PORT ADELAIDE General Manager - Football Chris Davies says the club is excited to re-sign five emerging stars of the football club.
2018 first-round draftees Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma, as well as Joel Garner and Jake Patmore from the 2017 draft crop - have extended their stay at Port.
“We are really pleased for the five guys who have decided to extend their stay with us,” Davies said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“Jake Patmore hurt his knee during the off-season, so probably hasn’t been able show his true wares although we thought he did some stuff that was pretty good during the off-season.
“Joel (Garner) is a player who hasn’t looked out of place when he’s played at AFL level.
“And clearly there has been some excitement around the other three - Rozee, Duursma and Butters.
“We are rapt that all of them have decided to extend their stay.”
Davies said the club had been confident it would be able to re-sign the emerging talent building at Alberton, and the footy boss believes all five players have a bright future at the club.
“We always said that we thought there wouldn’t be any problems (re-signing them),” he said.
“Those guys are playing some pretty good footy, in what is a pretty competitive team, so I can’t imagine they would’ve wanted anything else from the club when we called their names out.
“As I say, really pleased - and don’t miss Joel and Jake - we think they have futures with the club too.”
The Power underwent significant list changes at the end of the 2018 season, and Davies said while time will ultimately tell whether they were the right moves, he has been very pleased with the output of the players who were brought into the team to this point.
“Ultimately time will tell with that,” he said.
“We brought Lycett in for a specific reason. We wanted to have additional ruck depth in our team, and obviously he’s played some really good footy so far this year. We’ve been rapt with his input.
“Burton was someone we’d shown interest in over time, so again, pleased that he came to the club.
“Duursma, Rozee and Butters have certainly brought a significant amount of energy to the group, which has been fantastic.
“It’s not just about talent alone, it’s about what they bring from an energy perspective, and also the team cohesion, so we’re rapt with where we are at, at the moment.”
Rozee, Butters and Duursma have each signed two-year contract extensions which will link them to the club until the end of 2022, while Garner - two-year contract extension - has signed until the end of 2021, and Patmore - one-year extension - is locked in until the end of 2020.
