KEN HINKLEY has scoffed at the suggestion Port Adelaide are celebrating the suspension of key Sydney Swans pair Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin.
Both will miss Thursday night's clash against the Power, but Hinkley insisted their absence wouldn't make his side's task any easier.
Despite the influence both players exert on games, Hinkley pointed to Franklin's three missed games last year as proof of the Swans' ability to perform without him.
They defeated the Brisbane Lions by 79 points in round seven, beat Essendon by 22 points in round 19, and lost by just three points to Richmond in round 23.
"Their form with or without 'Buddy', they're a very, very good football club and they're led incredibly well," Hinkley said.
"They're not Buddy or Kurt Tippett away from being a good side.
"They'll have to make some adjustments, but from our point of view we've just got to go up there with the same attitude and chase that win."
Port flew to Sydney on Wednesday morning fresh from a bye that allowed the playing and coaching groups time to dissect the first half of the season.
They reconvened on Saturday at Alberton Oval for an intense conditioning session.
Hinkley's message to his players was relatively simple – they've just got to attack the ball with greater consistency.
The team's hardness around the contest and its ability to maintain that through four quarters will dictate whether the Power make something of 2015 or not.
"We need to make sure we attack the back half of the year with just a few key ingredients … a hardness around the footy, a real determination to work hard for each other," the coach said.
"There's some inconsistencies in it – that’s what our problem's been.
"In a season that's so close … if you're inconsistent, we've been paying that price and rightly so."
Port will welcome back Patrick Ryder to its line up, who will replace Kane Mitchell.
An Achilles injury has kept the marquee signing sidelined since round eight, making the development of his ruck partnership with Matthew Lobbe all but impossible.
Ryder's return boosts the potency of the Power's squad and its morale, as well as its structural integrity.
"That's one of those inconsistencies we haven't been able to get right, we just haven't had our team balance the way we'd like it," Hinkley said.
"You bring a player like Paddy to your club, you want him in the team as often as you can and you want him in the team as fit as he can be.
"That's why we've taken the procedure that we have now, we've been a little bit cautious.
"He was a big signing for us at the start of the year and he's still really, really important to our long term."
