JAKE NEADE, Andrew Moore and Paul Stewart will play against Melbourne on Saturday afternoon after being named in Port Adelaide's AFL Indigenous Round team.

It will be the first game for Neade and Moore this season after weeks of good form for the Magpies in the SANFL, while Stewart will play his second match following his late call up for the Power's recent win over GWS.

They replace the suspended Hamish Hartlett and injury-hampered Angus Monfries and Dom Cassisi.

Match preview

Senior coach Ken Hinkley praised the three inclusions for their sustained good form in the state league, saying they will be expect to perform to the team's structures at AFL level.

"We're in a lucky position that our Magpies boys have been in real good form," Hinkley told portadelaidefc.com.au.

"The key thing is that they're going to come into the AFL side really prepared to play the style of footy we want, because we've been duplicating it at SANFL level under Garry Hocking.

"It gives them the best chance to make the most of their opportunity."

Hinkley was disappointed with injuries forcing out two key players in Monfries and Cassisi.

Monfries was unable to fully recover from the rolled ankle sustained in the Power's 14-point win over Hawthorn last weekend, while Cassisi suffered from minor knee soreness during the week.

"Unfortunately Angus rolled that ankle, and it's not a severe thing, but we need to make sure we take care of it and make sure it doesn't drag on.

Port Adelaide's indigenous players

"Dom's just at that stage of that career where he'll have a bit of wear and tear - he's just going to have these things happen through the latter stages of his time in the AFL.

"His body's been banged up a bit and sometimes you've just got to give bodies like his a bit of care and the best chance to perform."

The decision to keep the pair out of action this weekend to ensure a proper recovery from their minor injuries is a simple case of avoiding risk of more serious injury - something Hinkley and high performance manager Darren Burgess have ensured all season.

"At AFL level, if you're a little bit off, it becomes hard to perform at your best," Hinkley said.

"We've said before that we don't want to take any risks."

And the loss of Hartlett through suspension after being reported for striking the Hawks' Brad Hill last Saturday is something Hinkley says can't happen again, lest the Power lose more key players unnecessarily.

"It was a really disappointing thing to have Hamish out through suspension and we had a honest conversation that it's not something we want to do, and not something we can afford to do," Hinkley said.

"We expect our players to play tough and hard football, not anything outside the rules that's going to get them in trouble.

"Hamish gets what he gets, and our job is to make sure he understands that it's something Port Adelaide doesn't do."

Review their form: Peter Jackson SANFL Report

The Melbourne challenge is a significant one for the Power and while playing at a familiar ground will be of some benefit, Port Adelaide will be fully prepared for the task of playing one of the fast improvers of the competition.

"We had the opportunity to play up there last pre-season, so we're familiar with where we're going and what things are going to be like.

"We're also very, very conscious that we're playing a strong defensive team which is in good form at the moment.

"It's a team coached by Paul Roos and you can just see the confidence the team is feeling and growing with each week, so we need to do our best to make sure we go into this game fully ready for the task at hand."

Port Adelaide plays Melbourne in AFL Indigenous Round at 1:10pm on Saturday 31 March.

Port Adelaide Round 11 team v Melbourne
FB: Jack Hombsch, Alipate Carlile, Jarman Impey
HB: Matthew Broadbent, Jackson Trengove, Jasper Pittard
C: Jared Polec, Travis Boak, Kane Cornes
HF: Andrew Moore, Justin Westhoff, Matt White
FF: Robbie Gray, Jay Schulz, Chad Wingard
Foll: Matthew Lobbe, Ollie Wines, Brad Ebert
Interchange: Paul Stewart, Jake Neade, Kane Mitchell, Aaron Young
Emergencies: Ben Newton, Karl Amon, Sam Gray

In: Neade, Stewart, Moore
Out: Hartlett (suspension), Monfries (ankle), Cassisi (knee soreness)

Milestones: Robbie Gray - 100 AFL Games