PORT ADELAIDE winger Miles Bergman has hit the ground running this pre-season, coming back strong after a heavily interrupted 2022.

The 21-year-old went through back-to-back shoulder surgeries and a mystery illness last year, impacting his ability to train and play, and limiting him to just 10 AFL games.

Now, with just four days until Round 1, Bergman has a full pre-season under his belt and is fit, firing and ready to go.

Bergman on his 2022 season
“(I learned I had) resilience to get through that. Obviously, I had a shoulder reconstruction, then it got infected and I had another one, so two shoulder reconstructions at the start of the year. I missed the first few games, then came back, was feeling pretty good and then got ill and missed quite a bit of footy. My family came over quite a bit to look after me as well and the boys here were always really good, they texted me all the time and checked in.

“I just tried to stay connected to the club, stay positive about getting back and was confident to push myself and get back to the stage where I could play the last eight or 10 games, which I was pretty proud of. I'm trying to put (last year) behind me and this pre-season I’ve been really striving to get out on the track as much as possible and get a strong pre-season in and hopefully a strong year.”

Bergman on his off-season progress
“I came back to pre-season with a bit of size on me, I think. It started with a lot of shoulder rehab so I was in the gym a lot before trainings, and whenever I was in the gym I was doing a lot of shoulder stuff to get that stronger and from there it branched into getting stronger overall. I think even just the confidence that comes with (gaining size), being able to back my body in and use the strength I have now in games.

“I have a lot more confidence (this year), especially having that back end of the year (playing), then going into off-season, then pre-season, all fit and healthy and being able to do all the running programs and gym. I’ve been out on the track in pre-season (uninterrupted) for the first time in a few years – most pre-seasons I've been in and out. This is the first one I've been properly out there so I’m excited to see how the year goes.”

Bergman on pre-season in Perth
“It's like another camp for us as a team, being around each other and (having a) good connection space. Obviously, the games are a good learning for us as a team, trying new things and seeing where we need to improve. I don’t think (the results) reflect on how we are going to go this year because we’ve got a lot more to show.

“(Since Perth, we have been focused on) a little bit of method away from stoppage and our ball use going inside 50 can probably improve. We had a lot of opportunities but it's just about how to make the most of those moving forward. We've always been pretty intense trainers, we train really hard and train how we want to play so I think that standard’s been set since the day I got here. (Since Perth, there is) just a bit more focus on things we want to improve on.”

Bergman on Saturday’s fixture against Brisbane
“I think it is a good start because it will show us where we are at and makes us want to push and try our best, which we do every week. Having that challenge (of Brisbane) straight up will set us a great challenge for the year going ahead and (look at) how we can improve based on how we go this week.

“(If we beat good sides), it will just show that the work we've been putting in is working and we've just got to keep focusing on the things we’re good at and working harder on the things we're not.”

Bergman on the health of the squad
“(Jeremy Finlayson is) moving really well (after having syndesmosis surgery). It's good to have everyone out on the track at the moment. We’ve got no injuries anymore, so everyone was out on the training track today. That's a great plus. It's great to see Jez out there, he's a silky mover.

“I think it's good to have (Josh Sinn) out on the track because he's had a pretty tough year like me and I’m pretty close with him off the field. He’s just really excited to be healthy again and start training again. Today he was moving really well and he'll get a half this week (in a SANFL trial game) off the back of his hamstring injury so it will be good to see how he moves and what he can show but I think it's pretty promising signs.”