Port Adelaide stars Travis Boak and Paul Stewart will need to come through the Power’s training session on Thursday to be available for selection for Saturday’s AFL match against Brisbane.
Caretaker coach Garry Hocking said he expected both players to be available, but they would have to prove their fitness before getting the final nod.
Boak was a late withdrawal with a sore hip from the Port side that lost to West Coast Eagles on Sunday, while Stewart was subbed out early when he suffered an accidental head knock.
They joined the club’s long injury list this season with 12 players ruled out for the rest of the year and others in doubt.
Hocking said he had his fingers crossed that Boak would be cleared to play while the club would take a more cautious approach with Stewart.
“He’s had some serious head knocks over probably the past four or five weeks, so again we’ve got to be careful with what he does,” the coach said.
“He won’t have any contact (work) today but he’ll be out there training and we expect him to roll out again on the weekend.”
Hocking said Port was looking to the game against Brisbane as a good chance for a win and for the players to get something from the final two matches of the season following the departure of senior coach Matthew Primus.
“I’m looking for a competitive effort from the boys,” he said.
“Brisbane have won two of the last five, so they’re not in great form.”
Hocking said Port would need to improve on their skills and ramp up the defensive pressure to take the premiership points against the Lions.
“We still turn the ball over, which is disappointing from a coach’s point of view,” he said.
“We’ve been pretty good with contested ball throughout the year – that’s one of our strengths.
“It’s really more the uncontested, on the outside, that we’ve just got to get a little bit better at.”
Wet conditions are expected for the game at AAMI Stadium and Hocking believes that could also suit the Power.