A history of success and a recent knack of winning when they shouldn't has given Port Adelaide ample confidence they will beat Geelong in Saturday's AFL grand final at the MCG.

The Cats will enter the 2007 season decider warm favourites on the back of an outstanding season, but the Power believe wins over Hawthorn (round 20), the Cats (round 21) and West Coast in the qualifying final will be crucial in providing extra confidence.

In all three of those matches, Port rallied from behind to win narrowly, which included being the only side to have beaten Geelong - at Skilled Stadium - since April.

Add the fact the Power are unbeaten at the MCG this season and will on Saturday have 10 players backing up from the 2004 grand final triumph and it is little wonder coach Mark Williams and his men have that swagger, despite their underdog status.

In a further reminder of what it takes to perform on the biggest stage, Williams invited recently-retired Essendon star James Hird to speak to the Power players.

"I will keep that among our players, but Hird was fantastic, to get a legend that has just walked out of the game to come and present to an opposition club says something about the man," Williams said.

"Our guys thought it was brilliant.

"We go to the MCG, we've won there three times this year, which was fantastic.

"Our record in finals, we've really turned that around, we've won a lot of games in a row now - big games and big finals.

"Even though we're playing Geelong, who without doubt are the outright favourites, Port Adelaide has got a huge tradition of upsetting."

Port long dominated the SANFL before the club was granted entry into the AFL for the 1997 season.

Their charge over the second half of this season yielded nine wins from their last 10 games.

Even though the Power defied conventional wisdom by bouncing back with a young team so quickly after finishing 12th in 2006, Williams felt like Port was on the cusp of achieving their destiny.

"It seems to me like it's meant to be - if you look back four or five weeks, we won on the last kick of the day against Hawthorn and then almost the same thing against Geelong," he said.

"We went into the last quarter against Fremantle where we were down and had to win that game to get into the top four.

"Then we played the first final against West Coast, the defending premiers and grand (finalists) the last couple of years - to get over that game by three points and play a fantastic game against a real proud club last week, it seems like it's meant to be.

"Things have fallen into place fantastically well for us and we really look forward to the next contest, the big game this Saturday."

Williams mischievously made several attempts to unsettle opposing coach Mark Thompson at Friday's press conference, indicating the Power will have an advantage in the ruck given Geelong's Steven King will be under pressure to justify his shock recall over Mark Blake.

He also felt his multi-pronged forward line was capable of troubling Geelong's defence, which will be without All-Australian centre half-back Matthew Egan (foot fracture).

"You're not sure who's going to kick them (goals) and I can guarantee I'm not sure either, but they get the job done and it's exciting to watch," he said.

Port had a lively 50-minute training session at the MCG on Friday to complete their preparation, which included end-to-end drills and lots of kicking for goal.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP