Mitch Zadow and Balyn O’Brien were picked up by the Power in the Supplemental Selection Period. Image: Matt Sampson.<\/p>\n
New Port Adelaide recruits Mitch Zadow and Balyn O\u2019Brien have seen their hard work pay off, with both earning an AFL list spot for the\u00a02026\u00a0season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow, an East Fremantle small forward and O\u2019Brien, a 19-year-old wiry defender,\u00a0joined the Power\u2019s squad over the summer to audition for a place in the\u00a0side, with the pair given the good news on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking with the Adelaide media on Tuesday, the boys touched on how they found out, what the train-on experience was like, and\u00a0how grateful they are for the opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on earning an AFL list spot\u00a0
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0amazing.\u00a0I guess I really\u00a0haven’t\u00a0had time to even dream about this being a possibility, like\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0all\u00a0pretty new\u00a0to me, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0just loving every second of training here, and just\u00a0can’t\u00a0wait to properly crack\u00a0in\u00a0now,\u00a0that’s\u00a0for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on being\u00a0asked to train with Port Adelaide\u00a0
\u201cIt came\u00a0on\u00a0pretty\u00a0late. There\u00a0was\u00a0no real talk to\u00a0Port during the year or anything.\u00a0Little whispers through the\u00a0club,\u00a0and then\u00a0(Port)\u00a0called me before the\u00a0rookie\u00a0draft,\u00a0and said if you\u00a0get through,\u00a0we’d\u00a0love to have you over. That was obviously a big shock.\u00a0I was bit injured during the year, so\u00a0I\u00a0was in rehab\u00a0for the\u00a0first couple\u00a0of\u00a0months over here.\u00a0So\u00a0it was an awesome\u00a0call,\u00a0like,\u00a0I’ll\u00a0never forget that. And\u00a0I\u00a0was just keen to get\u00a0over. And\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0loved every second of so far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on moving from Perth to Adelaide to trial\u00a0
\u201cNo\u00a0(reservations)\u00a0at all. I recently just\u00a0moved up\u00a0to Perth, so I was only just getting\u00a0settled up\u00a0there, but\u00a0I’m\u00a0loving it\u00a0(here). It was never a worry for\u00a0me,\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0do\u00a0whatever to get this opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on whether he thought\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0get a list spot\u00a0
\u201cI like not to think too far forward, just taking it day by day, and\u00a0let\u00a0the result happen\u00a0itself.\u00a0So never was\u00a0really too\u00a0confident, but\u00a0yeah, finding out was\u00a0absolutely awesome.\u00a0I think\u00a0(I was meant to find out)\u00a0during the review, but Paul Stewart\u00a0sort of ruined\u00a0that and made us\u00a0sign a little contact beforehand. Me\u00a0and\u00a0Balyn\u00a0had to keep quiet for a few hours,\u00a0so\u00a0it was just us that\u00a0knew.\u00a0We\u00a0were looking at each other,\u00a0smiling\u00a0and trying not to give away.\u00a0So\u00a0it was pretty funny. But,\u00a0yeah, it was awesome.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul just\u00a0sort\u00a0of said\u00a0\u2018come see me\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0walked into his\u00a0(office) and he said congratulations. And\u00a0I\u00a0said\u00a0\u2018for what?\u2019 He said,\u00a0\u2018you\u2019re a Port player.\u2019\u00a0Like I said, I\u00a0feel like\u00a0I\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0had time to dream about it, like AFL footy\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0always\u00a0really\u00a0an option\u00a0for me. I only started really taking it\u00a0seriously\u00a0couple\u00a0years ago. So being here is awesome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on his fast football progress\u00a0
\u201cA\u00a0couple years ago,\u00a0I’d\u00a0say that I was hoping to play\u00a0WAFL\u00a0league footy,\u00a0and now\u00a0I’m\u00a0here, which is crazy.\u00a0When\u00a0I was\u00a0a\u00a0bit younger,\u00a0I played cricket a bit more and was a bit more serious about that. I was bit of a late bloomer, and then just started taking footy in my stride,\u00a0quit\u00a0cricket to do it full time and start playing\u00a0WAFL\u00a0footy. That\u00a0was in\u00a0my draft year, and I was obviously a fair way off at that point. I just feel like each step\u00a0I’ve\u00a0taken\u00a0I’ve\u00a0got to\u00a0the\u00a0level quite quickly. And,\u00a0yeah, I’ve\u00a0sort of amazed\u00a0myself in that regard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on his strengths\u00a0
\u201cI think my speed, my power, my physicality, and\u00a0I can\u00a0probably play\u00a0a bit taller\u00a0and a bit\u00a0smaller.\u00a0It’s\u00a0new to\u00a0sort of use\u00a0those weapons, but\u00a0that’s\u00a0what\u00a0I’ll\u00a0take into this year. And\u00a0pretty keen\u00a0to crack in and take as much from\u00a0the\u00a0older boys as\u00a0I can.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on Port Adelaide\u00a0having\u00a0a history of playing young players\u00a0
\u201cYeah, for sure,\u00a0that\u00a0definitely gives\u00a0me a bit of confidence. And just the confidence\u00a0from\u00a0the club, believing that I have high potential is just awesome and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0willing to do anything to try and\u00a0reach\u00a0that. And\u00a0that’s\u00a0been the goal\u00a0all\u00a0along is just to see how far I can, I can take myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on the SSP experience\u00a0\u00a0
\u201cI\u00a0had\u00a0a pretty good\u00a0outlook on it all.\u00a0Like, I\u00a0was so surprised by the opportunity\u00a0in the first place that I was just so grateful to be here. And\u00a0all\u00a0the boys\u00a0that\u00a0have\u00a0trialled, we all got along really well, so I think that helped.\u00a0We\u00a0all just want to get better and see what can happen. And there was no bad blood between\u00a0ourselves. It was awesome. The boys\u00a0have\u00a0been\u00a0great.\u00a0Really\u00a0welcoming. Makes it a lot easier\u00a0for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on\u00a0who he called after finding out\u00a0
\u201cI had to wait a while. It\u00a0was\u00a0probably two\u00a0hours after the news\u00a0was spread on social media.\u00a0I rang my\u00a0dad straight away,\u00a0and\u00a0my mum, they were just ecstatic. They\u00a0were\u00a0probably waiting\u00a0on\u00a0the phone call for a little bit.\u00a0So\u00a0I felt a little bad.\u00a0They’re\u00a0even more surprised,\u00a0they\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0believe it, just like me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on his cricket\u00a0background\u00a0
\u201cI was an opening batter. I played first grade premier cricket back home.\u00a0I was\u00a0in the process of getting\u00a0selected in the WA\u00a0under\u00a018s but quit\u00a0to\u00a0pursue\u00a0WAFL footy and I\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0really do both.\u00a0I just lost the love for it, and footy was what I was enjoying at the time.\u00a0So,\u00a0I showed up\u00a0to East Freo. I travelled\u00a0eight hours a week up\u00a0there\u00a0each training\u00a0session, and\u00a0just\u00a0tried\u00a0to get the most out of myself.\u00a0So\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0glad\u00a0did it in the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0did that\u00a0(travel from\u00a0Pinjarra\u00a0to\u00a0East Fremantle)\u00a0for a year and a\u00a0half, and\u00a0then\u00a0sort of gave\u00a0myself the ultimatum that I\u00a0can’t\u00a0really keep doing this. The\u00a0travel\u00a0was getting to me a bit because I\u00a0would\u00a0never miss a session.\u00a0I wanted to go to every session.\u00a0So\u00a0I was lucky enough to move up with one of the boys, Zach Rankin, last year, and he was awesome\u00a0for\u00a0me. I was just so thankful that I moved up in the first place.\u00a0That’s\u00a0helped me grow as a person,\u00a0that’s\u00a0for sure.\u00a0And\u00a0it made footy a lot easier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on how the time and effort has paid off\u00a0
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0just awesome.\u00a0Words\u00a0can’t\u00a0even describe\u2026it\u00a0probably fully\u00a0hasn’t\u00a0kicked in yet. I guess this press conference\u00a0is\u00a0probably the\u00a0first\u00a0to tick off.\u00a0But,\u00a0it’s\u00a0so rewarding, and\u00a0I’m\u00a0so thankful that I kept going and going until I got this opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zadow on being signed with Balyn O\u2019Brien\u00a0
\u201cI remember day one, when we\u00a0were\u00a0standing\u00a0around in the physio room\u00a0not knowing\u00a0what to do and not talking to anyone else but ourselves, and\u00a0we’ve\u00a0got along\u00a0really well\u00a0from the start, so\u00a0it’s\u00a0been awesome.\u00a0I wish him the best for what he can do, and hopefully we can\u00a0both succeed.\u00a0So\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0excited for future,\u00a0that’s\u00a0for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on finding out he had a list spot\u00a0
\u201cI was\u00a0pretty speechless.\u00a0Me and\u00a0Mitch just went into the room, signed a few papers, and I was just like, oh, this\u00a0can’t\u00a0be true.\u00a0It’s\u00a0just a dream come true.\u00a0So\u00a0I was really excited about that and just grateful for\u00a0the opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien\u00a0on who he called after finding out\u00a0
\u201cI\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0able to\u00a0get\u00a0hold of mum and that for a while, because we obviously had the team meeting, and then had to split up into three\u00a0different groups\u00a0in the line rooms. And then after that, I gave mum and dad a\u00a0call, and\u00a0then found out they were still over here\u00a0(in Adelaide).\u00a0So\u00a0then\u00a0I\u00a0went out to tea with them that night, which\u00a0was\u00a0good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was\u00a0probably blushing\u00a0a fair bit\u00a0(during the afternoon meetings).\u00a0I went pretty red, but I was\u00a0just\u00a0trying\u00a0not to smile.\u00a0But when\u00a0we were\u00a0doing the gym session in there, me and Mitch\u00a0just kept walking\u00a0past\u00a0each other, trying not to smile, trying to keep a straight face! We were\u00a0just trying to keep it on the down a bit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on being overlooked in the national draft\u00a0
\u201cI\u00a0missed out on\u00a0being drafted.\u00a0I was pretty frustrated with that, but also it just happens that way.\u00a0But then I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity here\u00a0with the SSP spot.\u00a0So\u00a0I was grateful for that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a phone\u00a0call\u00a0the day of the\u00a0rookie\u00a0draft from\u00a0(national recruiting manager) Geoff (Parker).\u00a0He\u00a0rang me, and he\u00a0was just\u00a0like\u00a0\u2018hey mate, if\u00a0you slide through\u00a0the\u00a0rookie\u00a0draft,\u00a0we’d\u00a0love to have you at the club just to train on for us and see what you do.\u00a0It\u00a0was only about a week turnaround, so\u00a0I just\u00a0went home, just focused, like, just took some time off, just relax the mind a bit, just went back to the farm\u00a0(at\u00a0Wudinna), and then\u00a0(the opportunity) came\u00a0about, and then just\u00a0tried\u00a0to put my best foot forward out here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on who he supported growing up\u00a0
\u201cI was\u00a0actually a\u00a0Geelong man growing up. And then,\u00a0I\u00a0went\u00a0to\u00a0Richmond. And\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0definitely a\u00a0Power man\u00a0now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on his SANFL experience in 2025\u00a0
\u201cThat was\u00a0definitely\u00a0another\u00a0step up. That was\u00a0a great opportunity.\u00a0Not many\u00a0people\u00a0get that opportunity at\u00a0a young age, so I\u00a0(didn\u2019t\u00a0take)\u00a0that for granted.\u00a0I built\u00a0a lot of confidence out of that, and then just from there on, just tried\u00a0to\u00a0work up\u00a0a bit and then\u00a0build from there. If I\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0played\u00a0league games or even trained\u00a0with the league at Norwood, it would have been a lot more intimidating than what it was\u00a0(to come to Port Adelaide). But\u00a0I’m\u00a0glad I got\u00a0a\u00a0few games at league\u00a0level\u00a0and then\u00a0that\u00a0just felt a lot easier\u00a0to settle in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on his strengths\u00a0\u00a0
\u201cDefinitely my physicality as well as my\u00a0athleticism.\u00a0So\u00a0I think\u00a0that’s\u00a0what I bring to the team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien on whether he thought\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0get a list spot\u00a0
\u201cNo, I did not think I was going to get it. I just tried not to think about it, just tried to think about the next day, and then from there, just tried to build on to what I had already. Just grateful for the opportunity. I was very happy with how I went in the end, and then in a few trial games, I definitely felt like I played my part in it, and Mitch played his part. So yeah, we definitely went well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mitch Zadow and Balyn O’Brien were picked up by the Power in the Supplemental Selection Period. Image: Matt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":["post-501353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}