Live: Power and Eagles look to make it back-to-back wins

The Eagles are under big pressure here early.

A good tap from the Power to Zak Butters sent the stand-in skipper flying down the wing.

He kicked to set up Mitch Georgiades, but the move broke down – but then a terrible kick out of the Eagles defence was chopped off, and Jack Watkins slotted the home team’s second.

Well, that didn’t take long.

An early clearance for Port, they pushed it forward, then Joe Richards went on the right and kicked a speculative one to the square, where Jack Lukosius took a contested grab.

He kicked it, and the Power lead by a goal.

It’s a beautiful day at Adelaide Oval as the strains of Never Tear Us Apart ring out.

Looks like we might have Harley Reid on Jason Horne-Francis, which could be anything!

Who will go with Butters? We shall see.

• R19, 2025: Port Adelaide by 26 (Adelaide Oval)

• R2, 2024: Port Adelaide by 50 (Adelaide Oval)

• R6, 2023: Port Adelaide by 40 (Adelaide Oval)

• R6, 2022: Port Adelaide by 84 (Adelaide Oval)

• R3, 2021: West Coast by 37 (Perth Stadium)

• R4, 2020: Port Adelaide by 48 (Carrara)

The recent schedule has seen the Power play the Eagles at home for the last four encounters, with each one resulting in a sizeable win to the home side. The last time West Coast took the points was five years ago on their home deck at Perth Stadium.

Going back a bit further, however, the Eagles still have the memory of a big night at today’s venue, when Luke Shuey kicked the winning goal in the second period of extra time to win an elimination final by two points in 2017.

There were all sorts of positives to take out of West Coast’s win over North Melbourne beyond the welcome four points.

Jobe Shanahan up forward, the (now injured) Milan Murdock in everything, athletic big man Cooper Duff-Tytler, Willem Duursma and ex-Lion Deven Robertson’s intensity and ball-winning capacity.

But the most important part of the day may have been the reminder of what a healthy Elliot Yeo can do for West Coast.

The 32-year-old has had a miserable injury record in recent years, frustrating to him and the club because of how good he can be.

Against North last week he was on full display, with 19 disposals, six tackles, three clearances and two vital goals.

It’s also clear that in a team with a very young list, having Yeo’s experience and drive is important to keep his team in games when challenged.

It’s one thing to win in front of home fans – it’s another to win on the road, even against a Port Adelaide team that has had a very mixed start to the season.

Another win today would give coach Andrew McQualter and his Eagles a big boost.

We know that Zak Butters is a superstar player for Port Adelaide and a key to the club, but his importance has risen even higher after last week.

Skipper Connor Rozee tore his hamstring and has had to have surgery, and will miss three to four months.

Into the breach steps Butters, who is now the stand-in captain as well as a midfield key.

Last week he showed his brilliance against the Bombers, with a lazy 36 disposals, six tackles, seven clearances and two goal assists.

Today he gets to go against an Eagles line-up on his home deck.

If he wants to make a statement as skipper, we could be in for a huge performance.

There are no late changes for our early game.

Port Adelaide has had a tough injury run, with skipper Connor Rozee facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines needing surgery on a torn hamstring, while Miles Bergman is out with an ankle/heel injury and forward turned defender Todd Marshall misses with an ankle injury.

In comes ex-Docker midfielder Will Brodie, who will play his first AFL game in nearly three years. Also in is speedy winger Josh Lai, who came from suburban Melbourne footy before being picked in the supplemental selection period early last year. The final in is defender Lachie Jones.

Former skipper Ollie Wines was eligible for selection after completing his suspension for bumping Carlton’s Cooper Lord in round 24, 2025. He was named as an emergency.

West Coast have recalled young defender Josh Lindsay and named former Crow Harry Schoenberg for his club debut. Out go Harry Edwards (concussion) and exciting mature age newcomer Milan Murdock (hamstring). Edwards’s loss will be particularly rough on the Eagles’ defensive capacity.

The injury news for Collingwood is not great ahead of their big game against premiers Brisbane on Thursday night at the Gabba.

Skipper Darcy Moore came off against GWS on Friday night with a hamstring problem before returning to play out the game.

Scans have now shown it’s a more significant issue than the club had hoped.

“We are obviously disappointed for Darcy,” Collingwood football boss Charlie Gardiner said in a statement.

“Scans yesterday showed he has sustained a low-grade hamstring strain along with an inflamed bursa behind his knee, which is expected to keep him out for the next three to four weeks

“Darcy will continue to work closely with our medical and high-performance team as he progresses through his return-to-play timeline.”

This follows the issue with Scott Pendlebury, who came off in the game with Achilles tightness. He will not be available for Thursday either.

Hello, good afternoon (or morning, depending where you are!) and welcome to our live coverage of round three of the AFL.

We have a double-header for you today starting in Adelaide, where Port Adelaide are hosting a West Coast side coming off a big win in the West last week.

Later we will switch to the MCG, where an interesting and no doubt fierce contest awaits between Carlton and Melbourne, with both sides keen to avoid going 1-2.

I’m Andrew McGarry, and I will be bringing you all today’s action.

Let’s dig in!