Port Adelaide hatch plan to deal with Ben Cousins
Zac Milbank | May 14, 2009
BEN Cousins has already registered on Port Adelaide's radar.
Richmond's star midfielder - coming off an encouraging return against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday - can expect plenty of attention at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
And Power enforcer Dean Brogan is eager to again make his presence felt from the opening bounce.
"Absolutely," the Port ruckman said when asked if he had noticed Cousins' return from a hamstring strain against the Lions.
"Cousins is back and we all know how good he looks, he's very fit. He played really well considering he missed a big chunk of footy.
"He'd be coming over here wanting to play well. He hasn't played here for a while so no doubt he's definitely on our radar. We can't let him get under our guard as he's a champion player."
Cousins has not graced AAMI Stadium since injuring his hamstring in West Coast's 2007 qualifying final loss against Port.
No doubt Brogan - keen to atone for being beaten by North Melbourne's Hamish McIntosh on Saturday night - will be reminding the former Eagles captain of this upon his return.
The aggressive ruckman is so focused on winning the first clearance for Port - it initially trailed 9-1 in this area against the Roos - that Cousins, Nathan Foley and Brett Deledio had better be wary.
"That's my game," Brogan said.
"I like to set the tone and my teammates like it when I do that so it's important for me to bring it every week.
"I can't afford to have an off day. It's just the responsibility I want and hopefully this week I can come out and play well."
While shutting down Cousins was a priority, Brogan said monitoring Foley and Deledio was just as important.
And he is ready to negate impressive Tigers ruckman Angus Graham, who is coming off a career-best game against Brisbane.
"It's not just him (Cousins)," Brogan said.
"Foley's playing well, Deledio's playing well and their young ruckman Graham - who I've got a big challenge against - he was best on ground last week so he's popped up from nowhere.
"We'll be going at the ball because contested footy is going to get us the win this week."
A member of Port's leadership group, Brogan declared all his teammates had to be "on edge" to succeed this season.
With a 4-3 win-loss record, the Power has given its fans a roller-coaster ride - failing to back up stunning wins against Hawthorn and Adelaide.
As a result, Brogan revealed his recipe for redemption at Alberton.
"You just hold people accountable for their actions," he said.
"We had lots of turnovers from senior players and younger players last week and that's just not good enough.
"We prepared well for North Melbourne, we knew they were going to throw everything at us and we didn't handle that too well.
"Every week, every team needs to be on edge, especially us.
"It's about concentrating for four quarters. We're not a Geelong or St Kilda who can get away with little 10-minute lapses. We're a team that needs to be on edge.
"Every kick counts, every mark and every play counts and that's what we're trying to get across to the group."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25476539-19742,00.html
