FOR the second time in 219 AFL games, Ken Hinkley will be "on the phone" as Port Adelaide's senior coach - and this time, he and his coaching panel are better prepared for the unusual routine.

Hinkley will remain in Adelaide - under COVID protocols - while Port Adelaide plays AFL premier Melbourne at Traeger Park in Alice Springs on Sunday. He is the eighth of the 18 AFL senior coaches to be sidelined this season by the AFL health and safety protocols.

Port Adelaide football chief Chris Davies says the late loss of Hinkley, who developed COVID symptoms on Thursday, has not unsettled preparations at Alberton for an away match that is critical in deciding the team's path to September's top-eight finals.

"Ken will remain 'in the box' via phone. He definitely will have communications with the group," Davies said at Alberton on Friday.

"Ken (Thursday) afternoon started to have mild (COVID) symptoms. He is fine.

"Ken will have the opportunity to have input - and influence - during the game on Sunday. He will be more present in the box this time (than when he was last sidelined in 2013)."

Hinkley stayed in Adelaide for the sixth game of his start as Port Adelaide coach in 2013 when senior assistant Alan Richardson was the match-day mentor for the clash with North Melbourne at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

Hinkley was unable to travel because of a back complaint.

This time - with technology serving Hinkley and his team better - the messaging to the team will be delivered by forwards coach Nathan Bassett. In a sign of the critical battles to unfold in the centre zone - and in organising delivery against the renowned Melbourne defence led by Steven May - Brett Montgomery will keep his full focus on the midfield coaching.

"Nathan will co-ordinate the messages and Brett will remain in charge of the midfield - an important area of the ground to get right," Davies said. "We want Brett focused on an area where we will be facing a group of Melbourne midfielders (ruckman Max Gawn and the triple threat of Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and James Harmes) who are at the top of their game.

"Dealing with the hit-out challenge in ruck with Gawn is something our guys (Jeremy Finlayson and Charlie Dixon) have handled very well recently."

Hinkley will be forced to remain a "remote" coach for a week.

"He has to spend a week in isolation, as anyone would," Davies said. "He will be back next Friday."

The unsettling of AFL teams during the past three weeks with increased COVID cases is forcing clubs to review their health and safety protocols, particularly with the AFL insisting games - and finals - will not be postponed.

Davies is confident long-standing protocols at Alberton remain appropriate.

"We have done very well to manage this challenge," Davies said. "And we are mindful of the need to be diligent - and we have been really diligent with mask wearing, social distancing and everything that has been required in the past three years.

"We have not changed (protocols) - we have remained diligent; we have maintained wearing masks inside our facility, at meetings."

"The AFL has heightened its concern with the COVID numbers of the past 24 hours - and the message to the club is to make sure we are reaffirming diligence among the coaching and playing group.

"We have done pretty well throughout the last two and a half years. But there is no doubt we keep delivering the message to our players to be cautious during the next few weeks. We don't have any room for error - so we need our best team out there.

"The players know what they have to do to mitigate the risk. The group has handled this very well - and all we are asking of them is to continue to do that."

Port Adelaide will leave for Alice Springs on Saturday with a 25-man squad.

The final match 22 will be confirmed on Friday evening with the medical substitute to be ratified on game day. The extended squad named on Thursday added half-back Riley Bonner, key defender Trent McKenzie, wingman Xavier Duursma and half-forward Steven Motlop to the options for final selection.

Confirmed as returning to the 22 is Bonner, who suffered a fractured cheek and eye socket against Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval on June 26. It is still uncertain if he will wear a helmet that Bonner tested at training this week.

"That will be Riley's decision. Today, he trained without it - and I imagine he will start without it," Davies said.

Bonner's return does bring into question if novice Jase Burgoyne will remain in the 22 for his third consecutive AFL match - or if he will become the medical substitute.

"Riley was playing very good football before he was injured, so he deserves to come back in the side," Davies said. "Jase Burgoyne has had a really good start to his career. With Bonner coming back in, it will be one of those guys at half-back who will miss out or be the medical substitute.

"Jase has been fantastic. His first two games have been at a really high level and have shown that Jase is going to have a long and successful AFL career."

At 8-8 and ranked 12th with six games to play, Port Adelaide starts a demanding month with four consecutive games against current top-eight teams - Melbourne, Geelong, Collingwood and Richmond.

"With the way we started the season (0-5), we have - as Ken Hinkley has said so often - lowered our eyes and worked week to week," Davies said. "We know we have a massive challenge ahead at the weekend against Melbourne. If we get that done, we are one win closer to potentially getting to finals.

"Right now, it is purely about Melbourne."

On the list-management, Davies joined the growing group of AFL clubs declaring the willingness to adopt Sydney key forward Lance Franklin should he take up free agency for the second time.

"It is hard not to think that someone like Lance Franklin would not help your team," Davies said. "But it is most likely he is going to stay at Sydney."

The match will begin at 2.50pm. It is the second Port Adelaide-Melbourne clash of the season with the AFL premier scoring the four premiership points in the Thursday night meeting at Adelaide Oval in round 4 when Port Adelaide lead ruckman Scott Lycett suffered the shoulder injury that required surgery and has kept him out of AFL matches since April 7.