KEY FORWARD Todd Marshall has secured his future at Port Adelaide, extending his stay at Alberton with a new five-year deal. 

Marshall was under contract until the end of 2024, and admits he was pleased to have his future secured before the new season begins. 

The 25-year-old spoke to the Adelaide media on Wednesday to discuss his decision to stay, his recovery from hip surgery and the competition for forward line spots. 

Marshall on his decision to stay at Port Adelaide 
“Yeah, it was sort of a no brainer, really, it happened naturally. And yeah, I never really wanted to leave. The club and my management group sort of had to work out the details of it. But yeah, there was never any thought in my mind of leaving this club. Super happy to stay here for the rest of my career.  

“(There was) no go-home factor. My small town of Deniliquin is sort of in the middle of nowhere, so even if I did go back to Melbourne it’s still three and a half, four hours anyway. So yeah, really comfortable in Adelaide. My family loves getting over and visiting. So yeah, like I said, it was an easy decision.” 

Marshall on the security of a five-year deal 
“Yeah, it's good to get that security of five years. I guess it probably will take me through to the end of my career now. Like I said, I'm super happy, super settled here. Got my partner over and her family loves coming over to visit. She can sort of focus on her side of things now and finding, you know, what she does in the workplace and stuff will be massive for her.” 

Marshall on getting the deal done in pre-season 
“That was a big thing for me. I don't love the media sort of side of things. And I’ve the seen over the last couple of years players getting their names thrown around throughout the year (when they’re unsigned, and their) performance getting judged a bit more harshly and stuff like that, regarding free agency. That’s something that I didn't really want to be a part of. I let my management group and the club know that and, and we were able to get a deal done.” 

Marshall on feeling supported by the club 
“The club, Kenny, obviously, Chad Cornes I've got a really close relationship with. The whole club has got behind me, especially the players and I feel really integrated within this group. And I’m sort of moving into a leadership position now and putting a bit more responsibility on me. I’m probably a bit more empathetic than other leaders just with what's happened in my life, but it’s something I'm really proud of that now I can be the person that I can come to for help if they need.” 

Marshall on his hip injury last year 
“Yes, it probably took its toll physically and probably more mentally. It came on post the bye and just had a nagging hip injury and sort of thought it would go away in a couple of weeks, which luckily, most of my injuries normally do, they tend to go away quite quickly. (But for) six to eight weeks I couldn't train, my only real training was the captain's run where I might be able to get five set shots or something where I'm normally very meticulous in my routine for the week, and how many shots I get, and how I move and stuff was tough. And I think, probably not getting those shots in probably (affected me mentally) in terms of performing and set shots throughout the games. 

“It took its toll but I'm not going to make an excuse, I put myself out there to play. And like I said, the judges are going to say that and I'm happy to cop that criticism because I put myself out there.” 

Marshall on his body now 
“Yeah, it's really good. It was my first surgery in footy and first rehab. So I went with an open mindset and had a few boxes to tick. It was a boring first eight weeks where I was on crutches and couldn't move but, you know, post that, I could start running and it all happened quite quickly. And I’ve been back in the main training for three or four weeks, so it's been good to be back out there.” 

Marshall on his goal-kicking mindset 
“It took probably one or two sessions of kicking. But now I’ve got a kicking coach here that I've worked with pretty closely on how to sort of move past the mistakes or the misses. David Steventon is a mindset coach that we can touch base with. I’ve worked pretty closely with him the last three or four years in regards to my goal kicking. I’ve worked on my technique and how to get myself in that zone for that three or four seconds when I'm about to kick. And if I do miss how can move on quickly and get into the mindset of wanting the ball back and wanting to have another shot. 

“The last couple of years, I sort of own that pressure wanted that pressure and I guess, late last year I sort of failed in that pressure. So like I said, I sort of want to rectify it and prove people wrong in the sense that, I am a good kick for goal and I trust myself in that space.   

“Chad Cornes has been really, really good this year in the goal kicking space. And yeah, I think for me, it's a sort of going back to that natural side of it and kicking naturally, not getting too worked up about technique and stuff. I've been able to get a really good base last couple of weeks of kicking and training, which fill me with confidence going into the season.” 

Marshall on the competition for forward spots 
“I think it's really good that I think training as forwards has been really good the last couple of weeks. I think moving into games it will get a lot tougher. And obviously we've got such a nice backline now that we can train on and get some good reps in against. Ollie (Lord), Mitch (Georgiades) coming back is massive. You've got Tom Scully as well, who's been training pretty well. Charlie (Dixon) and Jez (Finlayson), so it'll be good competition for spots. And I think that brings out the best in most people. I think it sharpens you up a bit. You’ve got to be pretty sharp most sessions now, especially, and I think moving into the season.” 

Marshall on Mitch Georgiades 
“He’s good. He's brought his energy right back, which we probably missed a little bit last year. I think he's been back for a week or so now (in full training). So he's moving really well and has got that bounce back that in his jump and stuff that we love, and it's been great for him to be back on track. I think he’ll get a few minutes in (at the internal trial), which is exciting.” 

Yeah, we were fallen soldiers at the back end of last year. We were all a bit wounded. Going into a new season nice and fresh, and getting a few back. And obviously the emergence of Lordy and Scully, there's a nice group there and we’re all pretty close and we all work pretty closely with each other. And we just want to get the best out of each other.”