Second ACL confirmed for Sam Powell-Pepper, season also over for Port Adelaide teammates Esava Ratugolea and Dante Visentini
Defender Esava Ratugolea and emerging young ruckman Dante Visentini are also done for 2025 after a night of injury carnage in last Saturday's loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.
Powell-Pepper, 27, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee, just 15 months after he did the same to his right knee.
He only played three games last season but worked his way back from the heartbreaking injury to play 15 games in 2025 before the devastating blow.
'It's such a disappointing outcome for Sam and for the club,' Port Adelaide head of medical services Tim O'Leary said.
'Sam is so courageous and hardworking and was incredibly diligent with his previous knee rehab. There is no doubt he will approach this rehab with his usual high level of commitment, attacking it in the same way he attacks the footy.'
Ratugolea, meanwhile, sustained a high-grade hamstring injury during a spoil, while Visentini suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury in a ruck contest.
Visentini will have to undergo surgery this week, while Ratugolea's treatment plan will be determined over the coming days, but the injury is severe enough to end his season.
Port Adelaide can't make the finals, and coach Ken Hinkley will hand over duties to Josh Carr at the end of the season.
'It's really unfortunate to lose Esava and Dante at this point in the year,' O'Leary said.
'The silver lining is that there will be no impact on their pre-seasons, which gives them the best chance to prepare for 2026.'
Second-year player Lachie Charleson has had a successful procedure on a broken finger and will be sidelined for up to a fortnight.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
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Star's shock revelation after ban fallout
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has revealed he almost quit the game after being caught sending threats to opposition players but he's stayed to continue to champion the cause of indigenous players. Rioli was suspended for a game in May and hit with fines after revelations of a social media threat to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale with a further two instances of similar aggression to opponents coming to light. He earned support from Port chairman, David Koch, who suggestion Rioli was subjected to 'culturally insensitive' remarks, which was shot down by the Bulldogs in a war of words between the two clubs. It was putting Port in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and the fallout from the incident moved Rioli to contemplate walking away. 'Definitely it gets to a point where it's a bit too much sometimes,' Rioli told Port's club podcast, Peeled. 'And yeah I have spoken to my manager and the club a couple of times about walking away from the game, which I am not shy to talk about. 'More so ... trying to not be putting any more pressure on the club. Get them out of the spotlight as well, in terms of not have to deal with my issues so much as a person off-field.' Remarkably, Rioli even said he took a 'bit of the blame' for a drop off in indigenous player numbers, a feeling dating back to copping an 18-month suspension for tampering with his marijuana-tainted urine sample while at West Coast. Bulldog Bailey Dale after an incident with Willie Rioli. Michael Klein Credit: News Corp Australia 'I do hold a bit of blame myself a little bit for some of the stuff I have been through, in terms of clubs not trusting Indigenous players,' he said, declaring righting that wrong, and improving perceptions was why he's still playing. 'I felt that was my driver to come back to footy ... be the light in terms of 'we can go through this'. 'I look at the drop in terms of Indigenous players in the competition ... that gives me the motivation to stick around longer, to help the next generation do better than what we are doing or what I am doing. 'I want the next (Indigenous) generation to be better than what we are right now. 'And I want them to have their confidence to make mistakes and not be judged by their mistakes.'


The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
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Leigh Matthews finds his hit on Neville Bruns "repugnant" and says advice from coach Allan Jeans was pivotal for how he dealt with the aftermath. While Matthews' status as a legendary AFL player, coach and commentator is set in stone, he also thoroughly earned the nickname "Lethal". That was never more true than in 1985, the Hawthorn great's last season as a player, when he broke Neville Bruns' jaw in a match against Geelong. Forty years later, it remains one of the most controversial incidents in the game's history. Matthews was charged with assault by police - the only time that has happened in VFL/AFL history - and it resulted in a court imposing a 12-month good behaviour bond. The AFL also deregistered Matthews for four weeks - he was not reported by an umpire - and the incident was a key step for the league introducing trial by video into the tribunal system. "The way football seems now it seemed so repugnant; but even then, it was repugnant," Matthews told the Howie Games podcast. "The aging body and a strong competitive instinct can be a dangerous combination. (It) was a poor year because I was fading as a footballer. "Even in your own sight, you think, 'Why did I do that', and I still haven't got an answer. "I felt unbelievably guilty. I always played very vigorously, but that was the worst thing I ever did. I thought, 'If football can make you do that ... if the person (you are) out there can make you do that, never play footy again'." Matthews said he went to Jeans, the legendary Hawks coach who was also still a policeman that season, for advice. "He said, 'Don't let that be the last thing people remember you by.' It was a terrible thing I did, and I've always believed if you do the crime, do the time. Whatever happened, I deserved," Matthews said. Matthew retired at the end of that season, with 332 games, four premierships and the reputation as arguably the greatest player in the game's history. He was true to Jeans' advice, coaching Collingwood to their drought-breaking 1990 premiership and leading Brisbane to their 2001-03 flag three-peat. Matthews remains in the game as its most respected media commentator. Matthews also broke a point post when he collided with it in a 1982 game against Essendon at Windy Hill. TV commentator Lou Richards reacted with the legendary quote, "Talk about a he-man". Matthews says, "I like the he-man stuff, let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story". But he revealed he did not know about the damage until after the game, when he complained to a club trainer about his sore elbow. "So, don't go telling anyone else the true story," he said. Leigh Matthews finds his hit on Neville Bruns "repugnant" and says advice from coach Allan Jeans was pivotal for how he dealt with the aftermath. While Matthews' status as a legendary AFL player, coach and commentator is set in stone, he also thoroughly earned the nickname "Lethal". That was never more true than in 1985, the Hawthorn great's last season as a player, when he broke Neville Bruns' jaw in a match against Geelong. Forty years later, it remains one of the most controversial incidents in the game's history. Matthews was charged with assault by police - the only time that has happened in VFL/AFL history - and it resulted in a court imposing a 12-month good behaviour bond. The AFL also deregistered Matthews for four weeks - he was not reported by an umpire - and the incident was a key step for the league introducing trial by video into the tribunal system. "The way football seems now it seemed so repugnant; but even then, it was repugnant," Matthews told the Howie Games podcast. "The aging body and a strong competitive instinct can be a dangerous combination. (It) was a poor year because I was fading as a footballer. "Even in your own sight, you think, 'Why did I do that', and I still haven't got an answer. "I felt unbelievably guilty. I always played very vigorously, but that was the worst thing I ever did. I thought, 'If football can make you do that ... if the person (you are) out there can make you do that, never play footy again'." Matthews said he went to Jeans, the legendary Hawks coach who was also still a policeman that season, for advice. "He said, 'Don't let that be the last thing people remember you by.' It was a terrible thing I did, and I've always believed if you do the crime, do the time. Whatever happened, I deserved," Matthews said. Matthew retired at the end of that season, with 332 games, four premierships and the reputation as arguably the greatest player in the game's history. He was true to Jeans' advice, coaching Collingwood to their drought-breaking 1990 premiership and leading Brisbane to their 2001-03 flag three-peat. Matthews remains in the game as its most respected media commentator. Matthews also broke a point post when he collided with it in a 1982 game against Essendon at Windy Hill. TV commentator Lou Richards reacted with the legendary quote, "Talk about a he-man". Matthews says, "I like the he-man stuff, let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story". But he revealed he did not know about the damage until after the game, when he complained to a club trainer about his sore elbow. "So, don't go telling anyone else the true story," he said. Leigh Matthews finds his hit on Neville Bruns "repugnant" and says advice from coach Allan Jeans was pivotal for how he dealt with the aftermath. While Matthews' status as a legendary AFL player, coach and commentator is set in stone, he also thoroughly earned the nickname "Lethal". That was never more true than in 1985, the Hawthorn great's last season as a player, when he broke Neville Bruns' jaw in a match against Geelong. Forty years later, it remains one of the most controversial incidents in the game's history. Matthews was charged with assault by police - the only time that has happened in VFL/AFL history - and it resulted in a court imposing a 12-month good behaviour bond. The AFL also deregistered Matthews for four weeks - he was not reported by an umpire - and the incident was a key step for the league introducing trial by video into the tribunal system. "The way football seems now it seemed so repugnant; but even then, it was repugnant," Matthews told the Howie Games podcast. "The aging body and a strong competitive instinct can be a dangerous combination. (It) was a poor year because I was fading as a footballer. "Even in your own sight, you think, 'Why did I do that', and I still haven't got an answer. "I felt unbelievably guilty. I always played very vigorously, but that was the worst thing I ever did. I thought, 'If football can make you do that ... if the person (you are) out there can make you do that, never play footy again'." Matthews said he went to Jeans, the legendary Hawks coach who was also still a policeman that season, for advice. "He said, 'Don't let that be the last thing people remember you by.' It was a terrible thing I did, and I've always believed if you do the crime, do the time. Whatever happened, I deserved," Matthews said. Matthew retired at the end of that season, with 332 games, four premierships and the reputation as arguably the greatest player in the game's history. He was true to Jeans' advice, coaching Collingwood to their drought-breaking 1990 premiership and leading Brisbane to their 2001-03 flag three-peat. Matthews remains in the game as its most respected media commentator. Matthews also broke a point post when he collided with it in a 1982 game against Essendon at Windy Hill. TV commentator Lou Richards reacted with the legendary quote, "Talk about a he-man". Matthews says, "I like the he-man stuff, let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story". But he revealed he did not know about the damage until after the game, when he complained to a club trainer about his sore elbow. "So, don't go telling anyone else the true story," he said.

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘A bit too much': Willie Rioli's shock revelation after threat ban fallout
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has revealed he almost quit the game after being caught sending threats to opposition players but he's stayed to continue to champion the cause of indigenous players. Rioli was suspended for a game in May and hit with fines after revelations of a social media threat to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale with a further two instances of similar aggression to opponents coming to light. He earned support from Port chairman, David Koch, who suggestion Rioli was subjected to 'culturally insensitive' remarks, which was shot down by the Bulldogs in a war of words between the two clubs. It was putting Port in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and the fallout from the incident moved Rioli to contemplate walking away. 'Definitely it gets to a point where it's a bit too much sometimes,' Rioli told Port's club podcast, Peeled. 'And yeah I have spoken to my manager and the club a couple of times about walking away from the game, which I am not shy to talk about. 'More so ... trying to not be putting any more pressure on the club. Get them out of the spotlight as well, in terms of not have to deal with my issues so much as a person off-field.' Remarkably, Rioli even said he took a 'bit of the blame' for a drop off in indigenous player numbers, a feeling dating back to copping an 18-month suspension for tampering with his marijuana-tainted urine sample while at West Coast. 'I do hold a bit of blame myself a little bit for some of the stuff I have been through, in terms of clubs not trusting Indigenous players,' he said, declaring righting that wrong, and improving perceptions was why he's still playing. 'I felt that was my driver to come back to footy ... be the light in terms of 'we can go through this'. 'I look at the drop in terms of Indigenous players in the competition ... that gives me the motivation to stick around longer, to help the next generation do better than what we are doing or what I am doing. 'I want the next (Indigenous) generation to be better than what we are right now. 'And I want them to have their confidence to make mistakes and not be judged by their mistakes.'