Andrew Lovett says a major positive to come out of Saturday's victory by the Indigenous All-Stars over the Adelaide Crows was the great form of Jarrod Atkinson.
 
""Jarrod was close to being our best player in the first half,"" Lovett said.
 
""He created a couple of goals, ran off half-back, took the game on and was pretty solid in defence.
 
""It was good to see that he has improved dramatically because he has worked hard on his fitness.
 
""If he gets a sense of belonging in the team, he will get the confidence to know he is capable of playing AFL.""
 
Lovett played about 60 minutes in the Darwin heat - mostly on the wing and off the half-back flank - and says he was happy with his form.
 
""I was ok without being outstanding. The conditions were tough so we had a lot of rotations but I felt like I had an impact on the game,"" he said.
 
""My fitness has definitely improved and this is the best I've felt in a while but it was my first game of the season and you should feel that way.
 
""I got through the game unscathed and only have a few sore spots but that's to be expected from a first up hit-out.
 
""Playing on Saturday reminded me that no matter how hard you work in training it's still good to play some pre-season games. I missed the last pre-season so to play a game this early on, and a game as significant as this, was a very good start to the season.""
 
Lovett, 25, last played in an All-Star game in 2007.
 
""I played for the All-Stars against Essendon two-years ago which was weird because it was against my team-mates so this time was better,"" he said.
 
""It was a great experience to play with footballers from other teams that I admire and enjoy watching each week. Each player prepares differently and it was good to see how they operate. 
 
""The chasing and pressuring of a lot of players was great to see and, because we had a short team, we had to rely on guys doing this.
 
""There was a good bond between the players even though we are from all over Australia - the week-long camp before the game really helped that.
 
Lovett says he is hoping to be selected for Round 1 of the NAB Cup.
 
 
 
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