It was the toughest of days for Port Adelaide in the nation’s capital last Sunday – and a far cry from the scintillating football which saw the Power fall within a kick of a grand final berth in 2014.

The 86-point loss to the Giants in Canberra has seen one of the oldest clubs in all the land club cop its fair share of flack already this week, with president David Koch himself labelling the performance as a “disgrace”.

All eyes will be firmly on senior coach Ken Hinkley and his match committee as to how they respond. Will the same players be given the opportunity to avenge the 13-goal drubbing or does the axe fall?

Either way, Geelong – the Power’s next opponent – can expect 22 players breathing fire on their home deck in front of a ruthless home crowd this Saturday night.

As for the make-up of that 22, we’re predicting Hinkley refrains from a slash and burn and instead opts for a few minor tweaks.

With only 16 disposals between them, small forwards Jake Neade and Aaron Young didn’t exactly have Champion Data working overtime in the big loss to the Giants. But the duo’s two goals each accounted for nearly half of the Power’s overall score making it very hard to omit either player.

Former Demon Jimmy Toumpas was disappointing in his role as an outside midfielder. With only 10 disposals for the day and ball-winners Robbie Gray, Brad Ebert and Sam Gray all more than capable of providing enough outside run to go with that of Jared Polec, Toumpas could easily find himself dropped to the SANFL this week.

If Port choose to make a like-for-like change though, midfielder Sam Colquhoun would be a sensible addition. Named as an emergency for the loss to the Giants, Colquhoun is clearly close to senior selection and his ability to find uncontested possessions could be important.

On the flip side, Karl Amon only found the ball 11 times in Canberra and kicked 0.2 on the scoreboard. It’s the second week in a row Amon has failed to gather more than 13 disposals and after a lean fortnight and a hefty defeat, he may not be able to hold his spot any longer.

Small defender Jarman Impey was dropped in round four after spending the first three weeks with the senior side. Hurting his case is the fact Port Adelaide’s SANFL side had the bye leaving him unable to get a game in and demand his return, however he may be a good match up for the likes of Geelong’s Lincoln McCarthy and come straight back in if Hinkley agrees.

With two potential changes, here is how Port Adelaide are predicted to line up in round four against the Cats:

OUT: Toumpas, Amon

IN: Colquhoun, Impey