TO be the best, you have to beat the best. And Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley has no doubt that measuring stick is before his team at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
AFL leader Collingwood is the league’s best of 18 - it is telling everyone so.
"Collingwood is very clear on its description of itself,” said Hinkley at the Oval on the eve of the rematch after the 71-point loss to the pacesetter at the MCG on March 25.
"We are playing the best team in the competition ... by their admission. They are the best team in the competition. They have said that themselves - publicly.
"And they rightly own that description.
"It is a great game - 1 v 2. And a worthy 1 v 2. We look forward to the challenge.
"We have to keep winning to get the highest position we can get (leading into September's top-eight finals). But the result won't have a major bearing on either side should we come up against each other (in finals).
"Our players will rise to the opportunity before them. They are playing in a big game - 1 v 2. We look forward to that."
Port Adelaide takes to the top-of-the-table clash with clear notes on how it must correct its game after moving away from so many trademarks - in particular “pressure football” - against Carlton last Saturday.
"Last week," said Hinkley of the 50-point loss to Carlton at the Docklands, "we did not stand up for the first time in 14 weeks. That is fact. At this stage, it is fair to judge it as an anomaly.”
Port Adelaide enters the Saturday night blockbuster with significant changes to its line-up - but not doubt on the fitness of key players, in particular young midfielders Zak Butters (hip) and Jason Horne-Francis (back).
So certain of his 23 for the match, Hinkley named defender Dylan Williams as the tactical substitute - and declared he is "a lot unlucky" to have fallen out of the 22.
"There is no risk; we would not pick them if there was any risk," Hinkley said. "We have been clear all year - if people are unavailable, they are unavailable.
"We are certainly happy to have all them (Horne-Francis, forwards Charlie Dixon and Willie Rioli and defender Trent McKenzie) back.
"Zak Butters has basically sprained his hip more than anything else. It is not a (groin) injury as we thought after the game (against Carlton). We are really optimistic around Zak being at his best."
McKenzie's return, after recovering from an ankle sprain, has put captain Tom Jonas on the sidelines again.
"We are in a really healthy position with our medium-tall backs," Hinkley said. "Tom was aware of what would happen if Trent was available. He took it the way you would expect Tom to take it. He needs to continue to play well in the SANFL so that he keeps himself available ... we would still pick him if there is a need.
"Those in front of Tom have surprised with their development this year and have held him out of the team. Lachie Jones is an emerging young player. Miles Bergman. Tom is not dissimilar to them in size, we just ask him to play taller. Those boys have improved their game to a level that is significant and they deserve to play AFL."
Hinkley also addressed:
FALL-OUT from the Carlton loss: "We are very clear on how we play our best. We know exactly what that is. We reflected on that on Tuesday. We looked at the things that made us play best. We are very hopeful (we have dealt with getting back to those strengths). We have been on a really big run of wins (13 in a row) and at some point - rightly or wrongly - we have had a drop off way below the level we expect and want. Our job is to rectify that this week."
NICK DAICOS after the failed tag in round two: "He is a quality player everyone has tried to handle in different ways. But let's not get confused with Nick Daicos. They have two generational players in father-son picks (Nick and Josh Daicos), that is a gift. They are maximising that gift. Our challenge is to limit what they get.
"There are individual challenges. But it is the challenge from the collective that will decide the outcome.
"The collective at Collingwood is more important than one or two individuals. We are playing the best team in the competition ... by their admission. They are the best team in the competition. They have said that themselves - publicly. July is a good time to be ranked No.1."
HEAT in the middle: "We are a very good clearance side ourselves. There are strengths on both teams. Be it clearance, transition, defence ... it will all play a part in a good, exciting game."
TRIPLE TREAT in the fixture with the Collingwood game followed by the Showdown and a trip to Kardinia Park to play AFL premier Geelong: "We have Collingwood twice, Geelong twice, two Showdowns ... and we have had Essendon twice and the Western Bulldogs twice. The quality of the competition is so high - and we still have 14 teams trying to play finals. They are all dangerous teams when they are trying to play finals."
The match begins at 7.10pm. General public tickets are officially exhausted, but fans without a ticket can still access the highly anticipated game by purchasing a Port Adelaide 3-game membership for just $100.
