THIS is the first time Port Adelaide faces a rival ranked higher on the AFL premiership table since ... August 3, 2019 (11th v seventh-placed Essendon in Melbourne; Port Adelaide won).

This time the match-up is top-notch - second-ranked Western Bulldogs (7-1) and third-placed Port Adelaide (6-2) at Adelaide Oval. And there seems more on the line in the credibility stakes.

Port Adelaide can be the "hunter" again, working against a pack of highly regarded 'Dogs who are increasingly admired for the deep-running options coach Luke Beveridge has for his critical midfield rotations.

While every week seems to be a measure of a team's standing in the marathon to the AFL premiership, there will be more than the usual read of the litmus paper after this Saturday night blockbuster. 

But Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley is cautious in putting too much weight on Saturday night's result when assessing the power rankings for this year's premiership race.

"It will say something; I'm not sure how much it will say," Hinkley said of the game he is eager to watch for its high-level action more so than focus on the result. "It is round 9 - and we make all these bold predictions and statements after every round. 

"Someone is going to win. Hopefully, that is us. If it is the Bulldogs, it will say we have to improve ... and we know when there is the next opportunity, the sides will be totally different. We do get that opportunity later in the year (in the last home-and-away round at the Docklands in Melbourne).

"It is just too early to make any big predictions around anyone in the competition."

But everyone is looking for pointers - and this game has the primetime tag for sorting the contenders from the pretenders. 

Showdown XLIX - won by Port Adelaide by 49 points - was very much decided by Port Adelaide's depth in the midfield and its superior game style. In the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide faces a midfield with significant depth, an elite leader in Marcus Bontempelli and a rival that - like Port Adelaide - has made the most of recent rule changes to maximum scoring avenues in space.

"Both sides like to create with the ball," Hinkley said. "And we like to be quite quick with the ball. Their ability to get the ball from inside to out is elite; ours also is pretty good. So it will be a cracking game ... two sides that have some wheels and have some talent and are desperate to do well against each other."

The end product of playing attacking-minded football is the Western Bulldogs having the league's top-ranked attack (with the 128-point win against last-ranked North Melbourne inflating the numbers). On removing the clubs' results against North Melbourne, Port Adelaide averages 84 points this season; the Western Bulldogs average 89.

Port Adelaide's midfield will work to a new lead ruckman with Peter Ladhams recalled after a month in the SANFL to cover the loss of Scott Lycett (four-match ban from AFL tribunal). Ladhams' strong reputation for fighting for the ball at ground level will be critical in dealing with a highly-rated Western Bulldogs midfield - a midfield Hinkley acknowledges runs "very deep".

"We are really comfortable and confident that our best is as good as they have," Hinkley said of the midfield match-ups. "We have some great quality ourselves. If we talk names for name, we have Travis Boak, Ollie Wines, Robbie Gray, Connor Rozee. We have plenty of players who can go through the midfield. Add Willem Drew.

"The Bulldogs would be looking at our midfield and having as many concerns as we have about theirs."

This is the third time Port Adelaide is facing a 2020 top-eight finalist that is expected to be a major round rival in September. So far, it is hefty losses to West Coast in Perth and Brisbane at the Gabba ... and much on the line against the Western Bulldogs at home on Saturday night.

Port Adelaide hunting an eager pack of hard-running 'Dogs in a Saturday night clash that is too hard to ignore as a guide to September ... even in mid-May.

BIRD SEED

(the little stuff that counts most)

Where: Adelaide Oval

When: Saturday, May 15, 2021

Time: 7.10pm (SA time)

Last time: Port Adelaide 8.7 (55) d Western Bulldogs 5.12 (42) at Adelaide Oval, round 10, Monday, August 3 last year 

Overall: Port Adelaide 17, Western Bulldogs 14

Past five games (most recent first): W L W W W

Scoring average: Port Adelaide 96, Western Bulldogs 95

Tightest margin - Port Adelaide by 12 points (94-82) at Princes Park, round 12, June 14, 1997; Western Bulldogs by three points (100-97) at Adelaide Oval, round 12, June 11, 2016.

Biggest margin - Port Adelaide by 86 points (147-61) at Marrara Oval, Darwin round 20, August 14, 2004; Western Bulldogs by 93 points (137-44) at Marrara Oval, round 12, June 13, 2009.

By venues - Adelaide Oval (4-2), Football Park (6-3), Princes Park (1-1), Dockands (2-4), Eureka Stadium, Ballarat (2-0), Marrara Oval (2-4).

By States and Territories - South Australia (10-5), Victoria (5-5), Northern Territory (2-4).