KEN HINKLEY avoids the parallel of battle in war and football. But as Port Adelaide pays tribute to the Anzac story by hosting North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon, there is a storyline that comes off the same page as Gallipoli.

From early defeat to Collingwood at the MCG in a season-opener that has new context with time, Port Adelaide is crafting the long game for victory.

"We are building our game," Hinkley said at Alberton on Wednesday. "We are building it back to something that represents who we are. We like our identity to look a certain way. 

"We have been doing this for three or four weeks. We have learned a lot - even in that loss to St Kilda - in the way we need to play. 

"And we have been quite different," adds Hinkley who watched his team achieve significant wins with differing readings on the contested-ball barometer against Hawthorn and Sydney in the past fortnight.

"We have won a bit differently ... and it is good growth for us to see we can do it differently. 

"We understand we are a bit different as a footy team with personnel and positional stuff that we are doing. We have been adventurous in what we have tried to chase and we are now starting to get back to  the identity we like."

LEDGER: Port Adelaide has the chance to put the win-loss count in the black at 4-3 by Saturday night.

"Our form in an up-and-down footy season which is so tight, 3-3 … I would rather it be 6-0 or 5–1 but the reality is it is 3-3 and I can’t change that,” Hinkley said. "We are happy with how we have grown through the start of the season. A bad loss to Collingwood in round one does not look as bad as it was portrayed at the time. 

"For 13 years we have tried to play an aggressive game of football. We are getting back to the identity we like as a footy club. We think we play footy that can be entertaining and pretty tough. But you have to do that every week. And 3-3 does not suggest we have done that every week.

“We think we play an aggressive, attacking style of football that results in being tough at the contest and hard to play against. When we are like that, we are a pretty good side.”

OLLIE WINES: Midfielder Ollie Wines has returned to his normal routine at Alberton after stepping out of the win against Sydney with a repeat of the heart problem he has endured in recent seasons.

"Ollie is fine," Hinkley said. "He has checked in with the medical team and specialists and Ollie will be okay to play this week.

"It is a managed situation that we know well - and we know how to manage it well. Ollie, more importantly, understands it really well. He self-diagnoses, he knows what is going on. What I am comfortable about is Ollie understands everything - and he is comfortable. He is more than okay to continue on and be playing the game."

THE FINISHES: Hinkley is not surprised that two proud teams such as Hawthorn and Sydney would make late charges on Port Adelaide in the past two games. The key to dealing with such moments is composure.

"We put margins in games and they chase your really hard; two high quality teams," Hinkley said. "We have been building from two-and-a-half quarters to three quarters; we have not absolutely played the perfect four quarters yet. 

"It is pretty hard to maintain that level, particularly against the quality we have played against. Let's not underestimate who we have played. 

"Expect (late charges from the opposition) - and keep your composure," adds Hinkley of the lesson from momentum swings. "In the Sydney game we lost a bit of composure when we were exiting their forward 50. We were trying really hard to slow them down and hold them up. We overdid that when we should have - when we had the ball - attacked the game the right way."

KANGA HOPS: North Melbourne - and premiership coach Alastair Clarkson - arrive at Adelaide Oval under scrutiny ... and Hinkley is expecting a reaction.

"No-one is as bad (as the commentary suggests)," Hinkley said. "We have forgotten how they have pushed good sides for large periods of games. When it gets hard, when people want to write you off there is a good way to return serve; get up and play your best footy. 

"I would expect an Alastair Clarkson-coached team to be full of fire and ready to go. We have to control the weapons they have around the ball. They have some powerful young midfielders and experienced ones, and reasonable balance in their team. 

"I know how I react when you get smashed from pillar to post. I know how our club reacts. Normally it is pretty positive."

ANZAC SPIRIT: Port Adelaide again honours the ANZACs and defence forces of today by hosting a tribute game at Adelaide Oval. The honour and responsibility is not lost on Hinkley and his charges.

"For those people who have served our country," Hinkley said, "we are forever grateful. We like to put on a good football exhibition that they can be proud of. We want them to watch understanding we are trying to represent them on this special day in this special round."

There also is the understanding that the comparison of battles in the military and football leave a large gap.

"We never make that comparison," Hinkley notes. "But we are proud as a club that we get to represent Anzac Day really well. We take that as a real honour. We have the names of the players who served on our jumper. We will hopefully represent them the right way."

BUTTERS EFFECT: Captain Connor Rozee will stay at half-back to maintain balance in the line-up with the understanding he could be called to any role forward and midfield if needed.

"We put him where we need him," Hinkley said.

Not in question is where Zak Butters will play - in the hottest spots of the contest of the midfield battles.

"It just shows what good players do when they come back," Hinkley said of Butters' influence since resuming from knee surgery. "The great players are great for a reason and Zak is really important back in our footy team."

DEPTH CHART: Key defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher will make his much-anticipated return from a serious back injury through SANFL ranks.

"He has had too long off; it is about 11 weeks since he was injured," Hinkley said. "It is good to get him back. He has been very important for us in his first 12 months (since moving from Essendon)."