JACKSON Mead, son of inaugural AFL club champion Darren, is to graduate to teal with his first workout in AFL company on Sunday.
Recruited as a father-son pick at call No. 25 in the 2019 AFL national draft, 19-year-old Mead on Sunday will don the club's No.44 AFL guernsey in the AAMI Community Series clash with Adelaide at Noarlunga Oval - and put aside the frustrations of last year's setbacks with hamstring strains and COVID protocols culling Port Adelaide's SANFL program.
While Darren Mead made club history - as the first player to reach the 100-game milestone at Port Adelaide in both SANFL and AFL company - as a key defender at centre half-back, Jackson will start his AFL story as a midfielder.
"He is strong at the contest, like his dad but not as big as Darren," said Port Adelaide midfield coach Jarrad Schofield of the 184cm, 83kg Jackson.
"He plays around the midfield; very clean inside. He is very contest-orientated. He uses both sides of his body.
"He unfortunately missed a lot of footy last year through COVID and also through a hamstring injury that he had to battle with. It was an unfortunate year for him, but he is someone to really look for in and around the contest where his strengths are.
"His vision and awareness in traffic stands out. But he is one who over the pre-season, like with all our players, has to have a secondary position. He has really worked on his craft to play forward, as a high half-forward. That is why his fitness base was a real focus for him over the pre-season as well and he has improved that. So he is not just purely an inside-mid."
Port Adelaide's search for its starting 22 for the AFL premiership season-opener against North Melbourne on March 21 will involve 26 players against Adelaide on Sunday. Coach Ken Hinkley is restricted to 22 players on the field and four-man interchange bench at any time, but he can change the squad at half-time.
Port Adelaide also must work to the new regulation of 75 (rather than 90) interchanges.
From the group who missed the 52-point win against Adelaide in the trial at Alberton Oval last Saturday, Port Adelaide regains captain Tom Jonas and game-breaking midfielder-forward Robbie Gray.
Defenders Hamish Hartlett and Trent McKenzie will be rested to ease general soreness and tall forward Todd Marshall will not play after taking a knock to a cheek in the first half of last week's trial.
Forward-midfielder Connor Rozee will play with Schofield declaring any surgery to ease a troubled foot would be a "last resort".
"The plan is he will play a full game," Schofield said of Rozee's commitment on Sunday. "He is training well and playing really well. We want him to get as much time into him as we can.
"He is fully fit. He is not inhibited by the situation he has with his foot. It is more how we manage it long term. And how we manage him from week to week because it is one of those ones that is fluid - some days it feels great; some days it doesn't.
"But when he is out there playing, we don't put anything to risk with Connor. When he plays, he is fully fit and that is why we have seen the results in the internal (trial) and last week (against Adelaide)."
Rozee was part of the midfield battery that claimed a 22-6 advantage on centre clearances to leave Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks saying his team had taken "a step backwards" in its mission to be a stronger team at the contest.
This sets up quite an anticipated response from Adelaide at Noarlunga Oval on Sunday afternoon.
"It is a great opportunity for both sides ... to see what they learned about us and what we learned about them," said Schofield. "We can expect a fierce contest. It starts with centre bounce and it was on our terms for most parts last week, but we are under no illusion.
"If we think we are going to walk out and it is going to be the same result from center bounce, we'd be walking into the eye of the storm. Our guys are prepared for what the Crows will throw at us. It will be something different - and a heavily fought contest in there."
Port Adelaide's best 22 creates significant external debate. But at Alberton, the coaches acknowledge this is the blessing from having a core squad of 34 players capable of claiming an AFL spot in any week.
"We are pretty clear on (the best 22)," said Schofield to underline how advanced Port Adelaide is in its preparation for the new AFL premiership campaign.
"We have gone through this in the past month on what it looks like - and we are in a healthy position with some of the young fellows who did not get to play much footy last year and how they have progressed over the pre-season.
"Going on what our pre-season has looked like in the past four to six weeks, you'd have to say there are going to be some unlucky players who through the tightness of picking 22 they might miss out.
"If we were to canvas the 34-player mark for those who could play AFL in any given week, we have that number."
Squads for both Port Adelaide and Adelaide will be confirmed on Saturday evening. The match begins at 3.40pm on Sunday with full coverage on Port Adelaide's website and social media streams and live television with the Fox Footy Channel.
