PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley faces his well-prepared apprentice Michael Voss at the MCG on Sunday in an AFL match that could reflect like a wall of mirrors at a sideshow alley.

After working as Hinkley's senior assistant and midfield coach from 2015, there is no surprise that Voss has taken much of the philosophies developed with Hinkley across seven years at Alberton to Carlton.

"There is a lot of Port Adelaide, particularly in the defensive efforts," says Hinkley of the scouting notes and vision studied from Carlton's 3-1 start to the Voss era at Princes Park. "It is a contested brand of football which is no surprise (considering Voss's background as a player at Brisbane)."

So how will Port Adelaide play after notably adjusting its gameplan to avoid the strengths of Melbourne's defence last week?

"Melbourne give you opportunities to use the ball a little bit more - and mark the ball more because they flood back and get numbers behind the ball," said Hinkley with the Champion Data statistics recording Port Adelaide had 408 disposals and 135 marks (almost double the Melbourne count with 76 marks).

"You have to play what you see. That is the language we use. We go into every game to play our way - the best way we can play against that opposition. We also plan to adjust, week by week."

Port Adelaide certainly has had to adjust its 23-man line-up again after another difficult week in the medical rooms.

Hinkley is focused on the gains at selection saying: "I am really optimistic about what we are bringing into the team this week. The Port Adelaide team this week will have a bit of confidence."

Regaining two All-Australians - Aliir Aliir and Robbie Gray - should underline the confidence secured from looking at Port Adelaide's team sheet this weekend. 

Port Adelaide will travel to Melbourne with a 25-man squad that is notable for the return of defender Aliir (injured against Brisbane in round one) and midfielder-forward Gray (also injured against Brisbane and then sidelined by COVID protocols) ... and the loss of Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines (heart condition), lead ruckman Scott Lycett (right shoulder) and young defender Lachie Jones (COVID protocols).

"We get (Jeremy) Finlayson, Gray, Aliir back ... and we lose Wines and Lycett," said Hinkley counting more gains than losses. "But you know what? We are taking on every one of those challenges - head on. And we get an opportunity to see young people improve."

The match marks the long-anticipated AFL debut of SANFL club champion Sam Hayes, the 205cm ruckman claimed at No. 47 in the 2017 AFL national draft. His has come with the loss of lead ruckman Scott Lycett, who will have surgery to repair his dislocated right shoulder.

"Sam is a our first-choice ruck ... and he will have to share a significant workload," said Hinkley, who has restocked the attack with back-up ruck options in Todd Marshall and Greater Western Sydney recruit Jeremy Finlayson.

"He is going to take a lot of work on in his first game - and we are really confident that Sam has had a great preparation to become an AFL player and an AFL ruckman. In lots of ways it is disappointing for Scott; and it is a really exciting moment for us to see Sam play."

Hayes' apprenticeship in the SANFL recently has had a strong focus on developing his field play, particularly in the forward half.

"Sam is growing; he is growing daily," Hinkley said.

"The best experience he is ever going to get is (on Sunday at the MCG). It is his opportunity to see and feel what it looks like on a big MCG in an AFL game," added Hinkley of the Victorian-raised ruckman. "It will be a great education."

The spotlight will fall on more and more of Port Adelaide's recent top draftees and the players in the 21-24 age bracket that was challenged at the start of the season to ease the team's reliance of long-serving players such as Gray and former captain Travis Boak.

"Willam Drew gets to step up now; Karl Amon. Sam Powell-Pepper. Connor Rozee. Zak Butters. All those people we have talked about all summer, they are the ones who have to share the load," Hinkley said. "Boak clearly is doing his role really well and as best as he possibly can."

From this group, the player facing the greatest scrutiny from the media pundits is Rozee, the No. 5 pick in the 2018 AFL national draft who is coming off a 2021 season marked by injury.

"Connor is getting better with his performances in the past couple of weeks," Hinkley said. "He is building. It is not easy to play in the position he is playing while in a team that has been battling to get score. He is growing. He understands where he is at; he knows he is not performing at the level Connor would like to be at himself.

"But what you love as a coach is to see that determination to keep improving." 

Port Adelaide has scored 10.9, 7.14, 13.14 and 4.12 this season to average 8.12. The prospect of more on the scoreboard is strengthened by the addition of Gray and Finlayson in an attacking system that has counted the loss of All-Australian key forward Charlie Dixon with a serious ankle injury and long-term absence of livewire forward Orazio Fantasia (knee).

Finlayson returns after missing the AFL clashes against Adelaide and Melbourne and building his confidence - and proving his competitive spirit - with a six-goal haul in the SANFL a week ago.

"Finlayson, (Mitch Georgiades) and (Todd) Marshall is our best (forward set up) for this week," said Hinkley. "Jeremy played some good - really strong - footy last week at SANFL level. It was really encouraging for him. He has had some battles along his initial short journey at Port Adelaide - and good on him for sticking at it.

"We have more flexibility (in attack and in ruck). It certainly gives us a little bit more control from the box from what we have had in the past."

The question of whether Port Adelaide has lacked proven soldiers in attack or suffered by its movement to a different forward set-up is answered by Hinkley saying: "There are a lot of reasons.

"We have missed opportunities; we have not got it quite right going forward and some of the people in the front half have not been as good was we would have liked. 

"But we are capable."

Port Adelaide's 0-4 start has tested the coaching and playing group to ignore the doomsday tone externally to concentrate on the work that needs to be done between matches at training.

"You build belief on trust," Hinkley said. "Clearly our performances have not helped us. But the ability of the boys to keep turning up at training to keep working hard - and to continually push each other to improve - gives me confidence; it gives me belief that this group wants to turn this around as quickly as they possibly can.

"We live and we own that 0-4. But we also are working really hard to turn that around quickly."

Lycett's need for surgery follows his brave efforts in staying in the game after being injured early in the second term against Melbourne. His battle to stay in the line-up this week was ultimately brought to an end by the medical advice he would require surgery.

"Scott will miss a lengthy period of time," Hinkley said. "It should not be season-ending. But who knows (before surgery)? Typically, shoulder surgery is somewhere between 10 and 12 or maybe 14 weeks. Reality says it will be 15-17 weeks before we see Scott again."

The match begins at 1.10pm Adelaide time. There will be no free-to-air television coverage until the game ends. Fox Footy has retained the rights to be the exclusive live broadcaster.