CHILDREN of past Port Adelaide greats will have the opportunity to follow in their father’s footsteps, with the establishment of the club’s elite AFL Father/Son Academy.

After kicking off in 2017, the program has seen a number of famous family names return to Alberton to train in Port's AFL environment.

Trent Burgoyne and Taj Schofield – sons of Power premiership players Peter Burgoyne and Jarrad Schofield, and Mitchell and Jackson Mead - sons of Port Adelaide great Darren Mead - have all spent time at Alberton under the tutelage of Port’s development coaches over the past year.

Port Adelaide’s SANFL and Next Generation Academy Manager Shane Grimm says it’s exciting to see so many talented young footballers with Port Adelaide in their blood come through the academy, with the potential for many more in the future.

“It is encouraging to see the four boys come in and perform really strongly so far,” Grimm told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“We have a lot more to come because a lot of our past players had two or three sons, which is exciting.”

"The program is centred around providing the talented youngsters with access to AFL standard coaching and resources.

“We want to be able to provide an elite program for them at a young age, in the hope that they will be able to transition to the club if selected in the draft,” Grimm said.

“While they aren’t allowed to join in full training, the kids participate in the AFL craft sessions, which is great for their development.

“They also have access to our dietician, high performance staff and facilities.”

And with a number of years of elite training under their belt and a taste of life at the club, by the time their draft year comes around, these youngsters could end up on the Port Adelaide AFL list – just like their fathers.

“It will be nice going in to a draft knowing we could pick up a player that we’ve been developing for a number of years, and is already comfortable in the environment,” Grimm said.

To be eligible as a Father/Son selection in the AFL National Draft, a player’s father must have played 100 AFL games for the club.

Burgoyne played 240 AFL games for the club, Schofield 131 and Mead 122 – leaving all of their sons eligible.

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