Steve Salopek Player Profile
Salopek dislocated his right shoulder in the Power’s round 10 loss to Richmond.
The 25-year-old vowed to try and play out the season but his shoulder has dislocated twice more in the past six weeks, prompting the decision for surgery as early as next week.
It will be his fourth shoulder reconstruction since joining the club via pick No.6 in the 2002 NAB AFL Draft.
Vice-captain Jacob Surjan could also be sidelined for the remaining six rounds, after his injured knee failed to respond to surgery last month. It’s expected he too will be scheduled for another operation.
The Power will be forced to make two changes at the selection table this week to cover the absence of Salopek and suspended forward Daniel Motlop.
Travis Boak, Robbie Gray, Nathan Krakouer and Alipate Carlile are likely to return to the team that lost to the Western Bulldogs last weekend, while Matt Thomas (corked quad), first-year player Andrew Moore and veteran Chad Cornes are also pressing for selection.
Port Adelaide has slumped to 14th on the AFL ladder and out of finals contention on the back of nine straight losses, but defender Paul Stewart said the club still had plenty to play for in Sunday's showdown.
“We’ve got a young group coming through and the effort has been there in the last few weeks - we just haven’t performed on a consistent basis for four quarters,” Stewart said on Wednesday.
“We’ve got a lot of things to play for this week. We want to win for [caretaker coach] Matty Primus; it’s Josh Carr’s last game and we’ve also got the four points to play for.”
Port Adelaide has also denied bizarre reports that out-of-sorts forward Daniel Motlop will serve his two-week suspension for rough conduct in Thailand trying to reignite his passion for the game with mixed martial arts training.
