Jason Porplyzia says he’s still finding his feet in his comeback from a year-long absence with injury.
Porplyzia had reconstructive surgery after dislocating his shoulder in the opening minutes of Adelaide’s round one clash with Hawthorn last season.
The 27-year-old worked mercilessly in his rehabilitation in a bid to return to action late in the year, but his plans for a return were shelved when the Crows fell out of finals contention.
He made his long-awaited comeback against the Brisbane Lions in Alice Springs during the pre-season, playing the last three games of the NAB Cup and making an immediate impact.
Porplyzia has already surpassed his games tally of last season, having played in both of the Club’s matches for premiership points - against Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs - in 2012.
While his form in the opening two rounds of the season proper hasn’t quite mirrored the remarkable standard he achieved during the NAB Cup, the 2009 Crows leading goalkicker says he’s confident he’s nearing his scintillating best.
“I think I’m still building to my best form,” Porplyzia said on Wednesday.
“I’ve not been unhappy with my first two games. I was happy with my pre-season form and obviously the real stuff is a bit of a step up from that.
“They (rounds one and two) were basically the first two games I’d played in 18 months. I’m still adjusting and I have noticed a bit of a step up in the games from (when I last played a full season in) 2010.
“There’s not so much stop-start play. The umpires are quick to throw the ball back in from the boundary line and up after a stoppage. The speed of play has picked up again and there are a lot of rotations. You come off the ground, are only of for 30-60 seconds and then you’ve got to be ready to go back on again.
"The whole tempo has picked up and I’m finding I’m doing a lot more work during games.
“Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I’ll find my feet.”
Porplyzia has endured two reconstructions on his troublesome shoulder in his time at Adelaide.
The first was in late-2009 after he bravely played out the second half of the season - and helped drag the Crows into the finals - with a damaged shoulder.
On that occasion, he was able to complete part of his recovery in the offseason and was back playing by round one of the next season.
The timing of his injury last year meant he missed all but five minutes of the 2011 season and had to watch from the sidelines as the team slumped to a 14th-place finish.
Spurred by the disappointment of last year, he excelled over the pre-season improving his aerobic fitness and shrugging off concerns over his rebuilt shoulder by being crowned the strongest player at West Lakes.
“You want to be out there playing and I found it very tough to get through last year,” he said.
“It was hard watching especially when the guys weren’t performing as we would’ve liked and seeing the changes to the Club and not being able to get out there and help. But what I learned was that you’re able to get through whatever is put in front of you. Although it was tough, I managed to stick it out, get through my rehab and come back feeling stronger and having improved in some areas.
“I’ve done even more work on my tackling and my technique. Our strength and conditioning coach Nick Poulos has been very good with that. I’ve learned proper and better techniques and am able to use my body better and not put my shoulder at so much risk.
“I started pre-season with the boys and got through all the training. It was good to get through and my body feels good now.”
Porplyzia said it would also take time for him to regain full confidence in his ability to crash the contest.
“It’s natural to be a bit more conscious of how I approach contests, but I think as I keep playing and have more confidence I’m sure that’ll get back to how it was before the injury,” he said.
“I have confidence in the respect that I don’t think I’m going to injure my shoulder again, but I’m building back into that total confidence of attacking the contest.
“Once I get through some more games and expose myself to more contests I’m sure that will come.”
