PORT ADELAIDE has lost four of its last five games by an average margin of just 10 points, and it faces a tough challenge against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday to keep its season alive.
The Power has had the better of Collingwood recently, winning its past four matches and six of the last seven.
The last time the Magpies beat Port Adelaide was in Round 19, 2014.
The sides have met 29 times and Port Adelaide holds the narrow overall advantage, having won 15 of those meetings.
While big man Charlie Dixon will be missing through injury, last time they met, it was the Power's small men who did the damage, with Travis Boak, Robbie Gray, Sam Gray, Jake Neade and Jarman Impey combining for eight goals between them.
Port has won four of its past five games at the MCG, while Collingwood has won seven of its 13 games on the hallowed turf this year.
When they’ve played each other at the venue, Port Adelaide has won six out of ten meetings including three of the last four.
Another win for the Magpies will represent the first time they've won 14 games in a home and away season since 2013.
Saturday’s game will be the 200th AFL game for Collingwood’s livewire forward Travis Varcoe.
The teams
Port Adelaide has made two changes to the side which lost to West Coast last Saturday, both of them forced.
A fractured leg will see forward Charlie Dixon miss the rest of the season while bone stress in the foot will sideline Tom Clurey.
Defenders Riley Bonner and Jack Hombsch return to the team with the untried Billy Frampton named among the emergencies with Jack Trengove, Lindsay Thomas, and Will Snelling.
Collingwood will take an unchanged line-up into its clash with the Power after a convincing 31-point win over Brisbane at Etihad Stadium on Round 21.
The last word
Ken Hinkley
"The players have gone about their week really positively, they've trained really well, they've been sharp through the week.
"There's no attitude around here that we're worrying about anything other than our opportunity, and our opportunity is to take Collingwood on at the 'G' and we look forward to doing that.
"We're like anyone that sits from about fourth through to 10th, we feel a slightly uncomfortable feeling about where we sit.
"We know we've got an opportunity to control our destiny, and we'll take that opportunity and do everything we can with it."
Nathan Buckley
"We don’t want to leave anything in the tank – you don’t want to be looking back saying ‘what if?’ so the challenge for us is to take that mentality into every week.
“We’re coming up a side that we know is fighting for their finals survival and we’re only one game ahead of them so in many ways we’re fighting for ours as well.
“We understand what the environment is going to be. It’s a great opportunity for us to be able to test our capacity to handle that expectation and the games that matter in a finals-like atmosphere against an
There’s plenty of evidence in their wins and what doesn’t work when they lose a game of footy but that’s the same for any side now.
“The side that Port Adelaide play, depending on Ryder’s fitness, Polec’s fitness, where Westhoff plays, whether their tall/small balance in the front half changes, it could be a very different Port Adelaide this week.
“So once again we’ll address the opposition, we’ll understand the opposition as best as we can and continue to focus on us, that’s 90% of what we do.”
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