HE HAS beaten rejection, injury and self-doubt, but having earned a contract extension, forward Tobin Cox is now eyeing off his dream of a long-term career in the AFL.

Overlooked in his initial draft year in 2017, Cox was somewhat of a surprise selection when Port Adelaide picked him up at pick 9 in the 2018 AFL Rookie Draft.

The Padthaway product was leading Port Adelaide’s SANFL goal kicking in Round 12 of 2019 when a tackle, including an errant elbow, by an opponent saw him wind up in hospital for three days with a lacerated left kidney.

The 181cm 20-year-old lost six kilograms from his 73kg frame and thought his season and potentially his AFL dream might be over.

But a return in Round 18 with five goals and some strong performances in the SANFL finals series saw Cox earn another rookie contract.

He finished the year with 30 goals, second in the Magpies’ goal kicking.

Now back to full health, he’s hoping a big pre-season might see him considered for the small forward role in the AFL side left vacant by Sam Gray’s departure to Sydney.

“The kidney’s all good. I don’t even think about that anymore. It was a random injury,” he told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“(The coaches) pretty much told me to get fit, so I stayed pretty fit (after the season) and came back pretty well.

“I think I earned a bit more respect from the older guys coming back well so I see myself in pretty good condition but there’s still a long way to go and hopefully I’ll have a nice long career in front of me.

“Everyone dreams of making their debut and it’d be just so good, amazing, but there’s always the other guys – Kane (Farrell), Boyd (Woodcock), Buttsy (Zak Butters) and (Connor) Rozee is always keeping a spot. It’s always competitive and they’ve all come back pretty good.”

Fast, with strong hands, smarts around goals and a beautiful set shot, Cox possesses most of the attributes of a good small forward.

But he admits he is still learning, with help from senior players like Brad Ebert.

“I sort of keep to myself a little bit but I love the older guys like Ebo who is obviously a bit fitter than me but plays my sort of role,” Cox said.

“I always ask him questions and he keeps me pretty honest at training as well.”

Cox has had to be honest this week during the club’s pre-season camp in Maroochydore.

Players have had to back up for two or even three training sessions per day, including a gruel ling 6am beach session on Saturday which involved a lot of one-on-one combat-style tackling drills.

“It has been pretty hard work. It started off when we got off the plane and we had a big hard session at the start and then it sort of got harder from there,” Cox explained.

“We’ve covered a few k’s and there’s still a few days to go!

“(My body)’s sore. Warming up when we got (to the beach), there were a few hills to climb on the way there. They weren’t that big but I was struggling.

“During the session it was pretty solid. I’m just lucky I didn’t have to face up against any of the big fellas.”

Port Adelaide will complete its pre-season camp on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Wednesday.