Coach Ken Hinkley has ordered Port Adelaide players to fight fire with fire when confronted by Hawthorn's intimidation tactics in Saturday's AFL preliminary final.
Hinkley has set the scene for a heated MCG final, saying his players won't tolerate Hawthorn's infamous unsociable football.
The Hawks have been dubbed the masters of unsociable football in their past powerhouse six years, deploying overt aggression to unsettle opponents.
Hinkley believes the unsociable tag is a trademark of Hawthorn but says his players won't fall for the trick.
Asked on Friday what his players would do when faced with Hawthorn's aggression, Hinkley replied: "Throw as much back as we can."
"And then just keep going and play footy the way Port Adelaide play."
Hinkley said Port won't be suckered into playing the man and not the ball as they chase their first grand final berth since 2007.
He expected reigning premier Hawthorn to try and exploit their vast finals experience against the Power, who have just one player - Kane Cornes - who has played in a preliminary final.
"The proof will be in the pudding. It will be what we're able to deliver under that fierce pressure that Hawthorn are going to put on us," Hinkley said.
"But we think we're ready for it.
"We have experienced it a lot this year ... we have been involved in big football matches and that is the only way you get ready - if you experience it.
"There is no doubt they have got more experience and we accept that. But we're not going to let that worry us too much.
"Hawthorn are going for their third grand final in a row and we're going into our first prelim final (since 2007). So there is some experience in their favour but there is some excitement in ours I hope."
Hinkley was preparing his players for a ferocious early assault from the Hawks, saying the initial stoushes would be revealing.
"The way we defend, and how much pressure we're prepared to bring on to Hawthorn, that will be a real indicator for us early in the game as to how we're going, how we're handling it," he said.
"We know Hawthorn are a great side, well coached. They're going to give us everything early.
"We have got to make sure we're returning a bit of that pressure back on them."
Hinkley, who declared backman Tom Jonas a certain starter after overcoming a corked hip, said his players knew their best was good enough to defeat the Hawks, who dumped veteran Brad Sewell and recalled Matt Suckling.
"But I know what prelims are. Prelims are close games and they're separated by very, very small margins," he said.
"And hopefully at the end of the day, hopefully we have that small margin in our favour."
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