WHEN mature-age recruit Paul Puopolo makes his debut for Hawthorn against Port Adelaide on Friday night, it will be a win for football's little men.

Standing just 173cm tall, the shortest on the Hawks' list and ninth closest to the ground of all AFL-listed players, Puopolo has forged a professional career through hard work and old-fashioned footy ability.

Off the radar of the AFL's testers as a junior, Puopolo developed his game at SANFL club Norwood, where he earned a reputation as a versatile shut-down player, capable of going back, forward or through the middle.

After an outstanding 2010 season, he was selected by Hawthorn at No. 66 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.

Former Adelaide Crow Nathan Bassett, Puopolo's coach at Norwood last year, believes the "nuggety" 22 year-old's great advantage is his speed.

"He's not a typical-looking AFL footballer," Bassett told hawthornfc.com.au on Thursday.

"He's not the tallest man and he's a nuggety little shape, and he's not the most beautiful looking kick, but he's a terrific little worker, his contested footy's excellent and he's fast.

"The difference between him and the old-fashioned footballer is that he'll power away from that stoppage.

"He's a really powerful player and very quick; that's why he deserves his chance."

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson hopes Puopolo can bring a similar high-energy game to the AFL that he's shown in the SANFL, and in consistently strong performances for Box Hill in the VFL since being drafted.
 
"Poppy's a little pocket rocket," Clarkson said at Melbourne airport on Thursday morning.

"Very, very competitive, strong bodied, and very, very disciplined.

"With his backside so low to the ground you'd expect him to be a real high energy player, and real tough in and under, and that's the style of player he is."

Standing at 177cm himself, the former North Melbourne and Melbourne midfielder has an affinity with the tough, shorter-statured type, something he joked played a part in bringing Puopolo to Hawthorn.

"I needed to recruit a couple of guys that are shorter than me onto the list," Clarkson said.

The South Australian will debut alongside fellow 2010 draftee Isaac Smith, a player Clarkson describes as "more angular and free-running".

He expects the two newcomers to complement each other's styles.

"Hopefully they bring a real nice mix to us," the Hawks coach said.

"They both bring different strengths to the side."

Puopolo will become the third member of Norwood's 2010 team to appear in the AFL this season, with Fremantle's Nick Lower and Carlton's Nick Duigan already impressing at the top level.

Another Redlegs product, Port draftee Simon Phillips, is expected to join them in the coming weeks after recovering from a broken jaw.

"To have four mature-aged players drafted [from the same club] is very unusual," Bassett said.

"'Duigs' has done well, and Nick Lower's done well, but Pauly was probably the one out of all of our guys that I thought was suited best to AFL footy."