Mitch Georgiades set for 100th game in Friday’s Showdown
Mitch Georgiades will line up for his 100th AFL game in Friday’s Showdown, a milestone the 24-year-old Port Adelaide spearhead described as “pretty cool” and “honoured” after speaking to media on Tuesday. He also said the match is “one of the biggest games in the calendar for the year, for the club and for the state.”
Georgiades was drafted out of Subiaco in the 2019 national draft and said his career has already delivered a few moments he will not forget. “Ohh, favourite moments, I think winning a final, that taste against Hawthorne a couple years ago, I think it's hard to beat. It was a close game. Also last year, that Gold Coast game as well, to send off Kenny and Chad and Trav, that was great game as well,” he said.
Georgiades and Port Adelaide’s set shots
The milestone lands during a strong stretch for Georgiades over the last two seasons, with 2023 ACL injury setbacks sharpening his focus, according to the comments he made on Tuesday. He said Port Adelaide has done a lot of work on goal-kicking accuracy and that the club’s set shots “have certainly improved this year.”
Georgiades said he reviewed all of his set shots on Tuesday and that he has a strong routine. “Nothing in particular. I think we doing so much work on that and not every week we're going to kick straight,” he said, before adding, “I think this year there's been an improvement from looking at the stats and talking to the coaches yesterday.”
Friday’s Showdown at Port Adelaide
Georgiades also pointed to Port Adelaide’s forward structure, saying the club is “probably not the biggest forward line group” and that “there's multiple avenues” to get the ball inside 50. He said moving the ball and changing directions can create open looks inside forward 50, a practical detail that shapes how Port Adelaide can feed its forwards in a high-pressure game.
For Port Adelaide, the immediate focus is Friday’s Showdown and the role Georgiades will play in it. The club has not only a 100-game milestone to celebrate, but a forward who said the work on his shots and the team’s ball movement is already showing up in the way he and Port Adelaide attack goal.
