HINKLEY REVEALS WHETHER ROZEE ROLE WILL CONTINUE
Connor Rozee will get a sustained run in the Port Adelaide midfield as Power coach Ken Hinkley looks to continue his side’s improvement they have shown over their past six quarters of footy.
The Power finally claimed their first win of the season with a convincing win over West Coast last weekend.
It followed on from a much improved second half against Carlton the previous week, in which the Power nearly came back from 50-points.
A key feature of these six quarters, which Hinkley said the Power “have been much more pleased with the way that we are going about it” has been Rozee deployed a lot more around the ball.
Prior to halftime against Carlton Rozee had attended just seven centre bounces.
Since then the 22-year-old has attended 29, and has played his best footy of the year.
“We were very pleased with Connor Rozee,” Hinkley said ahead of the Power’s trip to Cairns to take on St Kilda.
“Connor has been in the challenge of the team a little bit, the team hasn’t been flying and we’ve needed to use him in a couple of different spots rather than our preferred spot.
“Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been able to get him around the ball and he’s been able to help us as a team.
“We are optimistic, as we’ve always been, about the younger group of midfielders we have coming through.”
Hinkley said the returns of Robbie Gray and Kane Farrell had allowed the Power to move Rozee into the middle of the ground.
“It’s not too simple but it is part of the reason, Kane Farrell coming back as well who can play as a high half forward,” he said.
“It’s about Travis also being able to play as a high half-forward at times for us.
“Getting your team back obviously helps you play people where you like to play them but also getting them into some form also helps.”
After spending 88 per cent of his time on the field in the midfield in Rounds 1-4 Boak has spent 64 per cent in the midfield in Round 5 and 6.
And his forward time in the last two games is up to 36 per cent.
Hinkley said that was the balance for Boak.
“Not too much more than what he has currently been doing this season, he gets his time as does Ollie in our forward line,” he said.
“It becomes a case of mixing and matching and it is also dependent on the day, what is happening on the day, who is playing well.”
Hinkley was confident that Aliir Aliir would face the Saints after rolling his ankle against the Eagles, while Gray needs to pass some straight-line running drills after he jarred his knee.
Hinkley also said that he was getting more and more optimistic around Charlie Dixon and Orazio Fantasia returning.
“I am optimistic and that hasn’t always been the case,” he said.
“Dixon and Fantasia are moving along quickly … some really promising stuff.
“Whether that is two, three weeks further, I don’t know exactly, but I think it’s getting closer.
“It’s a genuine race right now I reckon, I have got some optimism about them both coming back.”