Portland's Toby Jennings has been a shining light in tough season

The 20-year-old midfielder has stepped up following a mass exodus of senior players in the off-season that included reigning Maskell medallist Daniel Jackson and star midfielder Lachlan Huppatz.

Jennings, along with key tall Jake Wilson, has been a shining light for the struggling Tigers, who have just one win to their name from 11 games after a maiden Hampden league finals campaign in 2022.

"It was good learning last year off Lachie Huppatz and Daniel Jackson how they went about it. I'm probably not so much of a voice leader but doing the right things on the ground," Jennings said of his leadership style.

The midfielder, who can spend time up forward, has featured in his side's best players 11 times from 11 games.

Incredibly, in 10 of the 11 games he was adjudged in his side's top-two performers.

He has also frequently hit the scoreboard, kicking 12 majors to be the Tigers' second-highest goal-kicker for the year.

"(I'm) happy to play my role and do what's best for the team and do what I can to push us forward," Jennings said.

"I'm just enjoying my footy."

Jennings said the side had strung together some good quarters in each game but one quarter per week was letting them down.

It's not all doom and gloom though, with the high-flyer highlighting that the group's struggles had led to increased opportunities for some players.

"We've had a lot of under 18s and a couple of reserves that were probably pretty close to playing last year that have stepped up and held their own in the side," he said.

"It's always good to get a stronger junior base and have those guys that can still play those roles.

"I thought last week Tommy Burns played pretty well, he came up from the 18.5s. Darcy Campbell (also from the under 18.5s), he's having a crack and he's playing pretty well."

Jennings said the group was "sticking together" through the challenging period and not reading too much into its losses.

He hopes the side can finish its campaign on a high note.

"You want to try and get a couple of more wins before the season finishes but I think probably just trying to play the best footy we can and try and play four quarters instead of just the three every week (is the goal)," he said.

"Trying to just play some consistent footy, have a positive finish to the year."

Jennings is also hopeful that he can celebrate his 21^st birthday on Saturday with a win for the Hampden league under 23 side against Ballarat.

The young Tiger was selected in the initial 34-player squad and will find out later this week if he makes the final cut.

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