AFTER joining Port Adelaide as a father-son selection in the 2019 National Draft, you could be forgiven for thinking Jackson Mead had walked under every ladder at Alberton.
A promising junior lauded for his football IQ and ball use on either side of his body, Mead has yet to truly have the opportunity to showcase his abilities to the Port Adelaide faithful.
A hamstring issue delayed the start of his rookie season then Covid pulled SANFL football out from under his feet entirely.
His second year on the list began promisingly, featuring in the second half of the pre-season match against the Crows in Noarlunga, before a freak injury at the same ground early in the SANFL season left him with a lacerated spleen.
Ultimately, it would limit him to just 10 games for the year, although averaging a respectable 18.3 touches a game for the Magpies.
Understandably, the son of Port Adelaide’s inaugural AFL best and fairest Darren Mead was chuffed to feature in his first intraclub on Friday afternoon.
“It was my first intraclub for the club,” Mead explained to portadelaidefc.com.au following the match.
“Obviously my first two years I was injured and I unfortunately couldn’t play.
“I’ve had a pretty strong pre-season and I’m looking forward to playing some footy over the year whether that’s AFL or SANFL.”
As part of Port’s exciting young brigade, Mead has been hard at training since November last year and was glad to see games on the horizon again.
“Obviously we’ve been training a lot for a while, it’s been a pretty big block, but it’s always good to come out and play a game,” he said.
“Especially intraclub where there’s a bit of beef between the fellas. It was a good hit-out.”
Mead began Friday’s contest as part of a strong black team, as the coaches pitted the probables against the possibles early in the contest.
The skilful midfielder hardly looked out of place at the level, finding plenty of his own football, kicking a goal early in the match and chaining well with his teammates to set up several scoring opportunities.
The game was a great platform for the club’s youth to show their wares and Mead was proud of how they performed against their more experienced teammates.
“Big D, Dante (Visentini) did well in the ruck today, Jase (Burgoyne) got up a few times on the wing and (Josh) Sinn looked pretty crafty around the ball,” he said.
“I think they’re all fitting in pretty well and they performed well today as well.”
The 20-year-old is now casting his eye to next Friday’s practice match against the Gold Coast and is excited by the chance for the team to test themselves against outside competition for the first time this pre-season.
“We’ve been training for so long and we want to implement that and be challenged by a different opposition,” he said.
“It has been different and challenging to play against ourselves so I think it will be a good opportunity to play against some fresh faces.”
