Jacobs Excited to Debut
Jacobs was selected by the Power with pick No.16 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.
The left-footer was a standout over the pre-season and would've been selected to make his AFL debut in round one if not for a bout of glandular fever, which set him back two months.
Jacobs spent five days in hospital and lost seven kilograms as a result of the debilitating illness, but slowly worked his way back and made a long-awaited return in the SANFL reserves last month.
The skilful 19-year-old, who will wear Power games record holder Warren Tredrea's famous No.16 guernsey, impressed in his second game with Port Magpies last weekend.
Coach Matthew Primus said he had no hesitation in selecting Jacobs to play against the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Saturday night.
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"We think Ben's a pretty talented kid. He had a great pre-season until he got struck down with glandular fever and was probably looking at playing with us in round one until he got crook," Primus said at Adelaide Airport on Friday.
"He's a competitive guy and he's got a beautiful kick on him. We think we'll probably start playing him down back in the early days, but he'll have the ability to go into the midfield as his career progresses.
"He wants to learn, wants to get better and is very driven."
Midfielders Steven Salopek and Matt Thomas have also been recalled to the team to take on the Swans at the expense of injured onballer David Rodan (knee) and omitted pair Paul Stewart and Cameron Hitchcock.
The Swans have made two changes, with forgotten defender Lewis Roberts-Thompson and debutant Luke Parker replacing Jarred Moore and Canadian-born ruckman Myke Pyke, who has a quad complaint.
The Power, who haven't beaten the Swans since round two, 2006, have long struggled with the Swans' contested style of play.
The club has improved in the area of contested possession since assistant coach Dean Laidley's arrival at the start of last season, but this improvement has been countered by the team's inconsistency in 2011.
Primus said the clash with the Swans would be the ultimate test of the Power's ability to compete for four quarters.
"Regardless of the scoreboard, Sydney just keep playing at you, keep finding the ball and surging forward," he said.
"We know that whatever game you play against Sydney a fair bit of it is going to come down to contested footy … and if we don't match them in that we'll be on the back foot for most of the game.
"I think everyone looks a lot at how Sydney go about it [and have] for many years. They've had a change of coach and different players.
"They've had a lot of young guys come into their team and lost a few of their spiritual leaders, but they continue to play the same style of footy."
Primus also addressed concerns over the future of defender Jackson Trengove.
Trengove is out of contract at the end of the season and according to reports out of Melbourne is being courted by at least one Victorian-based club.
The 20-year-old has delayed contract talks, but Primus was confident Trengove, who is part of the club's leadership group, would remain at Port Adelaide.
"Jackson is an outstanding character and I think he's going to be a terrific footballer, so we'd be crazy not to think people would like to get him but we've looked after him pretty well here and we’ve started out a pretty good career for him," he said.
"Hopefully, we can keep him here for quite a few years yet."
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Katrina Gill covers Adelaide news for afl.com.au. Follow her on Twitter: @AFL_KatrinaGill
