PORT Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley has finally left the virtual world of coaching to be back among his charges at Adelaide Oval.

After a week of isolation by health and safety protocols, if there was one visual image Hinkley could have his players carry to battle against AFL leader Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night it is the harassment inflicted on Sydney five weeks ago.

As Sydney coach John Longmire noted after Port Adelaide's 23-point win: "Their pressure was elite, particularly their tackle pressure inside forward-50. That's the sort of pressure you get in big games - and from Port Adelaide."

Hinkley needs to see such pressure from his players from the 4.05pm start on Saturday.

"And we need to see it consistently," Hinkley said at Adelaide Oval during the captain's run training session on Friday morning - his first day back in the team fold at Port Adelaide.

"That (Sydney game) was a highlight game for us," Hinkley added. "For the way we played against a high-quality opponent in good form ...

"That is close to what we think our best football looks like. We need to show that consistently. The challenge in any football club is to do that week in, week out."

Port Adelaide enters Saturday's clash from 11th spot with an 8-9 win-loss record - and the need to win to stay relevant in the race to September's top-eight finals.

While the mathematics and premiership table say Port Adelaide is on the edge, Hinkley feels the agenda at Alberton has not changed.

"I treat every game as do or die," Hinkley said. "Winning in AFL football is important week in, week out. This week is no bigger and no smaller in importance to me or the team.

"We have not changed (our approach) from any other time this year. We know where to keep our focus - and we keep it on the moment. The moment is the start against Geelong - we need to start well to give ourselves a chance to win the game.

"We don't give it away.

"We have been on the edge for a while.

"They are preparing for a game as they do every week. They know that this game will have momentum swings - and you have to hang in there. That is what we do every week regardless of where the season does or does not sit. For us it is around playing the style of game we need to play every week.

"We will get stretched, we will get challenged at times - and, hopefully, we will be doing the same to Geelong at times. By the end of the game, we need to be in front."

At selection, Port Adelaide resisted all the temptations posed by regaining players from the injury list, in particular specialist forward Orazio Fantasia and novice ruckman Brynn Teakle.

"You have to give those players the best chance to succeed with strong preparation," Hinkley said. "We want them to play as soon as they are available. But we also need them to perform at a level that they need to - and want to - perform at so that they add to the team.

"You have to be cautious and careful in what that (risk v reward) decision-making process is like. Both boys excite us, but we have to be mindful of giving them their best chance to perform."

The Port Adelaide match committee ultimately recalled midfielder-forward Jed McEntee, who has been medical substitute in his last two AFL outings (Round 17 and Round 5) and not played since Round 4 – and father-son draftee Jase Burgoyne for his third senior game.

They take the places of midfielder-forward Jackson Mead and half-back Riley Bonner.

"Jed has been more than reasonable for us at SANFL level," Hinkley said of McEntee. "He has been really good and strong for us in a forward pressure position. We have not had Lachie Jones (hamstring) for a couple of weeks. We have had Mead try to play in that role which has been a challenge for him - he is a young player with a lot of improvement still to come.

"Jed has earned his right. He was the medical substitute a couple of weeks ago. He has played strong footy in the SANFL last week. He just deserves his opportunity.

"Jase Burgoyne played well in his two games. Riley Bonner (on comeback from a fractured cheekbone) did not perform at the level that Riley would expect of himself. He loses his spot by performance and Jase deserves the spot back.

"You are always looking to make your team as good and as strong as it possibly can be. We are playing the team that is on top of the ladder - and in remarkable form. It is going to be a challenge for us, so you want your best available options. They also have to be given the best chance to perform.

"The names on paper sometimes look better than what you will see on the grass. You have to give them a chance to perform. That is what Orazio and Brynn would want."

Geelong returns to Adelaide Oval where it has lost the past two clashes with Port Adelaide - in qualifying finals.

"You take some confidence (from those results)," Hinkley said. "Nine weeks ago we were in front against Geelong at Kardinia Park at half-time. We are facing the best team in the competition currently. But we do take some confidence that our best football can certainly challenge them.

"We also know anything short of that, you will be in trouble. We have reasonable form against them here at Adelaide Oval. But they also have won here ... we know the size of the challenge.

"Geelong is a bloody good team. They have good players all over the ground. They are going to be really hard work for us. There is no part of the game that gives us less or more worry. We just know the Geelong challenge is significant."

Geelong coach Chris Scott this week declared "I always find it a challenge against Ken (Hinkley) and Port Adelaide because they throw some challenges against you that are unique in the competition."

"It is a bigger challenge coaching against Chris and Geelong," Hinkley responded. "Our performances would suggest you have to play really good footy right to the end to beat us. I hope that is what Chris means.

"I hope we offer a bigger challenge than we have at any time in the past."

The nightmare of Melbourne opportunist forward Kysaiah Pickett kicking 6.1 against the usually mean Port Adelaide defence is seen as possibly lingering with the threat posed by Geelong small forward Tyson Stengle.

Hinkley sees more than one threat in the Geelong attack - and more reason to emphasise team defence rather than one-on-one match-ups.

"Tyson Stengle has been a really good player for Geelong," Hinkley said of the former Richmond and Adelaide forward who has kicked 33.21 in his first season at Kardinia Park. "When he is spoken of as an All-Australian, you know it is because he has been a damaging forward - and we put him in the bracket of 'must be watched' ... along with Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan. There are a few in that Geelong team.

"At times an individual will be matched up against individuals. That is always the case. But you do break down - and break down badly - when you get too singularly focused. And some people will say we should have been more singularly focused on Pickett because we did not keep him under control as we should have."

Port Adelaide will persist with the makeshift ruck combination formed by key forwards Charlie Dixon and Jeremy Finlayson.

"Charlie Dixon has been good for us in the ruck, but you know what that is doing to us - it is stopping our ability in the front half to put some scoreboard pressure on," Hinkley said. "Between Charlie and Jeremy, we will work that system as best we can to give them the best chance to perform where we need them whether that is in ruck or forward. We will work with that and see what happens tomorrow.

"If we get our ruckmen healthy and in good form, we will have the opportunity to do other things - things we would prefer to do more often than not."

Externally, the retention of young forward Mitch Georgiades appears a sign of extended patience when the West Australian appears challenged by the need to finish his work with greater accuracy on the scoreboard (15.21 this season after scoring 32.17 last year).'

"We are giving him opportunity, plenty of opportunity," Hinkley conceded. "We are backing him in. We are showing confidence that we believe in what he can do. He gets plenty of shots on goal. Mitch is working really hard to get his conversion at a level that he would like.

"If that conversion was better, the conversations that are going on at the moment (externally) would be taken care of. As a forward, he needs to convert his opportunities. We will support him - and we will give him every chance.

"Every young player needs backing and support. Mitch will get that as much as we can. We believe he will compete at a really high level."

Hinkley returned to the team on Friday after spending a week in isolation by the AFL health and safety protocols.

"It is fantastic to be doing what you love doing," Hinkley said. "I am pleased that I was lucky (with minimal symptoms) where you see other people end up in hospital. I was one of the lucky ones.

"It was challenging to do my job properly - and I am lucky that I have great people around me to help and support and to make sure that the club is organised and runs really well. But it was challenging for me personally.

"I did not miss too much. I had live training vision at home; I could watch it as it was unfolding. There was not too much different other than the fact there was no face-to-face contact as far as coaching goes - and that is, I think, one of my great strengths: Face-to-face contact, be that with staff or players. It is really important.

"Most of the other stuff was pretty simple.

"Match day (against Melbourne at Alice Springs on Sunday) I had good vision of what was going on. But you just don't feel what is going on. As a coach, that is one of the really important parts of the job - having a feel for what is going on. That is where you influence games a bit more. It was not perfect."