Port Adelaide’s Paul Stewart has successfully emerged from a six month preseason recovering from a shoulder injury and is looking forward to being part of the Power’s first squad to face Essendon since Round 23 last year.

Stewart missed the Power’s narrow loss to the Bombers in 2012 but is part of a side better prepared to face the men from Windy Hill on Saturday afternoon.

That preparation started last weekend against St Kilda, where Stewart and fellow talls Alipate Carlile and Troy Chaplin performed in a fitter and stronger back six that restricted St Kilda’s forwards just two contested scoring shots.

[ Related: Round 1 By The Numbers ]

“I thought I went okay in the game but our whole backline worked really well together,” he said.

“We only had three talls and were short with Jacko (Jackson Trengove) but I think it worked out pretty well. Chappy played well on Riewoldt and Bobby (Alipate Carlile) did pretty solid on Justin Koschitzke.”

The defensive unit’s tough tasks on the likes of Riewoldt and Koschitzke was made easier by the Power’s blue collar midfield working the ball forward effectively throughout the night, and proving durable during a second-half stalemate which saw scoring on both sides dry up.

“Looking from the backline it seemed as though our midfielders were winning it and locking it in our forward 50 as best they could.”

“St Kilda got it out a few times and we’ve worked more on that this week so hopefully we can do the same thing this Saturday - really win the stoppages and clearances.

“It starts from there and if we do that we get the best chance of winning games.”

[ Related: Vote for your Player of the Game ]

Pleasingly, the strap that bound Stewart’s face throughout the match after copping an elbow to the nose had disappeared by Tuesday morning.

“It feels alright now but it was bit sore after the game,” said Stewart, “It should be fine come Saturday.”

A stronger and better-gelled back line will be instrumental for Port Adelaide as it strives to climb the biggest ladder in AFL history - with eighteen teams vying for wins this year.

[ Related: Round 1 highlights ]

In his fifth season at Alberton, Stewart is confident in the hard work defensive coach Brad Gotch has put the backmen through during the off-season and expects it to pay dividends during the season.

“I think the whole backline worked well throughout the pre-season - working on beating our opponent and winning the ball - the Saints game was a good start but we need to keep working on it throughout the year.”

With the Power setting its sights on an Essendon outfit that narrowly escaped a close encounter against North Melbourne at the weekend, Stewart is focused on restricting the Bombers’ key forwards on Saturday afternoon.

“Essendon have Hurley and Ryder as their key forwards so it will be a challenge for us, but we’re confident that we’ve done everything right.

“Last year was a heartbreaking loss against them and we would love to return the favour. They’re a great side though and we’ll have to bring our competitive spirit and win the contested football.

“If we go there and do what we need to do defensively we’ll give them a real shakeup.”