Honeyball takes a look at the likely best 23 for Port Adelaide ahead of the 2026 AFL season, noting ins and outs, key injuries, plus a look at relevant AFL Fantasy and SuperCoach players.
We’ve used quotes from Power coach Josh Carr’s chat on afl.com.au’s Your Coach podcast to offer additional insight on relevant players.
Ins: Will Brodie (trade, Fremantle), Corey Durdin (trade, Carlton), Jack Watkins (Rookie Draft), Jacob Wehr (free agent, Greater Western Sydney)
Outs: Rory Atkins (retired), Travis Boak (retired), Ryan Burton (delisted), Lachlan Charleson (delisted), Jeremy Finlayson (delisted), Hugh Jackson (delisted), Jed McEntee (delisted), Willie Rioli jnr (retired), Dylan Williams (delisted)
Key injuries: Mitch Georgiades (hamstring), Jason Horne-Francis (foot/shoulder), Sam Powell-Pepper (ACL), Ivan Soldo (ACL)
Predicted Round One 23
B: Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Aliir Aliir, Lachie Jones
HB: Kane Farrell, Esava Ratugolea, Josh Sinn
C: Jase Burgoyne, Connor Rozee, Miles Bergman
HF: Joe Richards, Jack Lukosius, Corey Durdin
F: Joe Berry, Mitch Georgiades*, Ollie Lord
Foll: Jordon Sweet, Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis*
I/C: Jacob Wehr, Willem Drew, Jackson Mead, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Todd Marshall
*injury cloud
**Ollie Wines suspended Round 1-2
Connor Rozee
Port coach Josh Carr: “I think he’s comfortable there. He leads the group well from there, seeing from behind the footy and the luxury that we’ve got is that he can go on ball and we’ve got ‘Berg’ (Bergman) he can swap with. There will be time that ‘Buttsy’ (Butters) spends a little bit of time back there, not a lot, just have to take him away from the contest a little bit. Connor’s comfortable, happy and sees the game well from that position and can use his strengths.”
Zak Butters
Carr: “He’ll have moments where he’ll go to half-back at times this year and there’s roles that are a little bit different for him, but at the same time, I know he’s really excited about doing.”
Harrison Ramm
Carr: “We’re pretty lucky to find ‘Rammy’ at the halfway mark of the year and bring him into our system. He’s a 203cm key back who can run, mark and he’s a baby. He’s got a lot of maturing to do but he’s showing some great signs.”
Miles Bergman, Will Brodie, Todd Marshall
