ADELAIDE has a blueprint on how to defeat arch-rival Port Adelaide and claim Sunday's Showdown XXXVIII – it has to cut off the Power's run.

Port has built a reputation as a club that likes to move the ball quickly and cleanly and transition from defence to attack at a lightning pace.

Crows coach Phil Walsh offered his Power counterpart Ken Hinkley the key to his own undoing on Friday morning at Adelaide Oval, admitting fast ball movement could bring down the Crows.

But he clearly backed his team's ability to pick apart the Power's game that would ensure his defence – which lost height on Thursday with the omission of Kyle Hartigan – held strong.

"The way we set up defensively, we're vulnerable against teams who move the ball really quickly and the thing that stood out, that the (Western) Bulldogs were able to do, was that we weren’t able to slow them down," Walsh said.

"We're going to be an aggressive defensive team but what happens is when those mechanisms break down you get scored on very easily.

"The first four games have shown when Port Adelaide can't get their ball movement as they want it they're very beatable.

"But as we saw in the first quarter on the weekend against Hawthorn, when they do move the ball very quickly they're unstoppable."

With Hartigan being dropped, competitive defender Kyle Cheney has been included in the squad for Sunday's match.

The club's lack of height in defence (Daniel Talia is the tallest at 195cm, followed by Brodie Smith at 189cm) is seen as a weakness, given the Power's trio of Justin Westhoff (199cm), Patrick Ryder (196cm) and Jay Schulz (193cm).

As Walsh identified, Port's ability to utilise its talls would be dependent on the side moving the ball quickly to them.

But the speed of their game is simply a byproduct of defensive strength, Hinkley said.

His three key forwards can tear any team to shreds, but Hinkley insisted his team's defence would determine its fate.

"They're obviously weapons for us and we need to make sure we use them as best as we possibly can," Hinkley said.

"But again, if we get trapped into trying to think that we're just going to kick it to our talls and that's going to get the job done – it won't.

"All the questions we get now at Port is about our fast ball movement – we don't think that we spend that much time on our fast ball movement, we spend a lot of time on our defence.

"We have to make sure that we're defending the right parts of the ground at the right time because that allows you to then play the ball the way you want to play it."

Neither coach believed in downplaying the significance of Showdowns in Adelaide – on the eve of the first at Adelaide Oval last season Hinkley told his playing group that history was on the line.

Walsh too said he loved the anticipation of the rivalry clashes.

Running late to the Crows' Hall of Fame launch on Wednesday night, Walsh said an encounter with a taxi driver, who questioned him as to why he left Alberton to coach the Crows, summed up the meaning of the game.

"I Googled it up and it was at the Entertainment Centre, so I hailed a taxi and Chris picked me up, he had a look and he said 'mate, not in this cab – I'm a Port man'," he said.

"He said, 'Come on, get in I know where I'm taking you', but we had a great 10-minute debate, he's telling me 'why'd you do it (agreed to coach Adelaide)?

"End of the ride he goes, 'Mate, this one's for free' I ended up giving him a tip; I just like that spirit about it.

"I reckon this town's good at that; bring it on and Chris, I hope I spoil your Sunday."