PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has made it clear more is expected of new recruit Jared Polec after an uninspiring opening time-trial.
Polec - who recently had a bout of tonsillitis - finished the 3km run in the middle of the pack, a long way from winner Kane Cornes and behind some of the club's bigger players.
Hinkley approached Polec after he finished and, while he denied he was disappointed with the 20-year-old's effort, said the former Lion had some ground to make up.
"He's been crook. He's actually had tonsillitis for the last week so we knew he was going to be a little down this morning," Hinkley said at Adelaide Oval on Monday.
"We weren't actually sure he was going to be able to run this morning so I'm pleased he got out there and was able to.
"[I wanted] to make sure he understands that there's a level you have to get to early and, look, he knows that.
"We're lucky - he's working with (Port’s fitness coach) Darren Burgess - we expect him to improve quite quickly."
As he has for so many of the club's pre-season runs, Cornes was a clear standout in the time-trial and beat rookie Kane Mitchell by 50m.
Young midfielder Sam Colquhoun came third.
The session was supposed to be for 1-4 year players only, but Cornes lead the way before addressing the playing group, an unexpected statement that impressed his coach.
"It's just great for the football club, I reckon, that one of our leaders is showing the way," Hinkley said.
"[He] asked them some pretty honest questions.
"Kane wants to be successful. He doesn't want to wait for those young boys - he wants to give them some understanding of what it takes and what’s going to get them there quicker.
"It just says we're in really good hands with our senior boys - with Kane and Dom (Cassisi) and those sorts of blokes."
Hinkley said the Power would cast a wide net in the search for Alan Richardson's replacement, even claiming the club would consider applicants from outside the AFL.
With the addition of Phil Walsh to the coaching group, he admitted there was less of a need for a strategy expert.
"[We] perhaps don't need tactically as much as Alan would have brought, because we've got Phil coming back to the club so that helps us there," he said.
"The 'Richo' role perhaps can be to help our coaches become better coaches".
