Trengove, who has been labelled the ‘steal’ of the draft, was touted as a potential top-five pick before seriously injuring his knee while training with Vic Metro in June.
Instead, he slipped through to the Power’s pick number 22.
Some pundits had Trengove coming to the city of churches in the days leading up to the draft- via the Crows not Port Adelaide- but the 18-year-old said he knew that would not be his fate.
“There was a lot of talk, but just before the draft Adelaide said that they weren’t going to take me. I knew it was going to be open after that and I was just hoping to get picked up in the end,” Trengove said on Friday.
“I wasn’t edgy watching the draft. I was just waiting around to see what would happen and if it happened it happened; you can’t change who is going to pick you up or if you are going to get picked up.
“With a serious knee injury, to be picked up at pick 22; I’m very happy to be at Port.”
Trengove’s AFL career was in jeopardy before it even began when he suffered complications from surgery after tearing his right hamstring off the bone.
His foot went limp and, just three weeks after having surgery to reattach the hamstring tendon, he went back under the knife.
Nerve specialists informed Trengove they might be required to cut a nerve in his foot to fix the problem, which would allow him to walk again, but not to play football.
Fortunately, the doctors determined the best course of action for the injury was rest and rehabilitation and he has since received the all clear from his surgeon.
But the high-leaping tall conceded that some clubs still considered him a risk.
“That was the clubs’ choice [to overlook me]. They have other players to look at that are out there, so you can’t really hold it against a club, you just want to do your best here at Port Adelaide,” Trengove said.
“A couple of other clubs didn’t [pick me], but that’s the risk you’ve got to take.
“Going into the draft I wasn’t 100 per cent and other guys were. Port took the risk and hopefully it pays off.”
The 196cm, 77kg key-position player has been given a basic training program in his first week at Alberton.
Trengove has commenced light running, but will be eased into training with the main group.
He said he was hopeful of resuming his playing career in 2009.
“I’m pretty confident with my body and how it’s going at the moment and I suppose that’s the start of it. Once your confident with it then you can build from there,” he said.
“Hopefully there are no long-lasting effects and I should be right for some time next year but if it doesn’t come next year we’ll just wait and see what happens.
“We’re just waiting for the knee to get right before I start thinking about getting a game. I’ll take this program one step at a time and when I get there, I get there.”
