WHERE others have been overwhelmed by the curse of the bye, Port Adelaide is motivated to prove it can restart its AFL campaign by showing there is even better football than seen in the current 11-game winning streak.

Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley on Saturday night will take his refreshed group to the MCG - to play Essendon just eight weeks after a five-point match at Adelaide Oval - not fearing the trend of repetitive defeats suffered by teams coming off the mid-season bye.

"We know there are still plenty of opportunities for us to improve," Hinkley said at Alberton on Friday.

"It is continuous improvement. No-one sits back at the end of round 15 and thinks they have everything nailed.

"Across the bye we have looked at all three phases of the game and searched for opportunities to improve. We have acknowledged the strengths - and we have looked at the opportunities to improve."

Hinkley will carry a 26-man squad to Melbourne on Friday afternoon with captain Tom Jonas, young ruckman Dante Visentini and the sharp Jace Burgoyne as travelling emergencies.

Mid-season rookie draftee Quinton Narkle, who came to Port Adelaide this month from the Essendon VFL system, remains a potential tactical substitute if a late change is required.

Hinkley revealed his final match 22 and the tactical substitute were still in question as he juggled with some doubts before the captain's run training session at Alberton Oval on Friday morning. He also conceded Narkle was unfortunate - after a strong club debut against Geelong before the bye - to lose his spot to Junior Rioli, who was a late withdrawal with the flu in round 14.

"Junior had been pretty good for us before he was crook before the last game; getting him back in the side helps make us better," Hinkley said. 

"There is an opportunity for Narkle as the sub ... but right now I am not absolutely certain (of the line-up). Quinton had a great game. As much as it is harsh to leave him out of the side, we know he is learning every day about how we like to play. He will be a pretty important player for us at the back end of the season."

Hinkley's media conference notes include:

BYE, BYE: "The mature thing to do is to talk about it and know it is real (teams coming off the bye have not beaten teams that were active the week before, as Essendon was in a loss to Fremantle in Perth)," Hinkley said. "It is somewhat real. And there are lots of reasons ...

"Most teams have started pretty well, but not been able to play the full four quarters. But did many of the results surprise us? Most of the favourites got up.

"We are confident we can play good footy straight out of the bye. We have trained really well. We have prepared well to do that. Now the proof will be in the pudding ...

"We have a fair bit of confidence around the way we are playing. There are not many AFL games that go in your favour all the way, so you prepare for that."

GRIT: Port Adelaide has repeatedly shown that it can deal with games that do not go its way, as noted last time against Essendon at Adelaide Oval. 

"We are confident," said Hinkley. "We are confident in the way we play."

OPPO WATCH: "We know how they like to play," Hinkley said. "And they play that way at a pretty high level. We know what they are really capable of. We know what we need to do - now we have to be able to execute (that plan). 

"Essendon will acknowledge we are playing slightly differently. We are playing constantly. We both go to the MCG knowing we will need our best."

TOM JONAS: "He is not the first choice for us as tactical sub," Hinkley said. "But the key thing with TJ is we know he is in really good form in the SANFL. We know he is capable of coming in to play a role immediately if we lost someone in our back six or seven."

MCG: Port Adelaide has its third game of the season on football's home with the record at 1-1 this season and 23-1-30 overall. 

"We know we don't get to play the MCG too often; but that is the case with most grounds we travel to," Hinkley said. "This is a great opportunity. We love going there. We love being a part of the day at the G. But it is no more special or more important than any other game."

ORAZIO FANTASIA: "It is a very minor, very minor (hamstring strain)," Hinkley said. "He is regaining full fitness. It is not unusual to have this little set back and we hopeful it is only a one-week thing."

MILES BERGMAN: On the signing of a two-year contract extension for the young defender, Hinkley notes: "It is an outstanding result for our football club. We consistently see young people from interstate want to stay at our football club. It says a lot on what Port Adelaide stands for and culturally - along with values - this club stands up well."With any young Victorian or interstate draftee the call of family is real.

"We gained Jason Horne-Francis for that reason. We will never be totally immune from that. At some stage we will face that challenge ourselves. If you give them the environment in which their football will thrive, you find they will stay."

MITCH GEORGIADES: "His (contract issues) are different because he is recovering from a serious knee injury," Hinkley said. "We need to give him time to make sure he has all the information he needs ... it is not a rush for Mitch or for us as a club. We are extremely confident Mitch loves being at our football club."

The match starts at 6.55pm SA time.