Port Adelaide backs Bergman, Georgiades to reach full potential at Alberton after injury interrupted draft years

Miles Bergman and Mitch Georgiades both suffered setbacks with injury throughout 2019, but Port Adelaide is confident the two new draftees can bring athleticism and x-factor to its squad.

Miles Bergman of the Port Adelaide Power poses for a photograph during the first round of the 2019 AFL Draft at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Wednesday, November 27, 2019. (AAP Image/Scott Barbour) NO ARCHIVING

• All the picks from the first round of the 2019 AFL draft
• How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription

Port Adelaide has landed two athletic forwards and is all but certain to add father/son selection Jackson Mead after a busy opening round for the club at the AFL National Draft’s round last night.

The Power selected Victorian medium forward/wingman Miles Bergman at pick 14 and made a slightly surprising call by taking West Australian Mitch Georgiades with the 18th selection in Melbourne.

Both of them battled injuries in 2019 – Bergman played through shin splints and Georgiades missed the season due to a persistent quad complaint – but Port was not concerned, saying the duo had significant upside and the club had done its due diligence on them.

The Power also made two trades on the night, including dropping down from pick 20 to 22 after a deal with Carlton that also netted Port the 55th choice.

Miles Bergman (left) is presented with his guernsey from Power star Robbie Gray. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

That not only means the Power will choose first on night two, but will nab midfielder Mead – son of ex-Port star Darren Mead – with their fourth call unless they part ways with their next selection.

“We’re very happy with what we ended up with,” Port national recruiting manager Geoff Parker told The Advertiser.

“Georgiades we kept pretty quiet but we tracked him last year … and thought he’d be a pretty good player and rocket up the boards this year, but he didn’t get to play.

“We did a lot of background checking – (Power assistant) Jarrad Schofield has that Subiaco connection (as a past coach there) and Taj, Jarrad’s son played with him – so we had a lot of intel on him and we’re excited he got to where he got to.

“We’re very, very comfortable with our decision to pick him.

Here's a first look at what our newest recruit Miles Bergman can do.

That oval looks familiar 🤔#weareportadelaide pic.twitter.com/EATXrrPLw4

— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) November 27, 2019

“We really liked Miles, he’d had a great season and even though he was a little bit sore with his shin in the end, he still managed to kick goals.

“Miles can play in a variety of roles and has got a great running capacity, a bit like Xavier Duursma, but obviously a little bit taller.

“But he’s shown he can mark the ball, kick goals and he’s a very good kick.

“So we get to pick our three players, the pick (bid) will come for Jackson somewhere and we can match it with the trading for picks we did.

Stream the AFL Draft on KAYO with your TV, Mobile, Tablet or Laptop. Get your 14 day free trial & start streaming instantly >

“All the planning we did, research we did and trading we did pre-draft, it’s all worked out the way we were really hoping.”

Bergman, who is 189cm, 83kg, hardly trained fully this year due to his shin splints and missed a bulk of his under-16s campaign with stress fractures in his foot.

But he registered 13 NAB League games for Sandringham Dragon in 2019 and represented Vic Metro, and he was rated for his penetrating kick, contested marking, athleticism and vertical leap – he won the standing jump (77cm) at the national draft combine.

By George! Mitch joins the Power âš¡ #AFLDraft pic.twitter.com/QcNlrAwhr8

— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) November 27, 2019

Georgiades – who stands 192cm and 87kg, and is the son of former Western Bulldog John Georgiades – got a corked thigh in the “Futures” game on AFL grand final day last year, leading to bleeding into the quad and three surgeries.

But Port felt it could not overlook his marking, goalkicking and athleticism.

Glenelg defender Will Gould, WA inside midfielder Deven Robertson, Sandringham Dragons tall Josh Worrell and skilful Oakleigh Chargers midfielder/defender Trent Bianco are among the players available for Port’s pick to kick off Thursday night.

Parker would not reveal who the club would take and said rival teams had already started calling about possible trade scenarios involving that selection.

“Will’s in that group of players we’ve spoken about but I’m not going to spoil it tonight,” he said.

“We’ve already had three phone calls from clubs looking to trade for that pick so we’ll see what happens but we’re excited with the players that are left and know we’ll get a player we really like.”

Port also traded picks 52 and 55 for Fremantle’s selection 66 and round two call next year.

As it stands, the Power has selections 22, 55, 60, 61 and 83 remaining – some of which will be needed for the bid on Mead.

Originally published as Port Adelaide backs Bergman, Georgiades to reach full potential at Alberton after injury interrupted draft years