PORT Adelaide coach Matthew Primus says he'll continue to peddle the club's bright future to out-of-contract defender Jackson Trengove, with the hope he can be swayed into staying at Alberton beyond next season.

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Trengove has put off contract negotiations until later in the year, and is understood to have attracted interest from several Victorian-based clubs including Richmond, which is in need of a key defender.

On Thursday, Trengove's manager Tom Petroro told the Herald Sun the 20-year-old was torn between his loyalty to Port Adelaide, and a desire to return home to Melbourne to be closer to his friends and family.

Petroro suggested the former Calder Cannons junior felt indebted to the Power, who selected him at No.22 in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft in spite of concerns over a serious knee/hamstring injury which ruined his draft year. Port Adelaide then waited while he spent most of his first year at the club rehabilitating from nerve damage to his leg.

Trengove established himself in the team last season, playing 19 games and earning a NAB Rising Star nomination for his performance against West Coast in round 20.

He hasn't missed a game this season and has been assigned roles on some of the best forwards in the competition, including Brisbane Lions skipper Jonathan Brown and in-form North Melbourne goalkicker Drew Petrie in the last fortnight.

He's also been recognised for his leadership potential, elected as the youngest-ever member of the club's leadership group at the start of the season.

Port Adelaide faced similar situations with midfielders Travis Boak and Steven Salopek last year, and was able to retain both interstate players.

Primus said re-signing Trengove and Victorian-born full-back Alipate Carlile, who is also yet to commit to the Power and has been linked to Greater Western Sydney, was the club's first priority.

"The two big ones are Jackson and Carlile, so we'll certainly make them aware of how important they are to us," Primus said on Friday.

"They've got some important decisions to make. They are both interstate guys, but we think we've given them a pretty good start to their careers here and while there's a bit of doom and gloom about the place at the moment there's some real light coming … and they'll play pretty big [parts] in that future.

"All we can do is show Jackson where we're planning [to go] next year and the year after that and where he fits into all that. He's well aware of all that.

"He's just got a decision to make between playing for this club and getting back to his family, as I'm reading.

"We'll continue to be in his face with all that and turn him around."

Trengove will have the starting role on St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt when the two teams meet at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Veteran Chad Cornes has been recalled for the clash, replacing injured forward Justin Westhoff (toe).

Simon Phillips (shoulder) and Andrew Moore (groin) will also miss the game through injury, and are likely to be replaced by inexperienced duo Cam Hitchcock and Mitch Banner.

Young ruckman Matthew Lobbe, who has impressed since coming into the team for injured veteran Dean Brogan two weeks ago, has retained his place.

Primus committed to playing Lobbe for the rest of the season in spite of Brogan's availability, and said the 22-year-old's performances over the next eight weeks would have a bearing on whether the club looked to recruit an experienced ruckman for next season.

"Lobbes has showed he's capable but two games is a lot different to 22 games for the season. Over the next six or seven weeks we'll get a better indication," he said.

"You make yourself pretty vulnerable if one of those guys [ruckmen] gets injured or they get tired during the season, so we've got to balance that up.

"The great thing about playing young kids and giving them opportunities is … three weeks ago when Broges went down [people were saying], 'Port have got a massive hole in their ruck', but over the last two weeks Lobbes has been pretty important to us and certainly given us a great contest in the middle."

Katrina Gill covers Port Adelaide news for afl.com.au. Follow her on Twitter: @AFL_KatrinaGill