Expectations have been set high for Port Adelaide this season.
Coming off an underwhelming 2022 and a massive trade period, experts around the AFL are calling for big things from the Power this year, with David King going as far as to set their pass mark for the season at a Grand Final appearance.
“Port Adelaide for me, they’ve become the Dallas Cowboys, they’ve got to start winning big games,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“It’s pointless beating the also-rans and running aground when the whips are cracking.
“That’s their big challenge, are they prepared to play like Geelong and trust their back six to get it done, or do they continue to kick to the pockets going inside forward 50 and play a safe brand of footy that is a false defensive model.
“They have to be a top four team minimum, and a pass mark is win a qualifying final and a prelim final.”
With analysts like King and Matt Rendell setting these high marks for the Power, SEN SA’s Michelangelo Rucci has grown concerned that people are expecting too much from the squad.
“This is fascinating when you talk about the opinions in AFL footy… you keep hearing this high expectation on Port Adelaide,” he said on SEN SA’s The Run Home.
“Are we overstating what Port Adelaide is too often?”
Rucci points to the analysis of Collingwood legend Mick McGuane as an example of why the predictions for the Power may be too lofty.
“Then you open up the Newscorp papers and Mick McGuane is now the new analyst… he’s got Port’s midfield ranked at 10,” he said.
“Now you tell me how any team with the 10th best midfield, according to Mick McGuane, can be then regarded as a top four side.”
In particular Rucci is concerned about Port Adelaide’s ruck rotation, even with the return of Scott Lycett.
“Where’s Port with its ruck stocks? We admire Scott Lycett… but he’s had a year out with a shoulder which is not easy to come back from,” he said.
“That’s challenging, what happens if he doesn’t hold up?”
“What’d we see last year, Jeremy Finlayson was superb in the way in which he adapted, but I think we’ve got to be realistic about Jeremy Finlayson this year don’t we? He’s got a fair bit going on elsewhere.
“My real point here is do people overstate Port Adelaide? Is it really a top four list?”
The Power are set to take on West Coast in the first of their pre-season match simulations on February 24.