THE Magpies can take confidence out of last weekend's 'ugly' win in trying conditions when it plays North Adelaide at Prospect on Saturday afternoon.
While the simultaneous Power v Bulldogs clash will take most of the attention on television screens in South Australia, the Magpies-Roosters match at Prospect also has plenty riding on it.
Despite up-and-down form over the last five weeks, Garry Hocking's Magpies have a chance to continue the hard-edged football it showed against the Bulldogs in the wet last week against North.
SELECTION: Monfries, Krakouer, Mitchell in
Port typically plays well against the red-and-whites at Prospect, and a win against the Roosters would give the Magpies a chance to sneak into the top three.
But Hocking is wary of the Roosters, which haven't won since the opening round of the season, and will be looking towards this game as an opportunity to pounce on a Port side that has underperformed against bottom-five clubs this year.
"We need to make sure every time we play, there's a brand of footy played that I like, our supporters like and our whole club likes," Hocking said in the lead-up to the game.
"To put in a performance that we did against Sturt was unacceptable and we know North are trying to get themselves going, so we have to be on our guard."
While the Magpies were not always skilful in the harsh conditions of last week, they showed plenty of heart against the Bulldogs.
While Hocking knows winning won't always be pretty, his side's ability to grind out victories is an asset, particularly as pressure mounts in the final month of football.
"We are getting better and I feel like we are bridging the gap in regards to being more competitive in tough conditions," Hocking said.
"We can get some confidence out of playing strong football in the wet and in muddy conditions."
Port Adelaide plays North Adelaide at Prospect Oval at 2:10pm.
