PORT Adelaide's round 16 Showdown victory was a definite highlight for Power fans in a season that has shown promise yet fallen short of what it could have delivered due to five losses by three points or less.
However, there are plenty of positives for Josh Carr to take from his first year in the job, one of which is the performance of bargain-basement recruit Corey Durdin.
The small forward was secured from Carlton where he played 64 games in five seasons, moving to Port in a three-way trade with the Blues and Gold Coast that effectively saw Durdin and a future second-round selection swapped for second and fourth round picks.
Since arriving in Alberton, the South Australian has played every match and is averaging career-high disposals (8.9) and goals (1.5 per game), including three majors in Saturday's win against Adelaide, leading AFL.com.au’s Kate McCarthy to suggest Durdin could be the best off-season pick up in the competition.
"There's lots of talk … around who's going to be the recruit of the year," McCarthy said on The Round So Far after the Showdown victory.
"Well, Corey Durdin surely has to be putting his name right up there for recruit of the year. Getting this man across to the club has been huge.
"Durdin's kicked 23 goals for the season now. His next best was 2022 when he was playing for Carlton - 15 goals from 21 games - so he's well surpassed that already.
"And his output, I don't think Port Adelaide would have thought they were getting what they got out of him so far this year."
While the topic of who is the best recruit will garner plenty more discussion before season's end, there's no doubt Durdin's name deserves to be on the list of considerations.
