PORT Adelaide assistant Josh Carr isn't certain that tagging becomes more important during finals, but he knows the Power are lucky to have Willem Drew's lockdown ability as a lever they can pull during September. 

Fresh off an effective run-with job on Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale in a qualifying final, Drew shapes as a key player at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night against Greater Western Sydney's dynamic group of in-form midfielders.

While he flies under the radar publicly, how the Power use Drew this week has been the source of plenty of discussions, and it is likely the Giants would have factored him heavily into their own midfield planning. 

The 24-year-old is far from just a tagger and racked up 20 disposals and eight clearances against the Lions while restricting Neale to 19 and five – both well below his season averages – but it is his lockdown ability that shapes as a key tool for the Power on Saturday night. 

"It's a great balance to have and a great asset to have a player that is able to do that. There's a lot of trust with Drewy that you do know what you're going to get when you set him a task," Carr told AFL.com.au. 

"It's a lever you can pull, and we know he can get a job done. We don't say, 'What are we going to do? Who are we going to use to tag?' We've got Drewy there to do it. 

"We've had a lot of conversations about what we do against GWS this week, but [whether we tag] is a week-to-week thing from my perspective, and it changes from team to team." 

While the Power and Drew were able to limit Neale's influence in last Saturday night's qualifying final, the Lions adjusted and were able to win centre clearances 15-12 and build a significant advantage in scores from stoppages. 

Drew's hard-working role was acknowledged internally, Carr said, with other factors at the source and then down the field contributing to the team's off night. 

There's no shortage of options for Drew this week, with Carr highlighting the inside role of Tom Green against St Kilda and the damaging play of Josh Kelly as two threats the Power need to be alert to. 

Drew has experience now against most dangerous midfielders across the competition after 80 games and the 24-year-old will be well prepared for his role. 

"The way he approaches it is by getting a really good understanding of what he's up against and the type of plan the opposition go in with," Carr said.

"We usually have a conversation at the start of the week about what we're thinking, what he's thinking, and how it is potentially going to look, and whether it's a stoppage role, or outside, or absolute lockdown all over the ground. 

"The weekend was a bit of a hard one and it shows you that tagging someone doesn't necessary stop what the opposition are going to do, or the other players on the team."

Drew's approach to a run-with job, as highlighted by his game against Brisbane, is to go after 50-50 groundballs when they are there to be won and get dangerous when the Power are in possession.  

Having built an ability to fill most midfield roles, he has relished being a lower profile ball-winner who is able to fly under the radar in a midfield that includes celebrated young stars Zak Butters and Connor Rozee.   

"He gets plenty of looks from being that person, but I think he's also happy to complement whatever is needed in the midfield," Carr said.  

"He goes out to a wing and has played the third wing role for a lot of the time this season, so he just goes out there and does his job. Whatever the team needs, he's willing to go there and fix it. 

"He's a laidback country boy. No fuss, but trains hard. Among his own peers there's always a few jokes going around with him and banter between the boys. He's probably on the end of it more than starting it. 

"So he's an important part of us and the team fabric. He is always trying to make the team better."