Trade talk: Cornes "confident" Port star makes move out West

Former Port Adelaide assistant coach Chad Cornes has indicated that star key forward Mitch Georgiades is incredibly likely to orchestrate a move home.

The WA-born talent, who represented his state in the return of State of Origin, enters restricted free agency at the end of the 2027 season, and has been linked with shifts away from Port Adelaide at the end of his current deal.

And given West Coast's recent improvement, SEN's Tom Morris reported on Tuesday afternoon that a move to the Eagles is far from out of the picture.

Touching on the links out West, Cornes stated that he would be "very surprised" if the 24-year-old star key remained at the Power beyond 2027, with the Eagles reportedly leading the charge for his valuable services.

"I loved working with Mitchell," Cornes told SEN SA.

"I hope he stays and plays his whole career at Port Adelaide, but I would be very surprised if he doesn’t go back to Perth, I’m thinking West Coast at the end of the next year.

"If and when Buttsy (Zak Butters) leaves is it best for Port to trade Mitch this year? You lose probably your two best players but is it the time to get five or six first-round draft picks before Tassie comes in and do a complete reset…

"I hope he stays but I’d be very confident he won’t be there in two years’ time."

Port Adelaide have been adamant that the club are not entering a rebuilding phase, moreso transitioning into a new era under coach Josh Carr.

However, if Georgiades - along with Zak Butters - were to leave, Cornes believes the language would have to change.

"It has to be a complete rebuild if Mitch and Zak both leave… Kochie (David Koch, PA chairman) would have to change his tune around that," Cornes said.

And based on his knowledge, the likelihood of the move is rather favourable for the Eagles.

"If you had to do percentages it’d have to be 60-70."

Georgiades booted a career-high 58 goals in 2025, with eight goals through three games in 2026.