PORT Adelaide's recent form: three pre-season wins, one loss

Recent results against Essendon:
Round seven, 2008, Port Adelaide 24.14 (158) d Essendon 15.4 (94), Docklands
Round 12, 2007, Port Adelaide 19.12 (126) d Essendon 13.7 (95), AAMI
Round nine, 2006, Port Adelaide 20.9 (129) d Essendon 9.15 (69), Docklands
Round nine, 2005, Port Adelaide 12.13 (85) d Essendon 9.12 (66), AAMI
Round 18, 2004, Essendon 18.11 (119) d Port Adelaide 11.13 (79), Docklands

Medical room:
Port Adelaide: Hamish Hartlett (AC Joint) test, Jackson Trengove (hamstring/knee) indefinite.

Essendon: Henry Slattery (ankle) test, David Myers (ankle) test, Jason Laycock (foot) test, Mark McVeigh (ankle) 2 weeks, Kyle Reimers (quad) 3 weeks, Andrew Welsh (ankle) mid-season, Brent Prismall (knee) mid-season, Scott Gumbleton (back) indefinite.

Summary
Veteran onballer Josh Carr summed it up beautifully on Wednesday when he said, "The pre-season, probably, means nothing if we can't win this week."

For the past five months, all the talk has been about how much bigger, stronger and faster the Port Adelaide players are. Now, it's time for some action.

The expectations on both Essendon and the Power – non-finalists of last season – have grown over the summer months to the point where the latter are widely tipped to be the biggest improvers of '09.

Senior stars Brendon Lade, Chad Cornes and Peter Burgoyne, who played below their lofty standards last season, are fit and ready to make amends, while emerging youngsters Travis Boak, Nathan Krakouer, Robbie Gray and Alipate Carlile appear ready to take their games to the next level.

Essendon is also considered a side on the up after overcoming a shocking start last season to win six games from seven starts between rounds 12 and 18.

The Bombers boast a similarly young, quick list, but could struggle to stack up against the Power's impressive midfield without injured duo Mark McVeigh and Andrew Welsh.

Key match-up
Brendon Lade v David Hille
The two big men are coming off contrasting seasons. Lade, 32, struggled to regain his All-Australian touch of 2006-07 and was sent back to SANFL club South Adelaide as the Power prepared for life-after the popular stalwart. Hille, on the other hand, continued his emergence as one of the premier ruckmen in the League, winning the Bombers' best and fairest.

Lade worked closely with new fitness coach Cam Falloon over the summer and showcased glimpses of his dominant best throughout the pre-season competition. Hille will shoulder the majority of the ruck load this week in the absence of the injured Laycock. Teenager Tom Bellchambers will lend support, but the formidable duo of Lade and Dean Brogan will look to wear Hille down and gain an edge at the stoppages.

Kick it to me
Nathan Krakouer came close to walking out in just his second year at Alberton after nagging soft tissue injuries and homesickness conspired to sabotage his season. But a strong pre-season and the birth of his son, Nathan Jr, has seen the 20-year-old re-emerge as one of the Power's greatest hopes for season 2009. The impeccably skilled onballer made the move to half-back over the pre-season and was arguably his side's best-performed player over the NAB Cup/Challenge competition.

Somebody stop me
Andrew Lovett, like Krakouer, also came close to finding a new home late last year. The dynamic but sometimes undisciplined 26-year-old was offered up as trade bait, but came out of the exchanged period still wearing the black and red.

Lovett responded with some standout performances during the pre-season and his speed and skill will be invaluable against the fleet-footed Power.

At the selection table
Look out for super-exciting rookie Wade Thompson. The lightning-fast forward is expected to be elevated to the senior list this week and could well consider himself unlucky to miss out on the final 22.

It's not generally known that…
Essendon has not defeated Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium since round 16, 2000.

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