THE POWER are determined to inflict more pain on their struggling cross-town rivals in Showdown XXV on Sunday.

With Port Adelaide already out of finals contention, assistant coach Matthew Primus said the Power would look to exploit the vulnerable Crows, who will be without forward line stars Brett Burton and Jason Porplyzia.

Adelaide has lost four consecutive games coming in while Port has lost five in a row. But Primus said the Crows form wasn't all bad.

“If you look at the teams the Crows have lost to, they’ve played some pretty good teams," Primus said.

“In saying that, when you’re on a losing run there’s a bit of vulnerability there and we’re on one of those runs too, so we’ll be looking to exploit that.

“They’ll want to win and they’ll look at their draw, where we are on the ladder and probably think they can win it, but it would be nice to keep them on a losing run.”

Port Adelaide has won just two of the past nine Showdowns since Adelaide coach Neil Craig took the helm at West Lakes.

Primus conceded the Crows had been better prepared than his team in the past, but was confident that would all change on Sunday.

“There are little bits and pieces you can do in the coach’s box on match day, but it’s more the preparation for that week and the pre-season [that determines] how good your team is going,” Primus said.

“Their [Adelaide’s] preparation and ability to play their game style for four quarters has been better than ours for the last two or three years and, as you’ve heard, we’ll be trying to turn that around on Sunday.”

In round three, the Power trailed by four goals in the final term but clawed back to within a kick before a late free kick for a throw against Justin Westhoff halted their surge.

Port Adelaide has lost six games by 15-points or less this season and Primus said the Power would need to improve their skills and decision-making under pressure to reverse the trend in what’s traditionally a close game against the Crows.

“We’ve been very good at winning close games for many years and, this year, it hasn’t gone our way,” he said.

“All you can do is batter up again and hope you’re in the same position [to win]. With all the stuff we’ve learned, we hope can win the close ones.”