KEN HINKLEY will back the side that out-worked Richmond last week and pick an unchanged Port lineup to face Hawthorn on Thursday night. 

The Power were far too good for the Tigers last week, laying 41 more tackles in their 38-point win. 

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson threw down the gauntlet to Port on Wednesday, questioning the club’s ability to play consistent football.

Clarko whacks Port over tough footy 

The likes of Jimmy Toumpas (40 disposals) and Paul Stewart (38) both fired in the SANFL last weekend but Hinkley insisted he would offer the players who performed against Richmond an opportunity to prove Clarkson wrong.

"We’ll reward a winning team, we’ll go in unchanged," Hinkley said.

"Last week we had a significant result from stoppages with the boys we had out there - we’d expect that hopefully they can give us the same result this week." 

The Power have won the past two encounters between the clubs, their brilliant 22-point win in round 21 last year came after an eight-point win in round four.

Hinkley said all his side had to worry itself with was bringing the same defensive intensity and tackling tenacity it did last week.

"I don’t think it counts for much, last year, whatever the last game was against Hawthorn - it does not matter at all," he said. 

"We’ve got to go in there and apply the same methods that we apply to every team, not just Hawthorn, and if we do that well, we can compete against most teams.

"I don’t so much look at the name of the [team] we play, it’s the way we play that gives us an opportunity to win."

Hinkley also said he expected to see the playing relationship between Jay Schulz and Charlie Dixon improve over the coming weeks. 

Schulz played his first senior game since round one last weekend, having missed a huge chunk of the season with a back issue. 

He didn’t trouble the scoreboard, although Hinkley was pleased with Schulz’s work to help his teammates. 

"They’ll get better with each game," he said.

"Hopefully they get to play three or four more in a row and then we start to see them working really well together. 

"Jay was really good in some defensive stuff last week.

"From his own point of view he would like to get on the end of a couple and get a couple of shots at goal, so that would be nice."