JOE Berry is almost certain to debut in round one as Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said both the Power and Collingwood can be winners from the Dan Houston trade.
Berry joined the Power with pick No.15 in last year's Telstra AFL Draft, a selection that came to the Power as part of the complex mega trade that saw Houston get his wish to return to Melbourne and join the Magpies.
Houston will leave a hole for the Power off half-back, as he did in their finals series due to his suspension for a bump on Adelaide's Izak Rankine, but Hinkley told AFL.com.au that Berry would quickly have Port fans excited about his future.
"I'm disappointed and sad Dan has left us, but not in any way surprised he would want to return home. I said this to Dan, and I respect family and talk about care and family all the time," Hinkley said.
"It would be hypocritical if one of my players, even though he's a great player, has come to me and said, 'I'd love to be able to get home' [and we didn't listen]. We were very much in the view that we would do everything we can to get you home as long was the club is rewarded the right way.
"Collingwood are going to be very, very happy with a player like Dan Houston and I will miss him every day as a footballer and person. But the reality is at some point the Port Adelaide people are going to be pretty pumped around Berry, (Jack) Whitlock and (Christian) Moraes, who are young players coming into the club this year because of the Dan Houston situation.
"You have to give all these things time and if you give them time, I think you'll find both clubs are going to end up pretty happy."
Port will rely on more internal growth to replace Houston, with Kane Farrell's left-foot kicking important for the Power off half-back. The club has high hopes that Miles Bergman can join the game's elite off half-back, while Logan Evans was terrific as a mid-season draft pick last year. Josh Sinn, too, has been training off half-back and will get opportunities this year if fit.
Houston will miss Collingwood's Opening Round clash with Greater Western Sydney for the final week of his suspension from last year, meaning his black and white debut - fittingly - will come in round one against Port at the MCG.
Hinkley said he wasn't sure who he would send to Houston when the ball is bounced in the Saturday night clash.
"He doesn't normally go to too many! He's such a good player, he reads the game so well, so he's a hard player. It will be a fascinating match up, it could be Joe Richards standing on Dan Houston, it might be Joe Berry against Dan Houston," he said.
"Dan will also know the talent of some of our players that he won't want to be playing on all the time either. Reality is he's now a Collingwood player and we're going to put Port Adelaide players out there to play on every one of those Collingwood players, not just Dan Houston."
Berry showed glimpses of his classy left-foot disposal, football smarts and elite running in his first competitive hit-out for Port last Friday against Adelaide. And the Power coach only just stopped short of saying his new No.5 was a lock for round one.
"My history would suggest it's pretty close," Hinkley said.
"I genuinely think he's a front of centre footballer. He's a forward more than a mid. You draft a lot of these boys, like Connor (Rozee) and Zak (Butters), they were always going to be midfielders. Joe was drafted as what he's going to be. It doesn't mean he won't pinch hit in the midfield, he's a great runner and decision maker, but he's a scoreboard impact player.
"Maybe he ends up doing a bit like what Rob did at the end and let's hope he has as good as Robbie Gray. That would be nice, but he's a pretty good young player. When you talk about what we lost to get (in the Houston trade), there'll be a time when Port Adelaide people will be sitting there going, 'Gee, I'm glad we've got Joe Berry at our footy club'."
