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PORT Adelaide is set to receive a huge boost ahead of Saturday's night Showdown against Adelaide, with the expected return of star midfielder Travis Boak.
Boak has missed the past four weeks after he underwent surgery to release a plantar fascia in his right foot.
But captain Dom Cassisi said the gun 23-year-old had trained well on Monday and was set to line up.
"He ran today and looked really good, so he'll be a big inclusion for us," Cassisi said.
"[He's] obviously a vital part of our midfield, but also with the leadership stuff as well.
"He's really excited about the game."
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While he will need to get through training unscathed this week, Boak's return would add a touch of class to the Power's midfield.
Cassisi said he too was confident of lining up against Adelaide, but conceded his injured hip needed to improve a lot.
"I still haven't run on it yet … I'll need to take a pretty big step forward to move towards full training and towards the end of the week," he said.
"I'm confident I'll get up, but there's a bit of water to go under the bridge yet."
While the inclusion of Boak and Cassisi would undoubtedly strengthen the Power's midfield, Cassisi insisted the quality of the side's ball movement had to increase if it was to challenge the Crows.
Noting the club's low inside 50 numbers once again, Cassisi also highlighted that poor entry into attack ensured the Power weren't making the most of their opportunities.
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The Power rank inside the top eight for clearances, but only 14th for inside 50s.
"Once again we only had the ball inside 50 probably 37 or 38 times [against Geelong on Sunday], which still isn't enough from our end," the skipper said.
"We're confident 'Butch' (John Butcher) and the other guys down there can step up and kick a winning score for us.
"All those guys can take marks one-on-one … [but] our delivery to our forwards … hasn't been that great for them."
Despite the loss to the Cats, a bost came in the form of ruckman Matthew Lobbe's return to senior football.
Lobbe missed most of the pre-season because of a hip injury that eventually required surgery to fix.
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But his 32 hit-outs and two goals against Geelong gave Cassisi hope.
"One thing you can't question about Lobbe is his work rate and the way he presents himself each week," Cassisi said.
"He's come from a long way back, he got injured at a pretty tough time just after Christmas … but he's been progressing every week, his competitiveness is perfect for a ruckman,
"He'll learn every week, he's going to be an important player for us in the long term."
Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry
