Wallace’s comment, whether intended as a jibe or as an innocent observation, struck a chord with Port Adelaide fans, who had already adopted the Richmond discard as their own.
Rodan, modest and polite, has had plenty of opportunities to bite back at the club that unceremoniously dumped him at its best and fairest night in 2006, but as the elusive onballer said on Wednesday: “I like to say it with my actions rather than my words.”
In this case, Rodan was referring to developing his leadership skills, but this motto transcends across all areas of his game.
In 2007 Rodan played every game, won the club’s most improved player award and also finished sixth in the John Cahill Medal.
This season, Rodan has continued to repay coach Mark Williams’ faith, picking up 20-plus possessions on at least six occasions and providing a spark for fans in an otherwise dull year.
"Personally it was a pretty good year (in 2007) to come straight here and try to make an impact,” Rodan said.
“Then this year I didn't want to slacken off and wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke, so I trained pretty hard.
“I've just tried to play my role and get a few wins. It's been difficult but we're not too far off it.
Rodan is part of the ‘middle-aged’ group of players at Port Adelaide that will be asked to step up in the last five weeks to cover the absence of leaders Warren Tredrea, Chad Cornes, Michael Wilson and Steve Salopek.
"Choco's (Williams) touched on the fact that we've got a lot of young players coming into the side, showing their wares and I think what's been touched on also is leadership,” he said.
“We've got a lot of mid-range players who have been around the club for three or four years trying to make their mark on leadership, so they're stepping up to the plate with a lot of senior players out.
"At the moment the boys are hurting, it hasn't been a great year especially compared to last year. We had a bit of soul searching to do after the game against Fremantle. A lot of guys were distraught and pretty depressed. But we had a good chat among ourselves about what we're going to get out of the next five weeks and we really don't want to let the five weeks just go past.”
