PORT Adelaide midfielder Hamish Hartlett says 2012 could be his breakout season.

Recurring hamstring injuries have restricted the 21-year-old since he was drafted at No.4 in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, but after averaging 21 disposals a match in 2011 and with his best pre-season behind him, Hartlett is full of optimism.

"I still don't think I played my best football last year," he said despite winning the Power's Wanganeen Medal for the club's best player under 21 years.

"I've had a great pre-season and I've had a good couple of years of solid training, so I'm really hoping I can expand on last season and play some of my best footy.

"I expect to get the best out of myself this year."

In Port Augusta and Port Pirie until Wednesday afternoon for the club's community camp, Hartlett said Port's new coaching staff featuring Josh Carr, Tyson Edwards, Brad Gotch and Shaun Rehn had brought new-found confidence.

"They've all been fantastic and really instrumental in implementing a sound game plan that we can all stick to and that will be predictable for us," he said.

"We're a lot more confident in the way we're moving the ball and the way we're setting up, which is a credit to the new coaching staff we've got this year."

Hartlett said the predictability of ball movement had improved significantly since last season, which would lead to a far more competitive unit in 2012.

"Last year was a pretty horrendous year for the club; we're not going to beat around the bush," he said.

"We're pretty ashamed of how we went last year, so we're certainly looking to be a lot more competitive and consistently competitive."

Power players have split into groups of three or four for the duration of the community camp, during which they plan to visit almost 30 primary and secondary schools.

Tuesday will culminate with a NAB AFL Auskick super clinic, an experience Hartlett said isn't too far away from the players' own hearts.

"A lot of us grew up coming through the grassroots programs and it doesn't seem like that long ago that we were actually doing it, so it does put things into perspective," he said.

"When I was younger and we had AFL players come out and teach us a few new skills and that sort of thing it was a highlight of my junior career.

"It's a 45-minute flight and a couple of days, so it doesn't take much of your time and we certainly get a kick out of seeing the young kids running around with smiles on their faces."

Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry