Port Adelaide boom recruit Jack Lukosius has made headlines in his first year at his new club, but not for the reasons he might have hoped. 

The key forward was part of a high-profile trade in the last off-season, but the luckless 25-year-old managed just seven games in 2025 due to injury. 

“It's been a pretty grim year to be honest,” a reflective Lukosius said on club podcast Peeled. 

“I felt like I had a great pre-season, I felt like I was in a great spot to play that role up in the forward line. It was devastating when Toddy (Marshall) went down early but I personally felt ready to go. And then 20 seconds into that Richmond game in Round 2, I put my knee into someone and somehow, I came off second best and cracked my kneecap, which was devastating.  

“The first week or two was probably the toughest realisation that it’s not going to be the perfect year that I planned and prepared for. But then you pretty quickly create new goals in the gym, in rehab. You have a timeline and you’re like okay how can I beat that timeline? How can I come back quicker and better?” 

And while Lukosius was making solid strides in his knee rehab, he suffered an unfortunate setback. One that would keep him out of contention for selection for weeks longer. 

“I was on a great path and then had a little back spasm in the gym about halfway through that rehab and that’s probably where my darkest few weeks were,” he said. 

“The back injury was just very sore…I couldn’t really bend forwards or backwards at all and struggled to sit down. That was right in the middle of the season where there were important games for our season and I wasn’t seeing progress. I was in pain.  

“I think that fact that I’d put a heap of work in and had a setback and then wasn’t progressing through that the way I wanted to, was bloody tough. As well as watching the team go not as well as you wanted to. And I think I was watching the games unfold with my role somewhat empty and thinking ‘gee, I could be having a fair impact here for our season’. A frustrating period and a frustrating year but it was good to get back and play a bit of footy in the second half of the year. 

“I know our season hasn’t gone the way we wanted but I still think our list is in a great spot. There is obviously going to be a fair bit of change with what we’re about to go through in the next few months and I think it will be for the better.” 

After starting his AFL career at the Gold Coast and spending six seasons as a Sun, Lukosius sought a change and a fresh outlook on his football. 

And without the support of family and friends being back home in South Australia, the 2018 pick two said he may have struggled even more than he already did. 

“It’s been pretty special (being back in Adelaide),” he said. 

“I wasn’t necessarily homesick, my family flew up to the Gold Coast a lot. I think between (the ages of) 18 and 23 when I was up there, you grow up a lot as a young man. 

“(But) this year hasn’t quite gone to plan for me and to have all their support around me through some tougher times has been cool. My sister’s engaged and is getting married so I’ve been around for all that. I got a puppy and have been injured so the puppy’s been getting shipped around to nanna’s and mum’s and my sister’s and everything. It’s been even better than I thought coming back home.” 

His friendship with skipper Connor Rozee influenced his choice of club, with the pair united by cricket as youngsters. 

Both boys were naturally athletically gifted and from a young age, they bonded over a shared sense of humour and a love of sport. 

“We met through cricket when we were about 10 or 11, so a long, long time ago,” Lukosius said. 

“We made some under 14 cricket squad and we were both pretty young and they put us in a dorm room at Scotch College in a cricket camp together. Everyone else was about 14 and we were about 11 so we pretty much got forced to spend a couple of full days together. So it was a pretty forced friendship early!  

“But it’s been pretty natural, we’ve got a similar sense of humour. We always seem to be laughing and smiling about the same things. He’s just a good guy really. We stayed in plenty of contact while I was up in the Goldy but we always knew this move was potentially on the cards at some point throughout my career.” 

When getting to know Lukosius, you quickly learn there is much more to him than meets the eye. A self-confessed ‘deep thinker’, he didn’t take his trade decision lightly – it was something he spent many months considering. 

“It took me a long time,” he said. 

“I’m a bit of a deep thinker. Even when you said to jump on this podcast yesterday, I had to take half an hour, have a good think about it and see if I was up for it! So I took my time, firstly to make the decision to play football somewhere else. I loved the club up there, that was probably the hardest decision.  

“I spoke to some great clubs and there wasn’t a right or wrong decision, I just had to make what decision I felt was best for my career, and my football. 

“Unfortunately, I’m not off to a flying start but a bit more luck next year and a bit of hard work and I think I’ll be in a good spot.” 

Despite the move, Lukosius looks back fondly on his time at the Gold Coast, crediting the club on the way they developed young talent, despite struggling with team form in the early years. 

“Clearly development was our main focus,” Lukosius said. 

“We wanted to go out to compete and win but we had to measure our success in other ways. We weren’t probably ever going to make the four or the eight or anything like that. We had good development coaches, worked on our games. I personally started forward, went to a wing, finished down back, so I played a little bit everywhere.  

“Those first couple of years we had to measure success in different kinds of ways because you had to find belief in yourself throughout the week that you’re going to get the job done the next week.” 

Living rent-free with the Suns CEO in his early days in Queensland, Lukosius later became roommates with great mate Matt Rowell, whom he continues to hold great admiration for. 

“He’s just a great bloke,” he said. 

“He doesn’t really care what anyone thinks. He does what works for him, he’s incredibly strong minded. He does things his way and backs himself in probably more than anyone I’ve ever seen. 

“He’s someone that is so comfortable in his own skin that if he feels like he wants to do something, he’ll do it.”

With the help of Australian Shepherd puppy Lexi and housemate Mitch Georgiades, Lukosius has come out the other side of a tough first year in Port Adelaide colours. 

And despite the ‘frustrating’ season, the former Woodville-West Torrens junior has a positive attitude as he looks ahead to 2026. 

“(Mitch) had an amazing year when you think about the lack of help he’s had up there,” Lukosius said. 

“He’s got home from some games where I’ve been like ‘sorry mate, I wish I could have been out there to help you today’. He’s been incredible and I think personally for me, I’m excited about how I can make him better next year, and how I can get better.” 

Listen to the full episode of ‘Peeled’ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or the club website.