He wasn't expected to play in the AFL, particularly given the strong overall form of his team, and with his age and development as a ruck-forward expected to take time, Shaw met the expectations of the coaching panel.
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"Mason showed that he's a good contested mark and he trained very well throughout the year," forwards coach Tyson Edwards told portadelaidefc.com.au.
"He was also impressive in a couple of training games we had early on, so we knew we'd picked a guy who could develop into a key forward for us.
Shaw struggled in the SANFL at times with irregular supply up forward with South, but he finished the year a better player than he started and that, Edwards says, will be important for him going into 2014.
"He kept improving at SANFL level and played about five or six League games in a row."
"There was a bit of struggle with his ability to get the footy delivered to him at times, and he was also thrown into the ruck on occasion as well, which will be something that takes time to develop.
"But from what we saw, 'Mase' was a really good kid who did a lot of extra work, we're expecting him to improve a fair bit this summer."
Mason Shaw profile
The 19-year-old will play in Port Adelaide's SANFL team from 2014 as part of the club's revised 'overflow' player model and will be one of the biggest beneficiaries from the club's new-look development program.
Not only will likely play a permanent role in the forward lines for the Magpies, but he will also have the added bonus of familiarity with teammates, coaches and playing structures alike.
"Mason will play in the same position pretty much every week, play to our structures, know all the systems and know exactly who his teammates are and what they're going to do."
"He'll be a guy who benefits most from the new system."
