Port Adelaide recruit Corey Durdin is “pumped” to play in front of an Adelaide Oval home crowd, with the small forward to have his first opportunity this Sunday afternoon. 

Durdin joined the Power ahead of the 2026 season from Carlton, kicking two goals in his club debut last weekend. 

Speaking with the Adelaide media on Wednesday, the 23-year-old reflected on Sunday’s loss, spoke about his role within the team, and discussed how he blocks out the outside noise.  

Durdin on looking forward to his first game at home 
“Pretty pumped actually, at the moment. It's nice to get back in front of the home crowd and my family and mates as well. So I’m looking forward to that. I’ll have a fair few coming. Probably try and ask for a few tickets!” 

Durdin on the team review 
“We touched on our defence. There's a few things we could have fixed up in transition, so that was the main thing that we went through as a team, and we sort of bought into that just collectively and about getting better and improving on that. (We have) a new system and new players. I think we're still building (team defence) out at the moment, and that's something that will continue to grow and progress as the season goes on. 

“We want to be getting that sorted as soon as possible. We see all the top teams at the moment, they defend well. So it's one aspect of a game that we can try and fix up. So as long as we have the rest of our game in shape, we can continue to improve on that.” 

Durdin on his role in Sunday’s game 
“I found out before the game I’d have some managed minutes. I think it worked well for me actually, it kept me fresh, and I was able to impact. So I didn't mind. Obviously, I want to be playing more game time, and don't want to make a habit of it, but with the way the AFL is going with that rule change, with another extra man on the bench and, and the same amount of rotations, I think it'll be an interesting one to look at. Every team is going through it, so one person will just have to put their hand up each week, I guess. 

“From what we've seen, there's a couple other clubs that are doing something similar. It's something that we're adapting to as the weeks go on. There's nothing really to say that that's going to be the case for the whole year.” 

Durdin on spending more time on the bench 
“The sub rule is sort of similar. It’s a similar mindset and psychology about it. You’ve just got to stay ready and as you touched on, it’s a high-performance environment. So I guess if you're not prepared to get on and impact when you play, then you might be falling short of that high performance. But, I think as a player, you just go out there, stay ready, and when it's your turn to go, you go. 

“We have a lot of trust in our performance team to make sure we're right to go. There's always a balance of not doing enough or doing too much. As I said, you stay ready and as soon as you get on, that's when you impact.” 

Durdin on having high energy while on the bench 
“There’s a pretty important role when you're on the bench to be able to make sure the team's energy is still staying high. And I guess with that situation, you know, you can't really control how much game time you're going to get, but you can control how you are, how you're connecting with your teammates, you can bring  a good attitude. I think you can still make a positive impact without being there on the field.” 

Durdin on his on-field impact 
“Yeah, so obviously I felt fresh coming on. So I just use that cue to just get out there and try and get moving pretty quickly and get dynamic. So yeah, I was able to impact on the scoreboard and create a little bit of energy around for the boys. But yeah, I think that role, get out there, make an impact, you know you're fresh, try and challenge the oppo.” 

Durdin on blocking out the outside noise 
“There's no doubt, as a player, you use that (negativity) to fuel your game. I’m not really too concerned about the outside noise. It’s our job as players inside these four walls to just continue to help each other get better. And you know, there's obviously a place for the media to make noise. That's obviously how the industry goes. But the better we are as players at tuning out of that, the better we're going to be.” 

Durdin on the missed tackles on Sunday 
“Yeah, we touched on it. I don't want to make it about a lack of effort, because the effort was there. We were third for attempts, so it was a credit to North Melbourne, they were strong in the contest and really challenged our tackling. So I'm sure we'll go out and train it and look to get better there.” 

Durdin on starting the game with high intensity this week 
“Yeah, absolutely. Like, who wants to put their hand up? Ideally we get 18 blokes on the field putting their hand up in the first five minutes and cracking in. We want to go out there and get after it against Essendon in this week in front of a home crowd. I'm looking forward to it. I'm really excited for that. I look forward to the contest.” 

Durdin on Jason Horne-Francis 
“We can just wrap our arms around him (with external criticism), and I have trust in his preparation, and one game isn't really going to determine his season. So I'm excited for across the season how he progresses and probably gets into the midfield a bit more later on. I've seen enough in the pre-season of Jason and how he moves out there to know that one off game isn't going to be too worrying. He's going to be out there again and doing some pretty cool stuff as we know he can. So, yeah, not too concerned. 

“(At training), he’s great to watch. Some of the stuff he pulls out in training, the way he moves, how he's able to use the ball, I think he’s probably one of the best I've seen in the comp or trained with. So yeah, pretty exciting stuff from him, and as he continues to get more match time in, I think he's going to be good.”