PORT ADELAIDE will be without star forward Daniel Motlop for its NAB Cup quarter-final against West Coast at Subiaco Oval after he accepted a one-match ban for engaging in rough conduct against Adelaide midfielder Michael Doughty.
Motlop risked a two-match suspension for his slinging tackle on Doughty in the second quarter of the Power's 56-point win if he challenged the charge due to a previous indiscretion last season.
The 27-year-old's decision to accept the ban means he will be able to take his place in the side to face North Melbourne in round one of the home-and-away season.
He will now have 64.06 demerit points hanging over his head for the next 12 months.
PORT ADELAIDE star Daniel Motlop looks set to miss the Power's second-round NAB Cup clash against West Coast at Subiaco Oval after being hit with a one-match ban by the match review panel.
Motlop has been charged with a Level One engaging in rough conduct offence for a slinging tackle on Adelaide midfielder Michael Doughty during Port's 56-point victory on Saturday.
The incident was assessed as reckless conduct, low impact and body contact which equates to 125 demerit points. Carryover points from the past 12 months brought the total to 218.7 points.
The classy forward will miss just the match against the Eagles if he enters an early guilty plea but if he elects to contest the charge he risks a two-match suspension.
If Motlop takes the charge to the tribunal and loses and West Coast defeats Port, he will have to sit out the opening round of the season proper.
Four other incidents were assessed but Essendon young gun Kyle Reimers, Adelaide's Jared Petrenko, Hawthorn vice-captain Luke Hodge and Western Bulldogs ruckman Ben Hudson were cleared of any wrongdoing.
It was the view of the panel that contact between Reimers and Eagles forward Josh Kennedy was below that required to be a reportable offence.
Petrenko was deemed to have had his eyes on the ball when he knocked over Jasper McMillan-Pittard in a marking contest,
The panel said Hodge did not have a realistic alternative way to contest the ball against Richmond midfielder Richard Tambling and that Tambling contributed to the high contact while Hudson's action against Brisbane's James Polkinghorne was ruled to not be a striking motion.
PORT ADELAIDE has kicked off its NAB Cup campaign with a 56-point demolition of Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Power broke the game wide open in the third quarter before going on to prevail 2.15.15 (123) to 1.8.10 (67).
Mark Williams’ men will now face West Coast at Subiaco Oval in a fortnight while the Crows will clash with the loser of St Kilda v Collingwood in a NAB Challenge match in Alice Springs.
Port had nine individual goal kickers for the match - Justin Westhoff the most effective with three while promising youngsters Mitch Banner, Cameron Hitchcock, Daniel Stewart and Wade Thomson chipped in with two apiece.
Travis Boak showed his class with 21 possessions while Nathan Krakouer generated plenty of run from defence with 20 disposals.
For the Crows, skipper Simon Goodwin collected 22 disposals and booted a super goal while Patrick Dangerfield also helped himself to 22 possessions.
Bernie Vince, Brett Burton and Chris Knights kicked two goals each.
Adelaide kicked the first goal of the match through Knights at the five-minute mark but the rest of the term belonged to the Power.
Port suffocated the Crows’ running game with their relentless pressure, dominated the clearances and moved the football well as they slammed on four of the last six goals of the quarter - one of which was a super goal from skipper Domenic Cassisi - to go into the first change with a 16-point advantage.
The Crows won more of the football in the second term and closed to within eight points thanks to majors from Vince and Burton who converted a set shot from an acute angle.
The Power struggled to play with the same level of fluidity that they did in the opening stanza but they hung tough and went into the main break with a handy 14-point break after Banner kicked a late goal.
Knights booted his second on the back of a soft free kick before Port took control of the contest.
They won the clearances 12-3, the inside 50 count 16-6 and piled on seven unanswered goals.
Thomson got Port going with two goals in the space of a minute before Westhoff kicked the last three majors of the quarter to give his side a match-winning 57-point lead at three-quarter time.
ADELAIDE: 0.3.3, 0.6.7, 0.7.7, 1.8.10 (67)
PORT ADELAIDE: 1.4.4, 1.7.6, 1.14.13, 2.15.15 (123)
SUPER GOALS: ADELAIDE : Goodwin
PORT ADELAIDE: Cassisi 2
GOALS: ADELAIDE: Vince 2, Knights 2, Burton 2, Douglas, Walker
PORT ADELAIDE:Westhoff 3, Banner 2, Thompson 2, Hitchcock 2, Stewart 2, Boak, Ebert, Schulz, Logan
BEST: ADELAIDE: Goodwin, Dangerfield, Douglas, Vince
PORT ADELAIDE: Krakouer, Boak, Salopek, Cassisi, Westhoff, Banner, Hitchcock
INJURIES: ADELAIDE: Nil
PORT ADELAIDE: Brogan (quad), Hitchcock (shoulder)
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Jeffery, Hay, Mitchell
CROWD: TBC
PORT ADELAIDE has secured the first of its joint major sponsors for the 2010 season.
South Australian-based business myATM has joined the Power on a five-year deal.
The news is a massive boost for Port after Vodafone and Bianco Construction Supplies cut ties with the club during the off-season.
myATM helps finance and place ATM machines in locations independent of the major banks, including retail outlets.
DOMENIC Cassisi has been reappointed captain of Port Adelaide and will be supported by two new deputies in Dean Brogan and Jacob Surjan.
Cassisi - a 149-game veteran - replaced Warren Tredrea as skipper in 2009.
Brogan was drafted as a rookie from South Adelaide at the end of 2000 after winning an NBL championship with the Adelaide 36ers, while Surjan was recruited via the 2004 pre-season draft.
Port coach Mark Williams said the results of a pyschological profile questionnaire showed the trio were ideal leaders.
"It stands out that these three guys are the most dominant, most vocal, best communicators and are comfortable in their own skin as far as where they sit within the organisation and the AFL world," Williams said.
Cassisi, who won the 2009 Fos Williams medal for best team man as voted by his teammates, said he is excited about heading into his second year as captain.
"Last year being my first year as captain I took time to develop and learn what was required both on and off the field. With a year now under my belt I'm really excited about this year and already feel a lot more comfortable in the role,” Cassisi said.
Below Cassisi, Brogan and Surjan is a group of 10 players that have been identified as having leadership qualities.
Williams said the club would provide them with extra support to ensure they are ready for a leadership role in the future.
PORT ADELAIDE youngster Hamish Hartlett is likely to miss the majority of the Power's NAB Cup campaign after suffering a hamstring injury at training.
The promising 19-year-old midfielder, who was taken with pick four in the 2008 national draft, was restricted to just 11 games during his debut season due to hamstring problems.
Port fitness coach Cameron Falloon said he expects Hartlett to be fit for the season opener against North Melbourne.
"He has done a standard hammy but it is different to the previous ones he has had," Falloon said.
"It will be a four-weeker so he won't be around for the start of the NAB Cup but could play at some stage. He has to go through the rehabilitation process and will have two months to get himself right for round one."
PORT ADELAIDE midfielder David Rodan has undergone radical surgery on his left knee in a bid to play in 2010.
The 26-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a training drill on Wednesday.
In a statement the club said Rodan underwent 'successful' LARS surgery on Thursday night.
The surgery involves inserting a synthetic ligament to replace the torn ligament.
It's the same procedure that was performed on hard-running Sydney defender Nick Malceski who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2008 pre-season and played just three months later.
A conventional knee reconstruction will usually keep a player sidelined for 12 months.
Rodan, who has played 131 games since making his AFL debut with Richmond in 2002, underwent a traditional reconstruction of his right knee during the 2005 pre-season.
PORT ADELAIDE midfielder David Rodan is likely to miss all of the 2010 season after suffering a serious knee injury at training on Wednesday morning.
The 26-year-old had scans on his left knee this afternoon which confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament.
Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said that Rodan will undergo a knee reconstruction, the details of which will be finalised in the next week.
"The whole club is extremely disappointed for David and his family," Rohde said.
"He’s proven to be a key player in our midfield since joining the club in 2007, with the ability to consistently break lines and carry the football.
"All we are concerned about at the moment is getting David’s knee successfully reconstructed and putting a rehabilitation program in place to assist in his recovery."
In 2005 Rodan injured his right knee while playing for Richmond and underwent a reconstruction.
Rodan, who played 19 matches in 2009, led the club in clearances and was third in handballs and hardball gets.
He made his AFL debut in 2002 and played 65 games in five seasons with the Tigers before joining Port Adelaide where he has managed 66 appearances.
PORT ADELAIDE will play in a predominantly black jumper next season.
The jumper which features a teal and white 'V' is heavily based on the design worn by the Power in rounds 16 and 17 this year. That jumper was created by seven-year-old Lucy Burford, who won the club's 'Planet Teal' guernsey design competition for South Australian primary school students.
The club expects to wear the black jumper in at least 18 games next season while a white design with a black and teal 'V' and black side panels will be the Port Adelaide's clash jumper.
Power chief executive Mark Haysman said the club had received 'universal support' for the new strip.
"There is something instinctively Port Adelaide about this jumper," Haysman said.
"Some people have also observed the guernsey resembles the SA State jumper in Port Adelaide colours. Given the iconic place of our club in the history and fabric of SA football it's a very nice co-incidence."
Haysman said Port had no plans to change the design of their guernsey in the future.
"It's very much a long-term play and we don't anticipate changing our guernsey again for many, many, manys years - if ever," he said.
"We think in time that this will become one of the strongest and most popular guernseys in the AFL."
The Power's previous main jumper - which the club wore when they won the 2004 premiership - will be used on special occasions such as rivalry round.
Meanwhile, Lucy has been named as Port Adelaide's number one Junior (Planet Teal) ticketholder while her family will be lifetime Platinum Members of club.
FORMER Geelong champion Garry Hocking has joined Port Adelaide's coaching panel.
The 41-year-old, who was named the 2009 coach of the year in the TAC Cup competition for his work with the Geelong Falcons, will work alongside Darren Trevena in player development at the Power.
Hocking has coached the Falcons for the past four years and has seen 15 of his players drafted to AFL lists during that period.
Port football operations manager Peter Rohde said Hocking's record of developing young players was 'exceptional'.
"We anticipate he will be very good for our younger players, which is certainly where we are putting our focus," Rohde said.
"The Falcons staff and players speak very highly of Garry, including Travis Boak, who Garry coached in 2006."
"Garry is also a very experienced football person who along with Dean Laidley will really add to our coaching group."
Hocking played 274 games for the Cats between 1987 and 2001, captained the club, was a four-time club best-and-fairest winner and earnt All-Australian honours on four occasions.
PORT ADELAIDE has signed former US College basketballer Daniel Bass on a rookie contract.
Bass was born and raised in Melbourne but has spent the past four years playing basketball for Metro State University in Denver, Colorado.
The fact that the 22-year-old had not been registered with any football league for more than three years meant he could be selected by the Power without going through the draft system.
Despite having a limited football background, the 198cm, 100kg athlete impressed in a mid-season try-out with the club.
Bass is the second former basketballer the club has taken a punt on - 2004 premiership ruckman Dean Brogan - who won an NBL Championship with the Adelaide 36ers in 1998 - was recruited to Alberton with pick 26 in the 1999 rookie draft before being promoted to the club's senior list in 2001.
Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said Bass was 'familiar with footy' but the club didn't expect too much from him early on.
“We see Daniel as a medium-term ruck project for us - we certainly don’t have high expectations for the coming season, but we think it could be a two-to-three year development process instead of a four-to-five year one," Rohde said.
Bass will commence training with the Port Adelaide's second to four year players on Monday.
PORT ADELAIDE has delisted two senior players and two rookies.
Nick Lower and Jonathan Giles and rookies Matthew Martin and Jesse Laurie have been cut.
Lower was taken with pick 30 in the 2005 national draft and played 20 games for the Power including five this season.
Giles was recruited from Central District with selection 50 in the 2005 national draft but failed to play a game for the club.
Meanwhile, ruckman Daniel Stewart has been promoted to Port's senior list.
Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said Stewart had earned his chance at AFL level.
"Daniel has come on in leaps and bounds over the course of the season and the reward is this spot on the senior list," Rohde said.
"We see him as a developing key forward and ruck option for us."
PORT ADELAIDE forward Warren Tredrea has won his fourth John Cahill Medal as the Power's best-and-fairest.
Tredrea polled 103 votes to claim the top honour ahead of dual best-and-fairest winner Kane Cornes (100).
Defender Troy Chaplin finished third in the count with 92 votes while Jacob Surjan and Robbie Gray were equal fourth with 91 votes.
The former Port skipper, who enjoyed an injury free season for the first time in many years, won his previous three Power John Cahill Medal's in 2001, 2004 and 2005.
Tredrea led the club's goal kicking this year with 51 goals - the eighth time he has led Port Adelaide in that category but the first time since 2005.
He recently re-signed with the club and will become the first Power player to reach 250 games.
In other awards, captain Domenic Cassisi won a second successive Fos Williams Medal as the player’s choice for the club’s best team man, Travis Boak collected the Gavin Wanganeen Medal for the best player aged under 21, the most improved award went to Robbie Gray while Hamish Hartlett was named best first-year player.
John Cahill Medal Top 10
1st - Warren Tredrea (103 votes)
2nd - Kane Cornes (100 votes)
3rd - Troy Chaplin (92 votes)
4th - Robbie Gray (91 votes)
4th - Jacob Surjan (91 votes)
6th - Travis Boak (81 votes)
7th - Domenic Cassisi (78 votes)
8th - Alipate Carlile (73 votes)
8th - Danyle Pearce (73 votes)
10th - David Rodan (70 votes)
Other award winners:
Fos Williams Medal: Domenic Cassisi
Gavin Wanganeen Medal: Travis Boak
Most improved award: Robbie Gray
Best first-year player: Hamish Hartlett
TonyK
Cibbuano
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