PORT ADELAIDE young gun Xavier Duursma chatted to SEN SA Breakfast program on Tuesday morning.
Here are the key takeaways from Duursma’s interview:
Duursma on Sunday’s pre-season win over Brisbane:
“It was nice to just get back out there and play against some opposition instead of banging into your teammates.
“It’s great to see some of the young boys like Mitch Georgiades get out there. It was good to see Tobin Cox out there as well.
“It was also great seeing big Charlie Dixon leading at full stretch and taking some really great marks and kicking goals.
“It was great all round for the whole club. In our 150th year it was a nice way to start, and hopefully we can build from there.
Duursma on celebrating the club’s history:
“It’s been a massive focus point for us.
“We are taking some time out of our day to learn more about the history of the club and where we have come from to where we are now.
“It’s our 150th year and as young guys coming into the club it’s been a focus point to learn more about some of the great players and great teams.
“It’s been very interesting catching up with some of the old legends of the club, and we want to keep honouring their history and make our own.
Duursma on his personal focus in 2020:
“The goal for 2020 is to back up my season from last year.
“I want to make sure I’m improving on everything and not staying stagnant. For me, that’s making sure that still get all of my preparation right. Everything I do, I’m well prepared for.
“Playing consistently is my top goal, and I want to be able to bring the same things each week.
Duursma on playing his position:
“A lot of my game time is out on the wing.
“I quite enjoy it out there. I know what I have to do now, and it is good fun when it’s your day.
“There are a lot of hybrid players going around. There are some good outside players but they also have a stint inside in the midfield.
“I’m pretty much a full-time winger, so I’m pretty much out there the whole time.
Duursma on playing the wing role:
“Wingers are a little different.
“We attend every stoppage but there is a very different way to look at how we set up. We are trying to hold outside shape and we are kind of the bookends of where the stoppage is.
“We have to try and support our midfielders on the outside. If they win the ball then we are there to support them and get the ball forward.
“We don’t want to get sucked in to the content because then it’s a bit bare on the outside.
“It been great learning that in the pre-season from blokes like Karl Amon. Learn where we need to stand and timing our run.
Duursma on the club’s strong pre-season:
“For us to have had so many players out on the track is good.
“One of the big factors in that is we have had a very, very healthy list. There have been very few players injured or in the rehab group.
“Not many teams get the chance to pretty much train with a full list for almost all of pre-season.
“That has allowed us to build some great connection. I think we are miles ahead of this time last year which will mean we will be fast-tracked.
“We are really, really confident and looking forward to the challenge that this year will bring.
Duursma on Port’s coaching and things to learn from last season:
“Ken is definitely an aggressive coach.
“I think we have a great coaching system at the minute where it allows us to play aggressively, and scoring is obviously how you win games.
“We have focussed quite heavily on our efficiency because last year when we went inside forward 50, we weren’t that efficient.
“We led the league for inside 50s but we weren’t efficient when we went in there. A big push for us this year is to be more efficient.
