Alice Springs, Saturday, March 9, 7pm
MISSING
West Coast: Daniel Ker, Nic Naitanui
Port Adelaide: Dom Cassisi, Angus Monfries, John Butcher, Brent Renouf, Tom Logan, Robbie Gray and Nick Salter will all sit out.
LAST WEEK
West Coast: Eagles coach John Worsfold admitted his side was "slow and rusty" last week against Collingwood and was soundly beaten in the midfield. The side's ball movement was disappointing and, while the return of Dean Cox and the continued improvement of Mark LeCras was cause for smile, the Eagles have plenty to work on during the week.
Port Adelaide: Both Port and Melbourne took inexperienced sides to Renmark last weekend, but it was the Demons who handled the pressure better to sneak home with a two-point win. The Power overused the ball and handballed themselves into trouble, which resulted in turnovers and opposition chances. They stormed home after being down by 25 points early in the last, but a poor first half ultimately took its toll.
WHAT THEY SAY
West Coast: "We want another intense hit-out, that's all we're looking for. There's nothing (from last week's loss to Collingwood) that's drastically going to change. Collingwood were very good and very sharp and we were a bit poor in some of our ball movement and some of our decisions." - Eagles coach John Worsfold. ?
Port Adelaide: "We'll be trying to bring our best players in and play our best side we could possibly get on the park [against West Coast], getting ready for the next two weeks and hopefully for round one." - Power coach Ken Hinkley.
WE SAY
West Coast: The Eagles will welcome Adam Selwood and Beau Waters back into the mix against Port, which should significantly help their ball movement out of defence. After a sloppy performance against fellow flag fancies Collingwood, this Eagles will be close to full strength as they set about reaffirming their status as a League heavyweight.
Port Adelaide: Hinkley has flagged a return of Port's stars for this match as the side gears up for round one. Against a genuine 2013 premiership threat, the Power will get their best chance to gauge how far they've advanced over the summer and where they're at compared to the rest of the competition.
