COACH Mark Williams rates this week’s clash with the Swans as no bigger than any other game Port Adelaide has played this season.
In a match billed as the Power’s toughest test to date, Williams said his team’s preparation had been the same as previous weeks.
“It’s a good challenge for us, but it’s no more or less than that,” he said.
“We’re just looking forward to the opportunity of playing the grand finalists of the last couple of years and to play them on their ground, under a little bit of pressure.”
The 2005 AFL premiers have had a typically slow start to the season with just three wins.But Williams said the Power were geared up to tackle a Swans line-up in full-flight.
“We won’t expect anything less from Sydney than their best game,” Williams said.
“Whether we’re playing Melbourne two weeks ago or the Tigers last week, we’re basing our performance and preparation on them bringing their best game to the table. Anything less is a bonus for us.”
One player who won’t make the trip to the harbour city is Jacob Surjan.
The tenacious defender suffered a badly corked thigh in the Power’s physical main training session and was a noticeable absentee on Friday.
“How it (Surjan’s injury) actually happened was nothing to do with the session, it was just a shepherd and there was no violence in it at all so it was pretty unlucky,” Williams said.
Port Adelaide will travel to Sydney with a squad of 23 players with Brad Symes a strong chance to play his third AFL game of the season.
Steve Salopek will come in for Surjan, but Williams could ring a second change and bring in Symes, a noted defender, at the expense of one of the Power youngsters.
Port Adelaide’s final training session for the week incorporated a lot of possession football as the Power aim to thwart the Swans’ tough and tight game plan.
“Sydney plays that particular style of lots of contested ball and lots of stoppages. You have to be able to play two speeds of footy, two tempos,” Williams said.
“We’ve spent a little time on it, but not too much time. We don’t want to change our ways by practising what they do too often.”
Williams remained coy when asked about Port Adelaide’s potential forward structure on Sunday. The Power enjoys an abundance of forward options, including ruckman Brendon Lade, who proved too much for the Richmond defence last week.
“In the game you’ll start with one structure and change it in five minutes, then you’ll change it again at quarter time. If you’re kicking the goals you’ll keep with it and if you’re not, you’ll change it,” Williams said.
“It could be different people, it could be different numbers in there (the forward line). It’s a little bit dependent on who they’ve got in there and how many times the ball is coming in.”
As expectations increase, the Power are learning to deal with life at the top of the AFL ladder. Port Adelaide has entered its past two games as favourite and now faces a Swans team smarting after two-straight losses.
“We acknowledge the Swans’ need to get their group together and get something happening. Each week every side tries to do something to get a response,” Williams said.
“You have to deal with that all the time so the psychology of that doesn’t go too far. It’s about having your players ready to play and performing well ourselves. What the opposition do and how they prepare themselves really has little consequence on us.”
