Hamish primed to live up to potential

Port Adelaide's Hamish Hartlett is fully fit and primed for a big season. Picture: Matt Turner. Source: The Advertiser

HE is "The Jet" who is too often grounded.

But now Hamish Hartlett says he is ready to show why he carries the mantle of being Port Adelaide's highest draft pick.

Having played just 46 of a possible 88 games since being drafted at No. 4 in 2008, Hartlett is physically better prepared to make an impact on the AFL than at any time in his career.

A member of the Power's new-look leadership group, the injury-plagued Hartlett estimates he has completed "about 97-to-98 per cent of the (pre-season) work" under new coach Ken Hinkley.

This compares to no more than 75 per cent in his previous four years at the club.

"So there has been a significant improvement there and I've really noticed the difference," said Hartlett, who fired a warning shot to the rest of the competition by being one of Port's standouts in its opening NAB Cup clash against St Kilda last week.

"It's been a real positive to be able to get out on the track day after day and come out of every session feeling pretty good.

"In the past few years I've missed a lot of pre-season work and when I have trained a lot of the time I'd come off the track feeling my hamstrings were tight or some part of my body just wasn't feeling right.

"Now I'm pulling up really well after each session and being able to back up day after day has been great for me."

Hartlett's talent has never been questioned.

The injuries have certainly held me back ... the most frustrating part is that before getting drafted I played almost every game as a junior

The midfielder/half-back has been labelled a jet because of his high skill level and the way he moves so smoothly around the field.

But injuries have curtailed the 22-year-old's development.

Hartlett has not played more than 16 games in a season. To put his injury plight into perspective, Collingwood's Steele Sidebottom - a player drafted seven slots below him in 2008 - has played 85 games.

That is nearly double Hartlett's output.

"The only things holding Hartlett back from becoming an elite AFL player are his injuries," notes the AFL Prospectus.

Dislocated shoulders, back problems and numerous hamstring strains have kept Hartlett in the medical room as much as he has been on the training track. He hopes those days are over.

"It's been frustrating not to be able to get out on the field more often to show what I can do," Hartlett said.

"The injuries have certainly held me back and I guess the most frustrating part is that before getting drafted I played almost every game as a junior.

"But I guess once I stepped up the intensity to the next level of footy my body didn't adapt and cope as well as I would have liked."

Hartlett, who has undergone shoulder surgeries and epidural injections and has regular chiropractic and acupuncture treatment to try to keep him on the park, said his 185cm, 83kg frame was gradually becoming hardened to the demands of AFL football.

"I think probably as you get older and are able to train for longer and more often your body does adapt to it better," he said.

Hartlett is encouraged by playing 31 of Port's past 44 matches after managing just 15 of its previous 44.

"That's a positive for me but I'm looking forward to stringing a full season together at some stage," he said.

"Not only would it be good to play every week but it would also enable me to find some consistency with my game.

"That's really what I need to help take my game to the next level."

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