The first rule of going to the Northern Territory?

Don't talk about the heat.

Port Adelaide's performance nutrition and assistant strength coach Andrew Rondinelli says the perfect preparation for this weekend's game took place in the gruelling temperatures of the pre-season.

The weather in Darwin this weekend has been hot and dry - not unlike a typical Adelaide summer - and the playing group's familiarity with those conditions is one advantage the Power has heading into Saturday night's game.

Bid on your own match-worn NT guernsey

Rondinelli also says a change in strategy to prepare for the Round 10 match against the Western Bulldogs has been to downplay the impact of the heat to the players.

The rationale simply being if the players aren't thinking about the heat, it's less likely to impact their game.

The heat, he says, is all mental.

"You don't want to make too much of an issue out of the heat up here," Rondinelli told portadelaidefc.com.au.

"Our performance strategy has simply been to get their core temperature down, having 'slushies' pre-game, some pre-cooling work and some ice baths before the game.

"The rest of the routine is pretty much the same as it would be for a Saturday night game at AAMI Stadium."

In previous seasons Port Adelaide has used cooling chambers before travelling to Darwin to prepare the players.

Rondinelli says the fitness department made the decision to steer away from them this year to keep the group focussed on the task at hand, rather than the conditions they might experience.

Buy your own NT guernsey through the Power Megastore

"The more the players think about how they are playing in the heat, the more it becomes an issue," explains Rondinelli.

"You want to treat it as normal as possible with a few small changes.

"We'll still use 'cool rooms' for the breaks and pre-game, but at the same time we're not going to be talking to them about the conditions at all."

Port Adelaide played two games in similar conditions during the NAB Cup - in Renmark during the day and Alice Springs at night.

Rondinelli says the conditions will be similar to those experienced in Alice Springs, except the intensity will be much higher.

"The intensity of the game goes up from NAB Cup to in-season, but given this is a night game it will probably be a bit cooler than it was in Renmark," he said.

"It should be about 24 degrees tonight which will put less strain on the players bodies.

"Conditions-wise it will be a bit like the game we played in Alice Springs - just for premiership points!"

portadelaidefc.com.au will have quarterly scores and stats updates from TIO Stadium tonight. You can also follow the match with us live on Twitter using the #pafclive hashtag.