The classy onballer had been described by assistant coach Dean Laidley, as "the best young player" he'd ever seen, but a string of soft-tissue injuries had denied the 20-year-old an opportunity to translate his dominance in junior ranks to AFL.

After missing the latter-half of last season with a quad complaint, Hartlett was granted early leave and returned to start pre-season training a month earlier than his third-year teammates.

He completed five months of uninterrupted training before being cruelled by a hamstring strain on the eve of the NAB Cup.

He recovered in time to play in - and dominate - the club's final NAB Challenge hit-out against Greater Western Sydney, but a lack of match fitness caused him to miss out on selection for round one.

It was expected he would spend one week in the SANFL to top-up his fitness levels before being recalled to the Power team for round two.

However, the black cat found him at West Adelaide too and he was concussed only a quarter into his return for the Bloods.

Fortunately, he was able to play a full game in the local league the next week and was immediately brought into the team for Port Adelaide's clash with Geelong in round three.

But it wasn't the end of his setbacks.

Shortly after the Power arrived back in Adelaide, following their 64-point loss to the Cats at Skilled Stadium Hartlett made the decision to catch up with friends at a local hotel.

By his own admission, he only had a "couple of beers" and didn't cause any trouble, but the Power leadership group judged his behaviour to be in breach of the club's professional standards and fined him $2,500, with another $2,500 suspended.

It was a strong stance by the club, but Hartlett's response against Adelaide the next week was stronger.

Embarrassed by public ridicule, Hartlett racked up 22 disposals and laid five tackles in the showdown win over the Crows, and followed up with 23 possessions, two goals and nine tackles the following week to be Port Adelaide's best player in the loss to Gold Coast.

While the Power's confidence plummeted, Hartlett's continued to grow and he amassed a career-high 29 disposals against North Melbourne in round six.

The classy onballer picked up where he left off in the clash with Hawthorn on Friday night, gathering 12 disposals and kicking a goal in the first half.

He was quieter in the second half, and appeared visibly fatigued having tried to carry the team on his dodgy shoulders for much of the past month.

Hartlett is the quintessential footballer.

He's not quick, but he's smart and finds himself in the right position at stoppages.

He's averaged nearly a goal a game this season, but also works hard defensively and is ranked fourth at the club in tackles, with 24.

Undeniably, his skills are his greatest asset.

He's a natural right-footer, but was taught to kick the ball on either side of his body when young and isn't afraid to use his non-preferred foot to hit a tough target.

Coach Matthew Primus, who tries to reinforce the team-first mentality by not heaping praise or criticism for that matter on any individual, was typically modest in his assessment of Hartlett's start to the season.

"Hamish, from where he's come from and what he's done over pre-season has been pretty good," Primus said.

Secretly, Primus would be thrilled by Hartlett's rapid rise and, more importantly, his ability to string five straight games together for just the second time in his short career.

Will it be the end of his injury woes?

Probably not, but his performance over the past month has vindicated Primus' decision to invest time into his core group of young players and has indicated there's light at the end of the tunnel for the rebuilding Power, if people can be patient.