Watch highights of Tom Jonas's 2012 season on PTV above. Can't see the video? Watch on YouTube.
Jonas, 21, will play through to at least the end of 2014 on the Power’s senior list after spending two years as a rookie.
He was elevated temporarily to the senior list in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
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Despite playing the last three games of 2011, Jonas started his 2012 campaign in the SANFL with local club Norwood as rebounding half back.
When Robbie Gray was added to the club’s long-term injury list after severely injured his anterior cruciate ligament against Collingwood in April, the club held off on immediately upgrading a rookie to replace him.
It gave Jonas the opportunity to put in a number of consistent performances in the local league to earn that promotion to the senior list.
He played nine of the remaining ten games of the year, including strong performances against Geelong, Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney as a shutdown defender.
Those efforts saw him crowned as the winner of the club’s Coaches’ Award for 2012, an honour based on competitiveness, selflessness and earning the trust of the team around him.
Described by General Manager - Football Peter Rohde as a ‘great clubman’, Jonas is firmly focused on cementing his place in the Power lineup.
“It’s just a great opportunity to be part of a young group and a young Port Adelaide moving forward,” Jonas told PortAdelaideFC.com.au of his new contract.
“Especially if we can develop as a team and if I can develop my own game and be a real part of it.”
Being elevated to the senior list is a vote of confidence in Jonas’s ability as a defender.
It’s an opportunity not lost on him heading into an important pre-season for a squad playing under a new senior coach and with a number of new signings.
The loss of senior defenders Troy Chaplin and Danyle Pearce, the latter another rookie who fought his way to becoming a part of the Power’s defence, provides Jonas and other young teammates with an opportunity to cement a place in the back six.
“I’m pretty happy with that [senior list elevation],” Jonas said.
“I’ve spent a couple of years on the rookie list and now I’ve got that freedom to not be upgraded and will especially be able to put in a strong pre-season and play round one.”
“We’ve lost a lot of our backline but we still have some pretty key personnel down there.
“Hopefully we can build a new defence around them and I can be a part of that going into next year.”
