MOST people would take offence to being called 'portly' and having an unflattering picture of themselves splashed across the pages of the local newspaper, but not Port Adelaide star Daniel Motlop.
Last month, an underdone Motlop was snapped topless at training and for added effect the photo was placed side-by-side with a shot of chiselled midfielder Matt Thomas.
The picture achieved its desired outcome, with people questioning the mercurial forward’s conditioning and the newspaper article ending up in his locker.
Motlop admitted to being out of shape, but with good reason having had both his shoulder and ankle operated on over the break.
“It was a nice photo wasn’t it?” Motlop laughed.
“I wasn’t able to do a lot over the break. I was restricted to walking and even then my ankle would get sore after a half-an-hour or so. I really got told just to rest and give my body time to heal.
“It was only November at that stage so it gives me a chance to get some weight off.”
Motlop returned to near-full training two weeks ago and was back down to his playing weight of 91kg before a groin complaint halted his progress.
The one-time leading goalkicker won’t join his teammates for training until they return from the Christmas break, but he’s far from concerned by his slow start to pre-season.
“It’s been pretty good just easing into pre-season training. A lot of the boys are flying at the moment, but I don’t like to be flying at this stage,” he said.
“There’s no rush…I don’t have to be one of the December heroes. My groin started playing up last week, so I’ll rest that over Christmas and get back into it when we come back.”
Motlop was enjoying a greater midfield role last season before breaking a bone in his ankle against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin in round 12.
The Power have since lost brothers Peter and Shaun Burgoyne from their onball brigade and Motlop was confident he could play a similar pinch-hitting role next year, despite his limited preparation.
“It’s something I can try if I’m not getting a kick deep in the forward line,” he said.
“I’ll try to start games up the ground, have a run around and try and get a feel for different parts of the ground rather than sitting inside 50.
“It helps the team if different players can play different roles.”
Port Adelaide is also likely to try out a new forward line mix next year, with players such as former Richmond utility Jay Schulz, booming right-footer Nick Salter and upgraded rookies Daniel Stewart and Wade Thompson all looking for an opportunity.
Motlop said there was already competition on for spots.
“We’ve gone with the one forward line structure for the last three or fours years, so it’ll be good to see some different faces in there,” he said.
“There’s a bit of pressure on some of the blokes that are in there, like Robbie Gray, Justin Westhoff and Brett Ebert, to keep their spots and that competition pushes me and Tredders [Warren Tredrea] to improve.”
