Rozee confident Power can “get to the final day in September” despite Cats loss

Connor Rozee has had a lot to think about this week.

The first year skipper and his team are preparing to bounce back from the 84-point loss to Geelong in finals week one and now facean intense semi-final clash against the raging Hawks.

The 24-year-old captain, who’s side was embarrassed at home last Thursday night, says he is ready and confident in his side's chances this Friday night.

Rozee believes his side has lost no confidence after last week’s loss and still believes they have what it takes to win it all.

“We can still beat any side in the competition and still get to the final day in September, our motivation is there, and we’re pretty keen to get back out there and bounce back from last week,” Rozee said on SEN SA.

Rozee believes Hawthorn are one of the most in-form sides in the competition; however, he says the Power are excited to recover and rebound from last week’s unexpected loss.

“Yeah certainly, the Hawks have been terrific for the second half of the year, and it’s going to be no easy game, however, we are fortunate to play at home again, and our energy will be up, I can assure you of that,” he said.

Rozee has had plenty of time to reflect on his team’s humiliating loss and spoke about how and why things got out of control.

“It was one of those nights where even from the start things didn’t go our way, we were second to the football early and got beaten around the contest and Geelong are a really tough team to beat once they get a run on, they’ve got some really damaging players around the ground and we couldn’t do a thing right,” he said.

“Unfortunately nothing went our way, but the great thing is we have put ourselves in a position where we have a double chance and everyone’s looking forward to bouncing back this week.”

Rozee was then asked about how his team will deal with the pressure and scrutiny after another finals loss, knowing that Hawthorn will similarly punish the Power with their pace if they make more errors this week.

“I think for this week with the pressure Hawthron will bring, it’s more just accepting that that’s how the game will be," Rozee said.

"We’ve done a few things structurally to help that out with numbers around the ball, we’ve got some really good inside mids like Ollie Wines who is a brownlow medallist, Willem Drew’s amazing in there, and we feel like we’ve got a good mix in the midfield there, we didn’t get it right last week but we’re certain we’ve got the weapons insdei to play that brand of football." 

Rozee has had an interesting year as captain and was asked about the pressures he has felt in his first season of captiancy.

While his body has let him down at times, Rozee still thinks he's found his best footy in patches.

“It’s been a little bit inconsistent, I feel like I started really well I had a strong start to the season and then obviously the hiccup in the middle of the year definitely gave me a few worries about where my body was at that point in time," Rozee said.

"Personally I didnt make a few correct decisions in terms of playing at the right time so that was frustrating, and I felt like once i came back I was a little slow and then I was back at my best, then my last couple weeks I probably dropped off a little bit.”

Rozee, who has split his time between midfield and half-forward, was asked how hard he feels it is to impact the game playing up forward.

“100%, I think half-forward is probably the hardest position on the ground to play, I started my first three years there, and as you said I played some half-back aswell, and now in the midfield, I’ve been able to see a few different positions on the ground, but I certainly think when things aren’t going our way up the ground, half forward can be a really frustrating position to play,” he said.

“I don’t worry too much about having 25 and 2 goals every week, but if I can impact the game the right way, then I'll be happy, and that’s where I haven’t felt like I’ve been at my best the last couple in terms of using my strengths.”

In recent years, Port Adelaide have lost two home preliminary finals against Richmond in 2020, the Bulldogs in 2021, and also lost last season in a semi-final against GWS at home.

Now again, they have lost at home against Geelong in a qualifying final in shocking fashion and must win this Thursday night at home against the Hawks.