PORT ADELAIDE vice-captain Hamish Hartlett expects young gun Mitch Georgiades to be right in the mix for the club’s round 1 clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
Hartlett says despite missing a month of training through injury, he has been extremely impressed with the exciting forward - who was selected by the Power with pick 18 in last year’s draft.
“He’s been the one who has stood out,” Hartlett told SEN SA on Wednesday evening.
“Unfortunately, Mitchy and I got tangled up and he suffered a little AC joint sprain, which cost him about three or four weeks.
“So, we didn’t really get a decent gauge of what he was like until post-Christmas, but certainly since then he’s done some pretty special things.”
The rebounding defender said he loves the way the young West Australian attacks the football both in the air and on the ground.
“He loves flying for a mark and tends to take more than he drops,” Hartlett said.
“He knows where the goals are too.
“He’s really exciting.”
Hartlett said if Georgiades wasn’t in the senior side to start season 2020, then he certainly expected him to get an opportunity at some point in the club’s 150th anniversary year.
“Right from the outset we will play our best team, whether Kenny thinks any of the first-year boys are a part of that I’m not too sure,” he said.
“But Mitch has shown that he is most capable at AFL level, in terms of the way we are playing.
“He’s had the biggest influence so far. He’s the one I would suggest, but there are a lot of forwards vying for those positions.
“If he’s a part of that great, if not, then I’m sure he will get his opportunity at some stage throughout the year.”
The vice-captain is very optimistic about what is happening at Alberton, with a huge shift in the list profile of the club over the last couple of years.
“We realised we needed some top-end talent,” Hartlett said.
“Last year we obviously hit the draft pretty hard with bringing in Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma. They had a huge impact in their first year and have only got better this pre-season as well.
“Again, with this year’s draft class. Mitch Georgiades, Jackson Mead, Miles Bergman and Dylan Williams. There is some really high-end talent there.
“I’m super excited by where the list is at, at the moment. We have a large chunk of our senior guys in good health and condition, which we didn’t really have much of last year.
“The list is in great shape.”
Hartlett said the rest of the top-end talent from last year’s draft have all had an impact on the group in their own way.
“Jackson Mead is another one who has been a bit of a bull inside the contest,” he said.
“He’s got great agility and is very tough.
“Miles Bergman is playing a high half-forward role which can be really difficult, so he’s still finding his feet in that role.
“But in terms of athletically and what he can provide in that area, he is super special as well.
“Dylan Williams hasn’t trained a whole lot. He came in a little underdone, but he’s starting to hit the track a little bit more over the last week or so.”
