RYAN Burton remembers the last time Yartapuulti played an AFL team with an interim coach - and the 86-point bite North Melbourne left at the Docklands very late in the 2019 season.

The oft-mentioned "curse" of the interim coach - and a team playing with a free spirit - is already on Yartapuulti's radar with senior coach Ken Hinkley noting the circumstances of Damien Hardwick's exit from Richmond are far from the usual.

So, Port Adelaide will return to the MCG - for the first time since the round two loss to Collingwood - with the expectation of finding a Richmond line-up playing to its true competitive spirit that delivered three AFL flags under Hardwick.

"Richmond ... a team like Richmond has been quite successful," Yartapuulti senior coach Ken Hinkley said at Alberton on Thursday. "This is quite different to some of the caretaker jobs that come up. They usually are with teams that have not been successful - that is not Richmond. So I imagine they will be pretty strong in their behaviours.

"Richmond is quite familiar ... and I imagine (without Hardwick) they will follow a pretty similar program and game style," Hinkley added. "There might be some tweaks (under the watch of interim coach Andrew McQuałter), but we have already spoken to the playing group. There will be some unknowns - and we will not know them until the game starts on Sunday afternoon.

"We have to be just ready to bring our best."

Yartapuulti used Friday's training session at Alberton Oval to clear up some questions - in particular with former captain Travis Boak - before submitting the game 22 to the AFL.

But from the four "ins" named on Thursday - Jase Burgoyne, Lachie Jones, Junior Rioli and the untried Hugh Jackson - Yartapuulti is not expected to put midfielder Jackson on an AFL team sheet for the first time.

So far, only Yartapuulti captain Tom Jonas is out of the line-up that beat Narrm on Friday, by suspension.

Hinkley sought to stay out of the rolling news cycle on AFL coaches in the week that rolled into a higher gear with Hardwick's resignation at Punt Road.

"Our position as a football club has been really strong and nothing has changed," Hinkley said. "Our team is focused on (playing to win) and will stay focused on that; we are not being distracted. 

"I have a sole focus on the performance of this team. We have said from the start of the year that we need to have a successful season. There are dangers in being distracted ... and we are not going to entertain (those distracting questions). That distraction is not going to happen."

Also from Hinkley's weekly media conference:

DIXON AND MARSHALL: Both key forwards miss again - Dixon by a leg muscle injury and Marshall by the concern with suffering two concussions within a month.

"Charlie is starting to get there; each week we are optimistic but it is dragging out," Hinkley said of the key forward who has missed the past two wins against North Melbourne and Melbourne. "He will build (his training) next week.

"Todd, we are being really cautious. We want him to come back and not have any other problems. The concussion is gone; it is more of a whiplash to his neck that is the issue we are sorting out. We are incredibly optimistic around next week ...

"We will treat each case on its merits."

CREATIVE ATTACK: No Dixon. No Marshall. No Mitch Georgiades for the rest of the season by a knee injury. But Yartapuulti still found a winning score against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Friday night. 

"We have to keep looking for the opportunities," Hinkley said of the challenge before those who make up the attack. "We have been doing that for three weeks now. Everyone looks at the two pieces missing - Dixon and Marshall. I have always been comfortable with the thought you don't lose everything. You lose a part but not everything.

"Ollie Lord is showing what he can do (from this opportunity). 

"We get Junior Rioli back this week. And we have been able to create in different ways a different way to win."

GAMEPLAN: "It is a testament to our footy club that we have stuck to task regardless of the distractions (of injury and suspensions)," Hinkley said. "We have stayed really focussed. We understand playing AFL seasons are tough - and you need to get through in different ways. We are finding a way.

"Right now we have a pretty clear understanding of how we play. If we stick to that regardless (of the team changes by injury) ... if we play a certain style, it is easy to come into the team and play that game."

RUCK: Scott Lycett's second game on return takes him from the double-barrel firing line of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy to the cannon front of Richmond premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis. 

"We are comfortable with the knowledge Scott has a lot of good football in front of him," Hinkley said. "He is more than capable. Nankervis is a bigger challenge (this week). He is a fantastic ruckman. It is a really, really big challenge for Scott - he needs to be at his best. We have had a good break (eight days) that gives Scott the best chance to be successful."

LEADERSHIP: Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines again takes the captaincy in the absence of Tom Jonas - amid the absence of questions on the depth of leadership in the Yartapuulti squad.

"We are really comfortable with the growth of our leadership group," Hinkley said. "Ollie Wines has great experience. Darcy Byrne-Jones has great experience. And there are emerging leaders. Ryan Burton. Dan Houston. And there are younger players coming through showing great leadership. 

"Leadership positions are not just one person. But one person holds the title. It is not a one-person title."

MCG: Yartapuulti has not won at the MCG since beating Collingwood by a point in round 10, 2021. Of the past four losses at the ground, three have been by 12 points or less; two by a goal or less.

"Round one, we had not beaten Brisbane ... ," Hinkley said.

IF HUGH IS CALLED: Who is Hugh Jackson, the 2021 draftee called at No. 55?

"Hugh plays footy really well," Hinkley said. "The way it should be played. He is aggressive, he hunts the ball ... and he is learning off some really good people. Credit to where it is due - he has embraced the opportunity to be part of a young, dynamic group."

On the significant question of the strain on AFL coaches - in particular assistant coaches - Hinkley described the need for the league to raise the "soft cap" on football, budget spending after the cuts during the COVID pandemic is "real, 100 per cent real".

"As coaches we are strong, really strong, on the need to lift the soft cap," Hinkley said. "It is the biggest part of the game that has been cut the most. It has not got back to anywhere where it should be. The stress on staff, not just coaches, is real - the AFL has to take notice. There is too much happening now to suggest this is not okay."

The match begins at 12.40pm SA time on Sunday.