PORT Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde says the AFL careers of veterans Brendon Lade and Michael Wilson are far from over, despite both being dropped for this week’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.
Lade, who was an All-Australian in 2006-07, has not missed a game with the Power since round four, 2004, while Wilson’s omission leaves him stranded on 192 games.
Rohde said both club stalwarts would be given “every opportunity” to return to the Port Adelaide line-up this year.
“We just feel as though they’ve [Lade and Wilson] been struggling for a bit of form over an extended period and we’re pretty keen for them to go back to the SANFL where they’ll have an opportunity to get back to their very best,” Rohde said.
“They were both disappointed [to be dropped]. They are both very proud guys, who have had wonderful careers and we certainly expect their careers are going to go on from here.”
Wilson, widely regarded as the heart and soul of Port Adelaide, will turn 32 later this year and, unlike Lade, is out of contract.
The rugged premiership player has played just five games this season in his comeback from a ruptured achilles and Rohde conceded the club might have “made a mistake” in bringing the former vice-captain back too quickly.
“Even the very best players, at times, go through runs of form that aren’t the best and certainly, in Michael’s case, he had no pre-season and started late in the year. He’s probably never been able to get his game up and going,” Rohde said.
“When we sat down earlier in the week and spoke to Michael about his form, he was very accepting of our decision [to drop him]. He was really disappointed with the way he’s played over the last couple of weeks, especially, and the way the side has been going.
“His view was very much that he needed to get in some good, consistent form and that maybe he had to step back to a lower level to be able to do that.
“But we’ve made no decisions in terms of his long-term future or anything. It’s just that, this week, he’s not in our side just like Justin Westhoff wasn’t in our side last week.
“He’ll go back, play the way we expect him to play and I’m sure Michael, the match committee and his teammates will all be hoping he can get his form up in the short-term.
“No one would like his [Wilson’s] career to end this way and obviously we’ve still got a fair bit of the season to go.
“We’ll be giving him every opportunity to work his way back into the side.”
Lade and Wilson’s omissions were just two of seven changes to the Port Adelaide side this week. The Power were forced to replaced the injured quartet of Chad Cornes (finger/calf), Peter Burgoyne (hamstring), Steve Salopek (achilles) and Travis Boak (groin) while Matt Thomas was unable to be considered through suspension.
Damon White, Fabian Deluca, Greg Bentley and Nathan Lonie have all been named to play their first games of the season, while Justin Westhoff, Adam Thomson and Paul Stewart have also been recalled.
“There’s no doubt we’re disappointed with our form and I suppose we were very supportive of the group of players we’d been playing,” Rohde said.
“We’ve played 28 players I think so far this season and you combine that with the fact that we’ve had a few injuries [and you get seven changes].
“Next week will, hopefully, give us an opportunity to get some of those [injured] guys back in the side quickly and this week will give us an opportunity to see what some of the other guys can do.”
