Nick Dal Santo has identified the areas where Port Adelaide must improve to go two steps further and win the premiership in 2021.
The Power were minor premiers last year, but missed out on playing off in the Grand Final by losing to eventual premier Richmond by six points in the Preliminary Final.
Dal Santo says he is “bullish” on Ken Hinkley’s side while naming his three New Year’s resolutions for the club.
“I love what Port do. I love the way they’ve built this group,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“I’m a big fan of Ken Hinkley.
“I like their style. They’re aggressive off the half-back line.
“I’m bullish on them.”
Read Dal’s three points below:
Further improvement from key youngsters
“In my opinion, they’ve got the best three young players at their football club."
“(Connor) Rozee, (Zak) Butters and (Xavier) Duursma. What they did in finals last year shows everybody that they are ready to go.
“But they need to improve. Where does Port Adelaide’s improvement come from? It comes from the youth.
“They need more time in the midfield, they need to have more consistency, but I love what they’ve done to this point.
“If you’re a Port Adelaide supporter you’d be loving what you’re seeing, but for them to improve, they need a little bit more impact on games more often.
“I think they’re part of a collective midfield.
“You’ve got (Travis) Boak, (Sam) Powell-Pepper, (Ollie) Wines, you’ve got all these hard, seasoned bodies. Their next area for improvement and to take that next step, is for that next group to come through and add some extra layers to that midfield, but also when they’re playing forward.”
Young forwards to support Charlie Dixon
“I don’t think you can ask much more from Charlie, but the same output would be exceptional."
“Port Adelaide fans would be more than happy with what he did last year. Do it again, but by saying that, they need improvement from Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades.
“Whether all three can play at the same time? Do they need all three? Not quit sure, but to have one as back-up if there is an injury or they need a rest.
“You’d just love to see those other two guys just keep building and growing and supporting Charlie.”
Win a flag for Gray and Boak
“I don’t believe anybody ever deserves to win a flag, but you earn the right to be around the mark."
“I don’t know how many more opportunities Robbie Gray and Trav Boak have got. I love these two players. I respected them when playing against them, I’ve loved them from a distance.
“The show-stopper that Robbie Gray is, the fine wine that Trav Boak is, the leader the you hear that he is, the training standards he sets - they need to win a flag.
“There’s not many more opportunities, hence why those other two points are so pivotal for these two guys to get the ultimate.”
The Power take on Carlton and Hawthorn in the AAMI Community Series before kicking off the 2021 season against North Melbourne on March 21.