Cornes, 29, earned All-Australian selection in the Power’s premiership year of 2004 playing predominantly at centre-half-back.
The versatile veteran was also named in the 2007 All-Australian side, but this time on a wing.
Port Adelaide’s inexperienced defence is built around 21-year-old full-back Alipate Carlile.
Some fans deem it to be the club's weakest link and want Cornes to be shifted back given that the Power have bolstered their midfield stocks this season with the return of Josh Carr and the addition of draftee Hamish Hartlett.
But Kingsley said Cornes was needed in the midfield.
“The game is won or lost in the midfield, so you want to get your best players in the midfield and Chad is one of our best and most influential players,” Kingsley said on Monday.
“There’s no question that, if Chad played centre-half-back, he would have an impact and would be very good, but the fact of the matter is that we want to get our best players through the middle.
“If Chad is playing through the middle and taking his smaller opponent forward, it’s an advantage for us.
"We’ve got a lot of strength in the midfield now and we have had that discussion (about shifting him to defence), but we still feel that he serves a terrific role in the midfield and he can give us an even greater advantage when he goes forward.”
One onballer who will be cast in a defensive role this season is young West Australian Nathan Krakouer.
Krakouer, 20, has played 14 games as a midfielder/half-forward, but the club is keen to try him in a Peter Burgoyne-like role across half-back.
Krakouer picked up 22 possessions in defence against Geelong on Saturday and was a standout before his opponent Mathew Stokes slotted through three quick goals in the last term.
“Krak [Krakouer] is going to be super important this year,” Kingsley said.
“He’s a great kick, a great decision-maker and he’s got speed, so he’s got the three qualities you need to be able to break down zones.
“He’s played two games on a half-back flank and we saw the quality of him in the first half. I think as the season goes on, he’s going to be a terrific player.”
The Power restricted the Cats to just 11 goals in swirly conditions at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Kingsley said the performance was a good example of what he expected from his young defence this season.
“We’re looking for consistent performance throughout games and I thought our defensive group’s performance on the weekend was outstanding; as good as I’ve ever seen from them,” he said.
“Geelong kicked the ball inside 50m 42 times and scored at just 40 per cent. Geelong doesn’t score that poorly, so for our defenders to be able to keep them to those sorts of numbers was outstanding.”
Dream Team watch: Chad Cornes scored 99 points against Geelong in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009.
