NOT everyone can be Connor Rozee, Zak Butters or Travis Boak by commanding a regular place in an AFL side before his 21st birthday. But anyone can play his role to build a significant career.

Jackson Mead is 22. He has been on Port Adelaide's AFL list since the 2019 national draft in which he was claimed at No.25 as a father-son pick, following inaugural John Cahill Medallist Darren Mead's memorable stint at Alberton.

The would-be midfielder - and potential half-forward - has played 18 AFL games, 11 in 2022 and seven last season. It has been a challenging apprenticeship, marked by serious injury (ruptured spleen vs South Adelaide in the SANFL in Round 3, 2021), the complications of COVID protocols in his first season and the intense competition for spots in the Port Adelaide midfield rotations. And it certainly is not getting easier to be in the front seats of Josh Carr's midfield meetings.

At the end of last season - his fourth at Port Adelaide - Mead might have walked into his exit meeting with uncertainty. He left with clarity.

"I was not nervous, but ...," said Mead. "You don't know what is coming.

"It could have been the best year of your life and there still will be things you want to improve on. I walked away from that meeting feeling really clear on what I had to do to push my case for round 1 and the rest of the season.

"(Senior coach) Ken's (Hinkley) message is to be flexible and play my role wherever I have to play. He wants me to take those opportunities with both hands. I need to be adaptable. He has been really positive this pre-season. He has very clear messaging."

The summer is notable for Mead turning that clear blueprint into a major step towards more regular AFL appearances.

"It has been good (in the pre-season)," said Mead. "At the back end of last year, with the end-of-season meetings, I had a really clear focus on what I needed to work on. That has guided me through the whole pre-season. 

"It is mainly about what I do around the midfield stuff - in and under contests. Consistency is always needed there. I am always looking at how I could be always getting better at my stoppage craft. The flip side of that, I need to balance it all with playing in other areas - adding other strings to my bow. One is developing more as a half-forward; you need that balance with a variety of roles. I have thoroughly enjoyed my pre-season."

Mead, the second father-son pick on a Port Adelaide AFL list, does have a considerable roll call of stars crowding his space in any discussion on his midfield prospects. But - just as Port Adelaide need after paying a heavy price last year when injuries hit first-choice players in the lead-up to finals - Mead has the squad mentality rather than a focus on first-18 selection.

"I am not too worried about 'breaking in' to the midfield," Mead said. "I want to complement the guys who play there already. I will have to play my role at times: Wing and half-forward.

"I like to stay in the present. Last year, I was in and out of the side quite a bit. I was a sub and flipped out based on performance or minutes played. Or guys coming back from injury. I try to stay in the present. Whether it is SANFL or AFL I just want to play the best footy I can and enjoy it.

"Wherever I play this year, I will try to take the opportunity with both hands. I want to play the best footy I can regardless. If it is midfield, it is midfield. If it needs to be on a wing or half-forward, I will aim to play my best."

Mead has been smart enough to not load up his notebook during the summer solely with reminders of Carr's guidance and directions to a well-stocked midfield. He also has been tuning in to Chad Cornes' sessions with the forwards.

"I have not trained as a forward this preseason; it has been mainly mid, wing and a lot on-ball," Mead said. "But through the trial games I spent a fair bit of time at half-forward and I have been paying attention at meetings about forward craft and positioning. I have been working a lot with Chad to learn how the half-forwards need to play. I have been able show that in the games so far."

Darren Mead became the first to play 100 games in both the SANFL and AFL for Port Adelaide. Two decades later, his son had far from the traditional path to Alberton needing to do his SANFL work at Woodville-West Torrens and filing a draft form to become an AFL prospect.

That one-time inevitable path to Port Adelaide was not certain before the 2019 AFL national draft. The new bidding process from rival AFL clubs adds an element of doubt on draft night.

"I was confident I would get here," Mead said of becoming - 17 years after Brett Ebert was the first - a father-son recruit at Port Adelaide. "Obviously, you never know if something is going to come out of left field. I was 95 per cent, 90 per cent sure I would come to my club which was pretty exciting."

But what if there was no father-son rule?

"I am not too sure (how it would be at another club)," Mead said. "As an 18-year-old kid coming out of high school you want to play in the AFL regardless. Wherever I landed, I would have been grateful.

"It was a bit of a bonus I got to land at a club where dad played - a club that is heritage rich, has a lot of history so I am very proud to be part of this club."

A pandemic hindered Mead in his first season at Port Adelaide. Then injury. And the AFL debut finally unfolded on March 19, 2022 in the season-opener against Brisbane at the Gabba.

"I remember it was pretty hot and slippery," Mead said. "Round 1 v Brisbane. I don't think I will ever forget the night. It is always a good challenge to go up against Brisbane. I could not have asked for anything better - all the family there and a tight match that we lost by just 11 points. We almost got the win. It was a great stepping stone for what to expect against some of the best teams in the competition."

Mead's first five games were part of Port Adelaide's 0-5 start to 2022.

No surprise then which game is Mead's most memorable.

"Sydney, round 10, 2022 at Adelaide Oval ... because it was my first win," Mead said. "It was just a great experience. And that was one of the better games I have played early on."

Most memorable in Darren Mead's start to his AFL career in 1997 was how he bought his own weights to set up a gym in his home. Today, Jackson Mead lacks nothing in the new MG high performance centre at Alberton.

So how does he replicate his father's dedication?

"Lots of guys have an alternative outside of football," Mead said. "For me, it is yoga. I like to wind down have a stretch and always putting in extra time for recovery. I will be at the club if I feel a bit sore. And I am finding things outside of football that I enjoy. For me it is woodwork I like building furniture. It gives me a real outlet outside of football which is good.

"I am not so much following in dad's footsteps," Mead added. "I want to create my own career. Obviously dad had a great career at the club in the SANFL and at the start of Port Adelaide's AFL story. I am looking forward to paving my own way. And creating my own history as well."

No-one walks alone at Port Adelaide. Former SANFL captain Cam Sutcliffe is Mead's mentor coach.

"Travis Boak has been great when I have been playing on the wing, as have Willem Drew and the leaders when I have been inside," Mead said. "We have been working as a group really well. Carr has put detail around stoppage. I can't credit just one person (for my development)."

Mead has his dream.

"To be like Travis Boak, play 300-plus games for the club," Mead said. "It would be nice. In the short-term, I am looking to hold my position in the team. We have a really strong group, so hopefully we will keep playing finals. I want to be part of that."

But what if it is not to happen at Port Adelaide? Would he look to join the growing list of players who defect for greater opportunity?

"No," Mead said. "For me, it is dead-set here at Port Adelaide."