PORT ADELAIDE ruckman Jonathan Giles has come a long way since his unfortunate front-page spread in Adelaide's only newspaper three years ago.

The unflattering full-page image depicted the then skinny, lily-white Giles side-by-side with former Power captain and bronzed Adonis Matthew Primus.

And while Giles hasn't been able to escape that somewhat embarrassing picture, which still hangs in strength and conditioning coach Andrew Lulham's office, he's developed a frame more conducive to a photo shoot.

The 20-year-old from Kapunda has stacked on 18kg since arriving at Alberton in 2005, including three this pre-season, to weigh in at an imposing 101kg.

"I've reached my ideal playing weight, so now it's more about me getting stronger," Giles said.

"I'm just lifting more and heavier weights. It varies on how many sets I'm doing, but on average I'm probably lifting about 10kg more than what I was throughout the whole season in 2008."

Now, having achieved an AFL-ready body, Giles is determined to reward his coaches, including assistant Primus, for retaining him on the senior list in 2009.

Giles yo-yoed between the Central Districts reserve and league sides in 2007 and 2008, but forced his way into the Dogs' top team late last season and was rewarded with a premiership medallion.

But the laidback 199cm ruckman said he had to show more next year to avoid meeting the same fate as good friend and ex-teammate Fabian Deluca, who was delisted in October.

"Obviously, it's a pretty cut-throat business. I was in a similar situation to Fab, in regards to whether or not I was going to be here next year," he said.

"The club didn't really explain its decision [to keep me]. They just said, 'Well done, you're still on the list. Now, let's see what you can do because next year you'll get your opportunity'. 

"I've just got to take my opportunities next year and do my best with whatever I get."

Giles, who pulled on the Power guernsey for the first time during the 2008 NAB Cup/Challenge campaign, had just three weeks off after Centrals' grand final win before knuckling down for pre-season.

He suffered a minor ankle injury in the gruelling pre-Christmas camp in the Flinders Ranges, but said he was on track to record some personal best times in the new year.

"Obviously I'm not the best runner at the club, but I'm getting fitter each time I come off the track, which is all I can ask," he said.

"I'm just focused on getting through the pre-season. We'll see what happens in the pre-season games and then go from there."

The Power have welcomed 13 new faces to the club in the past month and Giles conceded the abnormally high turnover rate was hard to swallow at first.

"It's a bit weird when you walk in first day back and those [12] guys are gone and have been replaced by a whole new bunch," he said.

"Obviously, guys like Fab [Deluca], Adam Thomson, Greg Bentley and Boyley [rookie Daniel Boyle] were pretty much your best mates at the club, so when they leave it's pretty hard.

"But that's just the way it is and the guys coming through we get along with just as well.

"It's hard seeing the other guys go when you've spent so much time together, especially off the field … but, at the same time, you've just got to make sure you're not the one getting the axe."