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How to tune into Sport NationWhy former Crows captain has Port Adelaide missing finals in 2025
Andrew Slevison • March 4th, 2025 3:27 pm
Former Adelaide captain Mark Bickley has Port Adelaide dropping out of the eight in 2025.
The Power finished the 2024 home and away season in second spot before losing the Preliminary Final to the Sydney Swans, and the jury is out on what they could achieve this season.
Bickley is one who believes that Port will drop away, concerned by their defensive stocks which are currently without Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Esava Ratugolea.
He has worries for Ken Hinkley in his final season at the helm before handing over to Josh Carr.
“There’s a huge question mark over their defence,” Bickley said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“First of all Brandon Zerk-Thatcher is not playing and he’s out indefinitely with a back injury. He was their mainstay.
“He’s not a world-beater by any stretch but you can rely on him. He plays on the biggest and strongest forward each week and generally does pretty well.
“People are talking about Esava Ratugolea being injured as well, and he’s going to miss a little bit of footy, but just remember back to last year. In the end last year they couldn’t play Esava in defence because he kept making mistakes in giving up goals.
“He’s not really the answer to your defence because you decided you had to move him out of defence last year. So that’s one part of it.”
The two-time Crows premiership captain is also worried about Port’s forward line post the Charlie Dixon era which has been compounded by the loss of Todd Marshall who ruptured his Achilles tendon in January.
“Charlie Dixon moves on, he’s been there for a long while. The common thought was that it would be a new-look forward line with Todd Marshall stepping up and demanding a bit more footy. He’s out with that ruptured achilles,” Bickley continued.
“You’ve brought in a number of players as you lose a two-time All-Australian in Dan Houston. There’s some disruption there.
“Mix with that the fact that you’ve got a really tough draw. I have Port winning 13 games but because of that tough draw I just don’t think they’re going to be able to top up their percentage like potentially Adelaide and Melbourne will when they play some of the more lower-ranked teams twice.”
After going through his ladder predictor, Bickley made his top 8 prediction ahead of what he believes will be the tightest AFL season in some time.
“This is going to be one of the most even seasons in the competition’s history,” Bickley added.
Bickley’s 2025 top 8 prediction
1 - GWS2 - Geelong3 - Hawthorn4 - Fremantle5 - Brisbane6 - Sydney7 - Melbourne8 - Adelaide
