Hartlett, John Butcher, Jasper Pittard, Ben Jacobs and Jackson Trengove expected to take the club to its next premiership.
Salopek conceded the Power were unlikely to achieve the ultimate success this season, but said the club was capable of being a force in the competition in the near future.
"We've got a great group of guys and the way the club is heading with Matty Primus as the new head coach is great," he said.
"If you look at our young list, it's probably as good a list as there is in the AFL. We have a very exciting future. It might not happen this year, but hopefully in two-to-three years time we can build a bit of a dynasty…I know I made the right decision to stay [at Port Adelaide]."
John Butcher is a $97,600 forward in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.