Port Adelaide have confirmed the addition of a Supplemental Selection Period prospect Josh Lai to their pre-season program.
Lai has linked up with the Power in a bid to make the leap from local football to the AFL, having earned the attention of the South Australian club following a strong season with Victorian side Cheltenham.
Lai, 19, played a dozen games for the Southern Football Netball League side this year, featuring in the Rosellas' best on seven occasions and kicking 11 goals.
He would also feature for both Cheltenham's reserves and U19s sides this year, show off the extent of his meteoric rise in 2024 to now have a chance to win a list spot with Port Adelaide.
โI'm really keen to get started at Port Adelaide, and to give it my best shot at playing AFL football,โ Lai said in a club statement.
โIt's all happened so fast. I did a training session last week with the group and just a few days later, I've moved over and I'm training full time.ย
โI'm really excited for the chance to learn and train at Port Adelaide and will give it my all.โย
Lai joins North Melbourne VFL captain Jack Watkins as an SSP trialist at Alberton, with the two train-on players vying for the same list spot.
Port Adelaide have just one vacancy on their AFL list, having acquired Tom Cochrane out of the Central District Bulldogs in last month's Rookie Draft.
Watkins has been training with the Power for multiple weeks now and looms as a mature-aged option for the club to consider, with the two-time Kangaroos VFL best and fairest winner also earning a Team of the Year selection in 2024.
AFL clubs have until February 21 to sign players via the SSP, with leftover list spots able to be filled through next year's Mid-Season Draft.
