PORT Adelaide's Chad Cornes believes a tough initiation to the AFL has helped mould him into the player he is today.

On Sunday, Cornes will run out onto Subiaco Oval for his 200th game, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the dual All-Australian and premiership utility.

In 1997, the 18-year-old son of inaugural Adelaide coach Graham Cornes, made headlines when he was picked up by rival Port Adelaide with selection number nine in the national draft.

He arrived at Alberton with an air of confidence, synonymous with the Cornes name, but was quickly made to swallow his pride.

Cornes played just six games in his first two years at the club and was at odds with coach Mark Williams over his playing ability, or more precisely, capability.

There was even talk of a potential trade to the Crows, but Cornes said leaving Port Adelaide was never really an option.

"My first two or three years here were a real struggle and I didn’t enjoy that time much at all," Cornes said.

"I’m not putting the blame on Choco (Williams). It was mainly the way I was playing and being disappointed in myself. I got dropped to the Glenelg reserves and that was pretty embarrassing … being on an AFL list and playing reserves in the SANFL was not where I thought I would be."

Williams, determined to get the best out of the obviously talented teenager, continued to push Cornes’ boundaries physically and emotionally.

"When Chad first arrived at the club, I was delighted that he was an outstanding contested mark, but the rest of his game was based on the theory 'I’ll take a mark go back and have a kick',” Williams said.

"It was proven pretty quickly that you couldn’t survive in footy doing that, so he had to get a fierce desire and better work ethic."

At the time, Cornes didn’t understand or appreciate the extra attention he received from the senior coach. But gradually, he began to realise the method behind Williams’ apparent madness.

"Choco saw the potential in me and needed to get it out," Cornes said.

"That’s why he was tough on me and I’m so thankful that he was because he has got the best out of me."

In 2002, Cornes enjoyed a breakout season as a key forward, playing all 25 games, including the finals and was selected to represent Australia in the International Rules Series.

In 2004, he was a big part of the Power’s maiden premiership and went on to finish third in the Brownlow Medal.

And today, there’s even a repeat-effort drill named after Cornes at Alberton.

Cornes identifies Williams and ex-club stalwart Phil Walsh as the two biggest influences on his career, but the former refused to take credit for the 29-year-old’s success.

"I might have pricked Chad’s pride a little at the start, but anything he’s turned out to be is because of him. He’s worked really hard and has high ambitions," Williams said.

"We probably had a few confrontations in the early days as to how far I thought he could go and where he thought he was at.

"I could say that to any number of players, but only some of them pick up on it and can really reach their potential. Chad has and I’m thrilled for him."

Cornes will share his milestone match with two, possibly three of his teammates. Shaun Burgoyne will line up for his 150th game, Brett Ebert his 100th and Cornes said he also expected Toby Thurstans to play his 100th match.

"It’s not an individual thing at all for me this week. It’s about going over to West Coast and being two-nil after the game," he said.

"The milestone is great and we’ve got maybe four of them this week. So it’s not just all about me, but more importantly getting off to a great start to the year."