Friendly Port that made Dixon’s tough call easy
to play
The Demons are sweating on the fitness of Angus Brayshaw (ankle) and Nathan Jones (quad).
With matches to come against the Dockers, Greater Western Sydney and Essendon, the Demons cannot afford any slip-ups.
“I know if we win all three, we will well and truly be on our way,” Gawn said on the club’s website.
He refused to blame the club‘s arrival in Cairns only three hours before the match as an excuse for their slow start, with the Swans arriving a few days earlier.
“There is nothing in that,” he said. “They (Sydney) have been in Cairns for a couple of days and our flight just got up there, but that’s where footy is at right now.”
The loss leaves Melbourne sitting uneasily a game behind the eighth-placed Giants, who accounted for Carlton only a few hours after the Demons’ loss.
THE day it was announced that Charlie Dixon had recommitted to Port Adelaide, turning his back on a Queensland homecoming to stay at Alberton with his other “family”, Power players and coaches gathered at the footy club for dinner and a games night.
They trained at twilight on Wednesday in preparation to play North Melbourne this weekend then had dinner followed by basketball and minigolf challenges at their headquarters.
“It’s great for the whole coaching group, strength and conditioning staff and players to get together and have a feed and relax,” assistant coach Jarrad Schofield said.
“TJ (captain Tom Jonas) and the leaders have done a fantastic job of embracing the young fellas who have come in and would be proud of the group and culture we’re building towards. It hasn’t happened overnight, there’s been a major shift.”
It’s probably why Dixon, pictured, this week admitted he initially planned on completing his five-year deal and returning to Queensland, but the longer he stayed the more he fell in love with the place.