STEVEN MOTLOP will meet his former side for the first time when Port Adelaide takes on Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The match will also be the 150th in the AFL for Geelong defender Zach Tuohy.
The last time the sides met, the Cats won a thriller by just two points but that was in Geelong.
It reflects a dominant record for the Cats who have won 13 of the last 14 matches involving the sides including 10 in a row between 2007 and 2013.
Overall, Geelong has won 21 of its 31 games against the Power and there has been one draw.
Port Adelaide does have a very good record at Adelaide Oval, having won ten of its last 15 matches there since the start of last season, including the first two in 2018.
Against the Cats, the Power has dropped two of their three matches at the venue, while the visitors actually have a 50% record when playing there against either Port or Adelaide.
Thankfully for Port Adelaide, Geelong has actually struggled on the road, having lost six out of its last seven matches interstate including two losses in Adelaide.
Teams
Port Adelaide has made two changes to its line-up for the match with star recruit Tom Rockliff to miss with a calf injury and defender Trent McKenzie omitted after making his club debut last week.
Reliable defender Jack Hombsch and small forward Jake Neade come back into the side for their first AFL matches in 2018 after impressing in the SANFL’s opening rounds.
The Cats have also made two changes with Cory Gregson out with a foot injury and Zach Guthrie omitted.
Forward James Parsons returns after missing the win over the Saints last week and defender Jackson Thurlow will play his first AFL match of the season.
Guthrie has been included as an emergency along with Wylie Buzza, Charlie Constable and George Horlin-Smith.
Coaches
Ken Hinkley
“We lost last week and we were lucky to win the week before that so I think we just haven’t performed as strongly as we need to and good sides perform strongly every week.
“We look forward to the challenge of Duncan and Dangerfield and Selwood and all the others they put through (the midfield).
"That (loss to Geelong in Round 10 last year) hurt, that was a big result. We played well enough to win the game, unfortunately we didn't.
"We want to get one back, simple. I'm sure our players remember, they always do.
“It’s a big game, its ANZAC Round and we really want to play some strong football, that’s important for us.”
Chris Scott
“Our record there is ok, the last couple of times we’ve played (at Adelaide Oval) against the Crows we didn’t play as well as we would have liked but it is similar to Geelong as compared to the MCG.
“It won’t be the perfect environment in terms of the reception we’ll get and Port play well there but in terms of the dimensions I don’t think we’ll feel too out of place.
“I’m certain that they’re going to be a hard team to beat for the majority of the year, and not too many teams will be able to beat Sydney at the SCG so we certainly have a lot of respect for them for doing that.
“We really respect what (Steven Motlop) can do, we know it intimately, but I’m not a big believer in some of the theatrics that go on with ex-teammates – not to say that there won’t be some – but most of it would be light-hearted anyway.
“He was a really important part of this footy club and the way I look at it, he still is, so there won’t be anything that even remotely goes close to being disrespectful to Mots.”
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