Port Adelaide holds high hopes Ollie Lord can develop into one of the premier forwards after his quick rise since being drafted.
Lord was drafted with a third round pick in 2020, a selection the Power admit was a speculative one.
But Lord has proved a worthy replacement for Charlie Dixon this season, debuting in Round 6 and playing the last three games. Port hasn’t lost when Lord has played this year.
Assistant coach Nathan Bassett says it’s the 21-year-old’s attitude to the contest that holds him in good favour.
“What we like about Ollie is he does the little things really well,” he told SEN's Sportsday SA.
“He provides contest, he spoils when he’s out of position, he’s clean below his knees, he’s got nice handball skills and he hates getting beat.
“Tall people that are competitive, they’re hard to find. There’s a lot of tall people and they can be a bit friendly, but he’s one of those tall angry people and we like those tall angry people because what they translate into footy can be really positive.
“He hates getting beat, he fights in every contest, he brings the ball to ground and he keeps getting beaten.”
Bassett went on to suggest the club holds big hopes for Lord.
“He was a pick 49, we hadn’t seen much of him, our recruiters hadn’t seen a lot of him during that 2020 COVID year and the improvement from where he started from to now is huge,” he continued.
“When you see guys improve as quick as that, you’ve got some real hope they’re going to be very good players at the end of it.”
Lord signed a one-year contract extension earlier this season to ensure he’ll be at Alberton in 2024.
The key forward has kicked five goals from five games, also averaging 3.6 marks.
Bassett’s comments come hot on the heels of a similar sentiment from Gerard Healy, with the Brownlow Medallist excited to see what Lord will develop into.
“Ollie Lord, I reckon was fantastic on the night… I think you’ve got a real star in Ollie Lord and I reckon his game on the weekend was absolutely perfect,” Healy told SEN’s Sportsday after Port Adelaide held off Melbourne in Round 10.
“I’m not sure Charlie Dixon would have done any better, in fact, he might have done a hell of a lot worse because Ollie Lord put a hell of a lot of pressure on.
“He’s good below his knees, he’s good at ground level and he looks to me to be a genuine chance in the making of a gun forward.”