Port Adelaide key defender Todd Marshall is embracing his first pre-season in the backline, having spent his AFL career so far as a forward.  

It’s been a long 12 months for the 27-year-old as he’s recovered from a ruptured achilles, but Marshall has spent his time bulking up in the gym and preparing for his new position.  

Speaking to the Adelaide media during the team’s photo day on Tuesday, Marshall discussed how the shift came about, what he’s been learning, and how much he’s looking forwrad to a return to footy. 

Marshall on his new role in defence 
“Yeah, different role, different pre-season. Carry (Josh Carr) came to me just after my injury last year, and we had a just a general chat around roles and stuff for this year. And yeah, I think coming back from a long-term injury, I was quite open to switching it up. We outlined what it looks like and how we can make it work. He gave me a couple months to sit on it while I was doing my rehab. And we had a bit more of a serious chat just after the season in terms of what he needs when I come back and when I got back into the pre-season, I was pretty comfortable with where I was. It’s been a bit different, learning a few new roles and a bit more defence but loving it at the moment.” 

Marshall on what he’s learning as a defender 
“Obviously, it's a big mindset shift. As a forward, you can dictate how you want to play and set yourself up and know where you want to set up, where as a backman, it’s a bit different because you’re dictated to by your forwards a little bit more. Your positioning from stoppage and stuff's a little bit different. So yeah, learning that as quick as I can and as much as I can has been probably important. We’ve had a few match plays over the last, probably three or four weeks where I'm not getting everything perfect but I feel like I'm learning, and that’s just the most important thing at the moment.” 

Marshall on why Carr wanted him in defence 
“He touched on getting a bit more ball use down there, a bit more offence. It feels like my contest is strong enough to stand up against some key forwards. So yeah, they're probably the two main things. Getting a bigger body down there that can hopefully use the ball and be a part of the offence and get our ball going forward. 

“(When it was suggested), I wasn’t taken aback. I was injured, I was sort of trying to be around the boys as much as I could. And Carry said to work with Aliir and Esava throughout my rehab, so I started watching a bit of vision with them and when I'm up in the box, watching the game, I watched how they work and stuff like that. So that kept my mind busy throughout the year and we landed on locking it in for the pre-season.” 

Marshall on adapting to the role 
“As a forward I put a lot of work into setting myself up with my positioning and how I want to lead, how I want to get the footy, where I want to get the footy, and stuff like that. The main thing I've learned so far is you’ve got to be switched on the whole time. You can't ball watch at any stage. And yeah, it's probably a little bit more about positioning and helping your other key defenders a bit more than as a key forward. I feel like the last couple of weeks has been pretty strong, doing a bit of match sim and seeing how it works throughout the game. Once games start going, I can see where my strengths lie, what my weaknesses are, what I can work on.” 

Marshall on completing his rehab as everyone was going on break 
“Yeah, it was a little bit frustrating to be honest. I was probably going to be hit and miss to get any games in (at the end of 2025), so that's why we went with the long-term injury list choice. I was still at full training for the last two or three weeks of 2025, and most of the boys are probably really sore by that stage of the year. And yeah, I was probably the freshest guy out there at some stages, which would have been interesting. But getting two or three weeks under my belt and getting a bit of confidence in the Achilles before we went away, and then coming back, I feel like it helped me come back and not worry about the Achilles as much and be able to help me with my new role. I feel like those couple weeks at the back end of the season, although it was frustrating that I was probably ready to play and couldn't play, it probably worked out well in the end.” 

Marshall on his concussion history 
“That was the last game I played, that semi-final (against Hawthorn). Post that (concussion), we did a fair bit of stuff. I went and saw a neurologist in Melbourne, did a fair bit of testing there, and we've done our own testing with the doctors and physios. I feel like the year off gave me some really good clarity on where I stand. And coming back into the pre-season this year, I feel really confident in contests, and it hasn't been on my mind at all. 

“I feel like with my concussions, they’re simple in the way that I do rebound pretty well from them. I get the symptoms for a couple of days, and then I can get back within that timeframe. I don't have any lingering symptoms, which is a positive and coming back from training, getting a few knocks in the last couple of weeks has been good, to be able to work through that and get confidence out of knowing I can be in a strong contest and not worry about it.” 

Marshall on looking forward to playing footy again 
“To be honest, I was actually quite nervous for the intraclub last week. We’ve done a fair bit of match simulation over the last month, but there's nothing like a real game. So yeah, coming up against some opposition this week is exciting, but I'm sure I’ll try and play it cool. But I'm sure game day I'll probably get really nervous again. I’ll be leaning into those nerves. It's pretty exciting just to be back out there.” 

Marshall on the potential of lining up against Adelaide’s key forwards 
“They’ve got a quality forward line, Adelaide. So it's not like we’re coming up against no-names. So it'll be a great challenge for me if I do get to play on them. I feel like I can learn a lot from this practice match, into the West Coast practice match and then into round one, hopefully.”  

Marshall on the squad’s attitude ahead of the season 
“I think it's real excitement, obviously. I've got a new backs coach for myself, Luke Webster, who's come in and really been strong on how he wants us to play. Obviously, every line's got a new coach, and have been working really hard on our game plan and stuff. So yeah, training has been a little bit different. Everything's been a little bit different, which I think is exciting. And hopefully we can go into the season with some real confidence and get off to a good start.” 

Marshall on how his strengths translate to defence 
“We’ve got some really strong key defenders down there, and contest is probably their one-wood, whereas they're probably not involved in the offence as much. We've got some really good half backs in Connor and Faz (Kane Farrell) and Sinny and Jonesy where if they get the ball, they can break the line and get our offence going. So I can hopefully use my foot skills, use my smarts and hopefully set up some plays for us. I feel like the main thing is just getting the contest right, getting some defence right, and keep learning as much as I can.” 

Marshall on putting on muscle during his rehab 
“I'm not sure exactly (how much) I’ve put on. I’m over 100kg at the moment. It’s pretty rare to get that opportunity to really attack the gym. I was in a moon boot for 12 weeks, so there wasn't much else to do. We set up a pretty strong program in terms of upper body strength and really attacking that, which has been good. I wasn't sure how I was going to relay that back into my game, but I feel like going out and being in an aerial contest and stuff, I can definitely feel the difference.”