PORT ADELAIDE skipper Warren Tredrea says Chad Cornes could be an ace up the Power's sleeve this season, as the club's coaching staff ponders where to play the match-winner on Sunday.

Cornes earned All-Australian selection last year after a standout season in the midfield and was tagged by Crows onballer Nathan van Berlo in Showdown XXIII.

But there is an argument that Cornes should return to centre half-back, where he was named All-Australian in the Power's premiership year, to help the club's young defence.

"I sit in on the match committee every week and where to play Chad is probably a discussion that is had," Tredrea said. "It comes down to where he fits best in that given week.

"Chad is a unique person; if you asked me to go into defence or the midfield…well, that's very unlikely.

"It's how you adapt to it mentally more than anything and, as we've seen, Chad's been able to dominate games of football in any area of the ground.

"It's almost an ace we've got up our sleeve, where we can use him where we like and that's no different to Simon Goodwin at Adelaide.

"Simon talks about how he might play in defence, but he kicked seven goals last week, so I'm betting he'll play up forward.

"For mine, in 2004, Chad was a great defender, but last year I thought he was probably our best player in playing that forward/midfield role."

Coach Mark Williams said he wasn't convinced the elder Cornes should be placed permanently in defence.

"Chad won All-Australian at centre half-back, but he also won it in the midfield last year. He's a pretty handy forward as well," Williams said.

"We look at the mix all the time depending on the match-ups. I think last time Chad might have played on Simon and they might have played on the wing, so I'm not sure if they'll be playing on the wing this time.

"There is definitely a chance Chad will be playing in the back line, but there's as much chance that he'll be playing in the forward line or in the centre of the ground."