JACKSON Trengove isn't alone in sensing Port Adelaide is preparing itself for something special.
The football world has bought into the Power's ongoing fairytale; a rags-to-riches story of a club that got sick of the constant smackdowns and grew into an awesome force.
But while talking up the club's ambition, Trengove talked down the influence premiership favouritsm would have over his young teammates in the second half of the year.
Port has entered its round nine bye in a better position than ever before; its 7-1 record is healthier than 2002, 2003 and 2004, when the club finished as minor premier twice before winning its only AFL flag.
Bookies say the Power are third favourites for this year's premiership behind Geelong and Hawthorn but with a blockbuster against the Hawks coming up in round 10, Trengove insisted their focus had to remain narrow.
"You get that feeling around a footy club where you're starting to build…if we keep working and doing what Ken (Hinkley) asks and sticking to the game plan, we're going to challenge sides," Trengove said.
"We're determined to go places. Making the finals was great for us [last year]…but we've got our eyes on bigger things.
"[But] we're not even talking about [premiership favouritism]. It's just about each week – we've had challenges each week, round one it was going to be a challenge whether we could back up last year, round two we had the Showdown, we had Geelong over here, Freo over here, West Coast away.
"So each week we've had a challenge. Obviously Hawthorn after the bye is going to be another big challenge for us because they're such a powerhouse club."
Despite their incredible start to the season, Trengove said the Power's bye had come at the right time.
He said the players had worked tirelessly since their gruelling pre-season trip to Dubai and had earned a few days to forget about football.
The Power trained on Monday but will have time off towards the end of the week, during which Trengove said the leadership group's message would be to relax and recharge.
"We've worked so hard from probably Dubai in our pre-season to where we are now, it's been a massive workload for the boys," he said.
"We've got a couple of days at the footy club but then we'll get a couple of days off when it's just about going back [and] spending a couple of days with your family and friends and just freshen up your mind for the second half of the year.
"In the back of the boys' minds that Hawks game will definitely be sitting there but we'll try and freshen up as much as possible."
