Port's ruck insurance policy pays off before Cats trip
Young Port Adelaide ruck Dante Visentini (r) gets his chance to impress against the Cats again.
Port Adelaide’s ruck insurance policy has paid off ahead of novice Dante Visentini’s call-up to play Geelong on Friday night, Power coach Ken Hinkley says.
The 21-year-old Visentini will play just his fourth AFL game when the seventh-placed Power meet the second-spot Cats in Geelong.
Visentini has been summoned due to the absences of fellow rucks Ivan Soldo (knee) and Jordon Sweet (virus).
The Power recruited both Soldo and Sweet at the end of last season when ruck stalwart Scott Lycett retired.
“We’ve been lucky this year and it has proven to be a pretty good decision to have a few rucks around,” Hinkley said.
“We knew at the start of the season we had three rucks – which one would be in front all the time, we didn’t know.
“And Ivan started off really well, Jordon showed in his last two games that he certainly can play AFL football.
“And we have absolute confidence in Vis as the youngest of the three that he can certainly do it as well, which we’ve seen in the last 12 months.”
Visentini’s last AFL game was against the Cats in Geelong in round 21 last year when the home side overturned a three quarter-time deficit to win by 12 points.
In that fixture Esava Ratugolea was a standout, taking eight marks for Geelong.
Ratugolea was lured to Port at season’s end and will now meet his former club for the first time.
“He’s excited,” Hinkley said.
“He has got a lot of great friends down there and a lot of respect for the Geelong Football Club, having played there for a good period of time, and they gave him his chance.
“I’m sure he’d be a little bit nervous around going back to Geelong to play football.
“But the reality is we’ve had two or three boys do that this year (play against former sides) already and we’ll support him really strongly.”
Ratugolea’s defensive partner Aliir Aliir returns after missing last week’s loss to Adelaide because of concussion while Jeremy Finlayson, Francis Evans and Josh Sinn have also been recalled.
Power skipper Connor Rozee (hamstring), halfback Lachie Jones, wingman Jason Burgoyne (groin) and Sweet have been sidelined while Dylan Williams was dropped.
The Cats have rested Zach Tuohy and Jack Bowes while Tanner Bruhn will miss because of a shoulder injury – Mark O’Connor, Brandan Parfitt and Oisin Mullen have been recalled.