Ken Hinkley and Michael Voss spent seven years in the same coaches’ box.

So both know what’s coming when Hinkley’s Port Adelaide hosts Voss’ Carlton on Thursday night.

“I would imagine it’d be a quite physical game,” said Blues coach Voss, previously Hinkley’s assistant at Port.

Both coaches and their clubs have their backs to the proverbial wall in an Adelaide Oval match decisive for finals ambitions.

The loser between 10th-placed Carlton and 12th-placed Port risks slipping three wins outside the top eight.

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“It’s getting tighter,” said Hinkley of his 13th and final season before handing over to long-time assistant Josh Carr.

“We will always stay in the fight for as long as humanly possibly.

“And you know what, right to the end, it doesn’t matter what happens almost.

“You turn up in a professional sport, my expectation, our expectation, is to perform at our absolute best every chance we get to play football representing Port Adelaide.

“And that’s the way we will approach now until whenever the end of the year is. We will go hard to be the right Port Adelaide.”

Carlton’s ability to restrict Port’s prime midfield movers Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis was highlighted by Voss as a potential game-shaper.

“You still look at Port’s best and clearly their pressure around the ball is a really important part to their game,” he said.

“They’ve got some genuine power… so we’re going to have to aim up there.”