Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has made the message clear to his senior players, with more big selection calls confirmed for Friday's clash with the Western Bulldogs.
The Power, who are eyeing their 10th successive win in Round 13, will welcome veteran pair Charlie Dixon (ankle) and Travis Boak (ribs) for the trip to Melbourne.
Dixon looks to have overcome a niggling ankle injury that has been persistent since Round 8, while Boak has missed the past fortnight due to injuries of his own.
The pair have been cleared to face the Bulldogs in what will be a tightly contested affair, with Hinkley set to replace young forward Ollie Lord with Dixon, while defensive pair Ryan Burton and Riley Bonner also make way.
Burton's omission will come as some surprise after the former Hawk showed promise in a dual role between defence and attack, with Hinkley stating the call is a matter of both form and structure, with the Port Adelaide coach hoping to see more of second-year utility Josh Sinn at senior level.
"Charlie is playing and Travis is playing, so it's great news for us," Hinkley said on Thursday.
"Clearly both boys are really important to us both structurally. and culturally. We look forward to them coming in and playing their roles.
"Charlie will obviously play forward, so young Ollie will probably end up missing out. We thought he might've missed out a couple of times in a row but Charlie's not quite got to the line (in recent weeks). But at this stage, I'm really confident Charlie and Trav are going to take to the field.
"There'll be a couple of changes. We're certain we want to play Sinn for a full game. The reality is Ryan Burton will come out and Riley Bonner will be the other.
"We've got some really good form players and some quality players coming into the side. We've been pretty consistent that we'll base selection on performance. Ryan, by his own admission and ours, has been a little bit down. We've mixed him around a little bit, we've played him forward and back, but we think the flexibility that Travis brings us allows us to make some different changes."
Hinkley won't recall captain Tom Jonas after he was demoted to the SANFL for Round 12, with Port Adelaide's defensive group developing into a strength for the Alberton Club.
While highlighting the young ranks that have made available spots a rarity in his rearguard, Hinkley made the message clear that form will continue to dictate selection over a player's standing.
"He played really well last week with the Magpies, but again the team is in pretty good nick. We've got people coming back that we think need to come back into the team immediately," Hinkley said of his skipper.
"Our backline has been our strongly performing area, if I'm being pretty clear. There have been some emerin young players down there doing some incredibly good jobs. (Lachie) Jones, (Kane) Farrell, Dan Houston, Mile Bergman. There's been some good young players playing some strong footy and they're keeping some really experienced players out.
"Just because (Jonas) misses a week or two doesn't send any other message other than play well to get back in."
Port Adelaide will face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Friday night at 7:50pm (AEST).
