EVERYONE has scribbled a "best 22" for Port Adelaide during the pre-season, but senior coach Ken Hinkley's view is from a wider lens.

In the lead-up to naming Port Adelaide's first line-up for the AFL premiership-season opener against North Melbourne at the Melbourne Docklands on Sunday, Hinkley emphasised the tougher demands on players this season will require him to manage a squad - not just a "best 22".

"We have a squad mentality here when it comes to who is going to play," Hinkley said at Alberton on Saturday. "Everyone who is in form and deserves to play, will play.

"No player has got any extra right or any extra opportunity not to play - they are all going to be available to play. 

"They are going to have to earn their spot. Play well enough to get picked."

The squad theme primes Port Adelaide for a long assault on the premiership in a season of smaller AFL lists, longer quarters (20 rather than 16 minutes from last season) and fewer interchanges (75 rather than 90).

Hinkley will name three players for their Port Adelaide AFL club debuts - forward Orazio Fantasia (from Essendon), defender Aliir Aliir (from Sydney) and the increasingly versatile Miles Bergman for his first AFL match.

Midfielder Willem Drew will play his 11th AFL game - and his first since Round 23, 2019.

Port Adelaide travelled to Melbourne on Saturday with a 24-man squad - the 23rd man substitute still to be decided.

The travel party did not include defenders Trent McKenzie and Hamish Hartlett, who continue to manage their comebacks from leg injuries. McKenzie played in the SANFL trial against Sturt at Alberton Oval on Friday night and Hartlett has returned to full training.

However, key forward Todd Marshall, who missed the pre-season closer against Adelaide at Noarlunga a fortnight ago, will resume in a new-look Port Adelaide attack.

Bergman was Port Adelaide's top pick in the 2019 AFL national draft (No.14) and then had his 2020 program derailed by COVID protocols denying him a team in the SANFL State league competition.

Hinkley echoed the long list of tributes to Bergman's work during the pre-season when the midfielder-forward has proven capable in defence.

"His pre-season has been faultless and he is ready to go," said Hinkley of the 19-year-old Bergman. "He has worked consistently from the moment he got here. We made some early decisions on Miles and looking at his skill set, we always saw there was a real potential he could play some wing, half-forward. But we also realised he had some weapons that we like with our half-backs. He can kick the ball well, compete in the air successfully and he has some real wheels. 

"We were optimistic he would start his career at half-back. It is good that he will start in the position we trained him for."

Drew was Port Adelaide's pick at No.33 of the 2016 AFL national draft - and this pre-season appears to have overcome a harsh injury curse to be primed to deliver on great optimism held at Alberton.

"As much as any other player on our list, I'm excited to see what Willem Drew can do in 2021," Hinkley said of the 22-year-old midfielder.

"We have always known since Willem got here that he is quite a talented player. We feel he has had a clear run at it at the moment - and we know what he can do."

Of the change to selection themes with the introductions 23rd man medical substitute, the squad-minded Hinkley says Port Adelaide "will pick 26 (for the match 22 with four emergencies) and one will be the sub".

"We will sort that out (Sunday morning)," Hinkley said.

Port Adelaide starts the new season with new respect after winning the 2020 minor premiership. But with the 2020 campaign falling short with a preliminary final loss to eventual AFL premier Richmond, ambition remains unfulfilled at Alberton.

"Credibility is not an issue for us," said Hinkley. "It is more about what we expect of ourselves. We expect to play consistent football, week in, week out.

"Last year, went someway to proving we are capable of that. But ultimately we did not get to where we wanted to go."

On the injury front, Hinkley reported newly drafted defender Lachie Jones noted hamstring soreness during the first half of the SANFL trial.