IT does not look so dark at Alberton two days after the season-opening loss to Brisbane at the Gabba seemed costly - both to the body and spirit at Port Adelaide.

Injuries? Port Adelaide certainly will be without All-Australian defender Aliir Aliir for its home opener against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. The strong-marking key defender had surgery on his injured right ankle on Monday.

With fellow key defender Tom Clurey recuperating from knee surgery, this leaves Port Adelaide with the options of (a) promoting recently recruited Sam Skinner; (b) assigning Ryan Burton taller roles in defence or (c) looking at Greater Western Sydney recruit Jeremy Finlayson or Todd Marshall as defenders, more so if All-Australian key forward Charlie Dixon can resume from his ankle injury.

The "carnage" from the 11-point loss to Brisbane is not as severe as first thought on Saturday night on leaving the Gabba. Key defender Trent McKenzie has no damage to his left knee that was hyperextended - but not ruptured - in landing from a marking contest in the last term.

Wingman Xavier Duursma has no break to his left collarbone that was battered during the first term. Experienced forward Robbie Gray (right knee) and midfielder-forward Connor Rozee (ankle) also are expected to pass fitness tests to stay on the selection whiteboard in the Port Adelaide match committee room.

"All those guys are a chance to play this week," Port Adelaide forwards coach Nathan Bassett declared at Alberton on Monday afternoon.

Spirit? If there is a silver lining for Ken Hinkley's coaching staff from the brutal loss to Brisbane, it is the firm answer the Port Adelaide players delivered to that question of what shadow remained on the squad from the home preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs.

"What I love about this football club is we work the long game," Basset said of Port Adelaide not losing focus on its ambitions from any one result. "We have as good an under-25 list as there is in the competition. We have invested heavily in the draft in the past four years - and we have some great young people who will play a lot of games. We have invested in young people so we can have a strong football club for a long time.

"It is about building continued success.

"It is disappointing we did not go one step further (than the preliminary final) in the past two years. In a way, we are doing it from a pretty low base from before that. So as a football club, we think we are heading in the right direction.

"I liked what we put out at the weekend, even though I would prefer here saying I loved it for the way we won the game. We did not get there. But now can we repeat (the effort)? Can we keep doing it week in, week out - playing that tough footy?

"The Gold Coast game (in the first test of the pre-season) told us, 'This is not the team we want to be'," Bassett added. "We made adjustments (after the loss to Gold Coast). And if we repeat (the toughness shown against Brisbane) week in, week out, we will win more than we lose.

"You saw the physicality at the contest. In all three parts of the ground - around the ball, behind it, in front of it - we played really strong, tough football. We worked well from contest to contest. We gave ourselves a great chance to win (against Brisbane). We were not able to hang in there for long enough.

"I loved the fact we played tough footy for a long period of time against a team that we have not played that style, up there (at the Gabba) - and against a team that has knocked us out in the first quarter in the previous couple of games up there."

How long Aliir spends on the sidelines remains to be seen but it opens opportunity for Skinner, the 24-year-old tall defender who played three AFL games with Brisbane from 2016-2020 and rebuilt his AFL credentials - after being tested by three knee reconstructions - with sound form at SANFL club South Adelaide last season.

"Sam has been in good form," Bassett said. "He has looked very good at training and in a trial a couple of weeks ago. He is some chance (this week at selection). It was looking hard work for Sam when he seemed the fifth tall defender ... things open up pretty quickly in footy.

"And there are opportunities for us to use Jeremy (Finlayson) or Todd (Marshall) in defence, but Sam has certainly acquitted himself well since joining our club.

"Ryan Burton can play tall. Lachie Jones can play as a tall defender. We have guys to be the third tall (with captain Tom Jonas and McKenzie).

"Aliir has been outstanding, so he is difficult to replace. Sam Skinner has a similar mindset in the way he approaches the ball; the intercept marks. And he is as tough as a cat's head. He would give us everything that he has. But clearly it is not easy to replace an All-Australian defender."

Bassett put the "not sure" label on Dixon's return from the ankle surgery required after a training incident. If Dixon misses his second consecutive AFL match - and Bassett retains the new-look attack with Finlayson, Marshall and Mitch Georgiades - there will be the demand for more from the young Port Adelaide trio of go-to forwards, particularly in their second efforts.

"It is much about their consistency at the contest - and their follow-up (work)," Bassett said. "It was not so much about their aerial contests. It was more about the opportunities missed - and the lack of follow-up when the ball was on the ground.

"It was more about what the forwards were doing  than the delivery. So we are looking for more from our tall people; and it is still a youngish end of the ground ... at the start of the game we had five or six players (in the forward 50) who were 24 or younger. But we are looking for more from our tall people.

"Structurally - the way we went inside-50 - we had some really good opportunities. For three quarters we played a really strong brand of footy that we think will hold up later in the season. It was tough footy that gave us a chance to win that game. But the first 10 minutes of the last quarter were off our best."

Port Adelaide's first home game of the qualifying season will begin at 7.10pm and will be dedicated to club great Russell Ebert, who died in November aged 72.