ROBBIE GRAY is eyeing a Round 10 return against Hawthorn in Launceston, after the superstar forward ruled himself out of the clash with Gold Coast on Sunday.

Gray was hopeful of playing against the Suns - just three weeks after breaking his hand against North Melbourne - but after discussions with Port’s medical staff, it was decided that another week of conditioning was the best option.

“It’s not too bad but I won’t play this week,” Gray told SEN SA’s Breakfast program on Thursday morning.

“I’ll aim for next week against Hawthorn down in Tassie.

“I think when I first had it, it was going to be around a month - it will be three weeks this Sunday.

“I’ve never had a broken hand and you never really know how these things are going to pull up.

“I’ll have a little run around this morning and a little bit more touch, and get ready for next week hopefully.”

Defender Ryan Burton will be missing from the side that was defeated by Adelaide in last weekend’s Showdown, and Gray believes there could be a few changes for Sunday’s match with the Suns.

“I think Kenny will keep throwing it around because the guys down below at the Magpies have been in outstanding form,” he said.

“They didn’t have a game on the weekend but there are a number of guys that could come in and have been playing really strong footy.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few changes, and obviously we’ve lost the last couple of weeks.”

The 31-year-old said he has been really impressed with the way Gold Coast have been playing this year, despite the media commentary surrounding them before the season started.

“They’ve been super competitive,” Gray said.

“They should’ve won last week. I didn’t get to catch most of that game but I did catch the last minute or two, which was pretty entertaining.

“I think Dewy (Stuart Dew) has got them playing a really competitive brand.

“We know it’s going to be a tough battle - we are coming off two pretty disappointing performances ourselves - so we are going to have to be up for it and ready to go.”

Port hosts the Suns at Adelaide Oval on Sunday from 12.40pm with kids under the age of 15 in for free.