Few AFL coaches are pleased at the prospect of a dour, sodden scrap against defensive masters St Kilda.

But Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus is an exception.

Primus believes Port's home fixture in forecast rain against the Saints on Sunday is perfect for his lowly club.

"We know how they will play and I think everybody knows how they go about their footy," Primus said of the Saints.

"So we are going to match them like that, and if the game is a low scoring, contested affair, we're going to be happy.

"We are going to set ourselves to play like that.

"They are still trying to win enough games to get into the (top) eight, so they're going to be pretty ruthless and coming over here to play a a Saints brand of footy.

"And we are going to try and match them in some of those areas and that is the great challenge for our group."

St Kilda, after a floundering start, enter the clash ominously perched just one win outside the top eight, and Primus had no doubt last year's beaten grand finalists were on the rise.

"Their last month, I think they have played Collingwood, Geelong, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne - so probably four teams in pretty good form," he said.

"And they have gone pretty close to beating a few of them and had some good wins amongst it.

"So I think they're on the way up and playing some good footy."

While the Saints have recently regained their miserly defensive aspects, Primus said such a quality remained missing at his club which has suffered costly late fade-outs in games during a bleak season of just two wins.

"It's the million dollar question," Primus said of the reason for the fade-outs.

"We just keep going over the education process and show them how important it is to have your mindset right.

"The defensive side of our game has still got a lot of improvement to do and we haven't nailed that aspect.

"And we will keep focussing on that until the cows come home.

"But at the moment we haven't been able to do it for a consistent four quarters and that is what is costing us games."

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