Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley, left, chats with captain Travis Boak, who is returning from injury. Picture: Tom Huntley. Source: News Corp Australia
PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is heading into the unknown as he takes the Power to the small Sydney Cricket Ground for the first time in his cracking senior coaching career.
If he has any nerves or reservations about playing on what has previously been a difficulty ground for Port, he hasn't shown it.
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Nor is Hinkley, whose team has won eight straight games to Sydney's seven, concerned about bookmakers installing the Swans as the favourite.
How his team would fair at the SCG was an unknown but Hinkley suggested the venue itself had not been a major talking point.
"I don't know because I haven't been there with Port Adelaide,'' Hinkley said.
"But there have been a lot of things over the past 18 months that we haven't done.
"The odds say Sydney are the favourites; I don't really care. I go to this game expecting to win.''
A key to a winning game was about believing in the system that had helped them to reach the top of the ladder.
As much as Port is a defence-first team, there was a danger in changing styles too much when facing Sydney at their home ground.
"We're really confident in what we're doing and if we continue to do that it will put us in every game that we play in,'' Hinkley said.
"That's what we expect this week and we expect a really good contest.
"We'll play Port Adelaide footy, that's what we have to do. That's a trap (copying Sydney's style at the SCG) that you can't afford to fall into. You have to believe in what you're doing and our team does.''
The Power are expected to swing changes in defence throughout the match to find the best match-up for marquee forward Lance ``Buddy'' Franklin and fellow tall Mike Pyke.
Pyke has replaced former Adelaide forward Kurt Tippett.
"We'll probably mix and match, as we would in any game,'' Hinkley said.
"And if Tippett was playing it would be the same, because they've brought in a like-for-like. They've brought Pyke back into the side.
"We've had hoodoo sides and we've lost lots of games in a row but we go up there with the confidence that if we go up there with our best game we can come away with a win.
"I suppose as it sits right now it's a really big test for us.
"We're travelling away to play the in-form team of the competition and one that we've great respect for.
"It's certainly going to be a significant test for us, but one we're looking forward to.''
The Power have three significant inclusions in captain Travis Boak, Angus Monfries and Matt White, who return from injury.
Hinkley was confident there would not be a repeat of last week, when Boak was a late withdrawal.
"We're really confident he'll play this week,'' Hinkley said.
"We don't play any (mind) games too much.
"We expect Travis to play. We expect 'Gus' to play and we expect Matty White to play.
"It's always good to get good players back in your team.
Ben Newton and Sam Gray boarded Port Adelaide's flight as emergencies.
Hinkley would not speculate on the fate of Angus Monfries and the Essendon saga. Monfries was with the Bombers in 2012, the year that is being investigated.
Hinkley not worried about confines of SCG
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Hinkley not worried about confines of SCG
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