Sam Powell-Pepper seems destined to play out his career as a small forward after showing promise early in his development on ball. There is no shame in not having the tank to run out a game in the guts, and he can make excellent contributions with his fierceness on the chase and bullocking work in packs at forward 50 stoppages. Showdowns like tonight are set up for impact players like SPP to maximise their influence on a tightly-fought contest, and he has as much chance as anyone to secure a prized medal if he can be the X factor that the Power needs, especially without Willie Rioli.
Sam Powell-Pepper seems destined to play out his career as a small forward after showing promise early in his development on ball. There is no shame in not having the tank to run out a game in the guts, and he can make excellent contributions with his fierceness on the chase and bullocking work in packs at forward 50 stoppages. Showdowns like tonight are set up for impact players like SPP to maximise their influence on a tightly-fought contest, and he has as much chance as anyone to secure a prized medal if he can be the X factor that the Power needs, especially without Willie Rioli.
Sam Powell-Pepper has had a couple of good games in his last two, following three so-so outings on return from injury. Putting the midfields of Collingwood and Fremantle to the sword is perhaps not the stuff of fantasy legend, as even B-graders can fill their boots at times, but his two good scores came off the back of some pleasingly high tackle numbers, not through an increase in possessions. He would be a fairly unique POD play in fantasy heading off the byes, but picking young players who break out is the thing that puts you over the top in fantasy football.
Sam Powell-Pepper has been mooted to spend a fair bit of time forward in 2020 but in Marsh 1 he was to be found almost exclusively in the coalface as per usual. Perhaps with the best 22 playing for Port Adelaide today we might see more of him in attacking 50, but for the moment his fantasy value is holding.
Powell-Pepper is a bit salty
While he avoided the off-field issues of the previous campaign, Sam Powell-Pepper was one of the casualties in a selection purge after a loss away to Fremantle in round 13, and was a late in twice before finally being selected again in round 17... then dropped again for the last game of the season. None of it seemed to affect his statistical output, which ended up level with his 2018 numbers. Passing the 20-disposal barrier is usually the key to his startable scores, which happens half the time. No wonder Powell-Pepper was subject to plenty of trade talk in the off season despite being contracted to the end of 2020, and chatter of him going home to WA or taking better money from a big Victorian club won't die down unless things turn around. He was compared to Dustin Martin a lot as a junior, and Dusty took four or five years to really come into his own. His draft interest is high due to dual eligibility, but that also denotes he will rotate forward which may push his average below the baseline.
SPP naughty by nature
In his second year, Sam Powell-Pepper came under fire for two separate off-field incidents, one at a bar and the other on social media. His form around those two furores was poor, but in the middle he had a better run of a couple of months where his fantasy average rose from below 60 to over 85. He spent more time at the coal face and less resting forward. That midseason form line is obviously the real SPP shining through. It is a measure of Port Adelaide as a club as to whether they can bring that out of him rather than the other stuff. They haven't always passed that test in the past. Given that his trailing average is well below the midfielder baseline you will probably be able to pick him up quite late. He is well worth a flier.
Who's down with SPP?
The first nomination for the 2017 Rising Star, Sam Powell-Pepper eventually finished third in that award with almost a full season, ending with a quite credible 19 possessions and 10 tackles in the final. He did not do much on the spread to collect marks, but did manage five games with multiple goals and specialised in a Dustin Martin-style fend to opponents in packs. Powell-Pepper is probably the strongest candidate to benefit from natural progression of the 2016 draft crop, as his already-bulky body shape means he doesn't need to suffer from second-year syndrome. He starts with a trailing average 15 points behind the baseline for midfielders so, even with some very solid upside, a late pick is all that is warranted at this stage.
