Port Adelaide's recent form: WLLWL

RECENT RESULTS AGAINST WEST COAST
Round two, 2009, West Coast 19.11 (125) d Port Adelaide 10.15 (75), Subiaco Oval
Round five, 2008, Port Adelaide 19.14 (128) d West Coast 16.8 (104), Subiaco Oval
Qualifying final, 2007, Port Adelaide 9.14 (68) d West Coast 9.11 (65), AAMI Stadium
Round 15, 2007, Port Adelaide 22.21 (153) d West Coast 9.8 (62), AAMI Stadium
Round 12, 2006, Port Adelaide 13.19 (97) d West Coast 8.12 (60), AAMI Stadium

MEDICAL ROOM
Port Adelaide
Troy Chaplin (suspended)—1 week
Hamish Hartlett (hamstring) – 2 weeks
Daniel Motlop (ankle) – 6 weeks
Shaun Burgoyne (knee) – ongoing assessment

West Coast
Jamie McNamara (corked thigh) – test
Tim Houlihan (hamstring) – test
Nic Naitanui (glute) – test
Daniel Kerr (abdominal strain) – TBA
Dean Cox (groin) – TBA
Brett Jones (hamstring) – 1 week
Scott Selwood (adductor) – 1-2 weeks
Will Schofield (back) – 2 weeks
Adam Hunter (shoulder) – 2-3 weeks
Brent Staker (hand) – 3 weeks
Luke Shuey (leg) – 3-4 weeks
Beau Waters (elbow) – season

SUMMARY

Dom Cassisi played his typical captain's game finishing with 36 disposals, eight tackles and eight clearances, but appeared frustrated by the lack of support from some of his charges.

An undermanned West Coast put up a fight against league leaders St Kilda on Sunday.

Scores were level at Subiaco at three-quarter time, but the Saints proved too good in the last and ran out 20-point winners.

West Coast's third honourable loss in five weeks also came at a cost with star ruckman Dean Cox sidelined indefinitely after experiencing more soreness in his groin.

Port Adelaide maintains an edge over West Coast having won seven of the past nine clashes between the two sides.

John Worsfold's men, who haven’t won on the road since round 21, 2007, are also averse to travel and have upstaged the Power just once at AAMI Stadium in the past 12 years.

Port Adelaide will be bolstered by the return of Travis Boak and will need to make the most of his inclusion to keep its finals dream alive.

Veteran Josh Carr will line-up in his 200th AFL game if selected.

KEY MATCH-UP
Danyle Pearce v Adam Selwood/Tyson Stenglein
Pearce will be particularly pleased to see Boak back in the midfield mix this week. Pearce was well held by Melbourne tough nut Nathan Jones on Sunday and the Power need to find a way to keep their playmaker involved. Selwood and Stenglein are Worsfold’s two key stoppers and are likely to make bee-lines for Pearce and David Rodan at the opening bounce on Sunday.

KICK IT TO ME
Chad Cornes played a forgettable first half at the 'G, but tried to lift the deflated Power with some inspirational acts in the second.

Cornes has played limited football this season because of knee and calf complaints, but is a fierce competitor and will be out to make an impact in a massive game for Port Adelaide this week.

SOMEBODY STOP ME
Mark LeCras has been the go-to man inside 50 for West Coast this season. The small sharpshooter has kicked multiple goals in 11 of his 14 games, including three against Port Adelaide in round two. LeCras was unusually inaccurate last week, finishing with a return of 2.3, but is highly dangerous around goals and will command some respect from the Port Adelaide defence.

AT THE SELECTION TABLE
Boak, who has overcome a knee injury, will head the list of inclusions at Alberton this week. Matt Thomas (knee) played in the SANFL reserves on the weekend, but failed to complete training on Wednesday and remains in doubt.

Cassisi was keen to review the tape from Sunday's loss to see which players weren’t deserving of a spot and it’ll be interesting to see just what the fall-out is.

Nick Lower, Nick Salter and Matthew Broadbent were all in good form in the SANFL on the weekend and could all figure in the match committee's calculations.

IT'S NOT GENERALLY KNOWN THAT...
Port Adelaide has lost just one game, to the unbeaten St Kilda, at home this season.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.