COACH Ken Hinkley says it's futile looking back at Port Adelaide's recent finals flops or even his club's watershed moment in Geelong this year.

Hinkley says everything that has gone before the Power's qualifying final against the Cats on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval is now irrelevant.

That includes Port's straight-sets exit from last year's finals; its two-game winning streak against Chris Scott's team in qualifying finals; and the Power's breakthrough win in Geelong in May.

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"None of it means anything, to my mind - absolutely zero," Hinkley told reporters on Wednesday.

"Whether we played them at Geelong, what our record is like against them in qualifying finals - any of those things don't matter because it's a whole new year."

Hinkley's charges downed the Cats by six points in round 10 to record the Power's first win in Geelong in 17 years, while Port has beaten the Cats in its past two qualifying final match-ups, in 2021 and 2020.

But Hinkley also isn't remotely interested in how the next month will define him and his club - in his 12th season as Port coach, he holds the VFL/AFL record for most games coached without reaching a Grand Final, 271.

"I don't write those stories," he said.

"We give ourselves a chance. We're really confident, we're ready for the next month - that's what we know and we hope it goes for a month.

"But the reality is that's to play out. We're not going to get trapped into the whole month thing. We're going to get trapped in this week."

But Hinkley was adamant Port was better prepared for these finals than last year when, beset by injuries, it crashed out with losses in a qualifying final and a semi-final.

"We're in a really healthy position," he said.

"We're a mature team. We have earned our right to be second on the ladder ... we're ready for this type of game.

"Not just last year, when you look at our journey, four or five years of experience ... we can't look back.

"But we can understand that we've learned all the way through that journey and that our journey has been one of consistently being, at this point, giving ourselves a chance.

"We're really proud of that and we should be proud of that."

Hinkley refused to detail selection ahead of teams being announced on Wednesday night.

But he must replace half-back Kane Farrell, whose year has ended because of a hamstring injury, compounding the loss of fellow defender Dan Houston, who has served one game of a five-match suspension.

"It's not ideal to have players missing, but every team has players missing," Hinkley said.

"We're really confident and comfortable with the players that we've got available that they'll be more than good enough."