PORT ADELAIDE is in line to complete four wins in one AFL season against Adelaide - and possibly load up on percentage in Showdown L to tighten its grip of a top-four ranking.

But for coach Ken Hinkley there needs to be only one agenda item for his players at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night: Just win.

"The players do talk about wanting to beat the Crows," Hinkley said at Alberton on Friday when the captain's run completed the training program. "It is natural - we want to beat the Crows every year, every game we play them in. And I am sure they feel the same about us."

After two convincing summer Showdowns wins in the pre-season and a 49-point victory in the 49th premiership-season derby on May 8, Port Adelaide is looking at putting the Showdown ledger at 26-24 in its favour with a fourth consecutive derby triumph.

In the bigger picture, Port Adelaide would advance to a 15-5 win-loss record - and could enhance its percentage lead on fifth-ranked Sydney (currently 121.8 to 118).

"We are thinking about the game we need to play every week," Hinkley said of his team's focus in Showdown L.

"This week it is a Showdown. We know how hard it is going to be if we don't play well. The scoreboard will take care of itself. And the end we will have a look and see what it says." 

Port Adelaide is the hottest favourite to win a Showdown since the derbies began in 1997 - with Port Adelaide defying the odds with an upset win at Football Park.

"I have coached a lot of Showdowns, I know the bookmakers get it wrong a lot of times," Hinkley said. "They don't quite understand the Showdown. 

"I can understand they are looking at form (with Port Adelaide ranked fourth and Adelaide in 16th position). But Showdowns are really tough games - and we will need to be at our absolute best."

And Port Adelaide, from its own experiences a decade ago, knows Showdowns can bring the best out of a team that has been engulfed in crisis in the lead-up to the derby as is the case with Adelaide today.

"We all understand what some of these moments can do for a team," Hinkley said. "It can galvanise you. It can pull you together. 

"When you haven't got too much going on that can make you feel comfortable, you can still play football together - so we need to be ready for their absolute best."

Port Adelaide regains derby specialist Robbie Gray, a five-time Showdown Medallist, after a reassuring week on the training track where he has proven his recovery from knee surgery.

"Getting Robbie back is exciting," Hinkley said. "It is part of what has been happening for us over the past two or three weeks - we are starting to get a number of our small forwards back in the team. Robbie is another one of them and he will certainly help us.

"Robbie is fine, he is ready to go. 

"We have had a pretty solid road map to get to this point since surgery (after being injured against Gold Coast in his 250th AFL match on June 19). We always thought we would have him back for this round. Everything has progressed the way we hoped it would."

Gray's return forces another restructure of the Port Adelaide attack with young key forward Todd Marshall slipping out of the 22 to leave Charlie Dixon, Mitch Georgiades and second ruckman Peter Ladhams as tall options inside-50. 

Hinkley also gets to work multiple themes with this mix, in particular with Dixon spared centre-ruck duels.

"We said at the start of the year we needed our whole squad," Hinkley said. "We are close to having that full squad together. We can now look at the games we need to play players in - and what games we should be playing them in.

"It is a balance. We want to support our rucks and our on-ball brigade as much as it is about kicking a winning score as well. If you look at what Rob brings, he has capability of kicking score and we know with Ladhams we can still have ruck support of Scott Lycett rather than have Charlie go into the ruck.

"There's a few bits that go into it. And they will move around a bit."

Marshall's place in the line-up was hotly debated externally while Port Adelaide was deprived by injury of small forwards. His exit follows two games of improved form against Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney.

"Todd has landed in an awkward position at the moment," Hinkley said. "We have a healthy squad. We have people back and you have to play really well to maintain your spot in the squad. Todd is aware of that and he will fight his way back."

The "experiments" with Port Adelaide's structure in attack has left Hinkley with significant notes to delve into when situations beckon to the end of the season.

"Those experiments were what we needed to play for a good period of time," Hinkley said of injury forcing the "squad mentality" to be tested to the limit. "We still have some flexibility to go back there ... or not. Now we have good sample sizes of both (systems of three or four tall forwards) and we want to get Robbie (Gray) back."

Port Adelaide selection options are to regain forward-midfielder Steven Motlop who resumed agility and change-of-direction running at Alberton on Friday while continuing his comeback from ankle surgery.

"He will be a chance for next week," Hinkley said. "All things progressing along the way they have so far, Steven will be pushing hard for next week (for the clash with Carlton, slated for Adelaide Oval)."

This healthy state of the squad takes Port Adelaide selection meetings from one extreme to another.

"We thought at the start of the year that if we got ourselves into a healthy position that (selection headache) would be one of the challenges," Hinkley said. "The good thoughts were we had a strong, deep squad. We have had to use that squad for a fair part of the past 10-12 weeks. Now we are starting to get those people back.

"Now we have to get them back into good form."

Hinkley remains upbeat that vice-captain Hamish Hartlett is still to play a part in this year's campaign after minor knee surgery this week.

"I spoke to him (on Thursday) and he is optimistic around the tiny little clean-up that was needed to get him up and rolling," Hinkley said. "He certainly has not put a line through his name for the remainder of the season. There is still a good bit of time to go for us."

The derby will begin at 7.10pm on Saturday night.