PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has a feel-good story for you.

It's Nathan Krakouer, who walked out of Port in 2010 for the Gold Coast, where he spent one season before quitting.

The 26-year-old will play his first AFL match since then on Saturday, for Port against North Melbourne. And Hinkley warms to the tale of redemption.

"I love our ability to be able to help people and give second chances," Hinkley told reporters on Friday.

"I know what he was like when he turned up here, an 'I'll do whatever it takes' admission from Kraks, to have another go at this.

"And I sat there in my seat and said: `To be really honest mate, I don't think you will make it because it will be too hard for you, it will be too tough to get through'.

"(To his) great credit, he has been able to get through.

"If you had asked the players on our list, they had been questioning why I hadn't picked him earlier."

In 2010, Krakouer's split with Port was acrimonious. In 2011, Hinkley was a Gold Coast assistant who watched Krakouer's passion for the game - then the player himself - disappear.

In 2013, Krakouer, weighing 110 kilograms, was playing in Western Australia's goldfields.

In 2014, he came knocking at Hinkley's door and has since been playing for the Magpies in the SANFL.

"It's a great story. They're the ones that I love being involved with," Hinkley said.

"I was part of Gold Coast when Krak went up there. I have seen the loss of passion for the game and seen what had happened to him - and see him disappear.

"And for him to come back, it's a pretty good story."