PORT Adelaide onballer Travis Boak has jumped to the defence of under siege teammates Danyle Pearce, Peter Burgoyne and Josh Carr.
The trio have been singled out in the South Australian media following the Power’s disappointing performance against Melbourne on Sunday.
Pearce, who has been tagged most weeks in the absence of Shaun Burgoyne, was well held by Melbourne onballer Nathan Jones while Burgoyne committed some uncharacteristic skill errors and Carr had just the 10 possessions.
Carr will line-up in his 200th AFL game if selected this week.
Pearce has been a barometer for the Power this season and Boak said criticism of the creative midfielder’s form was unwarranted.
“We think Pearcey’s been one of our best players, not because he is getting 20-plus possessions or he’s not getting 20-plus possessions, but because he’s taking another player out of the play and helping someone else like Kane [Cornes], Dom [Cassisi] or David Rodan around the ball,” Boak said on Wednesday.
“The guys know that he’s probably copped a bit of criticism, but we’re right behind him and we’re really behind Peter and Carry as well.
“We’re going to give Pearcey confidence. We’re going to give him the ball and tell him to run. He’s strong in mind and he’s going to bounce back.”
Boak (knee) got through Wednesday’s training session unscathed and will return to the side to take on West Coast at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
But Matt Thomas, who has also been sidelined with a knee complaint, only completed half the session and left the track after talking to the club doctor.
Nathan Krakouer and Jacob Surjan had lighter sessions, but neither are considered in any doubt.
Boak conceded there were likely to be changes made after the sub-par performance against Melbourne and said draftee Matthew Broadbent was on the verge of making his AFL debut.
“I’ve seen a couple of his [Broadbent’s] games this year and he’s going to be a great player,” Boak said. “I think he’s ready to step up to AFL.”
Boak said he was at a loss to explain the difference between his side’s best and worst.
“If I could put my finger on it [the inconsistency], it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said.
“It’s something we’ve got to look at because in the next couple of weeks we really want to cement our spot. We want to make finals.”
