A second trip to Adelaide in three weeks awaits Geelong this weekend, as they prepare to take on Port Adelaide on Saturday afternoon. 

The Power have won two of their six games to this point of the season but have been in better form lately, pushing Hawthorn right to the final siren last Saturday and narrowly falling to St Kilda a week earlier. 

Despite results not falling their way, the Power will always be a dangerous opponent with the likes of Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis capable of breaking games open in a heartbeat. 

The Cats have found a winning formula recently, winning their last three clashes with Port Adelaide by an average margin of 81 points, which includes two matches at Adelaide Oval. 

But there will be plenty of pivotal factors heading into Saturday's match, take a look at Port Adelaide's strengths below with Geelong's opposition analysis, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

2026 Ladder 

Port Adelaide: 12th (2-4)
Geelong Cats: 6th (4-2)

Recent Games

2025, Round 21 - Geelong 23.15 (153) def Port Adelaide 9.11 (65)
2025, Round 10 - Port Adelaide 5.9 (39) def. by Geelong 17.13 (115)
2024, Qualifying Final - Port Adelaide 7.12 (54) def. by Geelong 20.18 (138)

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Stopping Zak Butters

Bailey Smith's dominant start to the season was touched on earlier in the week, but Zak Butters has been equally impressive for Port Adelaide across their opening six games. 

The Power star currently ranks fourth in the AFL for total disposals (30.8 per game), ninth for clearances, fifth for contested possessions and seventh for inside 50s. 

His ability to find the footy has been second to none, collecting 30 disposals or more in each of their last five games, which includes a 35-disposal outing against Hawthorn last week. 

Butters also has found a way to get involved offensively, sitting third in the competition for score involvements while also kicking two goals of his own in the last two matches. 

Geelong has found a solution to the Butters problem recently, with Oisin Mulling holding him to 20 disposals and three clearances in Round 10 last year, before restricting him to 10 disposals and four clearances in Round 21. 

Expect the Irishman to get the job once again this weekend, but Butters will certainly be keen to have his say in proceedings as the night unfolds. 

The Ruck Battle

With plenty of star midfielders set to go head to head on Saturday, the on-ball division that gets first use will have a big advantage, which will mean the ruck battle will be crucial. 

It is an area that Port Adelaide have excelled in this year, ranking third in the AFL for hit-outs to advantage and first for percentage of their hit-outs that are to advantage. 

While they only rank narrowly above the AFL average for total hit-outs, they certainly make the most of the ones that they do win and that helps them to be a strong stoppage team. 

Jordon Sweet is the main protagonist for the Power, currently ranked second in the AFL for average hit-outs to advantage per game (10.4), a player that has performed strongly against the Cats in past matches. 

Hit-out to Advantage Leaders

Pressuring the Power in Transition

Another area of the ground that Port Adelaide have excelled in this year is their delivery inside 50, able to hit targets and find effective avenues to goal. 

The Power rank second in the competition for marks inside 50 rate, which is how many marks they take per inside 50 with an average of 27.6%. 

They sit fourth for total marks inside 50, but they are also placed first in the competition for marks on the lead with an average of 13.8 per game. 

Mitch Georgiades is Port Adelaide's leader in those statistics, ranking first out of all players in the AFL for marks inside 50 (23) and second for marks on the lead (19).