Port Adelaide Power News

John Butcher and David Rodan are place on Port Adelaide's long-term injury list allowing the likes of former Blue Cameron Cloke and livewire forward Cameron Hitchcock to likely be elevated to Port Adelaide's primary list.

"We'll definitely upgrade someone in the next two weeks. Cloke and Hitchcock are the two that are at the forefront now. It'll depend on needs and who we're playing that week, but both of them have shown enough form to get upgraded," Power coach Williams said.

Kane Cornes says he has little respect for the opinion of former Crows captain Chris McDermott's who was critical of his kicking technique.

"I'll keep listening to my coaches and my teammates and as long as I'm doing my bit for the team and the team is winning and performing well, I'm happy," Cornes said.

"Chris McDermott's opinion on the scale of people who are important and people I listen to is as low as you can get."

Only 11 weeks after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament, David Rodan has resumed training with his teammates.

"This morning when the whole team found out that he was going to train with us it brought a smile to everyone's face. He looked a bit nervous. I was sitting there watching him and I gave him a word or two here and there," teammate Danyle Pearce said.

"I don't think even David has a [return] date in his mind. He's just taking it week by week and seeing how the knee pulls up after every session. He's really looking forward to getting back and he just wants to get back into his normal routine."

Travis Boak says he has no interest in joining the competition's new franchise and wants to stay at Port Adelaide for as long as he can.

"I've been reading about it in the newspaper and it's been interesting reading, but I just laugh it off. I have no real interest at all in going there, so it's funny reading about it," Boak said.

"I love it over here in Adelaide. I'm really enjoying it and I don't want to go anywhere. I'd be happy to stay as long as I can and with a young group coming through at the club, it's going to be fantastic to be a part of that."

First-round draft pick John Butcher will play no part for Port Adelaide in its NAB Cup campaign after suffering a back injury.

"John had back problems a couple of years ago. When we brought him here we put him on a program to keep the strength in his back, but being a long, tall, thin bloke he's going to be prone to back soreness until we strengthen him up," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"He's had all the tests done and the injury is nothing major. There's no fracture there but he's getting some soreness, so it's a warning sign that he needs to ease back. We'll have to build him up and condition him quite slowly."

Port Adelaide assistant Matthew Primus says Justin Westhoff is looming as an attractive option for the Power in the ruck.

"Westy's caught in between [positions] at the moment. Teams have had some great success over the last couple of years playing those kinds of [versatile] players in the ruck," Primus said.

"We thought Westy was just going to pinch-hit in a couple of games, but he really impressed in our internal trial and he had a good quarter or so against the Crows.

"We haven't played him in the ruck too much, so he's learning all about it at the moment but he certainly gives us something that the big hulking ruckmen don't."

Port Adelaide assistant coach Matthew Primus says midfielder Josh Carr will have to work hard for his opportunities this year.

"No player is just going to be given a game and Josh is going to have to work pretty hard for it. He's fighting with a lot of young guys to get a position," Primus said on Monday.

"We've got a lot of young kids and we want to get some games into them if their form says they're good enough to play."

Port Adelaide forward Robbie Gray is set to miss a second straight week of NAB Cup action after having his appendix removed.

Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop has accepted a one-game suspension for his crude tackle on Michael Doughty in the Power's NAB Cup win over Adelaide.

Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop could miss his side's NAB Cup match against West Coast after being charged with rough conduct following a crude spear tackle on Crow Michael Doughty.

Warren Tredrea expresses anger that a merger between the Power and the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL was rejected and says he will not play for another SANFL club if the Port Adelaide Magpies fold next year.

"There's only one club [for me] in the SANFL and that's the team I've followed. It'll be interesting if I decide to play on next year what SANFL club I'll have to visit because I can guarantee you I won't be going to any other club," Tredrea said.

"When my dad texted me a couple of nights ago and told me [the merger had been voted down] I couldn't believe it. As someone who was involved in it I was bitterly disappointed and to see [Magpies legend] Russell Ebert's face yesterday, it was pretty shattering.

"I just think it was a bit on envy and self-focus that has led to that decision being made. I don't think the overall picture of South Australian football has been looked after at all."

Justin Westhoff impresses in Port Adelaide's internal trial and may emerge as a backup ruckman to Dean Brogan.

"Justin is a very smart player. He's got great running power and agility, so [playing him in the ruck] is certainly a good thought," Power coach Mark Williams said.

Brothers Chad Cornes and Kane Cornes were dropped from Port Adelaide's leadership group.

Dom Cassisi has been re-appointed Port Adeladie captain, and has two new vice-captains in Dean Brogan and Jacob Surjan.

The trio were selected based on the input of the Power's new leadership mentors consisting of former national women's basketball coach Jan Stirling and coach Mark Williams' sister, Jenny.

"It stands out that these three guys are the most dominant, most vocal, best communicators and are comfortable in their own skin as far as where they sit within the organisation and the AFL world," Williams said.

Power youngster Hamish Hartlett will sit out the NAB Cup as the club tries to get him right for round one.

"Choco laid down the law after this most recent injury. He said I would only be training every second day and would never do two sessions in one day. I certainly won't be training hard one day and hard again the next. I'll be having one day off in between," Hartlett said.

"Obviously I'm not capable of putting up with the workload of a full AFL pre-season yet. It's something the club will work with me over the next year or two to overcome. I've got to do other things to keep my body in check and keep on top of it all."

David Rodan is 'blown away' by his rapid recovery from radical knee surgery, but says he cannot put a date on his comeback yet.

"I'd love to say I can be back in 12 weeks, but I really don't know," Rodan said.

"It's obviously something new to all of us, so [the doctors and I] are just going through it week to week. It's pretty mind blowing how quickly my recovery has been fast-tracked, but until I can do the stuff I used to do I won't come back."

David Rodan is running despite having major knee surgery in December, but Port Adelaide will not rush him into playing.

"I'm sure our supporters will be excited to see David running around, but it's all pretty measured and we won't be pushing him before he's ready," Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams said.

Despite being the only experienced ruckman at Port Adelaide, Dean Brogan is still feeling pressure to perform.

"In the past we'd go into the season with myself and Ladey and if one of us went down the other would step up. Now, it's me and then six other guys fighting for a position," Brogan said.

"It's pretty competitive and I need to make sure I'm on my A-game because if I don't stay sharp and keep improving my spot will be gone."

Exciting Port Adelaide midfield prospect Hamish Hartlett will miss most of his side's pre-season campaign after injuring his hamstring at training.

"It will be a four-weeker, so he won't be around for the start of the NAB Cup, but could play at some stage. He has to go through the rehabilitation process and will have two months to get himself right for round one," Power fitness coach Cam Falloon said.

Impressed with the continued development of Matthew Lobbe, Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams has pencilled him as second ruck in 2010 next to chief big man Dean Brogan.

"Right now, Matthew Lobbe will be taking the second ruck spot and he'll get the opportunity to do that," Williams said.

"We're going to have a lot of versatility in the ruck. No one will know exactly what we're doing and right now I don't know either."

Port Adelaide midfielder David Rodan has successfully undergone the same radical LARS (Ligament Augmentation and Reconstruction System) knee surgery as Swans defender Nick Malceski in a bid to be back by mid-season in 2010.

"We're going to take it week-by-week and that's exactly how it will be managed. We're not putting any timeframe on when David may be able to return. It's purely going to be based on how he recovers," Port Adelaide doctor Mark Fisher said.

"He'll be up and about a lot sooner but the best-case scenario is that we have David up and playing some sort of football at some level by the middle of next season."

Daniel Motlop had no hesitation in supporting Dean Laidley's move to Port Adelaide, despite the pair's acrimonious history when he left North Melbourne to join the Power.

"The club spoke to me and asked, 'what if we got Dean over here? Would it be awkward?' and I said 'no' . . . He's a great coach and a quality person," Motlop said.

"Dean was good to me at North Melbourne and I enjoyed my time with him. I've always said he's a good coach - probably the best I've had."

Port Adelaide has trimmed Kane Cornes, Chad Cornes and Daniel Motlop from a leadership group expected to retain Domenic Cassisi as skipper.

"I had five or six great years in the leadership group and really enjoyed my time, but probably with the stage the footy club is at and how young the group is it's time to give someone else a go," Kane Cornes said.

"We need to develop these guys as quick as we can because that's going to be the best thing for the footy club going forward. It's pretty exciting with the new leadership structure."

Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop says injuries have prevented him from getting the most out of pre-season training which led to an unflattering photo of him in the newspapers showing him out of shape.

"It was a nice photo wasn't it?" Motlop laughed.

"I wasn't able to do a lot over the break. I was restricted to walking and even then my ankle would get sore after a half-an-hour or so. I really got told just to rest and give my body time to heal.

"It was only November at that stage so it gives me a chance to get some weight off."

Port Adelaide midfielder David Rodan is likely to miss the 2010 season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during training.

"The whole club is extremely disappointed for David and his family," the club's football operations manager, Peter Rohde, said.

"All we are concerned about at the moment is getting David's knee successfully reconstructed and putting a rehabilitation program in place to assist in his recovery."

Former Brisbane Lion Scott Harding has joined Port Adelaide training at the last minute with a view to being drafted on Tuesday in the rookie/pre-season drafts.

Former Port Adelaide player Fabian Francis has pleaded not guilty to four rape charges and other offences.

Port Adelaide is appearing unlikely to select Cameron Cloke in the coming pre-season and rookie drafts, preferring instead to re-select the recently delisted Glenn Dawson as a rookie.

Talk of being traded has encouraged Port Adelaide forward Brett Ebert to work hard this off-season.

"In the past I tended to see the time off as a break and that was it," he said.

"I'd still work hard and do what I had to do, but this time around I wanted to do all the little extra bits and all of the recovery, so I'd have no excuses next year."

Port Adelaide has delisted forward Glenn Dawson, fuelling speculation the club will take ex-Blue Cameron Cloke in the NAB AFL Pre-season Draft.

"The club has decided it would like a pick in the pre-season draft and to do that we needed to delist a player," football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"Unfortunately that player is Glenn Dawson. Glenn played most of the season in the Woodville-West Torrens reserves and is currently overcoming a bout of glandular fever."

Delisted Carlton ruckman Cameron Cloke is still on Port Adelaide's radar, despite not being selected in last week's AFL Draft.

Port Adelaide's top draft pick John Butcher says he will work with coach Mark Williams to improve his goalkicking that saw him slide from a potential top pick to No. 8 in the 2009 NAB AFL draft.

"I've got an indifferent ball drop, but the statistics probably show up a little bit better than what people made out this year," Butcher said.

"I don't think my kicking is too much of a problem. Even just training six or seven days a week [compared to one] is going to improve my kicking a lot. I haven't really had a pre-season over the last two years, so I'll be looking to get in plenty of practice."

Port Adelaide recruit Jasper McMillan-Pittard says his size, or lack thereof, is no big deal.

"Knowing how slight I was, I didn't want to focus on my weight. I wanted to focus on my speed and my endurance and that's how I was able to play at senior level," he said.

"It's going to be different at SANFL and AFL level because the bodies are far bigger than in the senior competition I've played in, but I feel I can take the body contact and it's not too much of a big deal for me."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says his club will use pick No.8 to select Gippsland forward John Butcher with a view to eventually replacing club stalwart Warren Tredrea.

"I saw him play a few games and he needs to work on his kicking there's no doubt, but he can pick the ball up off the ground and he could develop into a really great forward," Williams said.

"He can take a contested mark. He jumps into packs and knocks people over."

Former Port Adelaide star Fabian Francis has been ordered to stand trial for rape.

Power fitness coach Cam Falloon says veteran Chad Cornes is over his knee injury and has had his best off-season in three years.

"He's done a lot of work and his body is sound. He's trimmed down a little bit and his knee is fantastic," Falloon said.

"Chad's very confident in his body. He put a lot of miles into his legs over the off-season and he's had no niggles. He's in a completely different place to the last few pre-seasons."

Hawthorn fails in its bid to lure Brendan Lade out of retirement to join them as a ruckman after Lade accepted a position as assistant coach of Richmond.

"It won't happen," Lade's manager Justin Reid said.

"You can quote me confidently that he will be coaching at Richmond and won't be coming out of retirement."

Wayne Carey admits to threatening umpire Darren Goldspink with violence in his new autobiography after being frustrated with negating tactics by Port Adelaide's Stephen Paxman.

"I called him a mongrel and a weak prick and everything in between. I totally lost my cool. 'Can't you see what's going on? He's not here to play football, he's trying to wrestle me to the ground. Is there any chance of a bit of protection just once today?''' Carey wrote in his book.

"In fact, he came back at me by saying, 'Get a kick, Carey. What are you f------- whingeing to me about'.

"That made me see red. It was bad enough that I wasn't being paid a free kick. But to have Goldspink start sledging me on top of that, well that was too much to bear. It was deadset on. I said to him: 'I'd bash you're f------- head in if I wasn't on this ground, you f----- weed.'"

Hawthorn recruit Shaun Burgoyne will have to watch his new teammates train from the sidelines with crutches as he completes his recovery from knee surgery.

"I wanted to get rid of it two weeks ago but the doctors made me keep it for precautionary reasons," he said.

"So I had six weeks on with two crutches and two weeks with one, but in terms of walking around and being pain free, I can do that normally but I was being precautionary and taking things a bit slower."

TAC Cup coach of the year Garry Hocking has joined Port Adelaide as a development coach.

"Garry's record of developing players at the Geelong Falcons is exceptional," Power football manager Peter Rohde said.

"We anticipate he will be very good for our younger players, which is certainly where we are putting our focus."

Port Adelaide has delisted Nick Lower, Jonathan Giles, Matthew Martin and Jesse Laurie while Daniel Stewart has been upgraded from the rookie list.

"Both Jon and Nick have been quality people to have around the footy club, and we thank them for that and wish them all the best," football operations manager Peter Rohde said of Giles and Lower.

Shaun Burgoyne says close ties with old Port heads now working for the Hawks that made Hawthorn an attractive option.

"I've got a good relationship with Clarko and a few of the other boys from Port (Adelaide) who are there now,'' he said.

"You look at their team, they've got great youth in the team and they've got some great senior players and I think they're going to have some success in the next few years.''

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says Campbell Brown was never offered to Port Adelaide in the trade for Shaun Burgoyne despite claims by the Power to the contrary.

"Sending out players of that quality - it affects the culture of your club too much and we weren't going to do that with five quality players in our footy club, who are just so important to our culture," Clarkson said.

"Campbell Brown is certainly one of those and you saw the reaction of our supporters and everyone involved in the football industry when Campbell was being [talked about] as part of the trade, because Port was really interested in getting him to their club, and fair enough too."

Only a two-hour mediation session involving three clubs and Shaun Burgoyne's management kept the former Power player's hopes of arriving at Hawthorn alive.

"To my recollection, this is the first one where we've actually ordered a mediation to take place," AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said.

"It's a real credit to the clubs involved that they were open-minded to the process of mediation, and participated in it in good faith and assisted them in coming to a solution."

Port Adelaide onballer Shaun Burgoyne will join Hawthorn next season as part of a four-club trade.

The deal will also sees Hawk forward Mark Williams sign a three-year deal with Essendon while Bomber Jay Nash moves to Port Adelaide.

Port Adelaide also receive two first-round draft picks: No.9 (from Hawthorn) and 16 (from Essendon, on-traded by Hawthorn).

Geelong, the fourth club involved in the trade, will swap draft pick 33 in exchange for three additional picks. The Cats took draft selections 40 and 56 from Port Adelaide, and 42 from Essendon.

Richmond's Jay Schulz will head to Port Adelaide in exchange for Mitch Farmer.

Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde says Hawthorn hadn't put Campbell Brown on its untouchable list for a Shaun Burgoyne deal and was thus approached by them.

Speculation that Brown had been offered for trade sparked a furore among Hawks supporters leading Hawthorn president to declare on SEN radio that Campbell had not, at any stage, been offered for trade.

"There were a group of players that were untouchable and if you look at Hawthorn's list you can figure out the most obvious ones. Other than that they were prepared to trade anyone off their list," Rohde said.

"We probably had a preference for a couple of players that were on Hawthorn's untouchable list, but it got to the start of this week and they made it pretty clear they weren't willing to trade a couple of players we were chasing. So we turned our attention to Campbell Brown and made contact with him."

Port Adelaide was interested in Campbell Brown as part of a deal for Shaun Burgoyne, but its approach has been denied after a lack of interest by Brown in moving to Alberton.

"Port Adelaide raised their interest in the versatile defender with Brown's management at Elite Sports Properties," a statement by Hawthorn read.

"However, Brown expressed his desire to stay at Hawthorn and he re-affirmed his commitment to the club in talks with club officials today."

Hawthorn's president says reports that the club has offered Campbell Brown as part of a trade deal for Port Adelaide's Shaun Burgoyne are not true.

"The story is wrong, wrong, wrong," Kennett said.

"Young Campbell is going nowhere - his future is with Hawthorn. His name wasn't offered up, so let's just get that absolutely factually clear."

After the first day of trade week, Power football operations manager Peter Rohde says the club will look elsewhere if an agreement cannot be made with Hawthorn in a trade for Shaun Burgoyne.

"We're confident things are moving in the right direction, but we're a fair way away from having it resolved," Rohde said.

"The problem is, as the week goes on, we can't afford to let time get out of the way.

"We'll be meeting again with Hawthorn in the next 24 hours and if it progresses, it progresses - if it doesn't, we're going to have to go elsewhere."

Trade week begins and Port Adelaide football manager Peter Rohde says although Shaun Burgoyne wants to head to Hawthorn, both team have not been close to an agreement yet.

"Obviously Shaun's indicated where he wants to go, but there's three parties that have to be involved in a trade - two clubs and a player," he said.

"We haven't moved very far in the last few days but we're hoping that once the clock starts ticking in trade week that we'll get somewhere."

In his first year since relinquishing the captaincy, Warren Tredrea has won Port Adelaide's best and fairest finishing 3 votes ahead of runner up Kane Cornes.

"I thought I was washed up two years ago, so to win this is a huge honour," Tredrea said.

Shaun Burgoyne has informed Port Adelaide he would prefer to be traded to Hawthorn.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says he is pleased to have Dean Laidley join the Power's coaching panel.

"I was desperate to try and get Dean to come," Williams said.

"We have great assistant coaches but in the scheme of trying to improve we wanted to get Dean, who has not only been an outstanding senior coach but also an outstanding assistant coach.

"He will challenge us and the way we actually play. There's a whole lot of things that are in Dean's coaching that aren't in ours.

Former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley will be in charge of strategy and innovation at the Power next season after taking up an assistant role at Port Adelaide.

In addition, Laidley will also be aiding Matthew Primus in coaching the midfield on match days.

Jesper Fjeldstad reports that Shaun Burgoyne's exit from the Power has its origins in player friction that developed as a result of the 2007 grand final disaster.

The Bombers have met with Power's Shaun Burgoyne's management in a bid to entice him to join their club.

"Shaun wants to move to Melbourne and we are one of the three clubs that he has expressed an interest in joining," Essendon general manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said.

"Naturally there is plenty to discuss and work through and we will just have to wait and see if he wants to come to the Bombers and if we can secure a suitable deal."

Port Adelaide has re-signed Danyle Pearce, Warren Tredrea, Michael Pettigrew, Tom Logan and Matthew Lobbe to new deals.

"From a personal point of view I was satisfied with my form and fitness this year and I can't wait to start pre-season and build towards 2010," Tredrea said.

"I'm also looking forward to helping with the development our young players, who really are the core of our playing group now."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says he will not accept a bargain price in a trade for his star midfielder Shaun Burgoyne after speculation that Hawthorn would offer its pick at No. 9 in the national draft.

"History will show that Chris Judd cost Carlton pick No.3 as well as Josh Kennedy, so I wouldn't think that pick No.9 would be a good match," Williams wrote on the AFL website.

"I'm not interested in a blue-sky pick. The team that gets him will be very, very lucky. Shaun Burgoyne is a very determined person."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Brendon Lade's decision to become an assistant coach at Punt Road is a good move for the recently-retired ruckman.

"Ladey was a little unsure as to whether he would be ready to go straight away, but I know he's ready and within a second he'll prove that," Williams said.

"He has great knowledge of the game and has a personable way about him. He's a lot of fun."

Hawthorn say they are willing to offer high draft picks for Shaun Burgoyne who has walked out on the Power and hope that familiar faces in the Hawks coaching staff and administration will sway him towards them.

"We expressed our interest to last week that if Shaun makes a move we'd be very happy to get him to Hawthorn," Hawks personnel manager Chris Pelchen said.

"We're definitely interested in Shaun and we'd love to put forward our case.

"The previous relationships that are there, whether it be myself who drafted him, (fitness coach) Andrew Russell or (senior coach) Alastair Clarkson, we're hoping they are a positive."

Melbourne, Hawthorn and Essendon all told they are on shortlist of clubs Shaun Burgoyne wants to speak to.

'Shaun has had interest from roughly half the AFL clubs, but we have shortlisted three clubs who he has interest in having further chats with to see where they are going as clubs. We have told those clubs and will meet with them in the next few days,'' Burgoyne's manager Ben Williams said.

Port Adelaide football manager Peter Rohde says the club is still hopeful Shaun Burgoyne will stay with the Power.

"The Shaun Burgoyne decision has come as a bit of a revelation to us, but he's got his reasons for wanting to go," Rohde said.

"We'll make sure we do the right thing by the club and at the moment Shaun's a required player."

"Clearly Shaun's expressed a view that he would like to move, but we'll have to go through trade week and see what unfolds before we know what the final outcome will be."

Port Adelaide will demand quality players in return for gifted playmaker Shaun Burgoyne, who has quit the club.

"The club is disappointed and we'll do our best to talk him out of it," Power chief executive Mark Haysman told ABC radio in Adelaide.

"If not, we'll try and facilitate a move and get the best player or players in return."

Power assistant coach Matthew Primus has re-signed with the club for two more years.

"It is really a changing of the guard at Port Adelaide," Primus said.

"It is often overlooked that we have turned over our list more than any other club in the past three years."

"We are developing our next generation. It will take patience, there is plenty of work to do, and there will be frustrations along the way, but we know we are on the right track."

Port Adelaide's Shaun Burgoyne wants to leave the club to play with a Victorian team.

"Shaun Burgoyne and his manager informed us this morning that he would like to be traded to a Melbourne-based club. At this stage no particular club has been identified," Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"Our position is that Shaun is a required player and that he will only be traded if a favourable trade for the Port Adelaide Football Club is forthcoming."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says the club needs Shaun Burgoyne but understands his vice-captain wants time to weigh up his future.

"He knows how much we need him and we love him. Hopefully, he decides to stay," Williams said.

Power coach Mark Williams says Dean Laidley had been offered a strategy and innovation role at the club.

"Dean has done some great stuff, which he can offer to us and also challenge us in what we do and how we do it. Speaking to the other coaches, they're excited to think that Dean might come here," Williams said.

Port Adelaide midfielders Shaun Burgoyne and Steven Salopek have undergone post-season surgery.

Burgoyne had corrective surgery to clean up cartilage damage in his left knee, which is expected to limit his pre-season training up until Christmas.

Salopek had reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder which he damaged in the round-seven match against North Melbourne.

Port Adelaide defender Jacob Surjan excited about his future with the club after signing a new 3-year contract with them.

"I'm very happy to be staying at Port Adelaide," Surjan said.

"With the recent retirements of experienced players, I'm looking forward to taking the next step in my development and becoming a leader here at the club.

"With such an exciting young list I'm very confident that the club is heading in the right direction. The decision to stay here at Port Adelaide was a pretty easy one in the end."

Dean Laidley emerges as a potential successor to Mark Williams at Port Adelaide, sought as effectively a match-day coach.

''I've spoken to Mark several times about it over the last few weeks, and I'm going over there to sit down with him and the others to see how it's all going to work,'' Laidley said.

Port Adelaide defender Toby Thurstans has announced his retirement.

"I simply don't think I have enough left in me to get through another season," Thurstans said.

"The mental and physical rigours of an AFL season demand so much, and I am not the sort of person who is going to go on unless I think I can contribute 100 per cent."

Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan says he has learnt from his one-match suspension after headbutting Port Adelaide's Josh Carr.

"There was definitely a bit of soul searching," Brennan said.

"It was very out of character, it was the first time that it has ever happened to me so it was a really awkward situation.

"I like to think I am a better player for it."

Jacob Surjan says his team was unlucky to be on the receiving end of a crucial late 50m penalty against Nathan Krakouer in the farewell game for club stalwarts Peter Burgoyne and Brendon Lade.

"We were very stiff. We thought that 50m penalty was really soft, but the umpires are going to make the call and that was their call," Surjan said.

"Peter and Ladey have been fantastic servants of our club and as a playing group we should have sent them off on a better note."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams dismisses reports that he has yet to sign his new contract.

Assistant coaches Matthew Primus and Jason Cripps have both been offered extensions on their current contracts but are yet to sign.

"I've signed [my contract and] they've both been offered contract extensions," Williams said. "I hope they'll be here [next year]."

Port Adelaide forward Brett Ebert will play in place of Warren Tredrea against North Melbourne after the former skipper pulled out of the side due to a calf complaint.

Ebert was dropped from the side that lost to Brisbane, the second time this season that the forward was dropped and Power assistant coach Adam Kingsley said on radio the 25-year-old needed to "pull his finger out" over the coming pre-season.

"Brett's effort is a little inconsistent, but he's played 100 games. We've sat and watched his video and talked about it, so he understands what he has to improve on," Power coach Mark Williams said.

"Everyone around Australia knows he's a wonderful mark and a great kick at goal. He just needs to get some more balls that are on the ground."

With Damien Hardwick recently appointed coach of Richmond, Port Adelaide now turn their sights to former North Melbourne captain Adam Simpson for the role of assistant coach at the club.

"He's in the mix," chief executive Mark Haysman said.

"Obviously we're disappointed to miss out on Damien because we tried really hard to get him here and thought he would have been a great addition to our group but there's other good candidates out there and Adam's one of those."

Retiring ruckman Brendon Lade says that if he has the opportunity to coach next season, it won't be at Port Adelaide.

"It would be great to stay at the same club for your whole life. But I had a chat to Choco about if you do want to become a senior coach, and that's your goal in life, you need to get other experiences, see what else is out there and what other people do," Lade said.

Port Adelaide stalwarts Brendon Lade and Peter Burgoyne will retire at the end of the season.

"I just haven't got the passion in my heart, and the hunger," Burgoyne said.

"I've played 13 years of AFL footy and then before that I was playing in the SANFL for two or three years and it takes its toll."

Lade spoke of his successful return to football after twice breaking his leg and missing two years of football.

"It does make me proud but as I said to the boys everyone's got a story to tell, something going on in their life, and it's how you deal with that adversity and how you perform each week," Lade said.

Port Adelaide captain Domenic Cassisi quick to quash speculation of unrest at Alberton saying that the players are completely behind their embattled coach Mark Williams.

"When Choco's contract negotiations were happening, every player that spoke to the media came out and said they were 100 per cent behind Choco, and that's no different now," Cassisi said.

"We are struggling at the moment. We've had some bad losses and we've left ourselves open to people criticising us from every angle.

"It's disappointing to hear people talk about the inner sanctum when they're not in it. They make a perception on it without being there and living and breathing it every day."

Port Adelaide veteran forward Warren Tredrea says his club must be active in trades during the off-season after a highly disappointing 2009 showing.

"You don't need to be Einstein to realise there needs to be changes because what we've served up this year is not good enough," Tredrea said.

"So the list needs to be turned over, we need to bring new players in, so we have to be an active player in the trade period."

Port Adelaide's Robert Gray has withdrawn from the Round 21 clash with the Brisbane Lions with appendicitis.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Damien Hardwick has only been offered an assistant's role despite media reports that a succession plan has been put in place by the club to replace him as senior coach after his two-year contract runs out.

"I haven't put any succession plan in place; that's only for you [the media] to think about," Williams said on Friday.

"It's really up to the club to identify [if Hardwick replaces me]. It's certainly not my job."

Damien Hardwick today traveled to Adelaide to resume discussions with the Power on joining its coaching panel next year as a senior assistant coach.

Hardwick is understood to have met Port president Brett Duncanson, chief executive Mark Haysman, coach Mark Williams and football operations chief Peter Rohde in Adelaide while still being a contender for the senior coaching position at Richmond.

Port Adelaide names Josh Carr in their squad to face Carlton where Carr will play his 200th game.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Brendon Lade will eventually become a coach, though it might not be at the club he has spent 13 seasons at.

"Brendon Lade is a very smart, astute student of the game so when he retires he will be coaching, but where that is I'm not sure," Williams said.

"We've had great service form him and it's about timing and what's available and what's not."

"If it's a position that fits in for us we'd certainly, when the time comes, be talking to him about it."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams believes Damien Hardwick will be a senior coach next year despite reports that Hardwick is being considered for an assistant role at the Power.

"Damien is very qualified for that position. We love him at Port Adelaide and if the opportunity arises that would be great," Williams said.

"But I'm thinking Damien's looking at senior coaching positions at the moment and currently, as I read it, this one is not available."

Veteran Port Adelaide midfielder Peter Burgoyne will end his stint in the SANFL to play Carlton on Sunday after being dropped due to poor form in a loss to Melbourne in round 15.

"Peter at his best is a fantastic player for us and we'd like to think that he's still got that in him," Power coach Mark Williams said.

"It doesn't matter who you are, what level you play at or what occupation you're in, self-doubt does creep in. I think the emotion of thinking, 'Maybe I'm going to get dropped or 'People are talking about me' and all that stuff might have got to Peter.

"But to have an end-point there and say, 'Yes, I am out of the side and the worst thing that's happened is that I'm back playing with the Maggies and having a kick around there'. I think that's been good for him."

Carlton coach Brett Ratten says full forward Brendan Fevola will not be rattled on the field by any niggling from Chad Cornes despite Cornes saying he would try to "get under the skin" of some Carlton players.

"I don't think we have to worry about Brendan with his mindset in the game, I think he has played footy long enough, he's an experienced campaigner," Ratten said.

"Would Chad Cornes be the first to verbally attack Brendan Fevola on the football field? Brendan has played 200 games, he's probably got a list of 150 blokes plus others that have chipped in as well.

"He won't be the first and he won't be the last."

Port Adelaide's Chad Cornes admits he is not a big fan of Carlton and that he looks forward to playing against Blues full-forward Brendan Fevola.

"I like playing Carlton and it's fair to say we probably don't love each other as two clubs. There's a few players in the Carlton opposition that we'd like to get under their skin," Cornes said.

Port Adelaide captain Domenic Cassisi underwent minor surgery on a sinus fracture on Monday but will line up against Carlton.

Injured skipper Dom Cassisi uses a helmet to protect his injured head at the Power's training session before the clash with Fremantle.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says he is confident Cassisi's head will be safe from harm during the game.

"Under doctor's orders we looked after Dom at training today because he got a whack in the head on the weekend, but he'll be no worries," Williams said.

"The safest spot in AFL now is your head. If you've played a lot of footy you'll know that the number of times you get hit in the head, well, it's very, very rare.

"You back those odds and away you go."

Shaun Burgoyne has called on the team to follow the lead of skipper Domenic Cassisi who is looking to play despite a facial injury.

"Everyone looks up to Dom pretty highly because of the way he attacks the footy. It does have an effect on the team when your captain is out there and, especially, when he's playing at this time of the season," Burgoyne said.

Scans have revealed a minor depression in the frontal sinus of Port Adelaide captain Domenic Cassisi but that won't stop him playing against the Dockers this week.

The sinus depression has been classified as minor and Cassisi will wear a helmet as a precaution.

James Hird declares he has no interest in coaching despite receiving offers from Port Adelaide to become an assistant coach.

"As much as I love footy and its strategies, I am not prepared for the 24-hour-a-day lifestyle that is AFL coaching," Hird wrote in an article for the Herald Sun.

"I am not scared or worried that I might not be up to it, it is just that at the moment it is not my burning ambition."

Port Adelaide captain Dom Cassisi is awaiting scans expected to confirm forehead fracture after a nasty head clash with Hawthorn's Jordan Lewis.

Midfield dynamo David Rodan will be a Port Adelaide player until at least 2012 after re-signing with the club that gave him a second chance following his delisting by Richmond.

"I definitely wouldn't have thought when I got picked up by Port Adelaide that I'd be here right now," he said.

"I was very happy to get the second chance to show that I could still get out there and the club showed faith in me.

"It's a pretty proud feeling and hopefully I can repay them in the next few years."

Retired Brownlow Medallist Shane Crawford has accused Port Adelaide midfielder Danyle Pearce of giving up against the Melbourne Demons while former Power player Josh Francou says the club should seriously consider trading Pearce at the end of the season.

"It looked like he had hoisted the white flag and thought 'this is too hard'," Crawford said.

"He should have used his pace and run to try to shake Jones off but instead he seemed to go into his shell, which was disappointing. He's just got to work harder in that situation."

Adelaide midfielder Michael Doughty predicts that Port Adelaide star Shaun Burgoyne will be in for a tough time when he returns to duty in the showdown against Adelaide after being out for 14 weeks due to bone bruising below the knee.

"It's going to be tough for him," Doughty said.

"I don't know how much work he's done, but he's a quality player and I'm sure they'll use him sparingly but when they use him he'll be quality for them."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says neither Josh Carr not Peter Burgoyne will play against the Crows, but Shaun Burgoyne is a big show.

Shaun Burgoyne has not played since suffering severe bone bruising below his knee in the round-three win over Melbourne.

"Shaun's been doing lots and lots of aerobic work away from the track as well," Williams said.

"He's not going to play huge game-time, but we're thinking that 50 per cent of Shaun Burgoyne is probably better than 70 per cent of someone else."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams has signed a two-year contract extension with the Power.

"As is well known, I have been very willing to take a cut in pay for the long-term good of the club given our financial situation," he said.

"There's also been speculation about various other parts of the contract. After actually walking through the clauses in the contract over the last couple of weeks it became obvious to me that they would be of great benefit for both the club and for me. So there is no disagreement there at all - quite the opposite.

"I'm really excited about our list and where we're at ... we are looking forward to a new era and are setting up the club with a long-term focus."

Port Adelaude defender Jacob Surjan always gives 100 per cent and is racking up impressive statistics in the 'one percenter' column.

"I'm not worried about getting possessions and that sort of thing anymore," Surjan said.

"I'm just worried about playing my role for the team, which is stopping the opposition's dangerous small forward. If I can do that and the team's successful...I'm happy."

Dumped Peter Burgoyne has been given seven weeks to salvage his career.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams yesterday put Burgoyne on notice by saying if he didn't find form before the end of the season he was unlikely to be offered a new contract.

"It will be up to how he plays until the end of the year," Williams said.

"He's fully aware of that. At the end of last year he knew he had a one-year contract, so it's important for him to go back (to the SANFL), freshen up and play some good games to get back.

"We'd be delighted to have him back in our side because a fresh and in-form Peter Burgoyne fits into our side very easily. We hope in a few weeks time he'll be back showing his best stuff again. If not ..."

Port Adelaide youngster Matthew Broadbent is about to make his debut for the club against the West Coast Eagles.

"I'm a little bit nervous, but more excited than anything and I can't wait to get out there and mix it with the big boys," Broadbent said.

"I've followed Port my whole life so it's a pretty special dream come true to be wearing the guernsey and hopefully I'll do it proud and get a win."

Criticism of Danyle Pearce, Peter Burgoyne and Josh Carr is unwarranted according to teammate Travis Boak.

The trio have been singled out in the South Australian media following the Power's disappointing performance against Melbourne on Sunday.

"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, Dom or David Rodan around the ball," Boak said.

"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."

Port Adelaide captain Dominic Cassisi said his players might have to resort to punishing training sessions this week to fully absorb the magnitude of their shock 11-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.

"We haven't thought about that yet but it's fair to say we'd be kidding ourselves if we thought we could just rock up tomorrow and things will just be normal," he said.

"We can't just have a normal review and just go home and everything be normal."

Mark Williams says he will sign a new deal to coach Port Adelaide this week denying that issues with financial details in the contract were still to be sorted out.

"There's nothing to do with finances of the deal that are unsettled. Nothing," he said.

"It's just getting the little things right. There are a few things that need to be sorted through.

"It's a pretty major decision for both the club and for me moving forward, so you want to spend some time on it."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Shaun Burgoyne is only three weeks from a return which will make life easier for the Power's other midfielders in Peter Burgoyne and David Rodan.

"Shaun's knee is feeling better than it was," Williams said.

"Shaun Burgoyne is our best player. Take the best player out of any side and that would show the influence Shaun will have when he comes back into our team.

"It might not be the first week or two, but if we can get him back it will be a significant influence on our game and our results. It also helps Peter Burgoyne or David Rodan and those sort of blokes because it draws attention away from them."

AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson says the Jared Brennan-Josh Carr head-butting case is proof that the system is working well.

Brennan was charged by the match review panel with a level four head-butting offence, which initially attracted a three week ban, but with a 25 per cent reduction for his five-year good behaviour record, and then a further 25 per cent for his early guilty plea, that came down to a week, with 82 points carried on his record (100 points equals a week).

"It's the way the system works, the fact that he's played more than five years now without ever being suspended is a big credit to him as a player," Anderson said.

"He gets a significant benefit for having managed to go five years without being suspended.

"On that basis, he gets the extra benefit of what would otherwise be a two-week suspension becoming a one-week suspension.

"It's all very well for people to say 'oh, one week's not enough', but I think players who manage to get through five years of regularly playing at the top level, and not have any blot against their name, are worthy of some credit for that."

Defender Troy Chaplin and Daniel Pratt have failed to overturn their charges at the AFL tribunal.

Chaplin argued that he had no realistic alternative as he was committed to making a contest against Brisbane's Daniel Rich which the field umpire deemed as "late, unnecessary and unreasonable".

"I'm not sure what I'm expected to do in that situation," Chaplin told the tribunal via video link-up from Adelaide.

"I'm not sure how I could deviate when I've chosen to go."

North Melbourne and Port Adelaide will head to the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night in the hope of clearing two key defenders.

The Kangaroos will challenge a striking charge against Daniel Pratt, who is facing a one-week ban, while the Power's Troy Chaplin will try to overturn a two-week stint on the sidelines.

Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan can consider himself lucky to be able to escape with a one-match suspension for a charge of headbutting Port Adelaide's Josh Carr.

The match review panel offers Melbourne Colin Sylvia four weeks for striking Scott Selwood, Jared Brennan gets offered one-week for headbutting Josh Carr and Troy Chaplin two weeks for striking Daniel Rich.

Chad Cornes created a motivational video, consisting of player highlights set to music, for his Power teammates playing against Brisbane to make up for being injured on the sidelines.

"I felt pretty useless. You feel helpless sitting around being injured when the team is in the situation we were in last week," Cornes said.

"I was sick and tired of hearing people outside the club abusing us. Everywhere I looked, people were bagging us, and that kind of fired me up a bit."

"The video was basically highlights of the best thing the boys have ever done in a game. Who knows if it had any effect on the game ... I just felt like I could do something to help the group win on the weekend."

Chad Cornes set to play this weekend against Demons after speedy recovery from knee surgery.

"It's recovered a lot quicker than what I had done last year, and it's feeling a lot better as well," he said.

"The surgeon said that the knee has definitely got a couple of years, at least, left in it if it all goes to plan.

"I still think I've got some good footy in front of me. I'm not at all happy with where I'm sitting right now and what I've done over the last couple of years. I'm a pretty proud person and I want to play the footy I know I can and help the boys get back into the finals."

Port Adelaide tagger Josh Carr says he doesn't know what prompted Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan to headbutt him at AAMI Stadium on Saturday.

With Brisbane trailing by 14 points early in the final term, Brennan threw Carr to the ground off the ball and then headbutted him.

Brennan gave away a 50m penalty, which resulted in a goal, and was reported for misconduct.

"I was a little bit amazed at what happened there, considering the umpire was right there," Carr said after the win.

"But these things happen. Some people do these sorts of things. It started as a bit of a push and shove and got out of hand. He got me in the sweet spot, which caused the bleeding.

"I actually didn't do a hell of a lot and I wasn't shaken up or anything like that. I don't know what will come out of it, so we'll wait and see."

Josh Drummond has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with Port Adelaide as he recovers from a calf injury.

"You've got to be very careful with injuries now, particularly with soft-tissue injuries," Brisbane assistant coach Justin Leppitsch said today.

"We're very mindful with him, he's got a bit of a history with ongoing injury, so we've just got to manage him very carefully."

Brisbane Lions skipper Jonathan Brown says the older Lions have long memories when it comes to clashes against Port Adelaide.

"There's plenty of hatred between the Lions and Port Adelaide over the years," he said.

"They always seemed to be one-point and six-point games and there used to be plenty of animosity and physicality in those contests.

"We played in some finals and they beat us on the ultimate stage in 2004 and that was hard to stomach because that was the biggest rivalry at the time along with Collingwood.

"For myself and some of the older guys there's still plenty of passion against them."

Chad Cornes is rapt that Mark Williams will remain coach of Port Adelaide.

"After 10 years you might think you'd get sick of having just the one coach, but it's the complete opposite for me," Cornes wrote in an article for AFL.com.au.

"I'm rapt that Choco is going to be my coach, hopefully, for the rest of my career.

"It was a relief on Tuesday to learn that he's going to be our coach for the next two years and to remove all the uncertainty hanging around the place."

Mark Williams will coach Port Adelaide for at least two years subject to his accepting some tough non-negotiable conditions.

The club's board decided on Monday night to go with Williams, subject to him:

AGREEING to a pay cut.

DROPPING the "Ricky Nixon" clause from his contract; and.

FOCUSING purely on coaching.

Dean Laidley will spend time at Port Adelaide, but Power coach Mark Williams doubts there will be a more formal appointment.

"I left a message on Thursday saying 'Listen mate, wait until you hear something before we work out what day it is', but it's this week some time," Williams said.

Power coach Mark Williams says he is honoured to get the opportunity to continue at Alberton Oval.

"It's been pretty tough to be under the microscope for that period of time. The club, wanted to find out if I was the person portrayed in the media and you have to tread a little carefully," Williams said.

"I'm respectful of the idea that the club had to go through a fair process because not too many people stay at a club for this long. I'm really honoured to think the club is willing to see this next period through where we've got some exciting young players coming through.

"We really think we can develop into a top-four and premiership side."

Mark Williams will continue as coach of Port Adelaide after a contract extension is confirmed this morning.

"Mark Williams has an outstanding coaching record and is a proven teacher of young players," club president Brett Duncanson said.

"He is highly respected at this club and in the football community.

"At the end of 2006 the club put in place a five-year plan and we are halfway through that period.

"Mark deserves an opportunity to see that plan through.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams appears likely to be retained beyond 2009, with the final verdict on his future to be announced today.

Kane Cornes would not speculate on the future of Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams ahead of Monday night's decisive board meeting.

"It's been done to death and we all know where the situation's at. We'll just wait and see how it pans out," Cornes said.

"I'm not going to bother speaking about it today...there's no point. It will be settled soon enough."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams admits there is a chance the Geelong match could be his last as coach.

Williams described the process, where his future had been debated widely in public as well as at Alberton, as "difficult", but defended the June 30 clause in his contract that pushed the decision to the mid-point of the season.

"It's a difficult one for both parties. I know it's been stated but it's probably been in my contract for 10 years, it's not just this year or the last one. The club agreed to it so it's not just me. The club thought it was sound management by them as well, so I'm very happy with it."

Draftee Matthew Broadbent is in line for his Power debut, but Hamish Hartlett will miss four weeks with a hamstring injury.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says he's just concentrating on beating Geelong this week, and is not worrying about his future despite a review by the club which he concedes has been 'difficult'.

"All I've thought about is working really hard with the players and the coaching group to beat Geelong and that's it. Footy's a bit like that, you tend to work week by week and that's as far as you go," Williams said.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams admitted Salopek might have been brought back too soon after dislocating his shoulder against North Melbourne in round seven.

"Sal is disappointed, but he actually understands. If you look at David Rodan a few weeks back, we dropped him and it doesn't mean we don't like him or that he's not part of our best 18, but we think it's what's best for him to get his mind right," Williams said on Friday.

"The shoulder injury does correlate to when his form has dropped down. Perhaps, the physical side was okay, but mentally he might not have felt as strong."

Port Adelaide defender Troy Chaplin has added his voice to calls to re-appoint coach Mark Williams.

"I'd love for it to be Choco because he's been great in the six years I've been here," Chaplin said of the Power's next coach.

"Coming from a basketball background, he has taught me a lot about the game and he's been great for my individual development. He's put a lot of time into players and into the team as well. The preparation he puts in week in and week out is fantastic.

"No disrespect to any other clubs and I don't know what other coaches are like, but I'd probably say Choco is one of the best around."

The power has re-signed defender Troy Chaplin until the end of 2012.

"With Troy and Alipate Carlile both signed up, we've got two key defenders to build our backline around long term," football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"Troy's still got some areas to improve on, but he's shown a great work ethic and we're looking forward to him continuing his improvement here at Port Adelaide.

"Troy brings great character to the club and is an important part of the culture among our younger players here at the Power."

Former Port Adelaide captain Warren Tredrea says Mark Williams should stay as coach as scrutiny increases on Williams' tenure at the Power.

"Mark's been marvellous for the amount of scrutiny and public opinion [he's been under]. He's training and coaching as hard as he ever has and even today he wheeled out a new plan for the rest of the season," Tredrea said.

"He's always thinking. It is probably a big focus for him in his life because it's his employment, but at the moment his sole focus is preparing his team to play as well as they can this week."

Port Adelaide draftee Hamish Hartlett has re-injured his hamstring and is unlikely to return against Geelong this week.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams still wants his future resolved by June 30 and he will get his wish with a clear-cut decision.

"The time is right," he said.

"There are positives for both club and coach.

"The club can enter the market and not miss out on a coach by waiting until September while Richmond and North Melbourne are searching already."

Port Adelaide ruckman Dean Brogan says his side is confident it can give the top eight a shake despite some patchy form and a mounting injury list.

"We're 6-6 and middle of the road. We've played some good games, we've played some bad games and we've played some average games," Brogan said.

"There are a lot of good teams on 6-6 that are still trying to find their way and we're one of them. We've got the break this week and Geelong the week after but after that we've got a lot of home games.

"We've got another 10 games to go and as disappointed as we are about the games we lost and the way we lost last week, we're moving on and we feel we've got a good enough group to make the finals."

Daniel Motlop will miss eight matches after having surgery on a fractured ankle.

Motlop had a pin inserted into his left ankle on Monday night, the Power said in a statement on Tuesday.

Port Adelaide's David Rodan has been dropped twice this year, but he says it was deserved.

"It was very tough. The team was a bit up and down early in the season and I guess my form wasn't up to scratch, so I went back to the SANFL," Rodan said.

"There were a few things going on in my life at the time and I think at the time I needed to go back to the SANFL and do the right thing.

"You never like getting dropped, but you just deal with it if it's best for the team and I'm pretty happy that I'm back in the team now."

Mark Williams is uncertain of his future as coach of Port Adelaide could go on for months with the team suffering from erratic form in 2009.

The immediate future of Shaun Burgoyne is in doubt with the Port Adelaide midfielder suffering from bone bruising to his left knee.

"It is to the bottom of the knee joint, where the tibia forms the knee," Port football manager Peter Rohde said.

"There is nothing we can do for it but rest. Every time Shaun has tried to run, he has still had pain, so we've backed off and waited again.

"We let the knee settle down - and then we try again.

"The specialist says this can take anything between two and 12 weeks."

Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop says his side's strong Indigenous core will garner more support in the Top End when they meet the Bulldogs.

"The Power have a pretty good supporter base up there in Darwin. In fact the Power and Essendon are the two main clubs up there," Motlop said.

"You can put a club in there and try and force it, but in the end we've probably got more supporters up there than them.

Essendon ruckman Paddy Ryder wins his challenge at the AFL tribunal but Port's Toby Thurstans is found guilty of making contact with an umpire.

Troy Chaplin responded to a rev-up from Power coach Mark Williams to play his best game for the season against Fremantle.

"From Monday's meeting with me" one-on-one" Troy was very much assured that he better play a hell of a lot better than he did and with a whole lot more desire and I thought he delivered that in spades tonight," Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams said.

"He got a cut on the eye and, as I said to him after the game, every time he looks at that eye he's going to remember one of the great games he played on a really courageous night."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams revealed midfielder Josh Carr asked for the pressure of a starting role in Saturday's game against Fremantle.

"He waltzed into my office during the week and talked about how he hadn't started on the ground once this season. He thought he needed that sort of pressure on him," Williams said after the game.

"I nailed him before the start of the game [and said], 'You better make the most of this opportunity'. He knew what the stakes were and it was good that he delivered."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Josh Carr could resurrect his career against his old club.

Carr has not been in and out of the Power side since returning to Port Adelaide from Fremantle but has been selected to face the Dockers.

"The midfield was a little empty so we wanted to get Josh back. He's an aggressive player and there's a fair chance he understands and knows Fremantle better than anyone," Williams said.

"Josh went back and played last weekend. It was only in the twos, but he played really well, he's trained well and he's seemed up around the club.

"He looked like a pretty good choice."

Port Adelaide star Chad Cornes is set to miss up to six weeks with leg injuries.

Port football manager Peter Rohde said yesterday Cornes had been having problems with his knee, but injured his calf in the third quarter of Sunday's 38-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

"The fact that he's going to miss a few weeks with his calf might mean we look after his knee as well," Rohde said.

Port Adelaide's Chad Cornes will undergo arthroscopy this week and miss at least the next month of football.

Port Adelaide defender Jacob Surjan admits his side has let out-of-contract coach Mark Williams down with its roller-coaster start to the season after a disappointing loss to Collingwood.

"We really feel for 'Choco' and the coaching staff because we prepare so hard throughout the week to come up with plans to win the game," Surjan said.

"We're really upset with how that third quarter went on Sunday. We respect and love our coach so much, and it's definitely draining the playing group because we're letting him and the other coaches down."

Hamish Hartlett was one of very few positives for Port Adelaide in its heavy loss to the Swans on Sunday.

"That was one of the positives to come out of the game. He'd never been here before and he showed some great poise," Power coach Mark Williams said after the game.

"His goal in the first quarter was a fantastic kick under pressure when it looked like we were going to get nothing.

"It was nice that he went back and took control of it and kicked it through. He got a bit of possession, which is not bad and it's nice to have a little tick next to your name to say you played okay when the team was going poorly.

"I think it's a great trait and we hope to build on it."

Rising Star winner Danyle Pearce's form has reflected Port Adelaide's season so far. When Pearce plays well, the Power win.

"I know that if I play well it definitely helps the team and I have to make sure that my good performances are the standard I produce every week," Pearce said.

"I've looked at my stats and seen that they've been down when we've lost. I have to pick those number up and, hopefully, I can contribute to a few more wins."

Port Adelaide forward Daniel Motlop says Mark Williams has the full support of the players to continue coaching the club.

"Choco gave me my chance over here and I love him as a coach. He's been my best coach ever," Motlop said.

"None of the players are saying, 'let's get rid of Choco' or anything like that. Everyone loves him. We know where we're going and, hopefully, it's with him."

Port Adelaide spearhead Warren Tredrea's dramatic resurgence tempts him to consider lengthening his career.

"The reality is the last three years have been very tough mentally and physically it has been a battle to get back," Tredrea said.

"I always believed that I could do it but now it's a reality that I can consistently do it."

Hard-working Power half-back Matt Thomas says Warren Tredrea is playing the best football of his career after the former captain booted seven goals against Richmond including the match-winner.

"It was as good a game as he's ever played for the club and it was right up there with the most influential. He kicked goals when we needed them and, in the end, he took that mark fairly deep in the pack.

"I've said that not being captain has been good for him. Now, he can smell the roses. He can worry about himself and he doesn't have to do all the meetings, all the media and all the other things that a captain has to do."

Warren Tredrea's seventh goal beats Richmond and the buzzer to see Port Adelaide home to a three-point win at AAMI Stadium.

Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes will play against Richmond at AAMI Stadium on Sunday after making a rapid recovery from an injured shoulder against North Melbourne.

"Kane will probably need a jab, but you saw him train and he did everything we needed to see," Port Adelaide coach Williams said.

"He's a driven man and I wouldn't have backed too many people to get up for this week like he has. Kane wouldn't play if the club was in jeopardy and I'm not sure how many other players would’ve got up three times a night to look after himself."

Kane Cornes this morning need only lift his right arm above shoulder level to secure his place in the Port Adelaide line-up on Sunday.

"It's only because it is Kane," Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams said of Cornes.

"Most people would not be able to play but Kane wants to prove his shoulder is right."

Ben Cousins has already registered on Port Adelaide's radar with Power ruckman Dean Brogan conceding that his side will have to pay attention to the Brownlow medallist.

"Cousins is back and we all know how good he looks, he's very fit. He played really well considering he missed a big chunk of footy," Brogan said.

"He'd be coming over here wanting to play well. He hasn't played here for a while so no doubt he's definitely on our radar. We can't let him get under our guard as he's a champion player."

Kane Cornes remains hopeful of playing this weekend despite injuring his AC joint on Saturday.

"Kane's feeling pretty good and he's told us that he wants to play and we need him to play because he’ll probably get a job. He'll go and sit on someone and he’s the best in the comp at doing that," teammate Dean Brogan said.

Port Adelaide players Steve Salopek and Kane Cornes might not be as badly injured as first thought.

Both players were initially thought to have suffered serious shoulder injuries against North Melbourne but are now expected to be sidelined for only one to three weeks.

Port Adelaide's Travis Boak said his side was shattered by Saturday night's narrow loss to North Melbourne after an inspirational win against the Crows the week before.

"We wanted to put this game down as a big game for the year. Just as big as the showdown last week," Boak said.

"We thought if we could win this we would try to set up our season. It was unfortunate in the end."

Port Adelaide defender Steven Salopek leaves the field during a match against North Melbourne after sustaining a serious shoulder dislocation.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says some of the charges laid against his runner were incorrect.

"If you've tried to be a runner it's quite difficult," Williams said.

"For a start, they're standing on the bench waiting for the other runner to come off. They might be trying to deliver a message to someone in the centre square to move forward and then they have to run and get the person that's up forward to come off. At the same time, there might be a ball-up on the opposite side."

Port Adelaide youngster Hamish Hartlett's rapid AFL progress appears to have extended to his powers of recovery.

Hartlett's hamstring injury has been downgraded from a tear to a sprain and the young midfielder is expected to be available for selection this week against North Melbourne.

Port Adelaide coach fuels speculation that he will not be at the club in 2010, saying a new contract is yet to be discussed.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Josh Carr will not get a last-minute call up for the Showdown after being dropped due to poor form.

Williams said that Carr's position would be filled by the younger Matt Thomas.

"Matt Thomas is coming back into the side and he plays very similarly to Josh Carr. Right now, Matt Thomas is playing better than Josh Carr, so that was the start and finish of it," Williams said.

Port Adelaide's Jackson Trengove could make his return to football via the SANFL since severely tearing his hamstring 10 months ago.

"Everything that we see from Hamish Hartlett, Jackson has got too," Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams said.

"He's got that intensity and that desire. He wants to be something and it won't be a lack of trying on his part that stops him."

Out of form Josh Carr is no certainty to take the field against the Crows, says Power coach Mark Williams.

"Josh's been a little disappointed with how he's played, but he does add a lot of knowledge, leadership and toughness to our side and we like that about him," Williams said.

"Obviously, he needs to continually build on his game and where he is now is not what we're going to be satisfied with.

"There's no guarantee he'll be in the side this week".

Shaun Burgoyne will be out of action for another month after being forced into having surgery on his left knee.

Port Adelaide's Troy Chaplin can accept a reprimand for striking St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt.

Port Adelaide president Brett Duncanson hopes the team's fans do not mimic some Melbourne supporters and give Adelaide defender Nathan Bock the Bronx cheer.

"It's not my role to tell our supporters what to do, but I'd encourage them to concentrate on our guys and getting them across the line," Duncanson said.

"We believe they're the most passionate supporters in the land and they're very passionate about our superstars.

"I'm sure they'll concentrate on our people and what Adelaide's players are up to is up to them."

Power vice-captain Shaun Burgoyne is not expected to be fit for Port Adelaide match with St Kilda on Friday night.

Burgoyne dropped out of the Power lineup to miss last week's win over Hawthorn after suffering from a heavy knock to his knee against Melbourne in the previous three.

"I don't think Shaun will play," Power coach Mark Williams said.

"We're 99 per cent sure that it's just bruising but we want to get any doubt in our minds out."

Port Adelaide midfielder Travis Boak believes there more collisions between players and umpires this season are likely with teams looking to use the officials as shields against their opponents.

"It's pretty hard for Shaun Burgoyne, David Rodan and these sorts of guys to get away from their opponents. They're going to try and do anything to get away from their players and I know we try and use it sometimes," Boak said.

Lion Simon Black and Power Matt Thomas have been cited by the match review panel for reckless contact with umpires.

Port Adelaide will welcome back its captain Domenic Cassisi from suspension and its midfield star Shaun Burgoyne when it takes on St Kilda.

Chad Cornes has tipped Josh Carr to show today against Hawthorn why Port Adelaide desperately wanted him back.

"I'm sure Carry will step up against Hawthorn," Cornes said.

"He's taken a little bit of time to find his feet since he's returned - there's been a lot of pressure on all of us to get the season off to a good start - but he'll want to step up and fill Dom's shoes.

"He's looking forward to this game, the chance to make a statement, and I'm sure he's ready to hit his straps and play the way he did with us before he went to Fremantle."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says it will be difficult to beat Hawthorn without the suspended Domenic Cassisi and Peter Burgoyne.

Port Adelaide defender Jacob Surjan says the team will try to curb undisciplined acts against Hawthorn this week after Power teammates found themselves facing the tribunal on a regularly only three games into 2009.

"We committed some pretty undisciplined acts and we have been undisciplined this year," he said.

"We've spoken about it, assessed it and moved on from it. We're still going to hit the ball and the man really hard; we just have to be a bit more disciplined in that respect.

"We want to be a physical team and attack the ball hard and that's what will focus on this weekend."

Power forward Justin Westhoff will miss at least two months after being placed on the long-term injury list.

Port Adelaide won't contest suspensions to Dom Cassisi and Peter Burgoyne.

Cassisi was offered a one-match ban for striking Melbourne's Lynden Dunn while Burgoyne was given a two-match suspension for kneeing Demon Aaron Davey during the Power's victory at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Cassisi and Burgoyne were each given three-match bans, reduced by early guilty pleas.

After a week spent on the sidelines through suspension watching his side lose to the Eagles, Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan felt he had to make up for lost time against the Demons.

"Either way you look at it, I missed a game and let the team down. Whether I was hard done by or not, the fact is I missed a game and we got belted," Brogan said after a convincing win against Melbourne.

"I thought, maybe, I could've contributed last week, but I wasn't there. I wanted to come out and make a statement today. I think the boys and myself did that".

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Warren Tredrea's six-goal haul against Melbourne on Sunday took fans, players and coaches alike back to the forward’s glory days.

Tredrea, 30, had not kicked a goal in the opening two rounds of 2009, but turned back the clock against the Dees at AAMI Stadium to finish with his best return in nearly four years.

Wade Thompson will make his AFL debut for Port Adelaide against Melbourne on Sunday.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says the League will ensure that Port Adelaide Power regains its financial strength.

Port Adelaide defender Troy Chaplin insists the players didn't get ahead of themselves against the Eagles after their round-one victory over the Bombers.

Port Adelaide football manager Peter Rohde says the decision to take Daniel Motlop's charge to the tribunal was difficult.

Port Adelaide's 'calculated gamble' at the AFL tribunal paid off on Tuesday night when star forward Daniel Motlop was cleared of striking Eagle Adam Hunter.

Brett Kirk will face the tribunal for making contact with an umpire, while Daniel Motlop and Adam McPhee have been suspended.

Port Adelaide skipper Domenic Cassisi says the 50-point loss to the Eagles should make his side work harder.

Scans are expected to reveal a break in Justin Westhoff's left foot, sidelining the Power forward for at least four weeks.

Port Adelaide goalsneak Daniel Motlop is booked for striking West Coast's Adam Hunter.

The war of words between over Dean Brogan's suspension continued today, with Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams weighing in.

"My view is that two players walking - walking - and one bumps into the other one, yes he did it, he bumped him, but gee whizz, footy's getting a little precious," Williams said.

"It was pretty insignificant as far as I was concerned."

It's taken 10 years, but Toby Thurstans will play his 100th AFL game against the Eagles in one of four milestones at the Power .

Port Adelaide utility Chad Cornes, who plays his 200th game on Sunday, admits the early stages of his career were a struggle.

"My first two or three years here were a real struggle and I didn’t enjoy that time much at all," Cornes said.

"I'm not putting the blame on Choco. It was mainly the way I was playing and being disappointed in myself. I got dropped to the Glenelg reserves and that was pretty embarrassing. Being on an AFL list and playing reserves in the SANFL was not where I thought I would be."

Chad Cornes is disappointed with Essendon's Andrew Lovett's role in Power ruckman Dean Brogan suspension.

Lovett's evidence at the AFL Tribunal was pivotal in Brogan being suspended for one match for engaging in rough conduct against the Bomber midfielder at quarter-time of last Sunday's match.

Lovett told the tribunal he was shocked to be forcefully bumped from behind by Brogan during the break in play.

Cornes intimated that Lovett broke an unwritten players' code of not implicating an opponent at the tribunal.

Port Adelaide plans to shark Dean Cox's hit-outs after Dean Brogan was suspended for Sunday's match at Subiaco.

Port Adelaide onballer Shaun Burgoyne says his side has up to four added reasons to beat West Coast on Sunday.

Ruckman Dean Brogan's suspension could open the door for a fourth Port Adelaide milestone against West Coast at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.

Utility Chad Cornes (200 games), onballer Shaun Burgoyne (150) and forward Brett Ebert (100) could now be joined by defender Toby Thurstans, who is also on the eve of his 100th game.

"The club makes a really big deal of milestone games," Burgoyne said. "I remember when I first got here, the club really drummed it into the guys to reward the players with a win and to go out there and play for the guys' milestones."

Port Adelaide ruckman Dean Brogan will miss Sunday's match against the Eagles after being found guilty of rough conduct.

The Power big man was staring at two weeks on the sidelines had he been found guilty, after deciding to challenge a charge of engaging in rough conduct against Essendon speedster Andrew Lovett.

Port Adelaide opted to fight the charge and, despite the AFL jury members downgrading the rough conduct charge from intentional to reckless, Brogan will still miss one match.

Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan and Geelong's Steve Johnson will contest their penalties from the Match Review Panel.

Brogan was charged with a rough conduct offence against Essendon’s Andrew Lovett and will challenge his two-match suspension.

Johnson was not suspended for attempting to strike Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge but will contest the 60 demerit points he was given. He was originally given 80 demerit points but his five-year good record saw the penalty reduced by 25 per cent.

Not content with merely beating Matthew Lloyd, Port fullback Alipate Carlile accomplished the rare feat of outscoring the ageing Bomber.

Carlile ventured forward early on to nail his first career goal with surprising assurance.

Port Adelaide's new skipper Domenic Cassisi says the Power's strong finish over Essendon is a sign of things to come.

Port Adelaide now has the self-belief to run out games strongly according to Cassisi.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says Josh Carr could have been captain if he had not left the club.

New Power Skipper skipper Domenic Cassisi says Port Adelaide will be hitting the Bombers with both barrels from the outset on Sunday.

Port Adelaide will break from tradition this year by training at AAMI Stadium every week.

Josh Carr is ready for football after what he describes as the most enjoyable pre-season of his career.

Port Adelaide and the SANFL face a struggle to successfully re-negotiate their contentious stadium deal.

Port Adelaide has refuted reports that the AFL has refused to provide the club with urgently needed financial assistance.

The AFL has refused to bail out Port Adelaide, instead telling the SANFL - owner of the Power's licence - to deliver a new deal to keep it viable.

Port Adelaide will today detail their reasons for asking the AFL for emergency funding.

Port Adelaide has been officially moved on to the AFL's critical list with the club confirming it has requested emergency assistance.