THERE'S no chance Port Adelaide will underestimate a depleted Hawthorn outfit on Saturday night, with Power skipper Travis Boak claiming the Hawks are still the AFL's best side.
Hawthorn will enter the first-versus-second clash minus a host of important stars, including defenders Josh Gibson (pectoral muscle), Brian Lake (calf) and Sam Mitchell (hamstring) as well as forwards Cyril Rioli (hamstring) and Jarryd Roughead (suspension).
The Hawks' heavy injury toll has caused bookies to declare them underdogs at Adelaide Oval; the first time the reigning premiers have failed to start as favourite such since round two last season.
But Boak said Port couldn't afford to be lured into a false sense of security.
Like any great club, he predicted the Hawks would have good players available to replace those injured.
"It's probably a bit unfortunate for them but they're still a quality side, they're still probably the best side in the comp," Boak said.
"No matter if they've got two or three out, I'm sure they'll have quality people coming back into the side so it's going to be just as big a challenge for us.
"That [depth] what good clubs have …it's a sign of a really good club and I'm sure they'll bring in some quality players.
"There's certainly no way any one of our players will be taking this week lightly at all – we know we're up for a very, very big challenge."
Port Adelaide returned from its bye on Sunday, with high performance manager Darren Burgess putting players through a tough running session at Alberton Oval.
Boak said the most exciting sign for the group, which has achieved the club's best-ever start to an AFL season, was its enthusiasm for training after just a short break.
"That's probably been something in the past that we haven't been good with is coming back from a break and training's a bit down, but certainly [Sunday] was right up," he said.
"It was pretty solid, 'Burgo' had us running a fair bit already, we did a little bit while we were away…we didn't really have too much time to rest.
"They had their three or four days to rest their legs, freshen the mind up a little bit but as soon as they got back they just wanted to get straight back into it.
"That's something we're pretty excited about because the boys just want to come back and play footy."
