PORT ADELAIDE midfield coach Jarrad Schofield has backed the club’s decision to challenge the one-game ban offered to midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper for what was deemed as a dangerous tackle on Hawks ruckman Ben McEvoy.
Powell-Pepper was charged with engaging in rough conduct for the tackle during the last quarter of Port’s ten-point win at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Schofield said Powell-Pepper had developed into an important player for the side and to him the tackle appeared within the rules.
“To be frankly honest, I haven’t looked at (the incident) closely enough but within the rules there was no free, it was a play-on type of thing,” Schofield said at a press conference on Monday.
“Pep plays that way, he plays aggressive-type footy so we’ll see what the outcome is.
“He’s had a different role this year, splitting his time between midfield and up forward and I think he’s really got the balance right.
“He’s accepted his role and it’s been a good couple of years for him to accept that role and not just be that inside mid but he’s playing a selfless team role for us that’s not just based on numbers.
“On the weekend, he got more of the football but the role he’s playing is more of a selfless team role, it’s a credit to him.”
Schofield praised his side’s resolve and depth after the win.
Missing at least five first-team regulars and against a determined Hawthorn outfit – itself undermanned - Port found a way to grind out a result, after conceding the first three goals.
Schofield admitted it was not a pretty win but said all that mattered was the four points.
“We’re playing good football. Are we playing our best football? Probably not,” he said.
“But we’re sitting on top of the ladder for a reason because we’ve been consistent. We’ve been able to find ways to win.
“We were challenged by a real hungry Hawthorn side that had some experience out but we withstood the pressure and the challenge.
“It’s been a challenging year from week to week but we found a way to win and I think that’s the real positive with some players out and we’ve shown we’ve got greater depth than what we had previously.”
On the issue of depth, Schofield said he was pleased with the output of Kane Farrell and Xavier Duursma, who were omitted from the AFL team on the weekend but competed well in match simulation against Hawthorn.
He said Willem Drew was also good and the trio would be in selection discussions later in the week for Saturday’s game against Sydney alongside players returning from injury including Todd Marshall, Ryan Burton and Connor Rozee.
“They’ve been ticking a lot of boxes the three of them in their recovery to return to play,” Schofield said.
“We’d expect them to get some training in this week.
“From all reports they’re tracking well so by the end of the week we’d be looking at any one of them, hopefully two or three of them to play.”
