THE CONTINUED improvement of Ollie Wines, the immediate impact of Sam Powell-Pepper and the return of ruckman Paddy Ryder have been crucial in a revamped Port Adelaide midfield.
But so has been the influence of tough nut Brad Ebert, who is free of his tagging responsibilities and is being deployed more at centre bounces.
Ebert is leading the competition for inside 50s (8.5 per game), in the top 10 in clearances (7.5 per game) and tackles (7.5 per game) and is averaging more than 26 possessions per game in the opening fortnight.
"I'm spending a fair bit of time at centre bounces and inside," Ebert told AFL.com.au.
"Early on in the season last year I was spending a fair bit of time on the wing, but just as players came up in games, I had to stop them and try and close them out a little bit.
"This year, I've got a little bit more freedom in my role in the way that I can play and a lot more time inside as well."
The 27-year-old averaged just 18.4 possessions last year – his lowest average since 2011, which was his final season at West Coast.
He's been a strong contributor in the Power's two wins to start the season against Sydney and Fremantle, and will play another key role in Saturday night's top of the table clash with Adelaide.
The midfield battle will go a long way to determining the result of the 42nd Showdown.
Having Ryder back in the side after serving a 12-month anti-doping suspension has allowed the Power's midfield to get first use of the ball.
"He's been massive, in that you tell him where you want it and nine times out 10 he puts it there," Ebert said of Ryder.
"(Jackson Trengove) did well last year to fight it out and we were able to take that defensive intent on how we set up at stoppages into a guy like Paddy, where he can put it wherever you want.
"You've still got that defensive mindset at stoppages, but then you're able to play a little bit more freely."
The Power appear a different proposition to the side that has struggled over the past two years.
Ebert said the improvement was due to having a full-strength team to choose from, while there had also been a couple of slight strategic changes.
Paddy Ryder has delivered impressive ruck service to his midfield. Picture: AFL Media
"I think we've fine-tuned a couple of areas in the gameplan, and so far they've been working pretty well," Ebert said.
"A bit of that is our ball movement, but a lot of that comes off your defensive intent and defensive shape.
"So far, we've been finding that balance between getting back and playing off that.
"We tried to do it last year, but now we're able to do it more consistently.
"It's not that we have reinvented the wheel, it's just fine-tuning those things and making sure you can do it for longer periods of the match."
