PORT Adelaide will be playing for old-fashioned black, white ... and teal pride when it takes on Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.

Although the boys from Alberton are known as the Power at AFL level, midfielder Jacob Surjan said the club’s rich SANFL heritage was not lost on the players.

“It’s a big game for us with the Port Adelaide ‘Magpies’ up against the Collingwood Magpies,” Surjan said.

“We’re looking forward to it and the boys are keen to win this week after losing the Showdown. We disappointed our fans and ourselves and we will make amends this week.”

Port Adelaide has lost four of its last five games against Collingwood, including a heartbreaking two-point loss at AAMI Stadium in round 20 last season. Surjan said the Pies are a welcome challenge for a Port Adelaide side that has already claimed two big scalps in Fremantle and former bogey side, the Kangaroos.

“I think those recent results against Collingwood probably reflect the transitional stages of both clubs. Collingwood were up and firing while we had a couple of lean years, but hopefully we can get over to Melbourne, play our style of footy and turn that record around too,”Surjan said.

“Collingwood are a really good side with a few young guns playing good footy, similar to us so we can’t wait to get over to Melbourne and play at the MCG again.”

The Power will head to the MCG three times this season, after playing just one game at the ground in 2006. Surjan said the game would be a great experience for the young guys playing their first game at the home of football.

“I think I played one AFL game there last season against Melbourne and it can be a very intimidating ground just because of its size. I think we play there a couple of times in the next month so we’re really looking forward to it and there is no better team to knock off at the ‘G than Collingwood.”

One player who will run out on to the MCG for the first time this week will be Port Adelaide’s back-up ruckman. Surjan said it was a line-ball decision as to whether Fabian Deluca or Jonathan Giles would get the nod to replace the injured Dean Brogan.

“Fabian played a few games for us last season but Joffa(Giles) was pretty good in the NAB Cup comp and has been playing well for Centrals too. It’s a tough call but they’re both great players and I’m sure whoever comes in will do a good job.”

The last time Port Adelaide recorded three wins out of its first four games it went on to win 16 more and claim the premiership.Although the team might not quite be ready to replicate such a feat, the Power’s early results have made the other 15 teams stand up and take notice.

“A lot of teams didn’t expect us to be where we are at this stage,”Surjan said.

“Most people probably thought we’d be zero-and-three. But we can’t rest on that, we need to focus on winning this week otherwise we slip back to two-and-two and those great wins we had against Freo and the Kangaroos suddenly don’t mean as much.”