What Port Adelaide fans can expect of boom recruit Jason Horne-Francis in 2023 and beyond
It was the highly publicised move that rocked the trade period. Now Port Adelaide premiership player Dean Brogan gives his take on why Jason Horne-Francis was right to leave the Roos.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Port Adelaide premiership player Dean Brogan has declared Power boom recruit Jason Horne-Francis can captain the club, but he may take time to settle into the side.
The former No. 1 pick made a highly publicised move from North Melbourne to Port Adelaide, after just a year at the Kangaroos.
Brogan, who played in the Power’s 2004 premiership victory, came across Horne-Francis when he was at South Adelaide.
He said Port Adelaide had a potential future captain now at Alberton.
“He is one of the most impressive kids I’ve seen,” Brogan said on Grandstand SA.
“I went to the Giants and saw the best talent in Australia at that time and he is an absolute standout kid.
“He was just put in a really awful position at North Melbourne last year.
“For whatever reason they misdiagnosed an issue in his legs, he had a lot go wrong for him last year and you can argue that he played his part in this as well but when you are an 18, 19-year-old kid and you are put in a bad situation you don’t have the tools to get through that.
“I think getting him out of there and getting him to a safe environment, he is at a great club they have fixed his legs.
“He didn’t really get going until January so he was a bit behind but we saw in those pre-season games he showed a little bit.
“Long term I think he is going to be a future captain of the footy club, I really like what he stands for and how he goes about it.
“He has a lot of work to do but I think you will see him really take another step this year.”
Horne-Francis is set to make his debut for the Power when they host Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Brogan said the Power and their fans couldn’t pin everything on Horne-Francis.
“He is going to take some time, we are pinning all this pressure on this kid,” he said.
“He is not going to come out and have 35 disposals and win Port Adelaide the game.”
The Power come into Round 1 on the back of two losses in their practice matches against West Coast and Fremantle.
This followed on from an internal trial that was labelled scrappy, and Brogan said he didn’t like what he had seen from the Power in their pre-season to date.
“It’s OK to lose these games, it isn’t about winning or losing. But what is the method,” he said.
“I watched that game and it looked like what they did every other year, kick the ball to Charlie (Dixon) and hope.
“There was no method with what they were doing.
“There defensive structure was good but that has never been an issue.
“I would have thought we would have seen more from them, especially in that second game against Freo.
“I’m looking at them and I’m not sure.”
‘Welcome home’: The excitement and scrutiny surrounding JHF
- Matt Turner
David Koch is on stage in Adelaide Oval’s William Magarey Room, about four minutes into his opening address, when he makes a special mention of one new player.
“Then there’s Jason Horne-Francis,” Port Adelaide’s chairman says at the club’s season launch and Hall of Fame night last month.
“Mate, you’ve always been part of Port Adelaide.
“Welcome home.
“Can’t wait to see you pull on that guernsey and play a game for points.”
Port Adelaide’s prized off-season recruit is a week away from doing just that.
Having been traded in October on the back of a tumultuous debut campaign at North Melbourne, Horne-Francis will follow in family footsteps when he faces Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
His dad, Fabian, played 86 AFL games for the Power from 1997-2001 and won two SANFL flags for the club.
A desire to be closer to his tight-knit family prompted Christies Beach-raised Horne-Francis to want to join the side where he had a strong, personal connection.
The excitement at Alberton over the 19-year-old’s arrival is matched by the intensity of the spotlight on a player taken at pick No. 1 in 2021.
“I’m not sure we’ve had anybody with that much scrutiny on him and the thing is he’s so young, so it’s a bit of the unknown,” three-time Magpies premiership captain Tim Ginever tells News Corp.
“When Paddy Ryder came (from Essendon at the end of 2014), there was an incredible amount of excitement because we all knew he was a bloody good player, but he was already proven.”
Horne-Francis is 17 games into his AFL career.
He will be one of the youngest players on the ground against the Lions.
Football legend Malcolm Blight believes the external expectations on him have been too high “but it always is because you wear the mantle of number one”.
“The fact that we put this pressure on one, that’s the system, but I think they’re all pretty equal (as early draftees),” Blight says.
“You can throw a blanket over 25, 30 most years and you find some adapt to it quicker than others.”
Horne-Francis averaged 16.5 disposals, 2.9 tackles, 2.5 inside 50s and 3.5 clearances last year, playing mainly at half-forward and in the midfield.
Although he won the Kangaroos’ best young player honour, he did not poll a vote in the league’s Rising Star award.
Nathan Buckley was the first winner of that AFL gong 30 years ago when he was with Brisbane, before joining Collingwood at the end of his first season.
Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
His move, as well as their looks to start their careers – black boots, socks up, long blond hair – have led to comparisons.
So too has on-field traits such as powerful running, confidence and strong determination.
Buckley acknowledges there are a lot of correlations, particularly the media attention.
“I wasn’t ready for the fierce focus that came with moving from Brisbane to Collingwood,” Buckley, who was a Port Adelaide SANFL star before joining the AFL, said on SEN.
“There was a lot said, a lot of opinions that were made without a lot of information and I think this kid is going through a very similar situation, albeit with social media, which takes it to another level again.”
Of the scrutiny on Horne-Francis, Buckley tells News Corp: “He is not going to avoid it … just put your head down and learn as quickly as you possibly can.”
A Twitter like of a hypothetical move to the Power, getting dropped by the Kangaroos for not doing an ice bath recovery properly, requesting a trade after just one season and having post-season surgery on both legs are among the Horne-Francis storylines from his first 16 months in the AFL system.
One of his best mates at the Power, Jase Burgoyne, says the scrutiny has not seemed to affect him.
“He goes about his day like normal, always has a good attitude, always happy,” Burgoyne says.
“He’s really happy here, obviously back with his family and home.”
Their fathers were SANFL premiership teammates and played together with the Power, but
Horne-Francis and Burgoyne did not become friends until being part of the state junior program.
They were in the same under-16 and under-18 sides, as well as the AFL Academy, and were opponents in the SANFL.
Now they are the only two Power players who wear their socks up – something they do because of their dads.
“We became really good friends from ‘16s, then it just grew … especially when we came to the club for AFL Academy and it was me and him training,” Burgoyne says of Horne-Francis.
“It’s been good to have him at the club and would’ve been good for him coming over knowing I was there, a familiar face.”
Burgoyne says Horne-Francis mentions very little about his season at the Kangaroos.
The duo spend most of their time together just hanging out and occasionally play golf.
“He’s real kiddish, like me,” Burgoyne says.
“We like to have fun, joke around, have a good time.”
Dual Magarey Medallist and former South Adelaide teammate Joel Cross also describes Horne-Francis as a joker.
“He’s a very funny person, outgoing, confident,” Cross says.
Cross thinks Horne-Francis has the personality to thrive on the added external attention.
“Probably the first 12 months is a bit of a challenge but once you get used to it and understand what it is, he’ll love it and the challenge of being involved at a club like Port Adelaide,” he says.
Cross is surprised by criticism of Horne-Francis from his time at the Kangaroos, remembering him as ultra competitive and incredibly driven.
“I couldn’t speak badly of him as a person,” says Cross, who also coached him in the Panthers’ under-14s.
Blight was there when Horne-Francis joined the Roos, handing him a No. 6 guernsey at the Cathedral Hotel in North Adelaide moments after being drafted.
It was a symbolic moment – a South Australian and North Melbourne champion alongside the state’s first No. 1 pick in 15 years, for whom the club had enormous aspirations.
“You hope when you draft the lads that they will stay but everyone’s got a reason to stay or not to stay,” Blight says.
“Jason’s no different to a lot of others who have moved clubs for a multitude of reasons.
“I was disappointed for North Melbourne as much as anything, but for Jason’s sake he thinks that (joining Port Adelaide) is the best thing for him so good on him.”
Horne-Francis made an inauspicious start at his new club, having his leg surgeries within a fortnight of being traded.
Since returning, he has been one of its pre-season shining lights.
The 185cm, 85kg on-baller particularly caught the eye in the club’s two practice games in Perth this month.
Ginever has liked what he has seen.
“He’s a competitive animal,” he says.
“He’s got a fair bit of fire and it looks like he’s still maturing and you take that time to find that maturity.
“He’s got some power like Bucks, the acceleration away and then poise to be able to deliver … and he can hunt his own footy.”
Blight reckons Horne-Francis is rushing too much at the ball and opposition players.
“You can just see he’s such a driven lad, he just wants to do very well, but I reckon he’s got to pare that back a bit,” he says.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be measured in the game rather than rushing the game.”
Horne-Francis gave away six free kicks in the Power’s practice match loss to Fremantle last week.
In the internal trial, he conceded a 100m penalty.
“That’s just the lad just wanting to get there and do stuff,” Blight says.
“It sounds funny but some players want to back off a bit, but it’s a hard thing to do.”
Ginever is not concerned.
“What I’d hate to see is if he wasn’t trying to get the ball and not being aggressive,” he says.
“It’s the desire I get excited about because gee whiz, you can work with that.
“Maybe there’s a case of trying a little bit too hard and that can happen when you’re young and determined.”
Cross, who now manages the South Australian Cricket Association’s premier competitions, likens Horne-Francis giving away free kicks to a star batsman’s on-field aggression.
“It’s like watching cricket and Dave Warner comes on, tries to slog one and gets bowled – you take the good with the bad,” he says.
“He’s going to have a really good innings and make a quick 100 in a one-dayer sometimes and sometimes he’s going to go out early.”
What Buckley sees is a really determined young man who wants to be the finished product and best player in the league right now.
“But it is going to take some time for him to learn and it is going to take him falling short of his own expectations and learning from that will be a challenge for him,” he says.
“So leadership in the footy program will be big in that.”
Buckley believes Ken Hinkley is right for Horne-Francis at this point of his career, noting the
Power coach’s playing record as a dual All-Australian and one-time best-and-fairest.
“I think Ken knows what it is like to have that high-end talent and it takes time to become a high-end professional – that is a totally different challenge again,” he says.
“Port Adelaide have great leadership and Ken Hinkley will help him along.”
In interviews, Hinkley and other people at the Power have struck the balance between being thrilled to have recruited Horne-Francis, talking up his potential and reminding everyone he is still a teenager with a mere 17 AFL games under his belt.
Cross, as an outsider, is not tempering expectations.
“It won’t be very long before he starts dominating the competition because he’s too physical, too aggressive and too intelligent footy-wise to not have an impact in the next 12 months, in my opinion,” he says.
“Long-term his ability as a footballer will be huge for Port Adelaide for a long period of time.”
Ginever is much less emphatic, mindful of heaping on extra pressure.
“We know the talent’s there, know the potential’s there … he’s just got those other elements (to work on) that come with age,” he says.
“Too many pundits really want to force or fast-track the issue with these guys that go top 10 and it’s wrecked a few over the years, especially more of the taller, key-position types.
“Let them develop, let them fall over and skin their knees.
“Head down, bum up, he’ll eventually be an incredibly important player for us in the future.
“I really believe your best footy will come out when you’re enjoying it and he’s happy with the environment, happy to be there.”
Horne-Francis is all smiles at Port Adelaide’s Hall of Fame night.
He mingles with dozens of club greats, watches on as the new inductees are announced and is presented with his 2023 guernsey by Power premiership star Kane Cornes.
Ginever has been part of the club’s fabric for most of his life, as either a supporter, player, coach, working in sales or an MC.
He knows full well the types of footballers its fans adore and believes Horne-Francis can become one.
“Port Adelaide people love anybody who gives everything, that’s why they love Sam Powell-Pepper because he just keeps at it,” he says.
“That’s why they love Travis Boak – he gives everything that’s inside him every game.
“Keep being patient with Jason as supporters because you’ve got a determined kid here who you know will be trying everything he can to be the best.”
Originally published as What Port Adelaide fans can expect of boom recruit Jason Horne-Francis in 2023 and beyond
Browne to step down as Pies prez as replacement sounded out
Collingwood president Jeff Browne will depart the club at the end of the year, with the club already sounding out its replacement. GLENN MCFARLANE has the details.
Trade live: Stringer D-Day looms as Giants weigh up bold move
GWS is poised to decide whether it will ramp up its interest in Essendon forward Jake Stringer. FOLLOW LIVE for the latest trade news.
‘Heavy workload’: Major move at Collingwood
The biggest club in the AFL needs a new president as one of the key men in their 2023 premiership made a move to their long-time rivals.
The players that made Robbo want to do a top 57
The hardest spot to pick in the top 50 isn’t No.1. It’s actually No.50. Robbo names the players he wanted to fit into his annual list – but couldn’t.
Full rankings: AFL Draft’s top 60 prospects rated and scouted
The 2024 AFL Draft is just over a month away, and to get you ready for the arrival of footy’s next generation, our draft experts CHRIS CAVANAGH and DAN BATTEN rank every prospect.
Shock scenario in Bailey Smith stalemate
Bailey Smith’s Western Bulldogs exit has set up a potentially rare scenario that could deliver a shock result as Geelong’s offer hits a stalemate.