PORT Adelaide is bracing for a "fired up and angry" North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, with a vivid memory remaining of the hiding the Roos gave it late last season.

Ben Brown kicked 10 goals that night, while Todd Goldstein won 34 possessions and had an enormous 17 score involvements as North crushed the Power by 86 points in round 22.

Much has changed since then, including Port sitting atop the ladder and the Roos ruling out Brown for the season with a knee injury.

"We've got some pretty terrible memories of what North Melbourne did to us last year late in the season," Hinkley said.

"We respect their club and the way they play. You only have to listen to (coach Rhyce Shaw's) press conference last week (to know) we should expect a pretty fired up and angry North Melbourne, I suspect, on Saturday night.

"We've got a lot of things we have to play for and we need to make sure we match that and get above them."

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Hinkley confirmed the Power had made three changes for the Kangaroos clash, with Kane Farrell, Dan Houston – back from his COVID-19-related ban – and Steven Motlop recalled.

Justin Westhoff, Riley Bonner and Brad Ebert were dropped.

Scott Lycett will largely go head to head with Goldstein, with Todd Marshall looming as his likely back-up in Peter Ladhams' absence.

Hinkley declined to say whether Ladhams, like Houston, would return next week once he had served his suspension for breaking the AFL's COVID-19 protocols.

"There's been enough around what's obviously gone on and what we felt as a club and how Dan let people down," he said.

"But now it's all around what Dan's going to do for us and bring back for us on the footy field and he'll be one part of the team – he won't be the only part of the team – and we need him to play well."