Jeremy Finalyson's pre-season performance could be the answer to all Port Adelaide's defensive questions.
Amid a total annihilation of their key defensive posts, with Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher likely to miss the opening weeks of the 2025 season, Finlayson, in a desperate attempt to fill the void, was deployed in the backline.
But if Saturday's outing against St Kilda at RSEA Park is anything to go by, coach Ken Hinkley has unearthed a weapon.
In the one-sided affair that saw the Power win by 44 points, Finlayson gathered 31 touches, seven marks and six clearances in a complete performance.
The former Giant also recorded seven intercept possessions and seven score involvements.
But what pleased the Pwoer coaching group the most was his ability to use the football to good use, noting a 72.4 per cent disposal efficiency on the day.
"The real positive about Jez is the decisions he makes ball in hand," assistant coach Chad Cornes said following the game.
"And for a tall guy, the way he finds the footy is something that can really add to the way we want to move the footy.
"He's played there in bits and pieces at GWS, played a little bit down back here (Port Adelaide) but to have him perform like that in his first full game as a defender, there was some really good signs there."
Finlayson's versatility has seen him play in multiple roles up forward, whilst Hinkley has used the 29-year-old in the ruck.
But this new position will also allow Port Adelaide to throw the magnets around, especially given the absentees for the beginning of the season.
One name that the Power lost to injury is All-Australian midfielder Zak Butters, after injuring his knee during the week.
The void left by Butters will be difficult to fill, although the Alberton club is expecting Jackson Mead and Willem Drew to pick up the slack, while star pair Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis are expected to continue their development.
"They'll all have to (pick up the load," Cornes said.
"Meady spent more time around the footy today. Drewy played a full game. So there'll be a bit of shuffling going on there.
"I thought Horne-Francis and Rozee stepped up in Butters' absence as did the rest of the midfield."
But the Butters-sized hole could be filled by another option.
"(Sam Powell-Pepper) Pep's movement is what I was really happy with," Cornes added.
"No signs of the knee at all. I thought his agility was there. He sets a tone for us and to have him out there will be a real bonus for us."
Sam Powell-Pepper missed all but three games in 2024 after serving a four-game suspension and then tending to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The 26-year-old could be primed for bursts through the midfield to help deal with the load, swapping out with Horne-Francis and Rozee in the forward line.
The Power now have two weeks before their Round 1 season opener against Collingwood at the MCG.
