PORT Adelaide onballer Kane Cornes says players with superior aerobic fitness will benefit from the introduction of the AFL's new interchange rule.

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Cornes had the highest 'time on ground' percentage of almost any midfielder in the competition in round one according to Champion Data statistics, playing in 94 per cent of the Power's loss to Collingwood.

Brisbane Lions youngster Jack Redden led the way, playing 95 per cent of his side's heartbreaking loss to Fremantle, while Sam Mitchell sat out just seven per cent of Hawthorn's clash with Adelaide.

Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel played 93 per cent of Geelong's win over St Kilda, but spent time resting up forward, as did Sydney Swans livewire Lewis Jetta, who spent 92 per cent of the game against Melbourne on the ground.

The most-rotated player in the AFL last season, Dane Swan continued to visit the interchange bench frequently in the opening round, finishing with 87 per cent time on ground, while Carlton skipper Chris Judd, St Kilda star Nick Dal Santo and Essendon captain Jobe Watson all played around 82 per cent game time in their respective clashes.

Cornes is renowned for being one of the fittest players in the league.

Four years ago, before the number of interchange rotations in games skyrocketed, the three-time best and fairest winner averaged almost 96 per cent of time on the ground.

That percentage slipped to 91 last season, as his coaches encouraged him to play in shorter and more dynamic bursts.

But Cornes said he expected gut runners such as himself to return to the fore this year with one less player on the interchange bench.

"The guys with the bigger aerobic bases will definitely benefit from the sub rule, because we're going to have to play a lot more game time than what we did last year," Cornes said.

"Hopefully, the game slows down a little bit because there aren't going to be as many fresh players coming on and off the ground and you can't sustain those high speed, powerful, repeat-sprint efforts.

"Some guys are better at it than others. Travis Boak is outstanding at that sort of running at our club, so some guys might be able to maintain it but across the whole competition I think the intensity will eventually come down a bit and that will suit guys, who aren't as good at those repeat-sprint efforts but who have a good aerobic base."

Another strength of Cornes' game is his durability.

The premiership player and dual All-Australian hasn't missed a game since round 16, 2003 and against West Coast at AAMI Stadium on Saturday will equal the ninth-best streak of consecutive games in the game's history game (173).

Former Melbourne great Jim Stynes holds the record of 244 consecutive games.

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Kane Cornes is a $418,300 midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.