Port Adelaide should have its entire list training fully by the end of February according to head of high performance Darren Burgess.

The Power, which returned to training this week after their break over the New Year, have only four players in rehab from surgery at present – Charlie Dixon, Angus Monfries, Logan Austin and Dougal Howard – with the quartet to return over the coming weeks.

Dixon (ankle) and Monfries (shoulder) had corrective surgery in mid-November last year, and have returned to running as part of the rehab group.

Austin had surgery to his ankle at the end of last season and has been in rehab since the start of pre-season training.  He will return to a full program in 4-6 weeks.

Howard has participated in a number of drills as he continues his rehab from an ACL injury midway through the 2016 season.

He is a chance to make his playing return in May.

Fitness base remains, skills up

Port Adelaide’s high performance program has undergone few changes between seasons, with Burgess enlisting the services of new athletic development coach Nick Richardson and world-renowned neurophysiologist Lorimer Moseley as a consultant for the Power.

Richardson joined the Power after working with Geelong Grammar School’s football program, the Geelong Cats and Geelong Falcons.

Moseley will work with Port’s high performance team in the area of fatigue and pain management, which Burgess says will keep the Power at the cutting-edge of sports science globally.

“Lorimer is a professor of neurophysiology and will be really important to keep Port Adelaide at the elite level when it comes to his field.

“Our game is one of the most physically demanding in the world, so our players will benefit from his wealth of knowledge.

“Nick has been a really strong addition to our team and has started building some really good relationships with our playing group.”

While the Power have introduced more skills into the make-up of their weekly program, the emphasis of fitness and conditioning hasn’t changed.

Burgess has looked to employ athlete and game-specific opportunities into main sessions this year.

“We’re doing more skills, but haven’t compromised our fitness work,” Burgess said.

“We haven’t reduced the amount of running we’re doing - even though we’re really having a lot of focus on working with the ball this pre-season – instead we’re doing a lot of position and game-specific running.”

Port Adelaide’s pre-season will kick into full gear when it takes on St Kilda in the JLT Community Series on Thursday 23 February at Etihad Stadium.