A West Australian rugby convert has been signed to Port Adelaide’s senior Magpies player list for the 2014 season.

Matt Venter, 23, grew up playing Australian Football but switched to rugby union at the beginning of his high school days at South Perth’s Wesley College.

But Venter is not a total foreigner to the nation's game, having played at the Applecross Junior Football Club during his primary school days.

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The pacy Sandgroper auditioned with Port Adelaide’s AFL group before the rookie draft and is looking forward to the challenge ahead as a member of the Magpies squad.

“The majority of my friends were playing union in high school and at that age to tend to do whatever your friends are doing,” Venter told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“But I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to come here to Port Adelaide in November and train with the Power – it was quite a bit different to rugby.

“The recruiters just wanted to see if I’d offer them something in the rookie draft, but I’m very lucky to be playing in the Magpies this year too.”

Venter said he’d been quickly accepted by senior leaders and young Academy members alike within the Magpies squad and had already been brought up to speed on the club’s history and culture.

“I’ve learned a lot about the culture of the club and  really enjoy being here in SA with Port Adelaide,” Venter said.

“Every single guy from Garry [Hocking] and 'Surj' [academy coach Jacob Surjan] through to the younger guys in the Academy have been so welcoming and helped me settle into understanding the club’s ethos and culture.”

Rooming with the Magpies’ head fitness coach Greg King, Venter is looking forward to improving his physical fitness and kicking skills in the months leading up to the first Magpies games against Norwood in April.

“I know I need to improve my conditioning and working on my kicking, the transition from rugby to football hasn’t been too hard because of my junior experience,” he said.

“I just can’t wait to get started and get out there.”

Venter is the eleventh signing to the Magpies senior playing list and will be eligible to play both Port Adelaide’s League and Academy teams this season.

His signing leaves just four spots on the senior list available, with a number of candidates vying for consideration according to Magpies football manager Scott Peters.

“We’ve been really pleased with how our young guys have stepped up over summer and we’ll be looking at them to fill those remaining spots,” Peters told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“All the Academy boys are across what is expected of a player on the senior list and many are working hard to catch the eye of the coaches.

“It’s a great situation to have with so many young guys from the Port area wanting to get onto that list and we’ll probably use our upcoming trial matches to finalise those selections.”

Port Adelaide’s SANFL senior coach Garry Hocking revealed on Saturday he was likely to finalise the Magpies senior list by the end of March.

portadelaidefc.com.au will provide ongoing coverage of the Magpies trial games and final pre-season training campaigns through February and March.