There's been a lot of talk about what it takes to build a final four playing list and Port Adelaide with it's vast improvement from a virtual basket case two years ago to a preliminary finalist next weekend is worth looking at.
The following is the list of the Port players from the team that beat Freo and where they were originally drafted when they first came into the system:-
ND 4 ~ Hartlett
ND 5 ~ Boak
ND 5 ~ Polec
ND 6 ~ Wingard
ND 7 ~ Wines
ND 9 ~ Moore
ND 12 ~ Monfries
ND 12 ~ Schultz
ND 13 ~ Ebert
ND 16 ~ Lobbe
ND 16 ~ Pittard
ND 20 ~ Cornes
ND 22 ~ Trengove
ND 38 ~ Broadbent
ND 44 ~ Carlisle
ND 52 ~ O'Shea
ND 55 ~ Gray
ND 71 ~ Westhoff
GWS 17 year old selection ~ Hombsch
GWS NT zone selection ~ Neade
PSD 5 ~ White
RD 16 ~ Jonas
Interestingly, no top three draft selections but plenty of first rounders. Many of them were around two years ago when Port was struggling under Primus so their development under coach Ken Hinkley and performance manager Darren Burgess since they came to the club has been outstanding.