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Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is urging Sam Powell-Pepper to retain his aggressive style when he returns from a four-game ban to play Fremantle.

Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper is being urged to retain his aggressive style when he returns from a four-game suspension.

Powell-Pepper, who was banned for rough conduct for a bump that concussed an opponent in a trial game, will return against Fremantle on Saturday night.

And coach Ken Hinkley is imploring the utility to keep the combativeness that has been a hallmark of his 139 AFL games.

"We'll have to make sure he's calm and just plays with some good composure, but he's certainly ready to go," Hinkley told reporters on Friday.

"We chatted about the way he plays the game, we think he plays the game really fair.

"So he needs to make sure that he comes back and plays his style of game.

"He has been suspended once in 130-odd games - he plays footy the right way, and he learnt from his mistake four weeks ago."

Powell-Pepper returns alongside Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines, who has overcome a hamstring strain, to replace Travis Boak (ribs) and Jeremy Finlayson, who has been suspended for three games for making a homophobic slur.

The Dockers are still without ruckman Sean Darcy (knee), while Michael Frederick (hamstring) has been replaced by Neil Erasmus.

Both clubs hold a three-one win-loss record entering the Adelaide Oval fixture.

"The competition is so close, you've just got to keep your eye on today and don't get too big a picture," Hinkley said.

"We just need to make sure we have got everything right to beat Freo, that's what we spend our time on this week.

"In a really even competition we've started off OK - we know how hard it is though."

The Dockers boast a league-best defence, having conceded only 253 points in their four games.

"Like most teams, they're fundamentally really sound with the way they play the game," Hinkley said of Fremantle.

"You have a style of football that you know yourself and you play yourself really well, and they certainly understand the way they play and they're very sound defensively.

"For us it's going to be a real challenge, but there's plenty of teams in the comp that are very sound defensively.

"There's a challenge of will, isn't there, of who gets to get the game on their terms as much as they possibly can."