PORT ADELAIDE will be a far better defensive team this season as it attempts to regain a place in the top eight, says captain Domenic Cassisi.

2011 Preseason Coverage

While much talk during the pre-season has centred on James Hird's new defence-minded Essendon, Cassisi said the Power are another side whose summer focus has been on restricting the opposition.

"Things have changed a fair bit at the club," Cassisi said at Etihad Stadium on Thursday. "We've worked pretty hard on the defensive side of our game, as has every other team in the comp.

"We've always been a team that's good when we've got the ball in our hands, but I think we'll see a vast improvement when we haven't got it in our hands [through] causing the opposition to turn over the ball."

With that in mind, Cassisi is confident the team can return to September action after finishing tenth with ten wins in 2010.

"We definitely want to make the finals," he said.

"The last seven weeks of last year, we were five (wins) and two (losses), so we made some good inroads, and I’m confident that we'll win two or three games more than we did last year, which will get us in the finals."

Cassisi endorsed teammate Kane Cornes' prediction on Tuesday that second year player Jasper Pittard, draftee Cameron O'Shea and rookie Jarrad Irons are all set for early season debuts.

"[Pittard] is definitely pushing for a spot," Cassisi said.

"He's had a terrific summer. He's been a massive improver at the club, which is good to see.

"Cam O'Shea hasn't put a foot wrong, and Jarrad Irons has come over from Perth as a rookie, and he's trained well, played well, and definitely put his hat in the ring for selection."

The Port skipper also identified young stars Robbie Gray and Hamish Hartlett as key players this year after both completed their best pre-seasons to date.
 
The Power take on reigning premier Collingwood at Etihad Stadium in round one, a match Cassisi said would be a good test of how well the team is travelling.

"Everyone's had a reasonable pre-season," he said. "So every indication is that we're fit, and we now just need to execute our plans well come game day.

"We've had a pretty good NAB Cup, we're happy with some of our results, and there's no bigger challenge than Collingwood in round one."

Domenic Cassisi is a $371,100 midfielder in the Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.