Jason Porplyzia Biography

Retired Adelaide forward Jason Porplyzia believes the club got it right in sacking Brenton Sanderson and replacing him with Phil Walsh, confirming a rift had opened between Sanderson and the Crows players.

"I think towards the end there was a bit of a disconnect between the playing group and (Sanderson), and going forward I'm not sure if the club wanted to persist – it may have taken some time to rebuild things," Porplyzia told radio station 5AA.

"It was a fairly ruthless decision by the club, but I think the right call was made."

Jason Porplyzia calls an end to his career after 10 seasons at the Crows.

"This was a tough decision, leaving a club full of so many great people," Porplyzia said.

"However, I am also looking forward to the next chapter of my life and exploring my passion for the physical performance field.

"I want to thank all my teammates and coaches that I have had the privilege of playing and working with throughout my career. A special thanks to Neil Craig, who gave me my first opportunity to realise my childhood dream and play AFL.

After having his best pre-season since 2011, Jason Porplyzia is excited about the year ahead.

"I've done all the work over the summer and it's probably the first pre-season I've had for a while where I've been able to do the work and take that into the season," Porplyzia said.

"I'm excited about what that sort of holds for me ... one thing is to have confidence in your game and how you feel about your game, I guess the other thing is to have confidence in your body.

"It's good to have that and hopefully it translates into my performance."

Coming out of contract at the end of the year, Jason Porplyzia knows he could be playing for his career in 2014 after an average year last season.

"I certainly think I've got a lot of footy left in me and I'm not winding down, I'm not coming to the end of my career, I still think I've got a lot to offer," Porplyzia said.

"If I'm going to show that it's got to be this year because if I don't show it this year then that could be it. It is sort of now or never."

Jason Porplyzia will extend his AFL career into a 10th season after re-signing with Adelaide for 2014.

Jason Porplyzia believes painkillers may be the cause of his recent bout with stomach ulcers.

"They think [anti-inflammatories] might be a possible reason but we're still actually not too sure, still waiting on results so we'll just wait and see I guess," Porplyzia said.

"It was a bit worrying at the time, but obviously I was in good hands with the doctors at the football club, so I guess if you were going to have a scare like that it was nice to have it at the football club."

Jason Porplyzia is rushed to hospital after the Crows' NAB Cup win over Carlton due to a stomach ulcer but the club says he should be fit for round one.

Jason Porplyzia believes he is over his injury worries and is looking forward to the season ahead after a solid pre-season.

"I've had a really good summer and I just can't wait to get stuck into it," Porplyzia said.

"I had surgery in the off season and that went really well and since Christmas I've done every session.

"The shoulder's not really an issue any more; when you get to my age, you can't worry too much about it.''

Nathan van Berlo will captain the Crows for a third consecutive year, with Rory Sloane, Patrick Dangerfield, Scott Thompson, Sam Jacobs and Jason Porplyzia joining him in the leadership group.

"VB is the complete package when it comes to leadership," Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said.

"He leads by example and he understands our game plan - he is an extension of the coaching group in that respect. His relationship with the whole squad is fantastic.

"He lives the values of the club and of the players. He is the ultimate role model for our young players and the entire squad."

Adelaide forward Jason Porplyzia is building towards his best form after missing nearly all of the 2011 season.

"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," Porplyzia said.

"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."

Jason Porplyzia's return thrilled coach Brenton Sanderson, his teammates and Crows fans alike after tallying 16 disposals in the second half in his return game against the Brisbane Lions in the NAB Cup.

"He hasn't played footy for a year and his second half was just brilliant," Sanderson said.

"Fingers crossed we can keep him injury-free and get a big season from him."

Returning forward Jason Porplyzia has caught the eye of new Crows coach Brenton Sanderson.

"We did 20 minutes of skills and there was one drill we did where Jason Porplyzia just had time and space, where others don't, you know?" Sanderson said.

"He only played five minutes last year but in the 20 minutes I saw - as a coach you start to get a little bit excited - but he did some stuff where if we can get matches into him this year we will be a much better side."

Jason Porplyzia decides not play again this season to focus on being ready for 2012.

"The focus now is on being ready to go at the start of the 2012 pre-season," Adelaide football operations manager Phil Harper said.

"Jason has worked hard with his rehabilitation and his approach was always to aim to be ready to play late in the season. But the medical advice is that he will benefit from spending more time strengthening and preparing the shoulder rather than risking it in competition at the moment."

Injured Adelaide forward Jason Porplyzia is hoping to speed up his recovery from a shoulder reconstruction so he can play again in 2011.

"The fortunate thing this time is that it [my shoulder] has failed in a different area and from what the surgeon said, everything that happened previously and the surgery they did before all looked really strong and robust," he said.

"I've spoken to the surgeon and from what he's done with the shoulder, he seems to think we might be able to speed the rehab along a little bit."

Adelaide assistant Ben Hart says there is a slim chance forward Jason Porplyzia will play again this year after the forward underwent surgery to repair his dislocated shoulder.

"He's devastated, as you would be, but at the same time he's still got a resolve about him because it's not necessarily [the end of] his season," Hart said.

"It'll be a fair layoff, but we haven't written off the season and in his mind, he hasn't either. I haven't done the maths properly, but if it's six months, he could be back around finals time if we happen to make it."

Adelaide coach Neil Craig has confirmed that forward Jason Porplyzia is still lacking match fitness despite overcoming his pelvic injury and will not be ready to play against Fremantle for the club's season opener in 2010.

"There were a whole range of things that came into the decision, but in the end we weren't convinced Jason had enough preparation to go to Perth and perform at the level we wanted him to," Craig said.

"The reality is that the last time he trained with us fully as a squad was about November 30. He had a training session on Sunday and if he'd trained today it would have only been two full sessions, so we thought it wasn't fair to him."

Adelaide forward Jason Porplyzia has failed in his bid to be fit for the Crows' round 1 clash against Fremantle due to a pelvis injury.

"Porps is just starting to be eased back into it," Crows assistant coach Mark Bickley said.

"So he'll take part in some of the drills and hopefully build up to some more meaningful training next week. It's been a long lay off but hopefully he's on the road to recovery and we should see him in the not too distant future."

Jason Porplyzia says he should make his return from a pelvic injury before round one of the home and away season.

"The doctors and the physios seem to think the injury could be a result of years of not using the muscles in the pelvis and glutes properly," Porplyzia said.

"Hopefully, the core-strengthening program will get the muscles going again and build them up so that they're able to take the workload a bit better."

Adelaide has put Jason Porplyzia on a modified program because of a pelvic injury but is confident he'll still feature in the pre-season competition.

"Jason's just got a problem with his pelvis, so we've had to back him off," Adelaide coach Neil Craig said.

"Up until then he ran a personal best in his 3km time trial, which is a big plus for him. We just have to be patient with him, but unless something goes wrong I'm really positive he'll be available for the second round of the NAB Cup."

Adelaide's club champion went down to the wire, with Bernie Vince eventually taking the prize and winning his first gold jacket and Malcolm Blight medal as the Crows' best and fairest for 2009 just ahead of runner-up Jason Porplyzia.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig has backed small forward Jason Porplyzia for a berth in the 2009 All Australian side.

"Jason's an exceptional player. He's an exceptional kick, has exceptional character and some of the things he can do in a football match are special," Craig said.

"In the past, we've had Darren Jarman and Jason can do some things Darren used to be able to do. "

Adelaide coach Neil Craig has praised forward Jason Porplyzia, saying his on his way to become one of the best in the competition.

"I've got a really high regard for Jason, not only because of his skill and his capacity to kick goals and execute, but his decision-making is also exceptional," Craig said after Porplyzia kicked 4 goals against the Swans.

"Jason will develop into an elite AFL player, there's no doubt in my mind because he's got a great attitude and he's mature for his age."

Adelaide forward Jason Porplyzia says Todd Viney's influence on the club's defence helped them to a round one win against Collingwood.

"Todd has brought across some good ideas, but he's also confirmed and substantiated that what we're doing is right. He's confirmed that our type of play is working," Porplyzia said on Monday.

"We've re-jigged our zone-type play a little bit. It was a process that we were working on last year and over the pre-season our roles have become a bit more defined."

A pre-season spent on the sidelines won't necessarily keep several key Adelaide players including Ben Rutten and Jason Porplyzia out of the club's season opener against Collingwood - provided they're fit.