IN 35 contests for AFL premiership points since 1997, Port Adelaide and Collingwood have only once played a shoot-out that had both teams crack the watershed 100-point barrier - in 2001 at Football Park.

The sequel is due - perhaps overdue - at the MCG on Saturday when Port Adelaide will be measured against 2022 preliminary finalists Collingwood in a match that could make a statement about Australian football breaking the shackles of finely honed defensive tactics.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is not fearing a goal-fest at the G.

"It is reasonable to think (that) after we and Collingwood went one and two for scoring last week - but you have to do that consistently," Hinkley said.

"Collingwood has shown that with the chaos game they play and the speed at which they move. We have not been able to do that consistently. We are going to try to be challenging to them in that phase of the game, if we possibly can.

"It is a great challenge - Collingwood at the MCG. We are playing against a powerhouse of the competition and possibly the biggest club in the competition. We get to experience something different after being at home last week and having the fans on our side. We face something slightly different on Saturday."

Also different is the Port Adelaide midfield that is in the hands of a new generation led by Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines with the excitement of Connor Rozee, Zak Butters, No.1 draftee Jason Horne-Francis, Xavier Duursma and Miles Bergman.

"This is the handover moment after Travis Boak, Brad Ebert and Robbie Gray - this is the transition," Hinkley said. "Travis is still there, but we had to explore our next generation of young mids -  and we have been really confident for a long period of time that we have had the players.

"We also have a more balanced team with (forwards) Todd Marshall, Mitch Georgiades and Junior Rioli growing. We have a lot of potentially good young players on our list ... but they have to turn that into actual performances. We have not done that consistently yet."

At selection, Port Adelaide recalled second-year half-back Jase Burgoyne rather than opting for tall defender Tom Clurey to replaced injured counterpart Trent McKenzie (ankle).

Former captain Travis Boak, who had his pre-season campaign derailed by a fractured rib in the trial against West Coast in Perth, will resume as the tactical substitute replacing Geelong recruit Francis Evans.

The key points from Hinkley's weekly press conference at Alberton Oval are:

BOAK is ready to play full minutes, if needed.

"Trav has not played much footy over the past six weeks, so we are clearly bringing Travis back into the team in a controlled manner," Hinkley said. 

"With the sub, we can get one of our all-time greats back into the team without having to condition him for a bit longer at training. We are comfortable if we need Trav in the first minute, Travis athletically can come on and play. He is a great runner, a great player. 

"We are managing when we bring him into the game. But we also are confident he can come on five minutes into the game."

CLUREY, who is on the comeback from off-season knee surgery, is ready to play but the Port Adelaide match committee has preferred a defence designed to deal with Collingwood's attack.

"Every week you look at your best options for the opposition you are playing," Hinkley said. "Clearly, with the Collingwood set-up, they are a damaging, running, front-of-centre team. We are very mindful of what their speed is like. We are trying to match up on that.

"You don't always go like-for-like (Clurey for McKenzie in this case). We have always been open to two or three talls in our back half. This week we have gone with two and a half ...

"Tom Clurey is in good nick. He played really well last week. He knows exactly the reasons why we went this way - this is about what we are trying to achieve against the opposition we are playing."

DESPITE Colingwood coach Craig McRae urging Port Adelaide to tag his playmaking half-back Nick Daicos, the Port Adelaide match committee is seeing more than one pressing threat on the opposition team sheet.

"We are setting out to achieve a result against all of Collingwood - not just one of Collingwood," Hinkley said. "It is not reasonable to think there is just one challenge when you are playing against Collingwood. I could name them all, but there are a lot."

PART of the challenge is understanding Collingwood is no one-trick pony with a game loaded to punish opponents through the centre corridor.

"Offence is trying to make a comeback (in football) and it is real for a lot of clubs," Hinkley said. "You have to (play the attacking game) with composure. I have watched enough of Collingwood to know there is more than an urgency to go through the corridor. I see their urgency to go around the boundary line at times too.

"There is not one way you get ready for Collingwood. You have to be ready for a four-quarter challenge." 

PORT ADELAIDE has its own belief in an effective gameplan that blitzed flag contender Brisbane at Adelaide Oval in Saturday's season opener.

"We did have a great pre-season for the way we were trying to execute things; we did not display that (against Fremantle in the last trial game)," Hinkley said. "But the group knew what we were capable of. They had to deliver it.

"Everyone tells us every week that our execution going inside 50 was not at a level it needs to be. Last week, against Brisbane, it showed against a quality opposition that we are more than capable of delivering it at a high level."

YOUNG forward Mitch Georgiades has worked on his goalkicking this week - under the eye of Hinkley - after his 1.3 return against Brisbane.

"Last week, Mitch had some quite difficult ones," Hinkley said. "Mitch is working really hard. I spent the week with him and hopefully he soon gets the reward for the work I see him put in on a week-to-week basis on his goalkicking."

FROM the minimal injury list, the versatile Jeremy Finlayson progressed well into playing in a SANFL trial game last week and will feature again in another hit-out against Adelaide at Alberton on Sunday morning.

"He is getting closer," Hinkley said. "At training and in games you see he is moving more as we know Jeremy can. This week is the best I have seen him look."

BUMPING - the topic of the week in the AFL - is still part of the game in Hinkley's eyes.

"Everyone knows the rules," Hinkley said. "Our players are well educated to know that you should not put yourself in dangerous positions to cause damage. We don't want people getting hurt. I don't want people being careless in how they play our game. 

"I saw bumps last night (in the Geelong-Carlton match). All night. I saw people who know the rules of football do the bump and executing properly. It is a contact sport."

Port Adelaide returns to the MCG for the 53rd time in AFL company and first time since the six-point tussle with Collingwood in round 20 on July 30 last year. 

The match starts at 1.15pm SA time.