Pittard was drafted to the Power with pick No.16 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, but unlike fellow draftee and good mate Andrew Moore his body-shape was not conducive to a round-one AFL debut.
The former Geelong Falcons junior was a similar height to Moore (186cm), but weighed nearly 10kg less and his lily-white complexion among the sea of bigger, bronzed bodies further enhanced the perception of a boy among men.
Since that time, the talented defender is proud to say he’s added 8kg to his wiry frame to break the 80kg-barrier for the first time in his life.
“I’ve grown 2cm, so that’s made it harder to put on weight, but I’ve still put on nearly 8kg since I’ve been here, which is pleasing because it’s been a struggle for most of my life,” Pittard said.
“I’m not really sure what the club expected at the start of the year. I think they were just happy for me to get in a good routine in the gym, but I’ve been eating more and been able to push a few more weights.
“It’s been hard at times, but I’m getting a bit better at remembering to eat snacks in between training and meetings… I just hope I don’t get sick of pasta.”
The half-back also arrived at Alberton with two surnames, known as ‘McMillan-Pittard’ but opted to drop ‘McMillan’ (his mother’s surname) to save confusion at the start of the season.
The name change also stopped Pittard’s teammates from calling him ‘two dads’- a nickname he was not too fond of.
“A couple of nicknames have died down now, thankfully, and I pretty much just get called Jasper now,” he said.
“Some people we’re calling me ‘the Pilchard’ for a little while, which is a small fish because I’m skinny, but nothing has really stuck.”
Pittard might have looked out of place on the field size-wise, but it soon became obvious why the Power recruiters rated him so highly.
The left-footer is regarded as one of the most skilled players at the club on either side of his body and his rebounding ability has seen him compared to that of Geelong premiership player Andrew Mackie.
His obvious ability has seen Kingsley and the coaching staff set some high benchmarks.
“Kingers expects a bit out of me and I like it like that because I like knowing what I need to improve on,” Pittard said.
“I was drafted for my skills and the club has no problem with the way I use the ball, but I need to work on my defensive side… I need to be a bit more intense at times.
“I’m trying to get better at that and trying to get bigger in the gym, so I can take a few more tackles.”
Pittard has settled into life in Adelaide, living with teammate Paul Stewart’s parents close to Alberton.
The keen guitarist and artist plans to start a university degree in Human Movement next year and also has bold plans for his footy.
He had a taste of AFL, as a substitute for the Power in their NAB Cup opener against Adelaide and said he was hoping to earn another opportunity next pre-season.
“Ideally, I’d like to jump into the NAB Cup and have a few goes at it and start round one, but that’s really up to me and how hard I want to work.”
