PORT ADELAIDE’s non-AFL selected players have travelled to the Gold Coast this weekend to take part in match simulation involving players from Geelong and Richmond.
Twelve players who didn’t feature in the club’s Qualifying Final win over Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night arrived in Queensland the following day ahead of the game on Saturday.
Development coach Matthew Lokan will oversee the group and Senior Assistant Coach Michael Voss said ensuring the club had a fit and firing squad would be important during the finals series.
“It came up as something that was raised by (GM – Football) Chris Davies during the week,” Voss told FIVEaa radio in Adelaide.
“He put it to the AFL that how were we going to get a run into the other (non-selected) players when you’ve got other teams who are obviously up in hubs in Queensland and are able to do that.
“They were forthcoming with that and set it up so the boys are up there at the moment.
“They’ve already been to the beach and they’re getting themselves ready for a game.
“That’s great because the more we’ve got fit, the better we’re going to be.”
Among the group are the four emergencies from Thursday night – Justin Westhoff, Boyd Woodcock, Riley Bonner and Jarrod Lienert.
They are among Port’s very fit list and all would be hoping to impress the coaches with their showing ahead of a Preliminary Final in a fortnight against a yet to be determined team.
Voss said Port had earned its shot to play off for a spot in the premiership decider by being consistent and resilient during a challenging campaign.
He praised members and fans for their ongoing support, but reminded them the side had plenty of work to come.
“It’s really exciting and it’s well deserved,” Voss said of the upcoming Preliminary Final.
“We’ve had lots of questions about us and that’s fair enough.
“We know we’ve earned nothing and to be able to play that first final and finish on top of the ladder and win that first final we well and truly deserve it and we get to play in front of our home crowd again and gee it was loud.
“It felt like it was much more than 26,000 people which is great for us and hopefully the fans really enjoyed the game but we’ve got a bigger one coming.”
