PORT Adelaide ruckman Dean Brogan will go it alone against Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands at Subiaco on Saturday afternoon, with prospective back-up ruckman Matthew Lobbe ruled out of the game with a hamstring strain.

The Power have preferred to use the more versatile Jackson Trengove as support for Brogan this season, but have called upon Lobbe for games against St Kilda and the Sydney Swans - teams with genuine or multiple hard-bodied ruckmen.

Lobbe’s untimely injury means coach Mark Williams will have little choice but to use Trengove up against the biggest and currently the best ruckman in the AFL, with forward Daniel Stewart also likely to spend more time in the middle of the ground.

Brogan, like Sandilands, started his AFL career on the rookie list and said he was impressed by the 211cm ruckman’s rise to stardom this season.

“Aaron is a phenomenal player and being a fellow ruckman I fully respect where he has come from and where he is now," Brogan said on Tuesday. "It’s going to be a big challenge for myself, but I love challenges.

"It’s going to be a big chance for me to get a scalp this week, but I’ve got a big job ahead of me.

“It’s not just me that’s got to do his job. I’m going to need help from Trengove and whoever else comes into the ruck. Aaron and I have had some good battles over the years, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Port Adelaide recruited Cameron Cloke to help fill the ruck void created by the retirement of club stalwart Brendon Lade at the end of last season, but the rookie has managed just one game this year.

Lobbe has showed significant improvement this season, as has first-year rookie Daniel Webb, but Brogan said he expected the club to look at drafting a mature-age ruckman in the upcoming draft period.

“Mature-age ruckmen are hard to find," Brogan said. "We’ll persist with playing Trengove and when Lobbes is fit hopefully he’ll see some more game time in the second half of the year, but I think it’s something that the club would be looking at for sure because I’m not getting any younger.

“In five or six weeks time the club will probably start looking at other options, but I’ve got full confidence in Trengove, Lobbe and Jarrad Redden coming through the ranks as well.”

Defender Troy Chaplin will return to the side to take on Freo, after missing the Power’s loss to North Melbourne for personal reasons.

Midfielder Steven Salopek (shoulder) should also be recalled, while Brett Ebert will need to pass a fitness test on his injured ankle.

Robbie Gray (hamstring), Hamish Hartlett (quad) and Jacob Surjan (ankle) have already been ruled out.

Incredibly, Port Adelaide has a better winning record at Subiaco Oval than home side Fremantle but Mark Harvey’s men have dropped just two games at the venue this season, to fellow top-four fancies St Kilda and Collingwood.

The Power are staring down the barrel of a record seven-game losing streak, but Brogan said his side would take heart from its good recent record in the west.

“We’ve been competitive in a lot of our games in the last six weeks we just haven’t finished off our good work…so we take a bit out of that," Brogan said.