PORT ADELAIDE could call on 35 of more players during the next five rounds of football to help navigate the condensed fixture, according to coach Ken Hinkley.

Port will play St Kilda on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval and then under the fixtures for Rounds 9 to 12, released on Tuesday night, will play four games in 15 days including one four-day break and two games in Brisbane.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 program, Hinkley said all clubs would be considering their draw and the health of their lists ahead of the clump of games.

“Is there a rotation of players? Is there one game where you just look after seven or eight players in one game and you try and break it up that way?” Hinkley mused.

“There’s a lot of challenges going on and I think we’ll respect the competition as best as we possibly can as coaches, we’ll pick our best teams as often as we can but there will be some constraints that are unusual and we’ll have to manage.

“Our first conversations will be when do we do this and how often do we need players to play.

“We’ll look at our list straight way and we feel like we’ve got 35+ players who are capable of helping us out over this next four-week block and we’re going to be leaning and calling on most of those players at the moment.”

Hinkley elaborated on whether clubs would think about resting groups of up to ten players in a single game.

“That’s the decision that some clubs will have to consider and we’re one of those clubs,” he said.

“But we’d like to represent the competition as best as we can and the fairest way we can do that but some of the unknowns are how many injuries you’ll get in those short turn arounds, what’s that going to mean to you and how many players are carrying soreness that they normally wouldn’t be able to carry into a game.

“There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to be behind the doors of the club that people won’t know and understand but they’re decisions we have to make for the outcome of the club first and the team second.”

After the Adelaide Oval game against the Saints on Saturday night, Port travels back to Brisbane to face Melbourne on Thursday 30 July, before returning to Adelaide for fixtures against the Western Bulldogs (Monday 3 August), and Richmond (Saturday 8 August) before wrapping up the fixture block with a Friday night (14 August) Gabba return to tackle Geelong.

Hinkley said his side had embraced an attitude of “anyone, anywhere, any time” with regards to the fixture.

“You’re just ready for whatever happens,” he explained.

“We were warned that there were still some more challenges to come this season and we’ve been able to embrace all those challenges thus far – I think that’s our attitude and I think it’s everyone’s attitude in the AFL.

“We’ll do what we need to do and be a part of what we need to be a part of to make sure that this season is played and is successful for the AFL, and there’ll be more challenges to come and we’ve just got to be ready for whatever they are.”