POWER midfielder Steve Salopek says beating the Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night would be the perfect way to kick-start Port Adelaide’s season, and history shows he’s right.
Last year the Power made the very same trip to Sydney, when they travelled to ANZ Stadium (formerly Telstra Stadium) after being knocked out of the NAB Cup in the quarter finals by Geelong.
Port Adelaide toppled the Swans by five points in that match and the Power then continued on with their good form to win six out of their opening games in the premiership season.
“We want to win,” Salopek said of Saturday’s game against Sydney.
“Just because it’s a NAB Challenge game doesn’t mean we’re going to go out there light-hearted. We do want to have a win and a good win because the Swans are a good team.
"We’ve struggled against them in the past, so beating them would be a good start to the year.”
The Power have struggled against the Swans in the recent past. In fact, Sydney was one of just three teams Port Adelaide was unable to beat in 2007. The other two were Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
The Swans, like Port Adelaide, will continue to rest senior players this weekend, but Salopek said it was important for the Power’s younger players to experience Sydney’s distinctive style, especially with the two teams scheduled to meet for premiership points in just six weeks time.
“The Swans are a good side and I think people underestimate them a bit. They actually surprised me with how good they were on the weekend- they were spectacular, I thought,” Salopek said.
“I watched them in the game against Hawthorn and they have some really good young kids. I think only two or three of their senior players were playing, so it was similar to how we played against Carlton and Sydney was outstanding.
"Obviously I don’t know who they [Sydney] will select this week, but we want to go there and give it our all. We’re not going there for a holiday; we’re going to win.
"Our young guys are going to get that exposure again, and against Sydney, who is probably the most disciplined side in the competition. We’ll be on the big stage of ANZ Stadium as well, so it’s just a great opportunity for our younger players.”
Salopek said he expected the Power to welcome back “three or four” senior players for the clash with the Swans.
Chad Cornes, Kane Cornes, Brett Ebert, Daniel Motlop, Brendon Lade, Toby Thurstans and the Burgoyne brothers, Peter and Shaun, were rested last week, but all played some part in the club’s high intensity session on Wednesday afternoon.
Thurstans is expected to come in for the injured Troy Chaplin, while Robbie Gray could also get his first run for the year.
“We’ll probably introduce a few more senior guys this week and it will be another opportunity for the young guys to show what they can do and push up for selection in round one,” Salopek said.
“We played not a bad game last week, but we did lose, so we need to start again this week and getting a few senior players back will definitely help.”
Salopek, who was one of the Power’s best players in the narrow loss to Carlton, said supporters could look forward to seeing more of the club’s young players.
“Now, I think our goal is to win the rest of our games and to keep those young guys going,” he said.
"Matty Thomas is one player in particular. Tom Logan was another who was outstanding on the weekend and big Adam Cockshell was good in the last quarter too.
"It was great to give those guys that experience and the next two or three weeks will be invaluable for them because they will be an integral part of the team over the next few years. Hopefully, last week, the supporters did see exactly what’s in store for the future.”
