Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse is wary of Port Adelaide's ability to bounce back - both within and between AFL matches.

The Power have reacted angrily to their thrashing by Sydney at the SCG last weekend, declaring it time to draw a "line in the sand" and forge a reputation as a side that plays tough, hard football.

Malthouse expects the Magpies to feel the effects of the Power's anger at the MCG on Sunday.

"Historically they've been very very good on the rebound, they're a tough side," Malthouse said on Thursday.

"I've got a lot of admiration for their coach Mark Williams, I've always got on pretty well with Mark, you know what you get with him, it's the way he played."

Malthouse said the Power had also shown themselves to be a team that were hard to shake off within games.

In round seven, they stormed back from a 31-point half-time deficit against North Melbourne to lose by just five points, while the following round they downed Richmond after trailing by 16 points midway through the last quarter.

They were too far behind to mount a similar rally against the Swans last weekend after conceding eight goals to one in the opening term.

"They really got blown away in one quarter of football last week and couldn't get back in the game," Malthouse said.

"But Sydney don't let too many sides back in the game on that ground, it's a different sort of ground to play on.

"We know we're going to be in for a hell of a fight."

The 10th-placed Magpies were boosted by a hard-fought win over West Coast in Subiaco last round, which arrested a slide after big losses to St Kilda and Carlton.

But Malthouse said there was no less pressure on them heading into Sunday's encounter.

"You create your own pressure and every week is a pressure game regardless," he said.

"(Unbeaten sides) Geelong and St Kilda will have pressure games this weekend, no different to what ours will be or Port's will be.

"The mood and the vibrancy of people around the place haven't dropped, it is still very high, our expectation is that we think that if we play good enough football we'll make the eight."

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