PORT ADELAIDE will face probably its hardest challenge yet when it takes on reigning premier Woodville-West Torrens this Sunday at Alberton Oval.
The Eagles currently sit in third position with only one loss, while the Magpies are in seventh position with one win.
Port coach Matthew Lokan says there will be several changes to the side which lost narrowly to Glenelg last Saturday night.
“We're going to play Sean Samblich in his first game for the club and Dylan Aldridge is going to come back in so there's a couple of changes this week. Trent Burgoyne won't play with his hamstring,” Lokan said.
“Dylan's played one game this year, he's a creative small forward that is good around the goals and Sean is a midfielder that works really hard and hopefully he can give us some grunt in the midfield.”
Lokan said there was plenty he took from the loss to the Bays last weekend and Sunday’s game would be a good chance for his side to challenge the reigning premier.
“They're (the Eagles) the side everyone wants to beat at the moment, last year's premiership winners, it’s going to be a big challenge for us here on Sunday at Alberton,” he said.
“We were really competitive around the contest [against Glenelg] and I think that's something that we've been working on; is to try and implement that pressure around the contest and be able to do that for a longer period of time.
“I feel we were able to do that against a really good side in Glenelg on Saturday. We've just got to be able to do that for a little bit longer, and if we can do that for a for a longer period, I believe we're as good as any sort in the comp.”
Jake Weidemann, and Jake Westbrook are among the former Eagles set to line-up against their former side and Lokan said it’ll be an exciting time for them.
“It'll be exciting for some of our contracted guys to be able to play against their old club,” he said.
“It's always a little bit of a motivation for those guys to be able to play against their old team and hopefully play well for us on Sunday.”
The Magpies’ clash with the Eagles gets underway at 2.10pm on Sunday.
