THE last time Josh Sinn was at Adelaide Oval he was suspended terrifyingly high above the playing surface as part of a roof climb experience.
While the teenager did not particularly enjoy the experience, it has not put him off being excited to make his mark at the venue as Port Adelaide’s newest recruit.
Sinn’s name was called by Port Adelaide with the 12th pick of the 2021 NAB AFL National Draft on Wednesday night and his fist pump celebration showed how happy he was to be joining the club.
“Just excitement really,” Sinn said of the initial feeling when he heard his name called.
“I’m just over the moon to be able to get my name called out by the Power and the first thing I thought was just when can I get over or how fast can I get over (to Adelaide) and meet my new teammates.
“Ollie Lord and Miles Bergman are both Sandi boys so it’s nice to be added to the list at Port Adelaide.”
An East Brighton Vampires junior who played with the Sandringham Dragons in 2021, Sinn’s speed, agility and raking left foot made him stand out to Port Adelaide’s recruiters.
They completed a trade with West Coast to move up from pick 14 to 12 to ensure Sinn would be at Alberton in 2022.
In the club’s draft room amongst the recruiting team was Port midfielder/forward Zak Butters – himself a pick 12 in 2018 – who has taken an interest in recruiting and spent time training with Sinn recently.
“I was lucky to get in contact with Zak a couple of weeks ago and we booked a time to do a training session together,” Sinn explained.
“It gave me an insight into a pre-season training program from an AFL player’s point of view but I wanted to get to know him and work hard at the same time.
“He’s an awesome character and he opened my eyes to what it takes at that next level. I was a bit behind him in everything but it was super fun.”
Sinn is eager to get to Adelaide and begin his time with Port Adelaide, admitting he had only been to the city on a couple of occasions.
Most recently he completed the roof climb at Adelaide Oval, which he described as “one of the most frightening experiences of my life”.
From a household of Collingwood and Carlton supporters, he admits to not knowing a whole heap about Port Adelaide, but said he admired the club’s history and passionate supporter base.
“You’d be pretty silly not to know the proud history of Port Adelaide and the incredible relationship the club has with Adelaide Oval,” Sinn said.
“I know it’s one of the oldest clubs in Australia and you can tell there’s a lot of pride in the club, not only for the players but also for the staff.
“I know Port Adelaide has such a passionate fan base, which I think I’ll thrive on.
“I want to earn the respect of my teammates but also of the members and supporters as well so I’ll just be putting my best foot forward when I head into the club.
“I’m not setting any limits or expectations on what I can do with the football club but I hope to contribute to everyone around me and help build a really positive environment.”
Sinn is expected to join the playing group when the first to fourth year players return for pre-season training on Monday.
