PORT Adelaide recruit Jared Polec is improving dramatically this pre-season, with coach Ken Hinkley impressed by the 20-year-old's intensity.
Polec arrived at Alberton with question marks over his fitness, having played just 16 games since he was drafted by the Brisbane Lions with pick No.5 at the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.
He admitted he would require some "tough love" from Hinkley and received it after failing to excite in the club's opening pre-season time trial.
But the speedy left-footer is training like a Power player, Hinkley said, and is on track to complete his biggest pre-season ever.
"Jared's been really good as far as embracing Port Adelaide and the way that we train and the way that we work," Hinkley said.
"I'm sure he'd be the first to admit he got a little bit of a shock when he first turned up and that's not because he left a club that wasn't training hard, he just didn't have the conditioning.
"He himself admits about 40 per cent of pre-season is all he's been able to do.
"He's had a month with us and you can just see the change in his body, but also the intensity in his body – that's the thing I've noticed the most."
The entire Power list has been pushed to its limits before Christmas, particularly on the club's training camp in Dubai.
The hard work is paramount for Hinkley, who insisted his simple but effective philosophy wouldn't change for season 2014.
"I'm pretty straight forward with what I think and what I expect and that is the first thing you have to do is work hard," he said.
"If you do all the hard yards and you do the work, well the results will come from that.
"We [need to] remain humble and we understand that we're about a working class football club that's going to work hard and get results off the back of that."
