PORT ADELAIDE has been here before - and the lessons from vastly differing preliminary finals in 2020 and 2021 mean more than any note from the recent long winning run against Sydney.

Senior coach Ken Hinkley on Wednesday reflected on the home preliminary final losses to Richmond and the Western Bulldogs - one an epic contest and the other a wipe-out - with his notes to serve a vital purpose against Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.

"We know you have to play four full quarters in preliminary finals," Hinkley said at Alberton. "You just know preliminary finals - more often than not - are just real tight, tough games of football that go right to the wire."

The 2020 and 2021 preliminary finals also highlight a contrast in attitude - as noted with the vastly different tones to the Port Adelaide performances in this year's final series against Geelong and Hawthorn.

"What we have done well this year is move on to the next challenge - and stay in that next moment," Hinkley said. "For us, that is Friday night in Sydney. Don't look back too far - and don't look forward at all. We just stay in the moment knowing every moment you play AFL football - finals or not finals - you must bring the right intensity. Otherwise, you leave yourself open to some really bad performances.

"If you have your intensity at a really high level, you can get some great performances. For us, this is about consistency of behaviour.

"Right now, the top four will be separated by consistency. Our blokes understand what it is going to take."

And still there is the uncontrollable in a preliminary final.

"Sometimes it is about a little bit of luck," Hinkley said of the defining edge in a contest that matches the AFL's top-two teams from the home-and-away series. "Preliminary finals are down to small moments. And those moments become amplified win or lose. They become bigger moments. 

"We have been here four times in my time," added Hinkley recalling the three-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG in the 2014 preliminary finals. "We are desperate to get through this; we are desperate to get our opportunity.

"There is a lot on the line."

SELECTION: Hinkley is forced to make one change - losing key forward Todd Marshall (concussion) - from the semi-final line-up. The obvious recall to be made on Thursday evening is with key forward Charlie Dixon, who failed a fitness test before the warm-ups at Adelaide Oval on Friday.

"We are optimistic Charlie will be available to play," Hinkley said.

"And we are optimistic Ryan Burton (calf) will be available to play. Ryan's form the previous three weeks was - if he was not in our best two or three players, he was in our best four. If he is fit, he will be playing.

"We train in Sydney (on Thursday) and name the team after that," added Hinkley who will load the travel party with as many as 27 players. "There are a lot of things to tick off and get through before we can confirm ins or outs."

LINE-UP: Is it keep a winning formula - and just add Dixon in Marshall role? Or does the new opponent and different venue demand a rethink at selection?

"You try to improve your side," Hinkley said.

"Everyone gets better with time and experience. That is fact. I have always been told you are a better coach every game because you keep learning along the way."

FALL OUT: Hinkley has left the post-match events of the Friday night semi-final against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval behind him since the AFL closed its file with a $20,000 fine for "conduct unbecoming".

"It was all taken care of - everything - by Sunday night," Hinkley said. "We have moved on because we have a preliminary final to play. I have no more to add to it because I am not going to let any of that become an issue for us during our preparation for Sydney."

OPPO WATCH: Sydney has home-field advantage for the first time since early 2023 when Port Adelaide key defender Aliir Aliir saved the game against his former club. Overall, Port Adelaide has a 15-20 win-loss count against Sydney, 6-12 at the SCG.

Port Adelaide's recent 8-0 record against Sydney - including three wins at the SCG - has the rivals claiming the underdog status, despite the pundits and markets saying otherwise.

The most recent result - the 112-point win at Adelaide Oval on August 3 - is easy to dismiss because it was well outside the norm of Port Adelaide-Sydney contests.

"You have these runs," said Hinkley of the winning streak against Sydney. "It has absolutely nothing to do with what will happen on Friday night. The next game is a line-ball game - and you have to be ready.

"And we have a big challenge with the Sydney midfield. We respect them enormously. We have to bring our absolute best - or we will not be in the game."

VENUE: "All grounds have their unique challenges," said Hinkley. "And the SCG is certainly wider than Adelaide Oval. But if you don't bring a full commitment to contest and team defence against Sydney, they will just slide through you."

JASE BURGOYNE: Moved to half-back, Jase Burgoyne was the stand-out player of the semi-final. 

"He can play (in defence) and he is a really good player," Hinkley said. "It is such a special moment for a young player to emerge like that. In finals, you make your name. Jase, in a really strong team performance, stepped up and was significant."

TODD MARSHALL: Concussed - and placed into the league protocols - during the semi-final win against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval, Todd Marshall has again consulted specialists in Melbourne.

"Todd is being cared for very well," Hinkley said. "He is getting all the specialists' advice and information he needs. He is well today. We look after his health first and foremost. He is making good progress."

KANE FARRELL: Despite his best attempts to prove his fitness from a hamstring strain suffered in the home-and-away series closer with Fremantle in Perth, the long-kicking half-back remains on the recovery path.

"Kane is going through his normal rehab," Hinkley said. "He is pushing and he is pushing really hard. We will just let him go about his business and see where it ends."

This is the first final between Port Adelaide and Sydney since the 2003 qualifying final at Football Park. The winner advances to the grand final against either Brisbane or Geelong.