PORT Adelaide players and coaches have paid their respects to cricketer Phillip Hughes, observing 63 seconds of silence before their first pre-season session on Monday.
Hughes tragically died last Thursday from a severe head injury after being felled by a bouncer while batting for South Australia; he was 63 not out.
The Power felt the agony of losing a teammate in 2012, when John McCarthy fell to his death from a casino roof in Las Vegas.
After running a 3km time trial in Adelaide's parklands, skipper Travis Boak said his side wanted to support their Redbacks counterparts in any way they could.
"We spoke about it - myself and Kenny - before training and we thought it was the right thing to do," Boak said.
"Everyone was shocked around Australia and the world and we wanted to show our respect for Phil and his family.
"We went through it with 'J-Mac' (McCarthy) not long ago, for the Redbacks players, for the Australian players and everyone involved with Phil - it's a tough time.
"We'll certainly be there if they need to have a chat or anything like that … no one deserves or should go through these sort of circumstances and we're certainly there to lend our support."
Boak will enter season 2015 on the back of consecutive All Australian selections and said he looked to Power veteran Kane Cornes for inspiration to keep improving.
Cornes again won the Power's time trial on Monday, starting in a handicapped group of players and overtaking the first to claim victory.
Port veteran Kane Cornes once again
wins the team's time trial. Picture: Getty Images
He was followed over the finish line by defender Tom Clurey and midfielder Sam Colquhoun, who is returning from a knee reconstruction.
Cornes addressed the entire playing group after the run, setting the tone for the pre-season ahead.
"When we finished the season we had a chat and said we needed to come back in really good shape because we weren't good enough," Boak said.
"Kane sets the perfect example; he's the oldest player on the list and he continues to improve himself … that's 10 or 12 years in a row that he's won it.
"As individuals we need to make sure we get better personally and I'm certainly the same.
"Whether it be my game, whether it be my captaincy, I've got to make sure I'm improving and then pushing that down to the rest of the leaders."
Star recruit Paddy Ryder also trained on Monday and moved well as be continues to acclimatise to new surroundings.
While the training camp in Dubai will help with team bonding, Boak said the former Essendon ruckman had quickly fitted into the squad.
