Former Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon believes Port Adelaide can win the flag in 2024 if they land Geelong’s Esava Ratugolea on the final day of the trade period.
The Power made the top four in a surprising season under coach Ken Hinkley but then bombed out of the finals in straight sets, losing away to Brisbane and then at home to GWS, with their defensive issues on display in both matches.
Against the Lions, Hinkley’s side conceded a whopping 123 points, while the Giants scored 93 points with Jesse Hogan (eight scoring shots) and Toby Greene (five) proving unstoppable.
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With Aliir Aliir playing a lone hand in defence the Power have targeted key defensive help, with Essendon’s Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Cats swingman Ratugolea their top two priorities.
Dixon believes Ratugolea, whose raw intercepting ability was on display during the 2023 season along with his lack of polish in defence after many seasons as a forward, is the difference between whether the Power challenge again or fall back into the pack.
“If they land Esava, they can win it next year. Don’t worry about the other two (Zerk-Thatcher or Bulldogs ruckman Jordon Sweet). I’m a massive wrap on this man,” Dixon said on the Fox Footy Podcast.
“He’s organised chaos. When you’re down there, you just let players play to their natural ability – and the internal structure of what you’re trying to do on a footy field and implementation goes with that.
“There’s obviously players that can sit inside it, but not have a clue what the hell’s going on. And I think Esava’s one of those guys. He’s so flexible; you can throw him forward, chaos, throw him back, he’ll do the job for you.
“But you’ve got to let these guys play – Ken lets them play. I’m not saying Chris (Scott) doesn’t. But in terms of, if Esava gets to Port Adelaide, they can win it next year. So top four, no-brainer. They could be one of the final two teams.”
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The Power finished third on the ladder, and were third for points scored across the home and away season, but a lowly 12th for points allowed – the worst of any finalist.
None of the last 18 AFL premiers have finished outside of the top six for points allowed.
“And they made the top four with a defence that fell apart throughout the year,” Foxfooty.com.au’s Max Laughton said.
“So they’re improving their one big weakness – they’re at least trying to, you can question if they’re getting the absolute best talent, but they’re getting what’s available.
“It makes all the sense in the world. They have to go for a flag, because that’s what they’re building towards, and what Hinkley’s contracted towards.”
Dixon replied: “And they don’t want to wait and leave it to chance and go, yep, if we can’t get him done, let’s go to the draft.”
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