PORT ADELAIDE will approach Friday night’s pre-season hit out with Fremantle as a dress rehearsal for Round 1, putting out as close to its strongest line-up as possible, according to senior coach Ken Hinkley.

The Power will host the Dockers at Alberton Oval from 7:30pm ACDT as part of the 2024 AAMI Community Series.

Hinkley oversaw his side’s final training session on Thursday morning ahead of team selection.

Speaking at a press conference before training, he confirmed forward Todd Marshall and midfielder Willem Drew would come into the side, after missing last week’s match simulation with Adelaide.

He also confirmed Jackson Mead would hold his spot after an impressive season and discussed the four-game ban handed down to forward Sam Powell-Pepper this week.

Ken Hinkley on how the side will approach Friday night’s hit-out with Fremantle:

“We'll be as close as we can be for round one, which will include all the people that are available.  Todd (Marshall) and Drewy (Willem Drew) who didn't play last week, will play tomorrow night and then without going through every player, I think they were the two major changes that you'll see from last week. We’ll be as close to a dress rehearsal of an AFL game as we possibly can. And we will play 23-24 players maximum I'd say throughout the night, given no injuries because we'll always be mindful of if we lose a player or two.”

Ken Hinkley on the pre-season hit-outs so far:

“I think our first our first trial this year was better than it was last year. I think our summer has been pretty incident free. I think that always gives you a good opportunity to get the team as fit as you can, and all we can hope for at this stage of the year is to get the team as fit as you possibly can and you get to work on fine tuning and some small gains in our game that we're hoping to achieve. Our first glimpse against opposition, against quality opposition, was promising. We get another great opportunity tomorrow night against Fremantle who played pretty well last week.”

Ken Hinkley on his immediate reaction to Sam Powell-Pepper’s four game suspension for rough conduct:

“I think what's really clear is that we're all aware of the situation with concussion as much as we can possibly be aware now, and we knew, and we understood and Sam was the first one that when he made his own comments around the situation, he knew he had got it wrong. He owned that right from the start. I think what’s been really clear is that there's a level of responsibility, that's even stepped up again and the AFL made that clear this year already.

“It's really clear now that what was last year is different to what's going to be graded at this year. and we all accept that because we think it's better for the game. We understand that as we're not appealing it. We've made our decisions based on we can see why. And we don't want those instances in the game. Sam said that. We're very, very aware we'd much rather have Sam available, but (that’s the) consequences of the game we play.

“Unfortunately, in a contact sport, no one sets out to cause that damage. But the reality is someone's responsible for that. Sam plays an aggressive style of football, which he said himself. And Sam is really aware he knows he's got it wrong. And he understands you’ve got to pay the price.”

Ken Hinkley on whether four weeks is an appropriate penalty for Powell-Pepper:

“We all knew the consequences of concussion for a number of years now, not just this year. Our players are very, very cautious of that. And they're very aware of that. And sometimes, I think it was point nine of a second, you’ve got a decision to make. We can all get some things wrong even if we're aware, I know that I should brake and not hit a back of a car but sometimes some people hit the back of a car, it can happen.

“I think it's a precedent. There's a there's a there's a line in the sand again with this concussion situation. And I think the AFL made it really clear that if you create the incidence that we seen that there's a level of penalty that you're going to pay that's higher than it was in previous years.”

Ken Hinkley on how Powell-Pepper has reacted to his penalty:

“Sam is an absolute team player. There is no more devastated player than Sam himself, because he is part of that leadership group and he's a really important part of his team. We stand by Sam and we don't hang him out. We think Sam plays footy in the right way and he's absolutely a very valued member of our team. He knows that he would love to be out there to support the boys in the first four weeks of the year. He won't be so we move on.”

Ken Hinkley on the way new recruits Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Esava Ratugolea are developing an understanding with the rest of the backline:

“It’s growing. It'd be fair enough to say growing because there's two new parts to it, pretty significant parts to it with Zerk-Thatcher and Esava and then we are looking for that to continue to grow. And we know where that is today. It's not the finished product but we anticipate that it will make us stronger as the season goes. And the more time they spend together everyone tells you that you build some connection and that's what those boys down back are doing now. And that's what we're looking forward to seeing again tomorrow night.

Ken Hinkley on Jackson Mead’s strong pre-season:
“He’s done really well. He’s had a fantastic pre-season. To be fair to Jackson, he's prepared pretty well in these last couple of years to get an opportunity. It's a pretty strong midfield that he's trying to break into. But we understand that his best football is an inside mid and we need to give him those opportunities. We've tried to fit him in the team at different points in slightly different positions. It doesn't mean he can't play forward or play a little bit of wing or those other available options for him but the reality is we think his best football is as an inside mid.”