AT the start of the year we always knew that with some new additions to the side and with some younger players it was going to be an evolution or a changing of the guard throughout the season.

The first significant change to happen in our midfield this year is the movement of Dom Cassisi, who’s been a core part of our midfield and our captain, to half back.

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It gives our guys who are showing that they’re going to be AFL players more room and provide a chance for them to play more in the centre square.

Changes like that have given blokes like Hartlett, Brad Ebert, Broadbent and now Andrew Moore more significant opportunities to build as a midfield group and they’re showing signs that they’re developing more at this point of year.

As a whole group we’re evolving, but we want to see the development of guys into high quality and elite AFL midfielders. We want to compete, create width and spread as much as possible to feed the ball forward.

Matthew Broadbent
12 games, 160 kicks, 13 kicks per game, 58 marks, 5 marks per game, 83 handballs, 7 handballs per game, 243 disposals, 20 disposals per game, 3 hit outs, 35 tackles, 13 goals and 10 behinds.
Broadbent was doing some nice things earlier in the year but wasn’t 'racking up' in a way you would like from your premium midfielder. Through perseverance from Broady within himself and also the coaching group he’s really grown and had his first game at AFL where he’s cleared 30+ possessions. 

Brad Ebert
12 games, 160 kicks, 13 kicks per game, 62 marks, 5 marks per game, 107 handballs, 9 handballs per game, 267 disposals, 6 disposals per game, 5 hit outs, 84 tackles, 12 goals and 5 behinds.
Brad had predominantly played outside of stoppage at West Coast and his elite running ability had given the Eagles some real carry and outside influence. I guess the development key for Brad since coming to Port has been to get him inside and one of the opportunities we've given him is a chance to get first possession at the ball.

Hamish Hartlett
12 games, 135 kicks, 11 kicks per game, 46 marks, 4 marks per game, 100 handballs, 8 handballs per game, 235 disposals, 19 disposals per game, 0 hit outs, 58 tackles, 4 goals and 6 behinds.
We know he understands how to play the wing, half-back and even the spare back role. We see him as a future elite midfielder. Unfortunately he’s done his hamstring and he’ll miss a couple of weeks. We’re wanting to see him not only work inside but incorporate his defensive aspects at stoppage and defence.

Andrew Moore
3 games, 20 kicks, 7 kicks per game, 9 marks, 3 marks per game, 15 handballs, 5 handballs per game, 35 disposals, 12 disposals per game, 0 hit outs, 6 tackles, 2 goals and 0 behinds.
At the end of the year we’d like to see Moore evolve into a similar player to what Broadbent is at the moment. He’s had a game-high 19 disposals and his education on how to get more football and win his own football continues. We’d expect that by the end of the year Moore becomes a person who we believe will be a big-bodied player and a staple in the side.

Matt Thomas
7 games, 39 kicks, 6 kicks per game, 20 marks, 3 marks per game, 62 handballs, 9 handballs per game, 101 disposals, 14 disposals per game, 1 hit out, 38 tackles, 3 goals and 4 behinds.
We know what Matty will always bring - a reckless attack on the footy - but we’ve managed to find him a new position that is really playing to his strength, and that’s one of a pressure forward.

Travis Boak
10 games, 124 kicks, 12 kicks per game, 32 marks, 3 marks per game, 100 handballs, 10 handballs per game, 224 disposals, 22 disposals per game, 0 hit outs, 33 tackles, 4 goals and 3 behinds.
He’s played with a sore foot for about five or six weeks. Most sides will like to get some flexibility and accessibility within a side and Boak certainly provides that for us. He’ll hopefully return against the Crows and we’d like to see the restraint of playing with soreness lifted from his game.

Danyle Pearce
10 games, 142 kicks, 14 kicks per game, 14 marks, 1 mark per game, 64 handballs, 6 handballs per game, 206 disposals, 21 disposals per game, 0 hit outs, 29 tackles, 2 goals and 6 behinds.
With Boak out Pearce is now the only guy on our list who’s probably going to have a tag going to him. That said, his workrate and defensive aspects ever since he came back from his sojourn to Sturt have improved. It’s something I’ve not seen in him yet and it’s really encouraging. I don’t think in the past he’s been able to push hard enough to break a tag and now we should see him through to the end of the season.

David Rodan
5 games, 36 kicks, 7 kicks per game, 10 marks, 2 marks per game, 45 handballs, 9 handballs per game, 81 disposals, 16 disposals per game, 1 hit out, 19 tackles, 1 goal and 1 behind.
He’s gone back to Norwood over the last few weeks and has shown a real appetite and desire to improve on the areas we want him to work on - that being the ability to show a longer, harder running style that spreads quickly from stoppages to try and get to the next contest. He’s displaying some stoppage qualities now and may find himself playing in a number of positions across the ground which will test his ability to apply those trades.

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Kane Cornes
12 games, 157 kicks, 13 kicks per game, 72 marks, 6 marks per game, 144 handballs, 12 handballs per game, 301 disposals, 25 disposals per game, 0 hit outs, 37 tackles, 3 goals and 4 behinds
His attitude has been really good and whether it’s playing on a wing or in a run-with role (which we’ve tended to do over the last 3-4 weeks) he’s been a really solid contributor and is putting in effort to the best of his ability which has been a real positive around the club.

Brent Renouf
9 games, 33 kicks, 4 kicks per game, 25 marks per game, 3 marks per game, 46 handballs, 5 handballs per game, 79 disposals, 9 disposals per game, 228 hit outs, 18 tackles, 2 goals and 2 behinds.
Our ruck contingent has been something to really be excited about. Until last week, Renouf was the number one hit out ruckman for a 5-6 week period. He’s undergone an enormous amount of improvement and there’s still more to come from him.

Jarrad Redden
6 games, 22 kicks, 4 kicks per game, 12 marks, 2 marks per game, 47 handballs, 8 handballs per game, 69 disposals, 12 disposals per game, 105 hit outs, 8 tackles, 1 goal and 0 behinds.
If we needed to just rely on one ruckman we know that Redden has really improved. He maintained the majority of duties for the first couple of weeks, had a break and came back through West and played out the bit before the bye. He should get a chance later in the year as well.

John McCarthy
11 games, 146 kicks, 13 kicks per game, 58 marks, 5 marks per game, 93 handballs, 8 handballs per game, 239 disposals, 22 disposals per game, 1 hit out, 32 tackles, 4 goals and 8 behinds.
John has really added a new dimension to our side. He’s probably our best outside carrying player and through that he’s given us some good outside run-and-carry that we didn’t have last year. His attitude and approach has been a valuable addition at the club and over the coming years we see him developing into a quality inside midfielder.

Chad Wingard
10 games, 47 kicks, 5 kicks per game, 13 marks, 1 mark per game, 61 handballs, 6 handballs per game, 108 disposals, 11 disposals per game, 7 hit outs, 28 tackles, 3 goals and 8 behinds.
The excitement for Chad is that if he can build his work rate then he will be a future key player for this club. He’s spent a little bit of time in the midfield and has pinch-hit through the middle already. He can win first possession by reading the play and will get some more opportunity in the coming weeks. He also plays forward and we’re comfortable with using him as a versatile emerging player.