Young Port Adelaide forward Jesse Palmer has identified this upcoming pre–season as an opportunity to improve his game as much as possible.

On the back of playing three AFL games towards the end of the 2016 season, Palmer says his main focus is preparing his body for the rigours of top level football. 

“It was good to get that experience, good to get that taste for it, and gives you a base for what you have to work on this pre–season,” Palmer said.

“Obviously it’s a pretty big step–up from SANFL footy.

“The main thing I’m improving on is my endurance, and that just comes down to pre–season and hard work.”

Palmer credits feedback from Ken Hinkley and his other coaches for guiding him towards where he needs to improve.

“He [Hinkley] just said now that you’ve got a taste, you know what to do now,” Palmer said.

“I speak to the coaches a lot and they give you the insight on where you need to improve.”

Originally drafted as a forward in 2014, Palmer says he’d like to eventually spend time in the midfield.

“Obviously you’ve got to have another string to your bow, so that’s something I’m trying to improve on,” Palmer said.

“I’m just focusing on improving my own game as much as I can.”

With the delistings of John Butcher and Jay Schulz after the 2016 season, there is expected to be opportunity for younger players to fill the gap.

When asked about whether he expected to play in the AFL side in Round 1, Palmer wasn’t willing to get ahead of himself.

“There’s some opportunity there but I’m not really focused on that at the moment,” Palmer said.

“What I’m thinking about is just trying to get the hard work in during the pre–season.”