The Power prospect that premiership skipper expects rival clubs to target this off-season

Two-time premiership skipper Mark Bickley expects four-game Port Adelaide ruckman Dante Visentini to get a lot of enquiries from rival clubs this off-season.

The 21-year-old played the fourth game of his career in Friday’s six-point win over Geelong at GMHBA Stadium, finishing with 10 disposals, 31 hitouts (10 to advantage) and four tackles.

He also clearly beat Geelong’s Rhys Stanley who was subbed out after a half of footy due to his lack of impact.

While Visenini showed he can play at the level, he’s behind both Ivan Soldo and Jordon Sweet on the club’s ruck depth chart and Bickley thinks that clubs could look at him to at least become a first-choice backup.

“What will happen I think is at the end of the year, there will be a lot of enquiries,” the former Adelaide captain told SEN SA Breakfast.

“What we saw on the weekend (was impressive), and also go back to the last game that he played against Geelong, he was really serviceable in that with 31 hitouts and 10 to advantage. Rhys Stanley, who's an experienced player, was subbed out pretty much after a half of footy.

“All the reports from everyone at Port Adelaide say, ‘He's big, he's aggressive, he's a great young man’. So clubs will notice that.”

Looking around the AFL now, first-choice options Stanley, Soldo, Marc Pittonet, Darcy Cameron, Jarrod Witts, Lloyd Meek, Toby Nankervis and others all moved clubs early in their careers for greater opportunity and Bickley could see Visentini following that same path.

He thinks that clubs will continue targeting ruckmen like the Power prospect who have already completed their development at another club.

“With ruckmen, the way that it works generally in the AFL teams are hesitant to draft them because they're generally three or four years of development before you even get any semblance of being able to play in the AFL,” Bickley explained.

“If you think of Sam Hayes who was a two-time All-Australian ruckman (as a junior), Port Adelaide invested five or six years and then it just didn't work out. That's five years of investment gone.

“The better way to do it which teams look at now is get the understudy to someone and go grab them like Hawthorn did with Lloyd Meek.

“He was behind Sean Darcy at Fremantle, you say, ‘Come and play for us’.

“That's what the Adelaide did with Sam Jacobs, there’s been lots and lots of ruckmen that have changed clubs."

Bickley even threw up Geelong as a potential landing spot for the youngster as Stanley, 33, comes to the end of his career.

“Let's take Geelong, they need a ruckman,” Bickley said.

“They would look at that and say, ‘Boy, here's a 20-21 year old, a young guy who could develop into our number one ruckman and be with us for the next eight years’.

“He’s turn-key, ready to go next year.”

Visentini is currently contracted with Port Adelaide until the end of the 2025 season.

He’ll hope to keep his spot for the club’s game against Hawthorn at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday despite Sweet recovering from the illness that saw him miss the Geelong game.