REVENGE is sweet, but - at 2-5 - four AFL premiership points are more meaningful to Port Adelaide today.

The much-awaited preliminary final re-match with the Western Bulldogs is played out at the same venue, with the same national free-to-air television audience but without the same prize that was on offer on Friday, August 27 last year.

"With where this group sits today (at 2-5), it won't be revenge," said Port Adelaide midfield coach Brett Montgomery of the challenge posed in dealing with last year's 71-point loss to the eventual grand final runner-up.

"We're not in that conversation today - and we're not at that position with how our season has unfolded. (Rather) this is another big game. We need to continue to build.

"I don't think you will find in our camp that it will be built up anymore than it is - another opportunity to win. And where we sit today, we don't have the luxury to look back and see this match as a revenge game.

"We need to keep stringing wins together."

Seven months have passed, but the pain is said to linger - to the point of many questioning if Port Adelaide is mentally scarred by the 12-goal loss that ended a promising campaign at Adelaide Oval.

The home preliminary final was long debated externally for Port Adelaide's tactics - and match-ups - at stoppages, in particular centre bounce. The numbers that linger are the Western Bulldogs winning the clearances 41-35 with the contested-ball count heavily against Port Adelaide at 136-166.

The scoreboard was loaded in the Western Bulldogs' favour with a 5.2 start before Ollie Wines opened Port Adelaide's account with a goal in the 21st minute. At 66-14 midway through the second term, the hope of claiming an AFL grand final berth for the first time since 2007 was shot.

Preparing the midfield this time is Brett Montgomery.

"They are talented around the ball - and have been for a long time," Montgomery notes of a Western Bulldog unit loaded with first-round draftees and league stars such as Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore. "They have an incredible ability to get hold of teams through a midfield battle.

"It is a really deep (midfield) group. We are trying to grow ours - and our midfield is getting deeper by the day. It is not the finished product, but we are working towards something there.

"The contest around the ball was an issue last time. But that was not the only issue."

Montgomery does have some benefit of hindsight from the two Port Adelaide-Western Bulldogs games played in August last season, the first won by Port Adelaide at the Docklands in west Melbourne by two points.

"There were not too many set match-ups in (the preliminary final) - and one team clearly an outstanding brand while the other didn't step up," Montgomery recalls. "But don't ignore that the Western Bulldogs have stars across every line. It just so happens they have a midfield that is full of stars."

The pre-game build-up outside Alberton will link the 0-5 start Port Adelaide made (while dealing with a team put out of structure by injury) to the supposed scars of the preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Internally, Montgomery says, "we would be naive to think there is not something there”.

"And really," adds Montgomery, "there should be something. The issue is how you respond. That is something we will discuss during the week - where do we sit on that (preliminary final result)? That is well worth a discussion.

"We are good here at making sure our players know what is about to play out. There is never any guarantee, but we (as coaches) advise on what the players are in for. That is no different to any other week. We have a fair handle on how the Bulldogs play ..."

The notable points on the Port Adelaide midfield today are the growth of Connor Rozee in the past three games against Carlton, West Coast and St Kilda - and the point taken by wingman Karl Amon after being dropped and recalled before the match against West Coast.

"We would have loved to have had Connor around the ball a lot earlier in the season," Montgomery said. "The facts are we had no Charlie Dixon, no Robbie Gary and no Orazio Fantasia - and you still have to kick a score to win a game. Connor has some talents in that area of the ground that we thought we could not be without.

"Now that some of those pieces have returned, we have that luxury to get Connor in the midfield. And his understanding of what it takes to be an AFL midfielder has grown week to week.

"Karl has shown greater urgency, no doubt about that. He had fallen - by his own admission - into some habits that didn't reflect or allow him to replicate his past two seasons. He showed great self-awareness to take on some feedback and get an instant response."

Port Adelaide is building momentum from a massive win against West Coast at home and a one-point win against St Kilda in the slippery tropical fields of Cairns.

"And we took plenty of steps (forward against St Kilda)," Montgomery said. "For us, that game was an arm wrestle from the start, even if we did not start particularly well (giving up a 14-point lead this time). We showed maturity to be there all the way to the end.

"While we were not getting the scoreboard nourishment, we felt we were playing the right way ... Our belief is high. The spirit is. Confidence is good. And we are building."

Port Adelaide's midfield is adjusting to the needs of a new-look attack with Mitch Georgiades, Todd Marshall and Greater Western Sydney recruit Jeremy Finlayson who demand supply in a far different way to All-Australian key forward Charlie Dixon.

"There are some stark differences," Montgomery said. "Our midfield has taken quite a different appearance too, particularly in the past fortnight.

"We have addressed the starts, particularly last week. We've talked about going at a speed that puts the opposition under more pressure. We think we have erred on the side of being too conservative early."

Montgomery described Georgiades' calf injury - that forced him to the bench during the second half against St Kilda - as "minor" and carried into the match at the weekend.

"It is so minor he actually played with that calf concern," Montgomery said. "I have not heard of any increased damage. But it is early."

Defender Lachie Jones, who was removed from the 23 at the weekend, advanced his chances of a recall with his performance in the SANFL at the weekend. And he is not being judged solely for defensive roles.

"We see Lachie can be a great forward - and at the weekend we saw when we wanted energy, speed and pressure and presence around the ball that Lachie had a great second half in that game (against the previously unbeaten Glenelg)," Montgomery said. "Lachie is another one who sees much more than what he showed (as a defender) in the juniors."