Kane Cornes has given his take on the “big names” coming out of contract next year at Port Adelaide and has offered his advice to two young stars who are yet to sign beyond 2022.
The Power have been widely commended in recent years for the list they have built, which features a blend of youth and experience that has seen them make the top four and play in preliminary finals in the last two years.
However, multiple big names are coming out of contract next season, placing Ken Hinkley’s side in a very different position to their cross-town rivals.
“Unlike Adelaide, (Port Adelaide) are in a completely different situation,” Cornes told SEN SA Breakfast.
“There are some big names that are coming out of contract next year.
“10 of their best 18 players probably, you look at the names Connor Rozee, Karl Amon, Lachie Jones, Ryan Burton, Todd Marshall, Zak Butters, Xavier Duursma, Willem Drew, and then the old stagers in Travis Boak and Robbie Gray.
“I don’t expect any of them to leave, Port Adelaide have had a very good record of signing up players they want to sign up.”
Despite his confidence that players will stay, Cornes believes young stars Butters and Rozee should hold off on signing on the dotted line.
Butters, 21, was flying early on in the season but missed the next 13 games with injuries halting his momentum.
Meanwhile, Rozee, also 21, showed glimpses of his enormous potential and was a valuable member of the Power’s best 22, but struggled to assert his influence on occasions.
Cornes says both former first-round draft picks should refrain from signing new contracts, believing their potential could see them worth much more than what they are currently.
“If I was Rozee and Butters, my advice to them would be to give it to the halfway point of the year, your upside is so significant, and the difference if you perform to your expectation in your fourth season, after another pre-season, you get yourself healthy, you could absolutely skyrocket your price,” he said.
“So I’d be holding off, as much as the club probably wouldn’t want to hear that.
“Butters and Rozee are the two that are the priorities for the club.
“Then Duursma is probably similar, I’d be advising Xavier Duursma to do the same.
“And Karl Amon is a restricted free agent as well, so he can go to a club that can get him for nothing back in Victoria, so he’s probably fourth in line for me in terms of the priorities.”
The Power had an average list age of 24.4 years in 2021, making them the youngest list of the four teams to play preliminary finals this year.