PORT Adelaide's star trio of Hamish Hartlett, Jackson Trengove and Chad Wingard aren’t out of the running for the Power's round one side, although all look set to miss Saturday's final NAB Challenge hit-out against Adelaide.
The three players are still recovering from groin, shoulder and knee injuries respectively.
Hartlett was the only one considered a chance to face the Crows, but has been all but ruled out by high performance manager Darren Burgess and vice-captain Brad Ebert.
Ebert is one of several experienced players who will return for a final NAB Challenge hit-out, including skipper Travis Boak and reigning best and fairest winner Robbie Gray, as the club looks to trial something close to its best side before heading to Perth to play Fremantle in round one.
Ebert backed each of Hartlett, Trengove and Wingard to return to the senior side without the preferred amount of pre-season game-time.
"I doubt this week; Jacko (Trengove) is back on the track and he's looking good and Hartsy (Hartlett) says that he'll be right by round one," Ebert said.
"All three of them will come back in pretty comfortably and fill their role."
A young Power outfit was wiped off the field by Richmond last weekend in Albury in a devastatingly one-sided affair.
In contrast, the team that runs onto Football Park on Saturday will more closely resemble the one that fell three points short of Hawthorn in last year's preliminary final.
However, Ebert said some positions still remained available for players who grabbed this final opportunity to impress before the season began.
"It's a rehearsal for round one - it's the last chance for some guys to make a run for their spots," he said.
"I don't think we'll be leaving too much in the bank.
"There’s a number of guys who have been pushing hard and will be going for that round one spot."
Ebert also confirmed that in the wake of Ryan Crowley's failed drug test, the Power's playing group had again been reminded of the importance of having any supplement checked by the club doctor.
Crowley was handed a show-cause notice by ASADA on September 18 last year and accepted a provisional suspension on September 25.
"The club doctor came in just before and explained that to us, he's said it to us hundreds of times before, but just to reiterate the point that everything we take has to be ticked off by him," Ebert said.
"Our club's pretty switched on with that."
