Cheltenham young gun Josh Lai training with Port Adelaide in hope of landing SSP spot

No Coates League? No VFL? No worries! A 19-year-old with just 12 games of senior footy under his belt has been invited to train with Port Adelaide for a spot on its list.

The speedster is in the race.

Line-breaking suburban footballer Josh Lai is in the mix to land on an AFL list, set to train with Port Adelaide for one of its Supplemental Selection Period spots.

Lai, from Cheltenham in Melbourne’s Southern league, will train with the Power over the pre-season after having a medical at the club on Friday.

The 19-year-old will be one of the stories of the off-season if he is to be swept up by the Power, having never played any VFL or Coates Talent League matches.

Lai sat out most of 2023 with a foot injury and has played just 12 games of senior football.

He started 2024 in the under-19s and played a game in the reserves before making his debut.

Lai’s brave run and carry, which has reportedly impressed Port Adelaide, won him the best-on-ground medal in Cheltenham’s premiership win in September.

The right-footer was set to play VFL for Richmond in 2025 and attended training at Punt Rd last Monday.

Lai at full stride during the SFNL grand final. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Cheltenham knew it had a player when Lai trained at full fitness after his foot injury.

“I saw him train and that was enough,” coach Justin Pickering said.

“I still remember his face when I said: ‘We’re going to play you in the under-19s in round 1’.

“He played that, played round 2 in the seconds and never looked back, while it was harsh at the time it was probably the best thing for him. He did the right thing and played really well in those two games.

“He’s got that explosive pace, we encourage using that, we have some structures but they’re playing community footy, we want to see the best players playing their way.

“We don’t want to see them being held back – so it’s good to have him going forward with confidence.”

Lai accepts his best-on-ground grand final medal. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Pickering has always valued Lai’s courage as much as his speed.

“There was one bit of play where he received a handball which set him up beautifully, he knew he was going to cop it, took it and got straight back up,” Pickering said.

“He’s not afraid to back into a pack even if he doesn’t mark it, he puts his head over the ball and is still only learning the caper but you don’t lose that.

“Just because you go to a higher level it doesn’t mean you lose your courage, it’s hard to get courage … it’s obviously in the DNA.”

Lai will commence training alongside North Melbourne VFL captain Jack Watkins who started at Alberton last Monday.

Port Adelaide took Joe Berry (Pick 15), Jack Whitlock (Pick 33), Christian Moraes (Pick 38) and Tom Cochrane (Rookie draft, pick 13) with its four draft selections this year.