PORT Adelaide skipper Dom Cassisi may miss the club's clash with Melbourne at TIO Stadium in Darwin on Saturday night as he awaits the birth of his first child.

Online Game Day: News, Game Day Chat & More

Cassisi and forward Jay Schulz, who has a funeral to attend on Friday, both failed to board the flight to Darwin with the team on Thursday morning.

Cassisi's wife, Maiya, was due to give birth on Wednesday.

Cassisi and Schulz are expected to join the Power on Saturday, but coach Matthew Primus said the influential captain would miss the clash with the Demons if forced to make a decision between playing or being at the birth.

"Dom's wife is due to give birth pretty soon, so he's just trying to minimise the time he's away from home," Primus said at Adelaide Airport on Thursday.

"It's not ideal, but Dom's preparation is pretty good so he'll do that [fly to Darwin on Saturday] and then fly straight back after the game."

Defender Jackson Trengove, who suffered a badly bruised wrist in Port Adelaide's loss to St Kilda last weekend, made the trip to Darwin and is expected to play against Melbourne.

"Jackson's arm is no worries, it has come up fine," Primus said.

"He will definitely play. He might have a little bit of strapping, but it's mainly just bruising [to his wrist]."

Experienced duo Daniel Motlop and Steven Salopek, who didn't play against the Saints last weekend, also travelled with the team, which will be trimmed to 22 players on Thursday afternoon.

Veteran Chad Cornes received a call up to play against St Kilda, and has been guaranteed a place in the team again this week.

Cornes has been limited to just six games this season as a consequence of Port Adelaide's youth policy.

The 31-year-old played a negating role on St Kilda defender Sam Fisher last weekend, limiting him to 10 possessions - his poorest return in more than 12 months.

Cornes' performance caused speculation he wasn't ready to retire at the end of the season as expected, and could be a potential target for Greater Western Sydney, where his former coach Mark Williams is employed as an assistant.

"It's not my decision to make if Chad wants to play on with GWS or whatever it's going to be," Primus said.

"We will continue our discussions with Chad as the year draws to an end.

"There is going to be speculation about and we will keep the conversation open with Chad, and know where we are at and know where he's at.

"We know what Chad has achieved in his career and the experiences he's had, so a younger club like that might see that is something valuable for them to have.

"I suppose it depends on how many games teams want to get out of those kind of players."

Cornes isn't the only Port Adelaide player to be linked to the Giants, with full-back Alipate Carlile also reported to be in the sights of the AFL's 18th team.

Victorian Carlile has repeatedly denied suggestions of an approach to join GWS, but like out-of-contract teammate Trengove is yet to re-commit to the Power, and told The Advertiser on Thursday he too felt the lure of returning to Melbourne.

"We're in discussions with him [Carlile] and Jackson Trengove," Primus said.

"We've presented a pretty good case of why we would like to have them at the club, not only next year but for quite a few years. It's up to them to decide with their managers and their families.

"Hopefully, we can make a decision on that soon."

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