His absence means the Blues will again have Tom De Koning as the frontline ruck, with McKay providing relief.
Forward Jack Martin [calf] has been ruled out until after the round-14 bye.
Power coach Ken Hinkley said a decision on skipper Rozee’s fitness won’t be made until just before game time – the dynamic onballer having sprained an ankle against the Kangaroos in his return game after missing two matches because of a hamstring strain.
“Clearly it’s a short turnaround, five days. And we’ll give it to the very last minute to figure out where he’s at, but if there’s any danger we won’t play him,” Hinkley said.
“This is not soft tissue so it’s a more manageable injury, which is something there will be a little bit more pain than danger of hurting it again. And we go into the bye the week after – there’s plenty of time to recover and rest after that – so we’ll be bullish right to the moment probably.”
Power games: The athletic Charlie Curnow will give Port Adelaide’s defensive spine much to think about on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
While Dixon will return, goalsneak Willie Rioli (calf) won’t play.
The Blues blasted 18 goals past the Power in a 50-point win when the teams met in round 18 last year. Charlie Curnow booted three goals, but Harry McKay hurt his knee in the first term and did not return. However, fellow tall Jack Silvagni picked up the slack, booting four majors.
The Blues again exposed the Power’s lack of size in defence, an issue coach Ken Hinkley says has been rectified after trading for Esava Ratugolea from Geelong and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher from Essendon. Ratugolea was superb last week, holding North Melbourne star Nick Larkey goalless for the first time in 29 games.
However, McKay and Curnow make up arguably the best tall-forward combination in the league, and Hinkley acknowledged how important his two key defenders will be.
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“There is no doubt about that. When you come up against the size of those two boys – and the talent that they have – it certainly explains the reason we went looking last year to find some players to help us in that area,” Hinkley said.
“Esava last week was enormous in keeping Nick Larkey without a goal for the first time in 26, 27 games. That is a pretty strong performance.”
The third-placed Power are conceding an average of just 78 points per game, seven less than last season, and only once have ceded more than 100 points. The Blues, eighth on the ladder, have booted more than 100 points four times so far.
“We’ve got a mission to do in Adelaide. We haven’t beaten an Adelaide team in Adelaide. I know we won at Adelaide Oval against Fremantle (in Gather Round), which was a nice milestone for us. Then we’ve got the Dons [Essendon], who are in very good form, so we’ll try and get that done first before taking four or five days off, which’ll be nice,” Weitering said.
The Western Bulldogs expect defender James O’Donnell to be fit for Friday night’s clash against Collingwood. O’Donnell had been ill but has returned to training and will be monitored ahead of selection. Ed Richards and Anthony Scott will miss, having been concussed against Sydney. The Bulldogs have listed Tom Liberatore as being up to a fortnight away from returning from concussion.
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