PORT ADELAIDE senior assistant coach Michael Voss is expecting a fiery Preliminary Final clash against Richmond on Friday night.

The Tigers have been described by some elements of the media as “unsociable”, owing to some very physical incidents they’ve been involved with in recent weeks.

Voss said his side would be prepared for a tough contest at Adelaide Oval, and would be ready to give as good as it gets.

“We would expect nothing else from Richmond,” he said at a press conference at Port’s main training session at Alberton Oval on Wednesday.

“They’re a seasoned group, they’ve been here before, they’ve got a style that they’ve committed to for the better part of four years that’s been really effective for them.

“We’ve evolved in that space and we’ve also become really reliable in that area and we expect that it’s going to be a fiery clash.

“The contest will be really strong but that’s what finals are all about. We’ll get our turn but we also know that we’re going to have to absorb it at times.”

The Tigers have played in three Prelims in the last three years and won two Premierships in that time.

That experience can be invaluable when it comes to big games like Friday night’s, but Voss said he had full confidence in his side to handle the moment.

“There’d be an argument that suggests we don’t have the experience for this type of game but when you stack it up against the body of work we’ve been able to get over the course of this year and the real belief we’ve got out of big moments and big momentum swings this year, there’s enough body of work for the guys to feel quite confident in those scenarios,” he explained.

“The sustainability of it is something we’ve really improved on, not just from contest to contest and week to week but there have been moments in games where we’ve lost ascendancy but we’ve been able to hold strong because we’ve been able to maintain some intensity on the ball even though we’re not getting our hands on it first.

“We’ve been in positions where we’ve lost territory on the field but we’ve hung on to defend.

“They’re the questions that get asked of you because you’re playing against the best teams and they’re going to have moments where they go on runs and how we deny and minimise in those times and then when we get our chance maximise at the other end when we get our turn will be really important.”

Voss won four Preliminary Finals during his playing career with Brisbane and was able to speak from experience about the occasion.

“They’re all difficult and they’re all different,” he said.

“They’re built up, you’ve got the best four teams that are playing, they’ve all been really refined and coached well, they execute extremely well so you have to take your chances.

“We’re expecting the game will go to the wire so it’s going to be about the team that makes the right decisions at the right time under a fair bit of duress and pressure and external influence that’s going on on the scoreboard and the like.

“The best way to get over those times, despite the expectations on outcomes you’re on the end of is to stay as present as you can.

“Stay in the moment, play the moment in each contest and that gets you through it a bit.”

Among the stars Port will need to counter Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin, who has become a dangerous finals player.

Voss said Port would not tag the dual Norm Smith Medallist and backed his midfielders and defenders to take turns on limiting his influence.

“We’ve been a team that has backed ourselves in but it doesn’t go unchecked,” he said.

“We’ve put a lot of homework into what the opposition do and the challenge is always the balance between going after what you want and backing in what your style is but also taking some things away from the opposition.

“When you’ve got a franchise player like Dusty is, all you can do is limit his impact, not eradicate it.

“What we’ve found is that our midfield, when they’ve taken their turns, they’ve got the job done. When he flips forward it hands over to the defenders and they get the job done as well.

“We make it a team approach on that. It’s worked but if we need to adjust during the game we will.”