YARTAPUULTI has fallen behind on the scoreboard at the first break in three of its past six games. And each time senior coach Ken Hinkley has approached his players at the quarter-time interval with a simple - and effective - theme: Stick to task.
The Port Adelaide way has proven to be the right method for the club's best winning streak since 2014.
On Friday night - at the start of Sir Doug Nicholls Round on the stage that carries the biggest spotlight and inevitably the toughest conclusions - Yartapuulti will be measured against a genuine AFL pacesetter, Narrm (Melbourne). The 2021 premier's noted high-scoring momentum surges will test Yartapuulti's conviction in their own game - and the belief they have built up in sticking to task to wipe away deficits to Sydney, St Kilda and Essendon.
"Our challenge is to be brave enough to continue to play the way we want to play," Hinkley said at Alberton Oval on Wednesday morning.
"We are not the fastest-starting team in the comp; we have not won every first quarter. We have learned more and more - and we have achieved results this year - by just hanging in. We have continued to play the same way through the whole game knowing it is a four-quarter game.
"Everyone talks about momentum in this game. It is real. It is true. We just have to be prepared to play four quarters as close to us as we can.
"Our players have filled up on belief by sticking to task. That is working for us. Play the whole game is what our players have taken on board.
"We have trained (the task of dealing with opposition momentum). We have trained to deal with the best teams - of which Melbourne is one. They will have moments in this game where they look like they are dominating. The challenge is to make sure we get out moments and we dominate the game the same way.
"It will be a great game. It will be fierce. It will probably end with us separated by a small margin."
Yartapuulti will name its line-up on Thursday evening with critical decisions to made on:
Key forward Charlie Dixon: "Charlie is dealing with his (quad) injury from last Thursday which he is still tracking pretty well; we are optimistic around him being available for Friday night," Hinkley said. "But we will not know that until much, much closer to the game.
"Charlie needs to tell me he is ready. He has earned a lot of trust. You give them the responsibility to know when they can and can't do it. Charlie knows himself better than any of us. We will not play him if it will make (his injury) worse. We are not going to take a risk. If he is not right, we don't play him."
Experienced ruckman Scott Lycett who broadens Yartapuulti's options to combat imposing Narrm ruck duo Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy: "Scott got through the (SANFL game against South Adelaide on Sunday) really well," Hinkley said. "We managed him at three quarter-time to give us the opportunity to select him if we choose."
Utility Darcy Bryne-Jones will resume after being a late withdrawal against North Melbourne at Hobart with gastro. Tall forward Todd Marshall will miss by the concussion protocols for the second time in the past month.
"Darcy is fine, more than fine," Hinkley said.
"Todd is pretty good to be fair. Unfortunate, he has had a second concussion in a short period of time. We are very mindful of how that plays out. He is really healthy and good today. We imagine he would be available for Sunday week."
Other key notes from Hinkley's press conference at Alberton Oval are:
GAWN AND GRUNDY: "We will deal with (that challenge) with the support of the whole team. They are dominant rucks. They are a great combination, equal if not the best combination in the comp ... they are going to be a real challenge. It will be team v team; not ruck v ruck. Whoever we put in ruck (from Brynn Teakle to Jeremy Finlayson to Scott Lycett) it will interesting the challenge they have, but it will be with the support of the whole team."
MIDFIELD BULLS: "That is an exciting battle when you look at the form of their midfield and ours. This is a top-four battle so you would expect both teams to have pretty good players out there. The winner of the ground ball game is pretty important.
"It is a good challenge for our midfielders. There is no doubt Oliver, Petracca and Viney with the two ruckmen and their two wings give Melbourne an elite midfield. We are really comfortable that our midfield can match it with most.
"Our midfielders are young and emerging - and our senior players talk about how they (Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francos) are driving (the agenda)."
MEASURING STICKS: "We will measure out performance as we would any other week ... It is round 10 and the competition has so much more to go through. We have played Melbourne the past couple of times and struggled to put a score on the board ... I feel we are scoring better this year than we have in the previous couple of years. This is a good opportunity to test that right out."
THE BENCH v BOX: "We read too much (into the move to the ground-level bench during the six-game winning streak). Do you think it has played that big a factor in anything? All I know is it brings us together and helps us work through some problems together ... as it does when I am in the box. I have great support in the box. It is a question of what is best for us - and at the moment we are following a model that seems to be working for us. We are sticking to task on that. Player feedback, coaches feedback and performance feedback we are happy to continue that way."
MILES BERGMAN rewarded with the prison bars jumper at training: "Miles has had a great patch of football. This is recognition of a team player. The team acknowledges he plays in a way that is important to us. He has done that more often than not this year. He has been unlucky not to have that jumper on earlier."
