PORT ADELAIDE will be hoping to consolidate its spot in the SANFL top five when it takes on North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies stunned the Roosters in Round 7 at Alberton Oval, but have now lost their last two games.
SANFL Coach Matthew Lokan said he and his side have had time to reflect this week.
“We've been really disappointed with the way that we've been playing over the last two rounds,” he said.
“You add to that a few changes both weeks, it's been hard for our guys to be able to review it and then move on.
“We spent some time reviewing this week what we need to do to play a bit better and if we can do that, we know we'll be really competitive against North.”
Port Adelaide will again be missing significant experience with captain Cam Sutcliffe ruled out and some others in doubt.
“Cam Sutcliffe has had surgery on his shoulder so he won't play, Jake Weidemann and Sean Samblich are also in doubt with injury,” he said.
“There's an opportunity for a few guys to come in and play their first games for the footy club.
“In one way, that's really exciting and in the other way we need to step up and cover the experience of the other guys.
“Tim Dickson and Bailey Nicholas look like they’ll come in for their first appearances for the club, which is terrific for them.”
It will also be a club debut for second-year AFL-listed defender Jake Pasini who has recovered from a shoulder reconstruction.
The Roosters have won two of their last three matches – their loss coming to the unbeaten Glenelg. The 2020 Grand Finalists are starting to build some form but Port has a good record over them winning five of the last six encounters and 10 of the last 13 since 2014.
Despite the experience out of the side, Lokan is looking to harvest some of the energy from the last win over North for Saturday’s game.
“It was a fantastic game that we played against them last time, it was probably our best win of the season,” he said.
“We're still inside the five and it's a really important game in the context of our season.
“We'll go out to Prospect Oval on Saturday afternoon with our competitive edge on and hopefully we can get the result we're after.”
The Magpies’ clash with North gets underway at 1.25pm at Prospect Oval.
