PORT Adelaide star Hamish Hartlett is adopting a more positive approach to his football after being put on the trade table last year.

The 26-year-old met with Essendon and Richmond during the NAB AFL Trade Period in October before deciding to remain at the Power.

Hartlett is contracted to the Power until the end of 2021.

“I’ve never felt the Port Adelaide Football Club was saying, ‘We don’t want you or we don’t think you are any good’,” Hartlett told The Advertiser.

“They always had my best interests at heart.

“That is very difficult for other people to understand ... particularly my immediate family who were pretty disappointed about the whole process.”

Hartlett – the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft - was the Power's vice-captain last year, but struggled for consistency on the field.

He remains in the club's leadership group this season.

“It was uncomfortable for me,” Hartlett said. “Uncomfortable because I love everything about this football club — and have from the day I walked in.

“The thought of leaving players — with whom I’ve built strong relationships over a long period of time — to go elsewhere did not sit right with me through the whole process.

“I almost had a slight sense of what was to come. Given the season I had had — it wasn’t a great one from anyone’s point of view.

“I went in with that thought in the back of my mind.”

Hartlett is set to make a move from the midfield to the half-back line this season.

He has trained strongly during the pre-season and is keen to put the troubles of last year behind him.

“I’m trying to breathe more positivity around the place,” Hartlett said. “I’m my own harshest critic — and have been for a long, long time.”