There will be three players central to the fortunes of Port Adelaide in season 2023.
That is according to Brad Johnson who sees some of the Power’s key position players as those who will shape the side next year.
Power forward Charlie Dixon, intercept defender Aliir Aliir and ruckman Scott Lycett hold the keys for Ken Hinkley as the club looks to rebound from a disappointing 2022.
“The health of their talls is the key here,” Johnson said on SEN’s Sportsday.
“We know they’ve got the star young players (like Connor Rozee and Zak Butters) that we’ve talked about for the last three or four years and they will continue to get better, (plus) Ollie Wines and what he does.
“But it is about Charlie Dixon and whether he can perform well in 22 or 23 outings for the club.
“Aliir Aliir in the back half as well, and Scott Lycett in the ruck.
“So there’s your three that help to shape where this club can go in 2023.”
Johnson feels the club’s younger talls, namely Todd Marshall, can help the team bounce back provided Dixon is fully fit and being a commanding presence in attack.
“Todd Marshall improved this year,” he added.
“I think he’ll get even better with Charlie Dixon down in that (forward) half of the ground. His opponent won’t be as big or as strong and I think he’ll be able to control that matchup a little bit better.”
The Western Bulldogs great briefly assessed Port’s key ins and outs from a personnel point of view while predicting their finishing position for next season.
“Yes, they get Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli, but they lose Karl Amon and Robbie Gray is a big loss for them,” said Johnson.
“I think they’ll finish mid-table. They’ll sit in the middle of the ladder.”
After two straight Preliminary Finals, the Power finished 11th this year with a 10-12 record following a rough start to the season which saw them lose their opening five games.