CONNOR Rozee will play in Showdown LV, his first as Port Adelaide captain.

Having passed every medical and fitness test on the hamstring concern that followed Rozee out of last Friday's home win against St Kilda, Rozee has declared himself primed to play the first Thursday night derby.

"Connor - and our medical team," says Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley were the convincing factors in deciding Rozee would be part of the critical midfield battle at Adelaide Oval.

"And when you see Connor running as he did (on Tuesday), it is hard not to pick him."

Hinkley insists Port Adelaide has not - out of the high stakes that come with the derby - shifted from its policy of protecting players from unnecessary risks with injury.

"We have done all the required tests ... and we don't take risks. We would not take an unnecessary risk," Hinkley said.

"Yes, there always is a risk to any hamstring injury. Those with the doomsday view that we are taking a big risk, no we are not ... we are taking a normal risk with an injury like this.

"We have been here before (on a quick recovery from hamstring issues) with Travis Boak. It is not the first time we have made a quick turnaround from a soft-tissue injury."

THE ROZEE FACTOR

IN just his eighth game as club captain, Connor Rozee will lead Port Adelaide as it seeks to regain the lead in the Showdown ledger at 28-27.

"The confidence you get from Connor is from his composure," Hinkley said. "He does not approach any week any differently. He prepares like an absolute professional. He performs like that more often than not. 

"As a first-time captain it is hard to knock what he has done so far. He turns up to do his job more often than not."

JIGSAW PIECES

NOW it is two forced changes rather than three - and any tactical adjustments to deal with the neighbourhood rival that has won the past two Showdowns.

Forward-ruckman Jeremy Finlayson is available for selection after serving his three-game ban, but Hinkley stopped short of confirming his return to the final AFL 23.

In the absence of aggressive forward Sam Powell-Pepper, who has had his season end with a knee injury, it leaves the question - to be settled with the team announcement on Wednesday evening - as to which Port Adelaide player is charged with the task of being a defensive forward setting up turnover opportunities inside-50, a task taken on by Jed McEntee recently. It could again fall to Travis Boak.

And who moves into defence to cover the loss of key defender Aliir Aliir? Does Miles Bergman remain in defence after covering the gap left by Aliir during the St Kilda game ... or is there a recall of Ryan Burton or even Tom Clurey who has not played at AFL level since round three last season?

"We have great options," Hinkley said. "We will figure out what the best balance is for us.

"Miles (as a wingman or defender) gives you great flexibility. We are very lucky with Miles in that we know we can get a really good performance in a number of spots.

"The bigger injury for us is the loss of Powell-Pepper. How do we replace someone like Sam in the role that he plays? We are not going to replace Sam; that is impossible."

AT THE BACK

EVERY match-up in a Showdown battle becomes decisive. This derby again presents the need to deal with the small forward threat that has been a repeat threat from the neighbourhood rival.

"But we can't take chances with their whole team; we have to be on to get the result we need," Hinkley said. "If someone gets hold of us - whether they are big or small - that will be a bad result for us.

"It is not a threat from the smalls or from the talls (that is more challenging in deciding match-ups). I am loathed to run the risk that it is one or the other because something will get you in a different way."

NEW BOYS

JORDON Sweet will go from barracking for Port Adelaide in derbies to leading the club's ruck in his first Showdown as a player.

And there will be two key players in defence - Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Esava Ratagolea - experiencing their first derbies.

"One of the reasons Jordon came back to South Australia was to be involved in one of these games," Hinkley said. "Jordon is now in his third game in a row getting some consistency ... and he is coming up against a good ruckman (Reilly O'Brien) who has always caused us some problems.

"Brandon (from Essendon) and Esava (from Geelong) have come from clubs that have had massive rivalries, so they have experienced games like this. We say Showdowns are different ... and it will be different for them, but I am sure they are ready after playing in big games at Geelong and Essendon."

FORM GUIDE

SINCE the first Showdown in 1997, the derby has lived to the script that form and the premiership table - let alone pre-game favouritism - is irrelevant.

"It is accurate to say form does not matter too much," said Hinkley of a derby that works to every exception to every rule. "These games are typically great games, close games among two competitive teams that want to win at all costs.

"It means you have to turn up and have every bit of your game spot on for this game. Take nothing for granted in a Showdown; you have to turn up and be at your absolute best to give yourself a chance to win the game."

At 5-2, Hinkley describes Port Adelaide as "reasonably happy with where we are, knowing we still have to improve a fair bit."

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE has scored 96.95 this season with scoreboard pressure sometimes denied by inaccuracy. 

"We are doing a lot of work on it," Hinkley says of the chase for greater accuracy on the scoreboard. "We are among the top-five highest scoring teams in the competition. Every team at some point will miss goals or not kick as accurately as you want. 

"We did that last week at the start of the game. More important was that we started pretty powerfully. But we do put a lot of work into it."