PORT ADELAIDE welcomed back the rest of its squad on Monday morning for the first day of the 2020 pre-season.
Port Adelaide General Manager - Football Chris Davies says it was great to see a number of players who had injury-riddled seasons last year, involved in the first main session.
“It was fantastic to see Robbie Gray out there doing some running,” Davies told the media at a press conference at Alberton on Monday afternoon.
“This time last year he was coming off a surgery and really having to manage his body significantly.
“To see Rob out there running was a great thing for us and certainly for him because pre-season hasn’t been kind to him over the last couple of years.
“Jack Watts has done some great things. Zak Butters has been leading the running - he’s been outstanding.
“Ryan Burton has come back looking outstanding as well - really top notch.”
Davies was also excited to see key forward Charlie Dixon back on the track, and knows how important he is to Port’s structure.
“Charlie is another one where you look back to this time last year and he was still really battling with the injury he sustained the year before,” he said.
“He looks to have slimmed down a little bit, and if he’s up and running, he will add something that we didn’t have consistently last year.
“To think Charlie only played nine or 10 games - if we can get him back to 2017-2018 type form, then you would think we are going to be in a far better spot than what we were last year.”
With the departure of small forward Sam Gray during the delisted free agency period, Davies believes there are players ready to take their games to the next level.
“Kane Farrell, Tobin Cox and Boyd Woodcock - assuming that we are able to re-select him on our rookie list,” he said.
“We have a group of guys who need to be given opportunities for the small forward position, who we think can take us into the future.
“That’s part of the reason we made the decision we did during the delisting process, but I have high hopes for those guys that once given the opportunity they will be able to grab it and take us forward.”
