A day after being drafted, Port Adelaide’s Lachie Jones is targeting a round 1 AFL berth, and hasn’t ruled out eventually moving from defence into the midfield.
The 188cm well-built but athletic backman was selected with pick 16 in Wednesday’s National Draft after Port matched a bid from Collingwood for his services.
Originally from Bute on Yorke Peninsula, Jones has been part of Port Adelaide’s Next Generation Academy which gave the club first rights for him on draft night.
The 18-year-old is already a SANFL premiership player, as part of Woodville-West Torrens’ successful 2020 side and has his sights set on playing AFL in 2021.
“That’s a goal of mine and it will be a goal moving forward but for the time being we’ll just focus on getting pre-season done, working my arse off and see where we go and how we feel at Round one,” he said at a press conference at Adelaide Oval on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into training with the boys.”
Jones will join his new teammates at training on Friday for the first time.
A childhood Port Adelaide supporter surrounded by Adelaide and Essendon fans at his family home, he knew there were no guarantees of landing at Port in the draft, but was so confident he would that he turned up to media interviews wearing a Port Adelaide beanie.
“I grew up supporting Port so it’s not something that came about in the last two months when it’s been spoken about a bit more,” he explained.
“I wear my Port gear just normally and I guess now it has a lot more meaning.
“Obviously to get to the team I grew up supporting, it’s a childhood dream come true. I can’t be more thankful for the opportunity they’ve given me.
“It wasn’t until probably the month or two months where I’d spoken to Ken (Hinkley) and he said we were in a position to (get me to the club) and Chris Davies said the same.
“Towards the end of the season, there was still no certainty but gave me a bit of confidence it was going to be the destination for me.”
Jones watched the draft coverage from the Wallaroo tavern surrounded by family and friends.
Having lived in Adelaide for the last couple of years with Port Adelaide SANFL leadership player Cam Sutcliffe, he was eager to get home to take the night in with those closes to him.
“I was with a few of my mates Caleb Poulter and Zac Phillips. We had a few quiet pints – it was a long night, it’d be rude not to,” he joked.
“After the draft was done, we definitely had a few more beers and Dad and I shared one. It was a really special moment with the boys as well.
“Being away from the family for a while, it was good to be home with my mates. I wouldn’t want to spend the night anywhere else or with anyone else other than my parents.
“They’ve been the biggest people for my footy.. so it was the right thing to do and I loved every minute of it.”
Known mostly for his intercept marking, rebound out of defence and booming right foot kick, Jones made half back his home for the Eagles.
While he expects that is where he will start with Port, he has eyes on moving up the ground.
“There hasn’t been much talk about positions yet but obviously drafted as a defender and I’d say defence is a starting point,” Jones said.
“Hopefully midfield is a position to move into after.”
Renowned for his trademark mullet and moustache, Jones remains undecided whether the hair cut will remain, saying he would consider the opinions of his new teammates before making a call.
“We’ll have to see what the boys say when I get to the club to get an indication but it might come off in the next week.”
