Port Adelaide skipper Travis Boak has defended the club's training regime despite an abundance of ankle injuries in recent weeks.
The Power have had five players - Travis Boak, Angus Monfries, Jared Polec, Hamish Hartlett and Matt White – suffer injuries to their ankles or in White's case his foot in the past few weeks.
The spate of injuries even led recently re-signed high performance manager Darren Burgess to question whether "someone had run over a cat or something considering the luck we've had".
Boak, Monfries, Polec and White all missed a match with their complaints, while Hartlett is racing the clock to take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday after being subbed out of last week's loss to the Sydney Swans.
Before training on Wednesday Boak said Polec was likely to rejoin the senior side this weekend but that Hartlett was "touch and go".
"We've actually been pretty unfortunate, it's not the way we're training or the way we're running or anything like that, it's just that our 'oppos' (opposition) sort of just fell on our ankles the last few weeks," Boak said.
"It's been a bit odd.
"Hamish will be touch and go again, it's pretty similar to 'Polly's' (Polec) I think so he'll be pretty closely monitored during the week.
"[Polec] will train [on Wednesday] and have a bit of a run around and he's looking a lot better this week."
Port remains on top of the ladder heading into round 14, but it has lost its two-game lead.
Hawthorn, the Swans and Geelong are just a win behind, with Fremantle and Collingwood a further game back.
Boak said the congestion at the top of the table, combined with the Western Bulldogs' superb upset of Collingwood last weekend, meant Saturday's encounter held significant weight.
"That just shows you can't drop a game, we need to make sure we're up and about each week because each week now is very important for our season," he said.
"This week now is going to be huge for us…they're a fantastic clearance side, they have been for the last few years.
"(Ryan) Griffen was up and about, (Tom) Liberatore's been great, then (Jackson) Macrae's another one who's been in there."
Boak spoke on Wednesday to promote the Childhood Cancer Association's annual appeal.
The association supports more than 300 families affected by childhood cancer and Boak has been their ambassador for four years.
"When I was 16 Dad passed away from cancer and the affect it took on the family and how hard it was, I guess now I'm in a position to help and give back," he said.
"I just want to help out the families, the kids and help them get through the tough time that they go through because I do know how hard it can be.
"We get so wound up in everything about footy and how hard it can be and really it's just a game.
"It just shows how little importance it has compared to some of these tough battles that are going on in the world."
