DAN HOUSTON won’t be the only player facing his former side at the MCG on Saturday night.

Port Adelaide will also unveil small forward Joe Richards against Collingwood, while first-round pick Joe Berry has also been told he will make his debut in round one.

Richards moved to Alberton last October as part of the complex three-club trade that sent Houston to the Magpies, John Noble to Gold Coast and Jack Lukosius and Rory Atkins to the Power.

Port Adelaide also landed the Suns’ pick No. 13 in the trade, which became No. 15 on night one of the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft and was used on Berry.

Richards played nine games for Collingwood in 2024 after making his debut against West Coast in round nine, 18 months after the Magpies plucked the then 22-year-old out of the Ovens and Murray Football League.

Berry and Richards both played for Wangaratta and have moved in together in Henley, after spending recent off-seasons training together back home in country Victoria.

In limited exposure at AFL level, Richards demonstrated his class in the front half, standing out with his scoreboard impact, which prompted Port Adelaide to offer him a three-year deal to lure him across the border last October.

Berry has been targeting round one since he was Port Adelaide’s first pick last November and now gets his opportunity against Collingwood in front of a crowd that is expected to exceed the 65,834 people that turned up in April last year.

Jack Lukosius is also set to get his first chance for the Power after making the decision to cross from Gold Coast.

Esava Ratugolea is planning to play in the SANFL trial against Norwood on Sunday after undergoing an arthroscope on his knee last month.

Sam Powell-Pepper will return for his first game at AFL level since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against St Kilda in round seven last year.

Houston will play his first game for his new club against his old side after the two-time All-Australian served the final week of the five-game suspension he received late last season.