NEVER mess with a winning side unless you have to - and Port Adelaide will hold itself to one forced change by recalling defender Ryan Burton for the Thursday night classic with AFL premier Geelong at Adelaide Oval.

A week after being dropped to the SANFL, Burton will resume as the replacement for the injured Lachie Jones (jaw) to take on a key role in a defensive system that must contain the triple-threat posed by Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Tyson Stengle.

And that challenge is more imposing by the supply to come inside-50 by the impending refit of the Geelong midfield that will regain Brownlow Medallist and captain Patrick Dangerfield.

Port Adelaide's past three wins against Geelong at Adelaide Oval have been built on team defence that has remarkably contained the regular AFL pacesetter to 43 points in the 2021 qualifying final; 42 points in the 2020 qualifying final and 56 points in round 14, 2019.

The task of restricting a traditionally attacking team will go beyond Aliir Aliir and Trent McKenzie managing the match-ups with Hawkins and Cameron.

"Two all-time great forwards," Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley said of the Geelong key goalkickers. "They are probably the best one-two combination in the competition. It is a real challenge - for the collective (in defence). 

"(Aliir and McKenzie) will need team support. They are both experienced defenders. But it will be a collection of people in defence (doing the job). It won't be one defender on one forward the whole way; it will be different.

"It will be the collection of our defence against their offence which is incredibly strong."

Just one change at selection on Wednesday evening will mark another AFL game without captain Tom Jonas - and the third consecutive match for first-round draftee Josh Sinn.

"It is like-for-like in many ways (with Burton replacing Jones)," Hinkley said.

"Ryan is ready to play. He played just over a half (in the SANFL) because we knew we were playing Thursday night, so we managed that well. He found a bit of the football and played the way we like him to play. So we are comfortable with (selection).

"With every young player you are trying to develop (such as Sinn) you try to give them as much time as you can to help get them through to the next stage of their career. We have great examples of why it is worthwhile hanging in there. Josh will learn a lot from last week (in the win against the Western Bulldogs)."

Jonas is to miss his third consecutive AFL game.

"Tom knows exactly where he is at and exactly what the team is doing," Hinkley said. "He is quite proud of the team. 

"Tom played really, really well in the SANFL. He was our best player (in the win against Central District). But the AFL team is playing really well with the balance that we have. That has been important for us."

OPPO WATCH: Geelong entered the bye with a 6-6 win-loss record after a 22-point victory against the Western Bulldogs snapped a three-game winning streak.

"We are coming up against the reigning champs who have their best team back together," Hinkley said. "It is going to be a real challenge.

"I always expect Geelong at their best. It is a great footy club. What they did last year was amazing. I am under no illusion as to what is coming and what is hitting Adelaide Oval (on Thursday night). 

"They are at the stage of their season where they are starting to get some momentum. They are to bring in three high-quality players - at least three - fresh; it is going to be a challenge.

"It looks like they will have their best seven or eight forwards available for the first time this year."

FIXTURE: Port Adelaide again has to work to a six-day break. Geelong is coming off the bye with a 12-day rest.

"It does not worry me," Hinkley said. "I have no issue with it at all other than you know the draw and you need to get on with it. The fixture is difficult to put in place. We have to take up whatever that challenge looks like. We are okay.

"We have managed our squad through the past two-three weeks based on having three six-day breaks in a row. That has led to a consistent look to our week. We are playing like we are getting it right most of the time."

LYCETT: Port Adelaide lead ruckman Scott Lycett has found form - and fitness - since returning from his time in the SANFL.

"I am really happy - and proud - for him," Hinkley said. "He has had his chalłenges this year. He has had to get himself a bit sharper and he is competitive ... you know he is going to hang in there. That is what he has brought to work in the past month. We need him to do it for a fair bit longer.

"Scott just needed a bit of form. When we made the decision to leave him out of the team it was to purely let him enjoy having a game of footy again. At this AFL level these guys are under enormous pressure every week wanting to play well every week. When it gets to a point that it is a run of poor form, sometimes it is best to break the pressure (with a stint in the SANFL)."

THE STREAK: With a club record run of 10 AFL wins, the eagerness to get even better is not dulled by repetitive wins.

"It is pretty clear they are enjoying what they are doing at the moment," Hinkley said. "And we have a lot that we need to continue to work on. That is what I like the most - we have a lot of young people who are learning more about their game and they are working hard to improve their game.

"They are really good at re-setting (for the next challenge)."

GROWTH: "The cohesion can continue to grow," says Hinkley of the improvement that is ahead of his group. "Their is a different feel around our midfield and they are still learning what they do. And we have quite a different feel about our back half. So, there are lots of things that can still get better. I hope."

SPARKLE: Mid-season rookie draftee Quinton Narkle has his name considered at selection. "He was really close, particularly because it is his old team at Geelong," Hinkley said. "You can understand why we would consider that. He is desperate for his second chance. But he has a lot to learn about the way we play.

"But if he plays like he did last week, he will be hard to keep out."

INJURY UPDATE: Xavier Duursma (knee) - "After the bye," Hinkley said. "I would be surprised if he is not playing some football the week after the bye."

Orazio Fantasia - "He was really good (in the SANFL), but again it is a start," Hinkley said. "We want to see a consistent performance and he showed last week he still has an incredible amount of AFL in him."

Port Adelaide gets its bye after this match that will begin at 7.10pm with a national free-to-air television audience on Channel Seven and coverage on Fox Footy.