Ross Lyon says Saturday’s opponents Port Adelaide are an elite team that will present his side with a massive challenge at Patersons Stadium on Saturday.

The winner of the clash will claim a top-four position and a double chance in the 2014 Toyota AFL Finals Series.

Port had endured a lean patch of form in recent weeks but exploded to life with a 103-point annihilation of Carlton last Friday night.

The early pacesetters in the 2014 season showed they were back to their best, and that’s what Lyon expects on Saturday.

“They are number two offence and number three defence (in the AFL),” he said.

“They are an elite team and we’ve got a big challenge, but one we’re really looking forward to.

“We know our best is good enough and we feel we’ve been improving.”

Lyon said Port had quality all over the field, but he highlighted its midfield as a major area of strength.

Robbie Gray who was best on ground against the Blues, has enjoyed a tremendous year in the engine room.

He has an unassailable lead over Nat Fyfe in this year’s AFL Coaches Association award, just two seasons after a knee reconstruction.

“He’s clearly a player who’s worked really hard to overcome some adversity,” Lyon said.

“He’s a really strong contested ball, a strong mark - he’s a great player and he could be a chance to win the Brownlow.”

Lyon said Gray wasn’t the only Port star Freo had to prepare diligently for.

“(Travis) Boak is a superstar, then you’ve got a great tagger in (Kane) Cornes, he’ll go to one (of our midfielders),” Lyon said.

“You’ve got (Jared) Polec and (Matt) White on the outside, and (Brad) Ebert, and you’ve got (Matthew) Lobbe in the ruck.

“That’s their midfield without even going into detail, so it’s a significant challenge for us, there’s no doubt about that.”

Freo must face the Power off a six-day break returning home from Brisbane, the longest trip in football.

But Lyon said his troops had recovered well and expected them to be ready come Saturday.

“We have a routine that we go through and we’re confident in it,” he said.

“The aim is to recover well and have a good sharp session on Thursday and be ready for the game.”

The Freo senior coach said captain Matthew Pavlich, who was a late withdrawal last weekend, would only play if he trained on Thursday.