Experienced Assistant Coach Mark Riley has hinted Guy McKenna may opt to inject pace and speed to his travelling 22-man team against Port Adelaide, given the wider ground dimensions of AAMI Stadium.

“It’s a running game and we’re going to a very wide oval against a powerful running team, and you need to be able to run to play AFL football,” he said.

With the Gold Coast SUNS set to lose Nathan Bock (leg), Alex Sexton (dislocated shoulder), Sam Day (hamstring) and Matt Shaw (Appendicitis) at the selection table, the opportunity for a first team call-up is likely for a number of Gold Coasters on the cusp of the seniors. 

Regardless, Riley said the travelling party would be ready to take on the finals-bound Power outfit, with Ken Hinkley’s playing group having proven they’re a much-improved opposition this season with their win-loss record of 11-8. 

“We’ve made some significant in-roads in our pursuit to be good, but we still have a long way to go and they’re a good team,” Riley said.

“You don’t sit in the top eight of the AFL if you’re not and they are in there.

“It’s another tough game for us but it’ll be a great test for our playing group.”

Meanwhile, the Power will be sweating on the progress of former skipper Dom Cassisi, with the club continuing to monitor the 30-year-old’s hamstring in the lead-up to this weekend.

“The scans don’t indicate anything serious for Dom,” Power’s High Performance Manager Darren Burgess told portadelaidefc.com.au.

“But we’ll keep monitoring him at training considering the trouble he’s had with hamstring issues this year.”