We can stand up without Carlile

Port Adelaide recruit Angus Monfries, who is about to play his first home-and-away match for Power, talks with veteran Kane Cornes. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: The Advertiser

IT'S "team first" for new Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley who is dismissing the loss of full back Alipate Carlile as the game-changer at the MCG tomorrow.

"I never want to have a team that relies on one player for success," said Hinkley yesterday, as he named his first 22 for AFL premiership action.

"It's team - it always has to be."

Carlile, the Power's most-experienced defender, will miss tomorrow's season-opener against Melbourne with hamstring soreness he has felt for a fortnight.

His absence leaves Hinkley - who has rebuilt the Power's gameplan from defence - with the rawest Port back six sent into action since the club's AFL start on the MCG in March, 1997.

The most-experienced back man will be 61-game key defender Jackson Trengove.

He will form a partnership on Melbourne's tall forwards with two novices - 22-game Cam O'Shea and 13-game Tom Jonas.

All up the new Port back six has just 112 games of AFL experience - half with Trengove.

Hinkley's says regardless of who he has in his back six, defence will be a team ethos particularly for the Power midfielders.

"Defence - no matter who is there - is an area where there is a lot of stress," said Hinkley.

"So it always important in the AFL that your midfield run both ways to back up the defence."

Carlile's absence comes shortly after the 25-year-old full back signed a four-year contract extension that drew the ire of former Essendon key forward Matthew Lloyd.

But tomorrow Carlile's increased value could become more obvious, particularly if the tall Melbourne forwards led by James Sellar and Mitch Clark torment the new Port defence.

Co-ordinating the Power back six also falls to a rookie with tomorrow's game marking assistant Matthew Nicks' start in an AFL match-day coaching panel.

Nicks also reinforces Hinkley's point that team defence begins well before the last 50-metre arc.

"In today's game it's so important that every player show his defensive ability," Nicks said.

"When you have an eight-goal loss and everyone blames the back six, you have to wonder how your opponent was able to get it back down so easily from the other end.

"The biggest thing of this pre-season under Ken Hinkley has been a focus on team defence.

"My best defenders are (forwards) Jake Neade and Jay Schulz and (midfielder) Travis Boak ... and that might surprise many.

"But Jay Schulz is such a good defender with his attack and hunger for the footy. Neade has shown already that he loves to tackle. Boak's game is built around winning the ball - all our players have learned the value of defence."

Port's match 22 named last night puts:

THREE players in AFL action for the first time - Neade, first-round draftee Ollie Wines and elevated rookie Kane Mitchell.

SIX players in Power jumpers for the first time - former Essendon forward Angus Monfries, former West Coast defender Lewis Stevenson, Sydney import Campbell Heath, Neade, Wines and Mitchell.

CONFIRMS Port will work a two-ruck system with Jarrad Redden and Matthew Lobbe.

From the 25 named Thursday, Hinkley dismissed Daniel Stewart, Aaron Young and GWS Giants recruit Jack Hombsch.

Port and Melbourne meet just four weeks after Hinkley and Demons coach Mark Neeld put makeshift line-ups into their NAB Cup thriller at Renmark where Melbourne won by two points.

Hinkley is taking little from that match other than the competitive spirit his team showed.

"Both sides are entirely different (for Sunday)," he said.

"Melbourne saw our method that day in Renmark. We saw theirs. But we're different teams for this game.

"We know both clubs are on the start of a journey."

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