Super Sam’s fitness wows Port
PORT Adelaide hardman Sam Powell-Pepper has put a troubled year behind him to return to pre-season training in outstanding condition, according to teammate Jarrod Lienert.
Just three days into the Power’s off-season of redemption, Lienert said Powell-Pepper had wowed his teammates with his superb physical condition and running times.
“Sam Powell-Pepper is absolutely flying at the moment,’’ Lienert said.
“I was looking at the running (numbers) when I left the club (on Wednesday) and he absolutely smoked everyone in the GPS numbers.
“He is absolutely flying, which is really good for him and the boys as well to see him up and about.’’
Powell-Pepper, 20, appears determined to atone for a forgettable 2018 campaign which followed him finishing third in the 2017 AFL Rising Star award in a standout rookie season.
The strong midfielder was suspended by his club for three games this year for inappropriate behaviour at an Adelaide nightclub and then became embroiled in more trouble at the end of the season when he was forced to publicly apologise for releasing a “private image” via his social media account.
His form on the field this year suffered as Port shockingly missed the finals. Apart from playing six less matches — 16 compared to 22 in his debut year — Powell-Pepper did not have the same impact on games.
Defender Lienert, who has signed a two-year contract extension, backed up new senior assistant coach Michael Voss’s day-one pre-season call that the Power would spend much of its pre-season working on playing “bolder’’ and more attacking football.
“We showed last year we were really good at defending a score and have really good defensive mechanisms but I think this year we’ve been given more of a licence to really go for it and be a bit bolder,”’ Lienert told FIVEaa.