PORT Adelaide is aiming to defend Carlton with rabid intensity on Friday night as it looks to hit peak form ahead of the finals.
The Power earned a hard-fought win last weekend in soaking conditions against Gold Coast, with coach Ken Hinkley declaring the victory had considerably helped his side's form.
On Thursday director of football Shaun Hart echoed Hinkley's sentiment but said there was still room for improvement across the board.
Hart said lifting the Power's defensive intensity on Friday night would help rebuild the momentum lost during the side's slump from round 15 to 20.
"We need to really wind it up – we need to be crazy in defence to make sure we don't give Carlton any time and space," Hart said.
"[They've got] some half-backers that will want to run and want to get the game on their terms.
"We need to make sure our contest and our ability to win clearances ... is going to be really important because the [Chris] Judd and [Marc] Murphy combination – just those two alone – are really dangerous players.
"They're the two key areas that we've talked about for a month now and if we get those right then the game will hopefully be traveling our way on the scoreboard."
Star trio Hamish Hartlett (ankle), Jackson Trengove (ankle) and Angus Monfries (hip flexor) all trained on Thursday morning and were all declared fit to face the Blues.
Hart even tipped reigning best and fairest Chad Wingard to take a significant step towards his best, after a season in which the 21-year-old has struggled with a huge amount of increased attention.
"He's starting to show signs the last couple of weeks. I don't think he's far away," he said.
"I don't want to jump the gun but I'd like to suggest that by the end of [Friday] night he will be the sort of guy that's heading right back to where we know he's capable of playing.
"The outside expects to see the miraculous and the superb all the time. Wet conditions last week, he's obviously getting held and tagged, he's starting to work his way back into it."
