PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley believes forward Nathan Krakouer will be in trouble with the Match Review Panel after he was reported for forceful front-on contact against St Kilda's Sean Dempster on Thursday night. 

Dempster left the field soon after the high hit in the third quarter but returned and played the rest of the game.

"Can I be honest? From where I looked, it looked like it might be a little bit of bad luck for 'Krak'," Hinkley said. 

"But I don't know. Dempster got up, he was OK, but just from what I saw, I thought that's the sort of stuff that maybe gets him in a little bit of trouble.

"I hope it doesn't, but maybe."

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Paddy Ryder took part in his first contest after missing all of last year with a doping suspension as part of his involvement in the 'Essendon 34'. He picked up four disposals and kicked a classy snapped goal in the second quarter before sitting out the second half, with his loads managed.

Hinkley was pleased with Ryder's effort, all things considering, with the ruckman expected to make an appearance in the contest against Richmond on Sunday, March 5, in Mount Gambier.

"He got through, no problems. We took him off the ground as planned and he looked OK. Did some nice things even though he was first up after a long time," Hinkley said.

"We'll play him a bit more next week hopefully. We're very careful with Paddy, making sure his body stands up really well. That's one of the risks coming back from a long time out."

Jake Carlisle was in a similar situation to Ryder. Traded to the Saints at the end of 2015, it was his first time lining up in the red, white and black.

The key backman was on managed minutes and finished with 11 disposals and six marks. Stand-in coach Adam Kingsley was impressed with Carlisle's St Kilda's debut, which often saw him lining up on Jackson Trengove or Ryder.

"He was able to nullify his opponent really well. Both he and Nathan Brown played terrific games on their key targets. Jake's a really versatile player. I thought we saw all aspects of that (his game) tonight," Kingsley said. 

Click here for Adam Kingsley's full post-match press conference

Port Adelaide mature age draftee Brett Eddy impressed when he came on in the second half, creating plenty of opportunities but kicking 0.3. 

"He came on and found the ball, had three or four shots at goal. One of his great strengths is his kicking. He only needed to put one through for us and we win the game," Hinkley said after the one-point loss.

"He's a 27-year-old, I like those stories, I wouldn't mind seeing Brett doing pretty well."

Power star Robbie Gray sat out the game but is expected to feature in the pre-season.

"No problems with Robbie, Robbie's fine. I'm not worried about Robbie being available at all. He's just being managed with his build-up to this season," Hinkley said. 

St Kilda young gun Blake Acres was left out of the side despite being fit and showing plenty of promising signs at the end of last season. Kingsley said Acres' game needed more development, with the onballer expected to face Carlton on Saturday, March 4, at Ikon Park.

"He's got to dispose of the ball a little bit better. He's a really good contest player. A really important part of the game is contest and he's got some outstanding attributes in that area," Kingsley said.