A CLEAN bill of health saw Port Adelaide recruit Jared Polec better his pre-Christmas time trial by more than a minute on Monday morning, much to the delight of coach Ken Hinkley.

The Power's players returned to training at the same location as cross-town rivals Adelaide.

The two clubs warmed up on opposing sides of the Adelaide University oval before both completing their first time trails for 2014.

Polec finished towards the front of his running group, having struggled in the club's first run in November; an illness-affected effort that drew comment from Hinkley.

"Outstanding – I think you were all here the fist time that he ran and I won't talk about his actual time, but he was …a minute [better this time] which is a significant improvement," Hinkley said.

"For anyone to improve by a minute is a real positive and a real tick for Jared.

"I think some people thought we may have been joking when we said he was crook on the first day – he had tonsillitis.

"To say he's made up some significant time, that's impressive, but he also did have some health issues that were holding him back on that day."
Although thrilled with Polec's run, Hinkley was hardly surprised.

He said that for the first time in several seasons the 21-year-old former Brisbane Lion was injury-free and the results were showing.

"He's fit. I said before Christmas it's not a reflection of where he's come from or anything, it's a reflection that he's actually in good shape for the first time in three years," he said.

"That gives him a chance to complete more sessions and when you complete more sessions you'll get better times – it's a simple message."

Perhaps the surprise of the day though was the pace set by Jake Neade, who powered to the front of his group and finished strongly, beating midfielder Ben Newton and big men Jack Hombsch and Matthew Lobbe.

Although running in the 'slower' group, it was an impressive display from the 19-year-old forward.

Hinkley said Neade's isolation while on holidays in his hometown of Elliot, halfway between Alice Springs and Darwin, meant his performance was even more commendable.

"He's been back in Elliot and it's really hard for him back there – he's on his own to do all his own training and to come back and run the time he done today was really good," he said.

"'Burgo' (high performance manager Darren Burgess) sends them all away with a program and sometimes the challenges are a bit more difficult than others.

"Jake's one of those boys that has some bigger challenges."

Predictably, veteran Kane Cornes was the pick of the runners but Kane Mitchell wasn't far away.

Hinkley said it was a terrific sign to see Cornes looking over his shoulder in a training session he had owned for so long.

Twitter: @AFL_Harry