“Like seeing Pat Cummins at mid off”: Why Power skipper returned to original role

Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee's move to half-back has been likened to Cricket Australia skipper Pat Cummins at mid-off with the ability to set his team up during the play.

Power coach Josh Carr has tinkered with Rozee in the defensive line in the pre-season after a switch to the role in 2025 under Ken Hinkley.

The Power skipper's creativity and burst are perfect for the modern-day rebounder, while the club's midfield depth in the form of Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis, Miles Bergman and Willem Drew provides Rozee - a half-back as a junior - more flexibility.

"It is a position where you can captain the side really well," assistant coach Stuart Dew said.

"You can set the players up when we're in the front half, you can be a steady hand, leadership-wise, when it's in the back half under pressure.

"So, it's a bit like seeing Pat Cummins at mid-off, because you can talk to the players at every ball. Connor's a little bit like that, he can keep talking to the defenders and can feed the midfield information."

Dew also spoke on the club opening up a third list spot following the ACL injury to ruckman Ivan Soldo.

The former Tiger is expected to miss the entire 2026 season with the knee injury, placing a heavy reliance on Jordon Sweet and Dante Visentini to shoulder the load.

"There is that mechanism, but we're just assessing at the moment on a needs basis and how that all looks," Dew said.

"Look, a week or so ago, we had three rucks, and we weren't sure who was going to start. So, you go from feeling like you got too many, and then if one goes down, you do feel a little bit skinny."

Port Adelaide is currently trialling former Collingwood forward Jaidyn Stephenson, as well as ex-Cat Ted Clohesy.

Mitch Zadow and Balyn O'Brien are also pressing their case for an AFL opportunity.