PORT Adelaide recruiting manager Blair Hartley has described the distinct local flavour of his club’s 2008 draft class as an added bonus rather than a pre-meditated decision.

The Power had a total of 13 picks across the three drafts in 2008 and used eight of those to snare either South Australians or players that had spent time in the SANFL competition.

On Tuesday, the club rounded out its 2009 playing list by adding North Adelaide forward Wade Thompson, Glenelg midfielder Danny Meyer, North Adelaide ruckman Daniel Stewart and West Adelaide key-position player Matthew Martin to its rookie list.

The only rookie picked up by the Power, with no SA connection, was Claremont’s Jessie Laurie.

Hartley called out another four SA natives on NAB AFL Draft day in November with West Adelaide star Hamish Hartlett and Woodville-West Torrens trio Matthew Broadbent, Jarrad Redden and Glenn Dawson also staying put.

“It’s not so much a conscious decision to go for locals," Hartley said.

"We take it into account when we build our order, but it wasn’t like I went out there and said: 'I’m going to pick all Woodville-West Torrens players'

“If they are a local, it’s a bonus…I’m just a fan of good players.”

Another player who will (again) call Port Adelaide home is tough onballer Josh Carr.

Carr, who sought a trade to Fremantle at the end of 2004, officially completed his 360 on Tuesday when he was re-drafted by the Power with pick number two in the pre-season draft.

Port Adelaide identified the 2008 draft period as a "crucial" one and Hartley was confident the latest batch of draftees would set the club up for years to come.

“We’ve managed to cover all areas of our team and we’ve certainly looked to the future with our selections … We’ve added some key-position players in Jackson Trengove and Matthew Martin. They can both play multiple roles.

"Matthew’s a big unit. He’s got real good power and has showed he can mark the ball really well. He has played as a forward at SANFL league level for Westies and also as a backman. He’s still got a little bit to learn, but he’s got some real tools and we can certainly turn him into an AFL player in time."

Hartley said forward Thompson was blessed with pace but needed to work on his fitness in order to fulfil a similar role to that done by Cyril Rioli at Hawthorn.

The spectre of future drafts was also in the forefront of Hartley's mind when assessing the new players on the Power's list for 2009.

"We feel like we’ve put ourselves in a good position given the limitations to talent over the next five or so years, depending on Western Sydney coming in, but certainly with the Gold Coast coming in," he said.

“Ask me in five years time and if I’ve still got a job… we’ll see how I’ve gone.”