Jason Horne-Francis is grateful for being jeered by opposition crowds, saying the abuse has fast-tracked his maturity.
"I just want to try to play the best footy I can and if that means getting booed then I don't really mind," he said.
"That (jeering) is one of the things that you can just accept that will happen in footy. So if I'm prepared as I can for it, then I think I'll be alright to deal with it."
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson says he has contacted Jason Horne-Francis ahead of the young Port Adelaide midfielder's first game against his former club.
"I texted him three or four weeks ago and said, 'Mate, just get on with your life, don’t think that there’s any grudges here – we’ve moved on, you’ve moved on, all the best with it, mate'," Clarkson said.
"And he responded positively, appreciated the text."
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley launches a staunch defence of recruit Jason Horne-Francis after the young midfielder had a dominant final quarter amid boos from the crowd during the Power's win over the Bulldogs.
"Jason Horne-Francis is 19. Some part of it is really annoying me about the way people are treating him. It's annoying me. He's never going to play four quarters every week, he's 19 years old," Hinkley said post-game.
"If you're treating my 19-year-old son the way some people have treated him – I'd be embarrassed by my performance if I was those people. I think it's been really unfair. The kid made a courageous decision to come home, let the kid play footy."
Jason Horne-Francis undergoes surgery to decompress the arteries behind his knees and will have a restricted start to Port Adelaide's pre-season training.
"Following consultation with numerous specialists, and consideration of the advised options as to how to treat the issue, we decided it was best for Jason's health, and ongoing football performance, that he have the surgery now to release the pressure on the arteries and restore normal blood flow to his lower legs," Port's head of medical services Tim O'Leary said.
Port Adelaide's prized recruit Jason Horne-Francis says he will be ready for the increased scrutiny that will come his way after leaving North Melbourne one season after being crowned the No.1 pick in the 2021 NAB AFL Draft.
"I'm a big family person and I love my family. I just feel like having my family and friends around me, it's going to create that environment where I can play my best footy," he said.
"I hope that one day I could be the best player in the competition. That's probably my goal, and with a great support network of people around me hopefully I can do that."
Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli find a new home at Port Adelaide as part of a four-club trade.
It will see Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli get their wish and join Port Adelaide, North Melbourne have picks No.2 and 3 in the draft as well as a future first-rounder, West Coast split its pick to hold the No.8 and 12 selections and the Giants rise up the board to take the No.1 pick.
A suite of other selections for this year's draft as well as next year's have also been included.
Horne-Francis has joined Port on a six-year deal until the end of 2028, while Rioli has signed a four-year deal.
A mega-deal that could have involved up to six clubs and sent Jason Horne-Francis to Port Adelaide has suffered a blow after the AFL ruled the Power couldn't trade its future first and second-round selections.
Tom Boyd has backs Jason Horne-Francis to make the right decision for his career after the 2021 No.1 pick requested a trade from North Melbourne.
Boyd is familiar with the situation the young midfielder faces, having been the last No.1 draft pick to request a trade after only one year in the league when he moved from the Giants to the Bulldogs in 2014.
"Players do have the right to make decisions that they deem best for their overall career," Boyd said.
"Football is a short game. The average career span is three-and-a-half years and you do need to capitalise financially and in a sense accomplish as much as you can in that short period.
"I think, as long as he has sound advice around him and people in his corner that are telling him the harsh truths about the fact that being traded as the no.1 pick, such as I was, does come with certain burdens and challenges."
Port Adelaide makes a bold play for North Melbourne's No.1 draft pick Jason Horne-Francis, who is keen on a move to the Power.
The Power are keen to land Horne-Francis and have significant ties to the midfielder, who trained with the club in his draft year and whose father is former Port Adelaide player Fabian Francis.
"We have an existing relationship with his family (step-father Fabian Francis played 119 SANFL and AFL games) and we met with Jason last week. We're really pleased he's expressed the want to come to Port Adelaide next year," Port Adelaide footy boss Chris Davies said.
"Anyone who was looking at Jason throughout the year would have seen he was unsettled, for whatever reason. Things took a significant turn over the last week, so there's a process where you meet the player, you meet the family."
North Melbourne list manager Brady Rawlings acknowledged the club had been informed by Horne-Francis management of his trade intentions.
"Jason is contracted for next year, we've invested significantly in him as our first-ever No.1 pick just 12 months ago and we view him as a key part of the club's plans going forward," Rawlings said.
"We appreciate Jason's circumstances but at the same time we're determined to look after the best interests of North Melbourne."
Jason Horne-Francis is dropped from the Kangaroos' side to face the Crows, denying the young midfielder a chance to return to his home state.
North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey explained that Horne-Francis' subpar preparation did not meet the standards of interim coach Leigh Adams.
"He hasn't done nothing bad, his teammates love him, the coaches love him...this is just part of the development of a young boy to get his preparation right," Harvey told RSN.
"With Leigh Adams in charge, the standards have gone to another level, and players have to play their part."
Jason Horne-Francis is the 2022 round 7 rising star nominee after tallying 20 disposals in a fiery encounter against Carlton.
Horne-Francis was involved in a verbal stoush with Carlton's Jack Silvagni during the match.
"He just said that we weren't very good and that I wasn't very good," Horne-Francis explained with a laugh.
"A lot of it was in the heat of the moment and none of it was taken to heart. There's a mutual respect there. We shook hands. We didn't say much, but we shook hands."
Jason Horne-Francis makes his AFL debut for North Melbourne at the MCG with 13 disposals (9 kicks and 4 handballs), 3 marks, 3 tackles and a goal in a 20-point loss to Hawthorn.
Thursday, 25 November 2021
North Melbourne select Jason Horne-Francis with pick No.1 in the 2021 National Draft.
Draft Report: The South Adelaide midfielder has it all, which is why he's set to be the first player picked in this year's draft. Horne is strong on the inside, but also electrifying away from the contest, boasting a mix of speed, evasiveness and terrific hands overhead. He's a serious competitor, whose traits have been compared to those of Patrick Dangerfield and Nat Fyfe. Horne-Francis capped a remarkable SANFL season with 24 disposals and three goals in the preliminary final, almost single-handedly keeping South in the game.
Saturday, 16 October 2021
Jason Horne-Francis has been assured by North Melbourne that he will be selected with their No.1 draft pick.
"At the start, it was just trying to get my foot in the door and get me drafted. But, obviously, after getting my name out there a bit, a goal for me was to try to go number one," Horne-Francis said.
"I feel like I can make an impact straight away, as in I've had that two years of league footy under my belt and it's really helped me."
Richmond, like Adelaide, is reported to have made a failed play for North Melbourne's No.1 pick in an attempt to snare likely No.1 pick Jason Horne-Francis.
The Tigers offered North Melbourne picks No.7, 15, 26, and Callum Coleman-Jones for North's No.1 pick during discussions over the Coleman-Jones trade.
North Melbourne knocks back an audacious bid from Adelaide to snare the No.1 pick in this year's NAB AFL Draft and claim local gun Jason Horne-Francis.
The Crows offered the Kangaroos their pick No.4 in this year as well as their two first-round selections in 2022 to move up the order to No.1. A future second-rounder going back to Adelaide from North would also have been part of the proposed deal.