1. He's a local champion

Toumpas grew up in Adelaide and played for Woodville West Torrens where he won a premiership as an under 18 player.

He also captained the South Australian side and was a recipient of All Australian honours in the under 18s.

2. He was a Lions supporter as a kid

Toumpas was “in awe” when he got a phone call from his childhood idol Michael Voss (now the Power’s midfield coach) after signing with the club.

Jimmy spoke of his first encounter with Voss when he fronted the media in a press conference last week.

 “Meeting Michael Voss was pretty special, he gave me a call yesterday and I was in awe of that. That was pretty unreal,” said Toumpas.

3. He had major hip surgery before being drafted

Toumpas was involved in a collision which tore the cartilage around the bone in his hip, while South Australia in the under 18 state league.

He required major surgery to fix the injury, which ended his season and set his fitness back as he entered his first year at the Demons.


4. He was a very high draft pick

Taken at Pick 4 in the 2012 National Draft, Toumpas will share the honour of being Port Adelaide’s highest draft pick on the playing list, alongside Hamish Hartlett.

He will be a welcome addition to the Power’s troop of top 10 draft picks, a list that also includes Travis Boak (Pick 5), Jared Polec (Pick 5), Chad Wingard (Pick 6), Ollie Wines (Pick 7), Patrick Ryder (Pick 7) and John Butcher (Pick 8).

5. He's no stranger to the club

Toumpas had the opportunity to train at Alberton with the players before being drafted.

He met some of the players during his week at the club, forming a relationship with now-retired Port Adelaide veteran Kane Cornes.

“We developed a pretty good relationship and kept in contact ever since. Every now and then he’ll send me a message to see how I’m going, and it’s really just gone from there,” Toumpas explained.

It was this relationship that spurred Cornes to flag his approval for Jimmy to wear the number 18 guernsey which Kane wore for 14 years.

TIME MACHINE: Toumpas trains with Port Adelaide in 2012

6. Snared by the vision of Ken Hinkley

According to Jimmy, the vision of Ken Hinkley and the opportunity to start fresh was a major reason he chose Port Adelaide as his trade destination.

“Ken’s a very impressive man…it was a pretty easy decision to choose to come to Port,” he said.

This adds him to a list of players who were wooed by the Power’s senior coach, including Angus Monfries, Jared Polec, Matt White, Paddy Ryder and Charlie Dixon.

PTV: Jimmy Toumpas "Ken's a very impressive man"

7. His real name is Dimitri

Jimmy’s full name is Dimitri Toumpas, but he gets called Jimmy for short.
He’s of Greek heritage, and Jimmy is the anglicized version of the Greek name Dimitri. 


8. He and Drake have a fair bit in common

As well as looking scarily similar to Toumpas, RnB artist Drake actually played a character named Jimmy when he was in the American TV drama Degrassi.

…weird. 

9. He's keeping it in the family when he returns to SA

Toumpas had a chuckle talking about his plans to move back in with Mum and Dad in Adelaide when he moves back to SA.

I’m going to move back in with Mum and Dad…I don’t know how they’re going to take that,” he laughed.

The good news is, he said he wants to buy a place in Adelaide – meaning he’s planning on sticking around for a while! 

PTV: Jimmy Toumpas off season


10. His AFL debut was against Port Adelaide

Jimmy actually made his AFL debut against the very team he would later join – Port Adelaide, in Round 1, 2013…the Power took away the win by 79 points.