Jason Horne-Francis' mongrel is impressing his new Port Adelaide captain, Tom Jonas.
The Port skipper says Horne-Francis, the No.1 draftee who walked out of North Melbourne after just one season, will instantly add muscle to the Power's midfield mix.
"There's the footy side in terms of his skill, left and right, the way he reads the play, his footy IQ," Jonas told reporters on Tuesday.
"But there's also his physical side is strong, powerful.
"And then he has just got a bit of that sort of mongrel about him that he hates to lose, fiercely competitive in whatever he does."
The 19-year-old ex-Kangaroo is being groomed for Travis Boak's midfield spot, with the Power veteran to spend more time at half-forward.
Horne-Francis had surgery last October to release compression in arteries behind both knees, missing a chunk of early pre-season.
"He sat on the bike a little bit and I think that was tough for him as well, not being able to get out there with his new teammates and show his wares," Jonas said.
"But we have seen ... why he was ranked number one.
"He is a 19-year-old, he is raw. He's ready to go out there and play footy, chase the ball, and do what we picked him up to do."
Horne-Francis arrived in a draft period also netting Junior Rioli from West Coast as the Power seek to atone for missing the finals last year.
"Not so much revenge, it's about lifting our own game," Jonas said.
"We potentially got what we deserved last year, we didn't play good enough footy for long enough.
"So this year it's about being better for longer. Our expectations every year are to give ourselves the best opportunity to play finals and go deep in finals."
Port will play an internal trial game this week before travelling to Perth for practice games against West Coast (February 24) and Fremantle (March 2).
