Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley finally has some welcome headaches in 2024, pressed with selection uncertainty with the returns of a host of injured players.
Esava Ratugolea (hamstring), Ryan Burton (foot) and Josh Sinn (quad) are all likely to return after missing last Saturday's Bulldogs thumping at home, while the replacement for suspended forward Mitch Georgiades remains up for debate.
Out-of-favour veteran Charlie Dixon is in the frame, though the Power coach was far from certain over how to lineup inside 50.
"It looks like we're going to have some players back... Esava, Ryan, Josh Sinn," Hinkley told media on Thursday.
"We do know that we've got to replace Georgiades... Charlie's a potential replacement because he's a tall forward.
"(Otherwise) we go smaller, that would be the simple solution for us."
Small forward Willie Rioli will miss another week for personal reasons, Hinkley simply sharing that he'll return in due course.
"Willie's still to be seen... we're optimistic that as soon as he's right, we'll let him play," he added.
The Power coach is expecting a big challenge for the trip to Queensland, with Gold Coast clearly seeking to avenge their lacklustre performance last weekend, being put on notice by the scathing, expletive-laden review from their coach, Damien Hardwick.
Hinkley revealed that he has never seen a more even competition in his time at the AFL, still only two wins separating the fifth-placed Port Adelaide and 13th-placed Gold Coast ahead of their meeting this Sunday.
"We heard what Damien said, we expect that they'll be breathing fire," Hinkley said.
"I've never seen (the competition) this close.
"If you asked me to pick who's going to win it right now, I'd pick Port first, but outside of that I've got no idea."
The pressure on Hinkley has already mounted dramatically this season, with fellow senior coach Adam Simpson being sacked during the week. A loss to Gold Coast this Sunday may see the heat on Hinkley reach a breaking point.
