PORT Adelaide leader Jackson Trengove says it was "tough" to enter the AFL as part of a side that was beginning a re-build, but he believes the experience will leave those who came in with him stronger.

Trengove has endured testing times at Alberton since he was drafted with pick No.22 at the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, with the club unable to finish higher than 10th.

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But on the eve of his 50th AFL game, the reigning club champion told AFL.com.au better times were in sight for the Power.

"It was tough at first - most of my junior footy I played with the Calder Cannons and we were a pretty successful side," Trengove said.

"Coming over here and obviously we haven't had as much success as we'd like, [it] makes things difficult [for a young player].

"Most clubs go through tough times and we're working our way through a tough time at the moment.

"We've still got a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

He said the club had turned over a number of players over the last couple of seasons and had started developing a "core group" around which their next premiership assault would be based.

With a young list boasting such exciting names as Hamish Hartlett, Travis Boak, Matthew Broadbent, Chad Wingard and Alipate Carlile, Trengove said the desire to develop quickly was intense.

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But he insisted that while he often thought about "how much sweeter it's going to be" when the team is back on top, now was the time for development.

"All the young fellas are developing quite well, you want to push it as quick as you can but these things do take time," he said.

"You look at Richmond, they're starting to hit their peak and get consistency into their game and we're looking forward to that.

"We think we've got a good core of young players and older players…but we've got a hell of a lot of work to do."

Trengove also threw his support behind coach Matthew Primus, whose position was called into question by areas of the media this season.

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The 21-year-old said he was impressed with the manner in which Primus had handled the last month and that his plan was beginning to bear fruit.

"He's been really good to me and really good to a lot of the players here and we think that with the support around him with Shaun Rehn and Josh Carr and Brad Gotch, that's going to take our club to the next step," Trengove said.

"What Matty and the coaching staff are putting forward is starting to work and the results are going to start coming soon."

Trengove said it was a "massive honour to play 50 games for Port Adelaide", but played down the significance of the milestone, claiming he was focused on ensuring Carlton's impressive record at AAMI Stadium didn't continue.

Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry