PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley isn't nervous winger Jared Polec hasn't re-signed for next year, but concedes the Power won't be able to match North Melbourne's reported $3.5 million, five-year deal.
Polec is suddenly in demand as a highly sought-after outside midfielder, having averaged 24.6 disposals in 16 games this season.
The 25-year-old has spent the past five seasons at the Power after he wanted to return home to South Australia from Brisbane, where he played between 2011-13.
"I don't know if you get nervous, but you understand the reality," Hinkley said.
"The reality is there's still a decision to be made and sometimes the decisions are a bit different.
"It's a negotiation of what you're trying to achieve and maybe you're playing a game of cards where you're holding out a little, both are trying to get what they want.
"From our point of view with Jared, I go back to what he says.
"He loves being at Port Adelaide, we brought him back here five years ago, South Australian boy, but some stage, some day, people will move."
The sticking point isn't just money, but also the length of the contract and the security that provides.
Polec was the fifth overall pick of the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, playing 16 games with Brisbane before requesting a trade to the Power.
The Kangaroos have reportedly opened the purse strings to entice Polec to the club, having fallen short with the likes of Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly in recent years.
"They offer a lot more money for a lot of players," Hinkley said of the Kangaroos.
"They can (offer more than the Power), I don't think there's any doubt about that, but there's a decision to be made by the player, what he wants to do.
"We've seen a couple of times over the last little while, that clearly top-end money isn't the only solution.
"We've seen players last year walk away from massive offers and stay at their clubs."
Hinkley said player movement was part and parcel of the AFL, given the salary cap that clubs operate under and free agency.
"We love the thought of loyalty, we absolutely do," Hinkley said.
"We're all football people, like the idea of being one-club players. It's not unexpected in today's game that some of that drifts away.
"That's what business is, what we set it up for."
