Boak, Rockliff certain for Dockers clash
PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak and prized signing Tom Rockliff are certain starters in the club’s AFL premiership season opener.
Boak (hamstring) missed Port’s last pre-season game while ex-Brisbane skipper Rockliff didn’t feature in the trial games because of knee soreness. But Boak says he and Rockliff will definitely play against Fremantle on Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
“I will be right,” Boak said yesterday. “I got through some training on Saturday, I have got to get through Tuesday and Thursday, but it feels really good.
“There was a minor hot spot a couple of weeks ago and we just took a cautious approach.”
And Boak said there was “no risk” in selecting Rockliff despite the recruit missing the two pre-season games.
“He’s looking forward to finally wearing the Power colours and getting out there for the first time,” Boak said.
“He has had a fantastic preseason, he has done all the work apart from a couple of weeks where we had to slow him down a little bit.
“He’s a player that can come straight in and make an impact straight away, there’s no risk.”
Second-year midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper has also been declared fit to face the Dockers after being rested from the last trial game because of a shoulder complaint.
Port will be without defenders Jasper Pittard (hamstring) and Matthew Broadbent (ankle) as they enter a season with rising expectation of becoming a premiership contender.
The Power was elimination finalists last year but have added experienced talent including Jack Watts (ex-Melbourne), Steven Motlop (ex-Geelong) and Rockliff.
“We certainly put a lot of expectation on ourselves,” Boak said.