Jason Horne-Francis has penned a six-year deal at Port Adelaide after his trade was made official on Monday evening.
The 19-year-old was part of the long-speculated mega trade which saw Junior Rioli also join Port Adelaide, with a swathe of draft picks going to North Melbourne and West Coast.
But the six-year deal, which was reported by AFL Media’s Riley Beveridge, comes as a surprise for a player just one year into his AFL career. Alas, he was the first pick of the National Draft less than 12 months ago.
As former Fremantle star Paul Hasleby notes, Horne-Francis had his issues throughout 2022, both on the field and off it.
“That’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” the 208-game Docker said on SEN WA’s The Run Home after learning of the reported contract.
“He had one year, a troubled year, and now you’re giving him a six-year deal? Hopefully the homesickness thing sort of works itself out because he is going home to family in South Australia, but he was challenged on a number of fronts by teammates and coaches and he spat the (dummy) on occasion.
“You don’t want to be giving six years to a player like that. You want to be confident that he is 100 per cent going to see out that six-year deal.”
Horne-Francis was cautioned by the Roos when flying home to Adelaide without informing the club earlier in the year and was dropped toward the end of the season for failing to complete a recovery session.
It’s seen question marks over his professionalism at the top level after Horne-Francis also frequently appeared frustrated on-field in the Roos’ two-win season.
But Port Adelaide list manager Jason Cripps said Horne-Francis’ competitiveness and aggression will be an asset to the Power.
Midfielder Jason Horne-Francis and forward Junior Rioli have landed at Alberton in a complicated four-team trade 👇#weareportadelaide
— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) October 10, 2022
“Jason is a highly talented player who we know will complement our developing and exciting midfield group,” he said in a club statement.
“He is competitive and aggressive, and we like his power and explosiveness as well as his ability to go forward and hit the scoreboard.
“Once Jason indicated a desire to be traded to our club, we explored a range of options to satisfy North Melbourne and ensure he would be a Port Adelaide player in 2023, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Alberton.”
Port are yet to confirm the duration of Horne-Francis' contract.
Horne-Francis leaves the Roos after a 17-game debut season that saw him average 16.5 disposals per appearance playing mostly on the ball.