Port Adelaide linchpin Justin Westhoff wants his teammate John Butcher to be spared the axe.

Butcher disappointed on Saturday in his first AFL game since hip surgery last July as Port suffered a heavy loss to Geelong.

The key forward was scoreless and sprayed two set shots out on the full as the Power slumped to a fourth consecutive loss.

Port conceded pre-game they were taking a punt on Butcher given his scratchy SANFL form.

And Westhoff urged coaching staff to keep gambling with the injury-plagued Butcher, who had only four kicks in a 48-point defeat to the Cats.

“John is an attribute to the team. We want him in the team, that is for sure,” Westhoff told reporters on Monday.

“We have real confidence in what John is about and how good he can be.

“Obviously he made a few mistakes but he had been out for 10 months – first game back, you’re going to have a few problems.

“But at least he’s getting opportunities. He’s getting shots at goal, he’s chasing, he’s tackling and that is what we want from him.”

The Power have steeled themselves to end their four-game losing streak against Western Bulldogs in Darwin on Saturday night.

Port then have a bye, with Westhoff aiming to take a six-four win-loss record into the break.

“It’s obviously a huge week for the club,” Westhoff said.

“Last year, if you would have said that we’d be six-four leading into the break we would be very happy with that,” he said, recalling when Port won five games in all of last season.

“But now we’re in a situation where we are five-four and probably a little bit disappointed. We should be a few more wins on top of that.

“We just want to break this losing streak. It’s a very important game for the players and the club to build that momentum leading into the second half of the season.”