Port Adelaide youngsters keen to prove themselves will run into a Geelong AFL side out to make an early statement at Simonds Stadium on Sunday.
There will be no complacency from the Cats, despite the Power missing a host of their best players, including their entire five-man leadership group.
Geelong were downed by Sydney last round, after giving up a 35-point lead in the first quarter.
Cats half-forward Steven Motlop said after a week of training aimed at remedying their recent slow starts, they planned to show against the Power they had learned fast.
“We obviously want to fix that, the last few weeks have been pretty bad there,” Motlop told AAP.
“It’s not an effort thing.
“I think it’s just early on we sort of don’t pay attention to having our structures the way we want them.
“We’ve been working on that in training drills and looking to fix it.
“There’s no better way to do that than back home in front of our fans this week.”
The Power have lost five key players to injury or suspension, including captain Dom Cassisi, key forward Jay Schulz and key backman Jackson Trengove.
They have lost their past six clashes with the Cats, by an average of 66 points.
But Motlop said Port’s forced revamp could pose a threat of sorts, giving the Power an air of unpredictability and boldness.
“A lot of young guys will want to come in and show that they can play,” he said.
“They’ll be full of run early, it will be a good test.”
The six Power inclusions were not all young, though, with experienced pair Alipate Carlile and David Rodan among them, while key forward John Butcher also returns.
The Cats have had their own experience drain.
They have lost Paul Chapman (groin) and Josh Hunt (toe) and dropped another veteran, David Wojcinski.
Dawson Simpson was also dropped, leaving Trent West as the lone fulltime ruckman.
The replacements were all youngsters, debutant Jordan Murdoch and Cameron Guthrie, Billie Smedts and George Horlin-Smith.
While a string of pundits have written off seventh-placed Geelong’s chances of back-to-back premierships following their loss to the Swans, Motlop said the doubts surrounding the club would only inspire them.
“We haven’t been in that situation in the last four years or so, so I reckon it’s sort of a good thing for the club and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” he said.