JOSH CARR endured a long, intense battle while Port Adelaide battled Brisbane from 2001-2004 to be the AFL's best.

Now he watches as an assistant coach and senior coach-in-waiting as today's Port Adelaide crew faces the same test that continues at the Gabba on Saturday night.

"If you want to be a good AFL player, you want to play against the best," Carr said at Adelaide airport on Friday morning.

"That opportunity is now before everyone. Here is the chance to compete against the best - and we have to compete ... and we are going there to win.

"We understand how strong Brisbane is all over the ground. They are the reigning premiers. They are a top-four team. And their form across the past six weeks has been a little but up and down, but we do understand what their strengths are."They are complete all over the ground. It is an exciting challenge for all of our players."

Port Adelaide is seeking to break an eight-year losing streak to Brisbane at the Gabba where Hinkley's men last celebrated victory in 2020 in matches against Collingwood, Carlton and Melbourne during the pandemic.

Port Adelaide is on a tightrope for the run to September, but form is rising - and it is no coincidence this has come with greater options on the selection whiteboard.

"It feels this second half of the year - compared to the first - by the footy we are playing, we are more consistent through games," Carr said of a Port Adelaide that has won three of its past four matches.

"That comes with continuity of the team being together for longer. Each week we are adding some important pieces to what our best team looks like."

STRONGER: By adding Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines to the midfield rotations and top-10 draftee Jack Lukosius to the attack to support in-form Mitch Georgiades gives Port Adelaide a stronger line-up for a demanding challenge in breaking down the Brisbane defence.

This has forced second-year defender Logan Evans and mid-season draftee Mani Liddy out of the line-up.

"It is tough for (Evans and Liddy) to fall out of a winning team," Carr said.

"Mani is pretty grateful to have played AFL in recent weeks. It's tough ... but only four weeks ago Mani was up on a roof trying to fix an air conditioner. Now he has been dropped from the AFL team. He can handle that.

"Now Mani goes away, works on his craft and, hopefully, returns to the SANFL with a higher level of intensity and understanding of what he needs to get back into the team."

Evans has followed up his debut season - that included a Rising Star nomination - with challenges to stay in the AFL line-up. Carr is seeing progress in this battle.

"What has been pleasing with Logan is his second half of the season - even when it has not been with the AFL team - has been a lot stronger than his first half. He is bringing consistency together. He spent a bit of time on the wing last week. He is understanding of where his position is and what he needs to do to get back in."

JACK'S RETURN: Lukosius will be in familiar surrounds considering his AFL career began at the Gold Coast. The expectation for his third game with Port Adelaide - after a long lay-off with knee and back injuries - is measured.

"We are not expecting Jack to dominate the game," Carr said. "We picked him to play an important role in the team. He will take a good defender from Brisbane. We know he will not need many touches to have an impact on the game. If he gets the ball anywhere within 50-60 we know he can nail a long shot at goal.

"Jack has done a pretty big body of work to get back. There was a hiccup with the back spasms in the gym. But most important was his performance in the SANFL last week. It was important he did that to build his form. We are confident - by managing his game time - that he is ready to go."

BIG SIGN: Port Adelaide gained two valuable signatures to new contracts this week - Josh Sinn and Miles Bergman. This is a strong affirmation of the players' approval of the succession plan to Josh Carr as senior coach next season.

"More importantly," says Carr of the much-wanted  Bergman signature, "it says Miles is ready to play for his club. He is committed to his team-mates and he is committed to the fans. I am a part of that image of what the future looks like. More broadly, it is about the football club."

Carr's sales pitch to Bergman was "about what the team looks like going forward".

"And how important Miles is to that team," Carr said. "And the football club.

"His growth in leadership this year has been huge. His ability to go on-ball and be an important part of that.

"It was more about what we can do for Miles. We understand what he is doing for us."

BZT: Key defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has had a strange preparation with a 2am alarm with a fire at his home on Thursday.

"His two cats look okay, so that is important," Carr joked. "He is fine. He is a big boy. It would have been pretty scary. Everyone is safe, that is most important."

THE NEALE FACTOR: Port Adelaide-Brisbane games are recently headlined by the challenge of matching Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale in the midfield mix.

"Do you tag; don't you tag," says Carr of the Neale puzzle. "We have tagged in some games and it has not worked. And we have not tagged and that has not worked. At this stage, we have planned for all of it. We have Miles Bergman who can do jobs now and we have Willem Drew. We have a few levers to pull in that area."

RUCKUS: Two rucks remains. Jordon Sweet and Dante Visentini will be paired again.

"Against Melbourne for the first time, it worked because the team won," Carr notes. "Against Sydney (with defeat) Brodie Grundy had a really good game. It did not work. We could have easily pulled the trigger and said 'that's it!' but this is about having a competitor down the line. Someone to give us a contest forward of the footy.

"Our key position forward stocks have not been that strong because of injury. Dante has improved each week. He has spent more time forward. The luxury is we can swap them in ruck and get a different look forward."

IN THE BOX: Will senior coach Ken Hinkley stay in the box or return the field this week?

"Upstairs," says Carr. "And the discussions are not any different. Ken adds another element to how the assistant coaches communicate. But it is no different to when he was on the phone downstairs.

"It was exciting to have him back last week. It keeps us on our toes which is good."