MIDFIELD coach Ben Mathews says Melbourne is expecting a fired up Port Adelaide, when the two sides meet in Central Australia this round.  

The Power has lost its past three matches – after falling three points short of making a Grand Final last year – and faces the Demons at Traeger Park in Alice Springs for the second year in a row.   

But Mathews said Melbourne was not taking the Power lightly and was ready for “a really, really tough contest”.

“Port Adelaide, we respect highly, they’re a very, very good side,” he told Dee TV.

“They’ve come off a couple of lean weeks, but they’ll be cherry ripe to bounce back, so we’re going to have to weather that storm and really accept that challenge.

“They were a top four side last year and it’s a really good stepping stone for our boys to see where their footy’s at and really challenge themselves against a top four side.

“They’ve got some very, very good players and we’re going to have to quiet them down and use the ball effectively going forward.”

Mathews said it was a balancing act this week between keeping the players fresh and making sure they got the required training in for the match in the Northern Territory.

“This week is a six-day break, so we’ve got to be mindful that … we don’t want to overcook them, in terms of this week, and there is a little bit of travel as well,” he said.

“At the same time, we want to get some work into them, so that’ll be managed by Dave Misson and the high performance [team] and us as coaches.

“We’ve just got to make sure they’re feeling fresh and ready to attack the contest up in Alice Springs.”

Reflecting on last Sunday’s 39-point win over the Western Bulldogs, Mathews said the most pleasing aspect of Melbourne’s win was “its ability to bounce back” from a 105-point loss to Hawthorn and three tough rounds.

“We had Freo, Sydney and Hawthorn and to cop those three teams in three weeks, given where we’re at was a tough ask,” he said.

“[We were pleased with] the way the boys responded. We changed the week up and they freshened mentally … it gave them a different focus.

“We knew that the Doggies were going to be hard and strong in the contest. They’ve been in good form and they pushed Freo the week before, so it’s a great credit to our boys and the way they went about their football and their training last week. The result was there for all to see.

“The boys are up and about and they put in a really good performance on Sunday and hopefully we can take that form into next week against Port Adelaide.”