Port to throw AFL tall timber at Swans

Sydney are wary of the danger posed by a Port Adelaide side planning to throw plenty of tall-forward timber at the AFL’s meanest defence.

The Swans will look to consolidate a top-four spot in their SCG clash, while Port have only a mathematical hope of making the finals, being three wins off eighth spot with four rounds to go.

Sydney have won their past four contests against Port.

Both teams last week won by close to 100 points.

“They are a very dangerous side,” Swans forward Gary Rohan told AAP.

“Kenny (Port coach Ken Hinkley) is going to have them all pumped up ready to go.

“We just beat them the last time so they will probably have that in the back of their mind.”

Port will have 202cm Charlie Dixon back to add height and menace to what is potentially an imposing forward line.

He will line up with 197cm John Butcher and 199cm Justin Westhoff, who will play his 200th AFL game.

Dixon, the third-highest Port goalkicker this year with 30, missed the past two games with an ankle injury, but was named in the side and travelled to Sydney and will play barring any late setback.

“It’s nearly the first time for the year we’ve actually got a couple of fit tall forwards with ‘Hof’ to be out there running around together,” Hinkley said.

“We’re interested to see what happens. It’s probably been our desire to have more of that.

“We haven’t actually been able to do that as often as we would like either through form or through injury.

“Clearly up forward, it’s a much bigger assignment for the opposition backs when you have 197 and 202 and 200 (centimetre players) in your front half.

“You’ve got to put people on them that can control them in the air and the good thing about our three talls is they are all quite agile at ground level, so it does cause them some structural issues, I imagine.”

He backed Jackson Trengrove to hold his own against Sydney’s taller but inexperienced ruck duo of Sam Naismith and Toby Nankervis.

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