Primus stays put as Power's assistant coach

PORT Adelaide assistant coach Matthew Primus has declined interstate job offers to remain at the club he played 137 games for.

The former club captain, who ended his 157-game playing career in 2005 after stints with the Power and Fitzroy, has signed a new two-year deal with the South Australian club.

The 34-year-old had been courted by other clubs after coming out of contract with the Power, where he had been an assistant to Mark Williams since 2006.

"It is really a changing of the guard at Port Adelaide," Primus said, after telling the club of his desire to stay on Monday.

"It is often overlooked that we have turned over our list more than any other club in the past three years."

He said the challenge of reconstructing the side's midfield was the main motivation behind his decision to stay at Alberton.

"With young talent like [Travis] Boak, [Robbie] Gray, [Hamish] Hartlett, [Nathan] Krakouer and [Matthew] Broadbent coming through, plus a group of young key position players aged 24 or under, we are developing our next generation," he said.

"It will take patience, there is plenty of work to do, and there will be frustrations along the way, but we know we are on the right track."

Williams, who also recently signed a two-year contract extension, said Primus would continue to contribute to the club's midfield development.

"Matt has developed into one of the leading midfield coaches in the AFL, as our clearance numbers and scores from clearances will attest," Williams said.

"He is incredibly valuable to this club and it’s terrific that he is staying at Port Adelaide to work with our young group when he could certainly have gone elsewhere.

"When you sit down and look at our best 25 players, perhaps 22 of them will be around together for at least the next five years, and that’s an exciting opportunity for us as a club."

The announcement of Primus' decision to stay comes a day after experienced out-of-contract midfielder Shaun Burgoyne requested a trade to a Melbourne-based club.

In a statement released by the club, the Power said they are hopeful other assistant Jason Cripps, who is also out of contract, would also agree to new terms after being offered an extension of his current deal.

There is room for one more assistant on the coaching panel, with Williams, Primus, Cripps and Adam Kingsley currently heading the club.

In July, part-time assistant Tony McGuinness informed the Power he would not be in the running to take on a full-time role in 2010, and stepped down from the panel completely at the end of the season.