The gap between Port Adelaide's best and worst may be as wide as the Nullarbor but their home record demands respect according to Carlton coach Brett Ratten.
The Blues travel to AAMI Stadium to take on Port on Sunday knowing that a win would not only guarantee them a berth in September but provide the platform for a potential top-four finish.
Ratten believes the eighth-placed Power will be desperate to atone for last week's humiliating loss to Fremantle to shore up their own finals prospects and he expects they'll derive confidence from an 'outstanding' record at AAMI Stadium in 2009.
Only the unbeaten Saints and cross-town rivals Adelaide have managed to upset Port Adelaide at AAMI from 10 appearances there this season.
"Their record at home is first class and with that crowd and the emotion and hype they get at their home ground they can create havoc for the opposition," said Ratten at Visy Park on Thursday.
"I think the start is critical (to) stop a little bit of the flow in their game and win the ball back."
"I'm not that fazed with what they did last week but I know what they do at home and they're very dangerous - they're just behind us on the ladder and they're going to be hard to stop."
Asked what he's done to guard against a letdown following last Friday night's 35-point win over Geelong, Ratten said: "We've talked about expectations and a standard that's set and we can't take our foot off the pedal".
"We were pleased with our performance and ... we don't want one out of the blue, we want to make sure that's the standard that we set."
"That intensity and the way we went about it, I thought, was fantastic."
"The debate for all teams is how do you get consistency, week-in, week-out but we're working hard at it."
"Our last six weeks we've had one mishap so without playing sometimes the sexiest footy we think we've played some maturing football because we've managed to get our nose in front at the right time."
Ratten said the club would 'wait and see' on the fitness of key defender Michael Jamison who's been sidelined since Round 15 by shoulder and groin injuries.
Time is running out for the 23-year-old who was scheduled to undergo a fitness test later on Thursday.
Ratten nominated youngster Mark Austin as someone he would like to find room for in the senior team for Sunday.
"We see Aussie's development as a player, long-term we think he's a real player of the future but we need to see the balance of the team so we'll have a look at that," he said.
The Blues have changed their travel routine to give themselves more time to prepare by leaving late on Friday and training at AAMI Stadium on Saturday morning ahead of the game on Sunday.