Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley feels fortunate to be part of Dom Barry's "incredible story".
Barry will play his first AFL game since 2014 when he debuts in Port's colours against Fremantle on Saturday afternoon.
The game is another chapter in a journey that has taken Barry from the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, to the elite AFL, then back home, now the AFL again.
The indigenous speedster played five AFL games for Melbourne in two seasons before quitting in 2014 in a quest to find his cultural identity.
Barry returned to his homelands, the APY Lands in South Australia's far north-west, where he drove a school bus and became a mentor and tutor of children.
After spending two years on the remote lands - playing in the local league on a grass-less dusty oval - Barry went to Adelaide last year and played state league footy for Glenelg.
He was a standout, prompting Port to recruit him in last year's national draft.
"It's an incredible story," Hinkley told reporters on Friday.
"And one that we're just probably lucky to be a part of - where Dom has come from, and what he has done to get back to the AFL system."
Hinkley said Barry, 24, had earnt his spot in Port's side to take on the Dockers.
"We thought he was a mature age player that has weapons that are going to be on show pretty early," he said.
"It was just a matter of how he went through the pre-season - and clearly his pre-season was really strong."
Barry joins a crop of high-profile fresh faces in Port's round one side also including ex-Brisbane captain Tom Rockliff, former Melbourne utility Jack Watts and ex-Geelong player Steven Motlop.
While all are undoubted talents, Hinkley cautioned against thinking their inclusions would instantly lift his side - beaten elimination finalists last season - to become premiership contenders.
"This competition is so close, so tight, that if you think just bringing in some names or people are going to make a difference to your outcomes - it won't," he said.
"It's about your effort and your method and that is what it will be about again tomorrow afternoon."
