But Neade has taken to the highest level of football like he was born to play; his speed, creativity and tackling have become trademarks after just five games.
And people have taken to him – it's hard not to be charmed by the 19-year-old's smile and infectious enthusiasm.
Neade has quickly become a fan favourite in Adelaide, supporters have seemingly fallen in love with the self-belief needed for a 168cm teenager to bring the horrifically explosive Patrick Dangerfield to ground.
Speaking to AFL.com.au from Darwin, where she and Chris had travelled the 700km from Neade's hometown of Elliot, Beverley said she wasn’t surprised that people had been drawn to her boy.
"Even before he got drafted, he came to the school just before he finished year 12 and all the kids just sat down – he's definitely a role model to them," she said.
"The way he stood up and walked into the class rooms to have a talk was really impressive.
"We've got family in Queensland who have never followed AFL before, as soon as he got drafted they started.
"They watch every game, they want to learn about AFL."
Such is Neade's standing amongst Elliot locals that his elders were thrilled to learn he and his Port Adelaide teammates would proudly wear the region's totem motif, the emu, on their guernsey against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Neade's grandmother came up with the concept and his aunt produced the design, which represents the dreamtime story of Janama the emu, one of the most important stories the Jingili people have.
"We told them Jake's football club were the ones wanting to use the design, so they said yes," Beverley said.
"They were pretty happy that Jake's football club was going to be wearing it.
"It shows the three emus, three brothers, they met up about 150km north of Elliot and then the one that we call Janama, he came through our country and left behind our ceremonies, laws, song lines and culture.
"The other two went separate ways as well, one stayed there and one went to another part of the country."
The jumper also marks the launch of the Power's Central Corridor Strategy, which the club hopes will see it feature more prominently in the Northern Territory.
As well as playing more games in Darwin and Alice Springs, through their development arm Power Community Ltd, Port aims to establish a range of community programs.
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
