Lycett hails the Power of unity
PORT Adelaide ruckman Scott Lycett says the team’s ability to stay connected off the field has this year inspired the type of top-of-the-ladder performances it couldn’t deliver last season.
Lycett, who will play his 100th AFL game against Carlton on Sunday, said the Power players’ strong preseason, and their determination to stay connected to each other as well as supporters during the coronavirus, had shown out in the team’s 5-1 start to the season.
“We’re all really close,” Lycett, sporting a black eye after his duel with GWS ruckman Shane Mumford last weekend, said. “We lost a few games last year we probably could have won.
“We probably could have played finals - we accepted that and moved on and wanted to get better, and that’s what we did.
“We’ve embraced everything this year’s thrown at us and we’ll continue to do that.”
In his second season at the Power, Lycett said he rated his performances – he’s had 147 hit-outs from six outings, as well as 68 disposals – as “not too bad”.
“I’m just trying to do the old cliche of playing my role,” he said. I think everyone’s been doing that really well.
“Big focus on the team playing their roles … my role’s pretty simple, give a contest and be predictable.”
But if there’s one factor that won’t be predictable when Port takes on Carlton at the Gabba on Sunday – the Blues’ ruckman Marc Pittonet, a player Lycett has never come up against.
“I don’t know a lot (about him) and I haven’t rucked against him before,” he said. “I’m starting to do some prep today and then really get into it on Friday … I won’t underestimate him.”
Given Port and Carlton are the only two teams to have kicked scores over 100 points since the resumption of play after the COVID-19 shutdown, Lycett said he hoped the game would provide fans with a shootout.
“Obviously Carlton are an up-and-coming team, they’ve got some exciting players in their forward line and can kick a lot of goals, and we’ve been not known, really, as the team that kicks a lot of goals in recent times (but) we’ve changed that around this year and hopefully it’s a good game for everyone to watch,” he said.
Lycett said playing his 100th game was a special milestone for his family.
“I came from a small country town on the west coast of SA, the middle of nowhere, pretty much, in Smoky Bay,” he said. “I’m just happy all the kids back there and the coaches can see no matter where you come from, you can still play a lot of AFL footy if you apply yourself.”