Last weekend coach Mark Williams suggested the club would pull out all the stops to try and claim the NAB Cup after unexpectedly making it through to the final four.
Motlop, 27, was eligible for selection against the Dogs having served a one-match ban for a crude tackle on Adelaide’s Michael Doughty in the NAB Cup opener three weeks ago.
However the club has opted to give the goalsneak another week on the sidelines to rest a sore glute.
“I’ll have another week off and play next week," Motlop said on Wednesday. "It’s part of the program to rest some of the older blokes and I guess I’m an old bloke now.
“I was only ever going to play a couple of games in the NAB Cup because my main concern is playing 22 games this year.
“It would be nice to win it [the NAB Cup] overall and it would be good for the club and supporters, but the young boys in our team have been going so well that it [resting older players] is probably a good thing for the club.”
Port Adelaide has recalled one senior player for Friday night’s game, naming former captain Warren Tredrea for his first official hit-out this season.
Robbie Gray will also play his first NAB Cup game, while Matthew Lobbe and Jay Nash have been left out.
Fierce tackling and defensive pressure have been highlights of the Power’s new-look game plan this pre-season.
Motlop admitted he got carried away when he laid the spear-tackle on Doughty, but said he would continue to tackle with the same intensity in the future.
“That’s how we’ve been shown tackle, but it just went wrong I guess. I got caught up in the moment and copped a week for it,” Motlop said.
“It was a bit of a technique problem with the tackle. Instead of driving through I lifted him [Doughty] by accident. We still get taught to tackle like that with [assistant coach] Dean Laidley, not so much lift, but to drive through.
“You don’t go out there to deliberately try and hurt someone. Hopefully, it was just a brain freeze and I’ll be right.”
Motlop took to the streets of Adelaide on Wednesday to help promote the Power’s new advertising campaign.
The campaign includes a huge banner of the freakish forward, which has been plastered on the side of one of Adelaide’s main roads.
“I like to just stick at home and stay in my bedroom most of the time, so it’s a bit overwhelming driving down the street and seeing the banner. I’ll just stay out of this area I guess,” Motlop said.
