The emergence of Jesse Lonergan as a negating midfielder continued on Saturday night against Port Adelaide, with Rodney Eade praising the Tasmanian’s ability to nullify the most dangerous opposition player, or players as the case was on the weekend.
 
Throughout 2015 under Eade, Lonergan has played a variety of roles through the midfield and in defence, as the football department focuses on development and building depth across the board to set the right foundations for sustained success in the not too distant future.
 
In the last six weeks, upon a return to the midfield, Lonergan has been handed an array of difficult assignments on All Australian midfielders. He has been beaten at times in games, but fought back to make an impact. He is building a dossier by the week and looms as a crucial element in the SUNS evolving engine room.
 
Lonergan started on Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak on Saturday night, subduing the dual All Australian in the first half before being moved onto line-breaking midfielder Hamish Hartlett after he proved to be the most damaging player on the ground in the first half.
 
“I thought Jesse did a good job on Boak and then at half-time Hartlett has gained 400 odd metres so we put him on to Hartlett and he quelled him a bit too,” Eade told the media after the Power beat Gold Coast by 37 points on Saturday night.
 
“So Jesse had a really good game. He was really buggered by the end of the game, his groins had seized up - he was struggling to walk the poor bugger.
 
“He got a bit of the ball as well, so that’s another step forward for Jesse. So that’s a real credit to him.”
 
The 21-year-old was one of the SUNS best in defeat, stopping his direct opponent first, before collecting 23 possessions of his own, as well as seven clearances, four inside 50s and two goal assists.
 
On the day the club announced that Lonergan had extended his contract with Gold Coast, the big-bodied midfielder continued his emergence as a midfielder who can play on a direct opponent, and also win his own ball. The latter being a vital component of a tagger in today’s game.