West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter warns players to be wary of resurgent Port Adelaide

West Australian

10-07-2025

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has warned his players to be wary of a resurgent Port Adelaide in Sunday's clash at Adelaide Oval.
The Power have won three of five matches since the bye, including a fighting 28-point loss to Brisbane in round 17 at the Gabba, in a sharp turnaround in coach Ken Hinkley's final season.
'At their best, they're really dangerous,' McQualter said.
'They got some elite ball users that run and carry and can slice you up if you don't get it right.
'So we've done our planning around that and we'll train some things to make sure that we're ready for it, and then focus on our part of the game as well.'
The Power midfield is led by Zak Butters, Ollie Wines, Miles Bergman, Travis Boak and Willem Drew, who is ranked fifth in the AFL for pressure acts.
Captain Connor Rozee ranks eighth in the competition for disposals, reinvented as a halfback but no less potent than a starting mid.
The Eagles have lost their past nine matches at Adelaide Oval by an average margin of 68 points, a record that was not helped by a 71-point thumping at the hands of Carlton in Gather Round and an 11-goal capitulation to Adelaide in late May.
The Eagles are also coming off a 59-point loss in round 17 to the Giants at Optus Stadium, after being jumped in the first quarter.
'Yes, it has been a bit of a bogey oval for us. That's all part of it,' McQualter said of Adelaide Oval.
'We clearly didn't play the way we wanted to last week, but we've had a great review. We can't wait to get over there and compete. '
He said their first quarters had been a 'challenge'.
'It hasn't been every week, but there's been some where we really haven't come out of the blocks. So we're looking into it. Sometimes it's a tiny thing, so we'll work our way through it, but we clearly want to start games well, particularly interstate,' he said.
West Australian product Mitch Georgiades has kicked 17 goals in his past four games for Port Adelaide to sit second in the Coleman Medal with 42, 10 behind Geelong's Jeremy Cameron, the first Power player to kick a consistent haul since Jay Schulz in 2014.
Jack Lukosius also booted three in his return from injury against the Lions.
'He's one of the key forwards in the competition at the moment,' McQualter said of Georgiades.
'He's had a great year, really growing as a player, and he's going to be super dangerous.
'For any key forwards (it's) about supply. If we don't have good pressure on the ball, we'll struggle.'
The Eagles have blooded three young key forwards this season, Archer Reid, Jack Williams and Jobe Shanahan, with Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman both sidelined for the remainder of the season through injury.
Shanahan's game against the Giants, just his second at AFL level, was t he 15th highest rated ever by an 18-year-old key forward.
According to Champion Data stats, he was the 10th and fifth-highest rated player for his team in rounds 16 and 17, making him only the fifth teen key forward to achieve a top-10 ranking across his opening two games.
'It's really exciting. We've got some players down there, like Jobe and Jack Williams, particularly, playing last week, Archer Reid showing some really strong signs. Bailey Williams has played more as a forward this year than he ever has. When you're missing your two best key forwards, it's challenging for any team in the competition,' he said.
'They're getting exposure, they're learning what the craft is about. There's not many easy games when you're a key forward, so they're coming up against really good opponents every week and I think they're showing some really strong signs.'