PORT Adelaide defender Ryan Burton is set to miss at least a month after suffering a "significant hamstring injury" in the Power's 48-point loss to Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Burton pulled up quickly after chasing Lions speedster Charlie Cameron in the third quarter.

It was the same hamstring he injured when going after Adelaide forward Eddie Betts in the round eight Showdown, but coach Ken Hinkley said the early prognosis was it was a more severe injury.

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"When you see them pull up like they that when they're running at top speed … (you know) it's a significant hamstring," Hinkley said.

"Sometimes they can be three or four weeks, sometimes they can be worse.

"We can be pretty certain Ryan's going to miss a month of footy."

Burton's impending absence is a bitter pill for the inconsistent Power (ninth, 8-8) to swallow as they slipped out of the top eight to leave their finals hopes on edge.

The Power have gone win, loss, win, loss for the past eight weeks and couldn't back up their 57-point Showdown smashing of the Crows in round 16.

Dan Houston is likely to take Burton's spot in defence for next Saturday's crucial encounter with Richmond at the MCG after he was a late scratching before the game through illness.

First-year winger Xavier Duursma will also come into calculations for a return despite not playing in the SANFL on Saturday after he was dropped for the first time this season.

"He was OK, but he hasn't been shooting the lights out," Hinkley said of Duursma, the 18th overall pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft.

"He's been playing really well to a point, but there's a commitment to play better.

"I'm not a resting-players coach, and Xavier this week didn't earn his spot in the side."

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Mid-Season Rookie Draft recruit Cam Sutcliffe was brought in to play a tagging role on Lions star Lachie Neale, while other Power players applied physical pressure at any chance they got.

Tom Rockliff and Dougal Howard over-stepped the line in the first quarter, giving away consecutive 50m penalties that cost the Power a goal.

"We're not going to make any apologies for being an aggressive football side," Hinkley said.

"Did we get a little bit of that wrong at the very start of the game?

"Perhaps, that's the reality, but I'm not going to say we're going to step away from playing aggressive football."