JIMMY Toumpas has given himself every chance of making an impact in his first season at Alberton due to his consistency over the summer, teammate Matthew Broadbent says.
Having failed to live up to the hype after being selected by Melbourne at No.4 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, Toumpas is hoping a fresh start with the Power will allow him to fulfill his early potential.
He was quiet in the club's internal trial match on February 12 but sprang to life last weekend against the Sydney Swans, collecting 14 possessions and laying five tackles in what turned into trying conditions at Blacktown.
Broadbent said it was no surprise that Toumpas rebounded from an unimpressive practice game and said his impressive summer would bode well for the rest of his year.
"His consistency over the whole pre-season has been really strong," Broadbent said.
"If you have one down game but your training's been there all along, then you're going to bounce back pretty quickly.
"He's certainly built himself a really good base going into the season."
The Power will take on Toumpas' former side on Saturday at Playford Alive Oval in Elizabeth, as they start firming up their best 22 ahead of round one.
Travis Boak, Ollie Wines and Chad Wingard are likely to return to the side and Broadbent said he hoped the Demons would also send their best side to Adelaide to ensure the game was as competitive as possible.
"I think over the next couple of weeks, certainly in preparation for round one, [we're] trying to pick as strong a team as we can," he said.
"I think Melbourne are picking a pretty strong team this week and hopefully Richmond do the week after and we can have a couple of solid hit-outs."
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